The Silk Roads
This animal was essential for transporting goods across the harsh terrain along the Silk Roads & the Trans-Saharan Trade.
What is the camel?
This leader, sometimes called Genghis, unified the Mongol tribes and began their massive empire-building campaign in the early 13th century. (Looking for his real name...)
Who is Chinggis Khan?
These seasonal winds allowed merchants to sail reliably between East Africa, the Middle East, and South/Southeast Asia.
What are monsoon winds?
This precious metal, mined in West Africa, was in high demand in North Africa and the Mediterranean.
What is gold?
This religion spread along trade routes like the Silk Roads and Indian Ocean network, especially through merchant and missionary activity.
What is Islam?
This navigational tool, invented in China, helped sailors determine direction on open seas.
What is the magnetic compass?
This city in Central Asia became a major Silk Road trading hub and a center of Islamic learning.
What is Samarkand?
The Mongol Empire created this period of peace and stability across Eurasia, which allowed trade and culture to flourish.
What is the Pax Mongolica?
This language developed as a blend of Bantu and Arabic, used for trade along the East African coast.
What is Swahili?
This commodity was traded to West Africa in exchange for gold.
What is salt?
This literary work, written by Marco Polo, increased European interest in Asia and helped spread knowledge about the East.
What is The Travels of Marco Polo?
This system allowed merchants to deposit money in one location and withdraw it elsewhere, making long-distance trade safer.
What is a banking house?
This disease spread from Asia to Europe along the Silk Roads, causing major population loss in the 14th century.
What is the Black Death?
This grandson of Genghis Khan established the Yuan Dynasty in China.
Who is Kublai Khan?
This Chinese admiral led massive treasure fleet voyages across the Indian Ocean during the early 15th century.
Who is Zheng He?
This empire in West Africa thrived on trans-Saharan trade and was led by the famously wealthy Mansa Musa.
What is the Mali Empire?
This type of cultural blending, seen in architecture and language, often occurred in port cities along trade routes.
What is syncretism?
This innovation, originally from China, allowed large fleets to be built with watertight compartments and rudders.
What is the Chinese junk ship?
These two luxury goods were the most traded from China along the Silk Roads.
What are silk and porcelain?
Mongol policies promoted the safety of merchants, which encouraged the growth of this major overland trade route.
What is the Silk Road?
This port city on the Swahili Coast became a thriving center of trade in the Indian Ocean world.
What is Kilwa?
(Also Mogadishu, Zanzibar, Mombasa)
This West African empire rose to power after the decline of Mali and controlled key trans-Saharan trade routes, with its capital at Gao and famous ruler Askia Muhammad promoting Islam and education.
What is the Songhai Empire?
Despite their brutality in warfare, Mongols often allowed this practice in their conquered territories, particularly regarding belief systems.
What is religious tolerance?
This type of boat, used by Arab and Indian merchants, had triangular sails that allowed better control when sailing against the wind.
What is a dhow?