Economic Activity in Eurasia between 1000 BCE and 1200 CE

CCOT Eurasia developed an integrated network of economic activity by the year 1200 C.E.. Between 1000 BCE and 1200 CE, it expanded greatly. The principle relied heavily on changes in trade networks, governmental alliances, religion and the continuity of warfare and social hierarchies. Trade networks are crucial to any economic scenario. They allow for the free flow of goods and services to be carried out over wide expanses of land and both within and throughout cultures. Examples of this are most notable for Marco Polo and his expedition across the Silk Road. The expansion of this throughout Eurasia stimulated wealth and cultural richness/diversity in all areas it contacted. Why else would artifacts form one culture be found hundreds of miles away within the territory of another culture? Physical networks were created that linked so many nations and empires together. The Eastern and Western Roman Empires flourished, as they were both two endpoints of a complex web of roadways and trade systems. These changed over time to encompass more and more swathes of land. Traders, seeking fortune, were always looking to expand their control and dominion to turn another profit. This mentality can still be seen today. So many big businesses (or even small) seek new markets to “hawk their wares.” Yet many still things were still changing. Governmental alliances were a key aspect of economic activity in the time period. When a government can intervene on the side of the markets, it can have a simultaneously beneficial and harmful effect. At one end of the spectrum, the government can facilitate trade throughout the kingdom by granting safe passage (like the Romans did). Yet on the opposite end of that same spectrum, the government can become authoritative and almost control too much and start to disregard the needs of its constituents (the Mongolian Empire). Yet these connections were not static, they were constantly varying. A connection with one tribe may be lost within