About this episode
Tonight, I take you on a journey along the Silk Road. We explore how and why this route or network from China to the Mediterranean opened at the time of the Han Dynasty and Ancient Rome. Given the distances and costs, long distance trade was limited to light, expensive and exotic goods, like silk, glassware, fine crafts, perfumes and spices. It adapted to changes over centuries: the rise and fall of dynasties in China, the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the struggles of Byzantium, the Muslim conquest, the Mongol invasion, the rise of Italian merchant republics... I also tell you about how the Black Death epidemic spread along the Silk Road in the 14th Century and the rediscovery of land routes to the Far East by European travelers of the Middle Ages, especially Marco Polo. Listen ad free and get access to bonus content on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LightsOutLibrary621 Welcome to Lights Out Library Join me for a sleepy adventure tonight. Sit back, relax, and fall asleep to documentary-style stories read in a calming voice. Learn something new while you enjoy a restful night of sleep. Listen on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LightsOutLibraryov ¿Quieres escuchar en Español? Echa un vistazo a La Biblioteca de los Sueños! En Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1t522alsv5RxFsAf9AmYfg En Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/la-biblioteca-de-los-sue%C3%B1os-documentarios-para-dormir/id1715193755 En Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LaBibliotecadelosSuenosov Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices