IN CONTEXT
Rise of international trade
106 bce The first caravan to travel the full length of the Silk Road carries Chinese ambassadors to Parthia.
751 ce Defeat of the Chinese army at the Talas River prevents Chinese expansion west along the Silk Road.
1206 Genghis Khan unites the Mongol tribes, beginning Mongol conquest of Central Asia and China.
1340s The Black Death spreads along the Silk Road, reaching Europe in 1347.
1370–1405 Timurlane makes extensive conquests, briefly reviving the Mongol empire and the Silk Road.
1453 The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople blocks Europeans’ land route to Asia.
Venetian merchant Marco Polo’s arrival ...
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