The Silk Road is considered one of the main arteries of international trade, however the term does not explain the impact of the phenomenon on individuals. This is mainly because the topic is too complex and elusive. The term contains the movement and exchange of any intangible or tangible goods, services and ideologies across trans-Eurasian routes. The beginning of this exchange began in the first millennium BC but was not limited to one historical period or generation. Trade still exists across identical routes, and the effects of exchange continue to multiply through globalization. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Susan Whitfield is an international librarian and professor with access to manuscripts, artworks, artifacts, and other relics of the Silk Road. With these documents, Whitfield narrates and connects snapshots of characters who lived at different points of the Silk Road. These stories describe communications, transportation, goods, services, people, ideas, religion, disease, culture, technology, conflict, diplomacy, and any other evidence of life that can be found along the Silk Road. They also provide different accounts and perspectives of what it was like to interact with the Silk Road. Through this book, Whitfield offers a small glimpse into the interconnectedness of the historic Afro-Eurasian network. Life Along the Silk Road stories describe tangible goods such as jade and other precious stones, metals for currency and armor, tea, furs, livestock, perfume, and any other materials desired to be found in other countries. People exchanged goods or resources they specialized in for those they wanted or lacked. Ideologies spread as politics, religions, technologies, fashions, and more were transported by humans through these routes. Technological crafts appear in one example such as papermaking which enabled the production of almanacs and books that encompassed the worlds of philosophy and geography in a broader register of information. We see that the greatest intangible value was the ability to do business and communicate or trade with neighbors who have unique goods and technologies. Throughout history, and contributing to the expansion of routes, geography and politics have been major obstacles. Although some routes were shorter, they were dangerous and convinced travelers to take longer or previously unexplored routes. Some terrain served as important barriers. If a route extended into another's territory, the parties would have to use diplomacy, such as trade bribes or other deals, or strategy, through scouts and military exports, to push it through. Natural resources have also had a great influence. In some places water was scarce, in others game was scarce and they would have to find more to continue the journey. These routes connected the world in ways that touched people around the world, even in small ways, through culture, technologies, and goods from different worlds, and their influence continues today. Through a flashback to 821 Chang'an, The Princess's Tale illustrates the conditions of an alliance between Chinese and Turkish forces. His journey told the stories of the precious Nisean horses collected from Kashmir, Gandhara and Arabia. The best were collected from Ferghana until Chang'an was forced to trade exclusively with the Uyghurs. Since then, the Chinese army became dependent on the Uyghurs to supply calvary horses in addition to the Uyghur force. According to tradition, the princessImperial Taihe would be sent to the home of her older sister, Yongan, to create a peaceful marriage with an Uygur Khagan. He would travel in the company of his retinue, Uighur horsemen, Chinese officials to bestow the new insignia of office on the new Khagan, and camels carrying gifts for the Khagan and supplies for the convoy. This voyage would also explain some of the dangers of the Silk voyage. Road as they traveled through exposed territory and uncomfortable terrain, even returning to the family mansion, to avoid stronger or unpredictable forces. This large caravan would have taken much longer than covering the distance of over a thousand miles on ponies. In addition to welcoming people, to meet the different needs of the herds used for transport, they also had to stop to allow everyone to graze and provide fodder for the camels crossing the frozen ground. This stalemate would increase the threat of hostile forces such as Tibetan raiders, resource depletion, or adverse weather conditions. Taihe arrived, married the Khogan, Chinese and Uyghur cultures and lived together for two years before dying. After his death, he chose to remain in Uygur and witness the new Khogan's rise to power. As the capital weakened and was unable to repel enemies, the Uyghur rulers lost control of the lands. In danger, Taihe finally had to be brought back across the Silk Road to remain in the territory and under the protection of the emperor. Meanwhile, The Courtesan's Tale was unfolding. The story of the courtesan, or Larishka, began as a musical story. At that time, the Kuchean sound traveled everywhere and was sung and played in China, from where it was later transmitted to Japan and Korea. This song was accompanied by dancing and was bought and sold along the Silk Road. Even today, a mix of Kucheano and new elements from each culture are performed. Larishka was an artist specializing in the Kuchean lute. She and her town, Kucha, became very familiar with the Uyghur refugees and soldiers who were concentrated partly at the king's request as aid and stationed to control the surrounding areas. Once, while performing for these soldiers and nobles, who were the main supporters of her career, Larishka was noticed by a general who took a special interest in her and took her to a nearby land to perform for his guests. one of many who were captured or enslaved during these soldiers' journey to serve them. Since then, Larishka never settled down, but passed from hand to hand until she was sold to a "stepmother" for whom she became a courtesan with whom she remained in Chang'an for nearly two decades. After witnessing the massacre and destruction of the city by rebel groups challenging the imperial forces, which would lead to the change of emperor and dynasty in China, he fled to Kucha. Unlike the one he left, he returned to a Kucha that had been transformed by a greater concentration of Uighur settlements and influences, including art, religion, culture, and the military. From there, we are transported to 903 Isfahan. The Writer's Tale was born from the merger of two cities composed of different Jewish and Arab cultures. In addition to the trade of religious beliefs, the transformation of empires had given Isfahan many different rulers, new trades, currencies, goods, and technologies such as papermaking and silk production. His city favored roses and board games imported from India, the latter modified and perfected during the stop in Persia, where the chess fleets were transformed into chariots. During a game of chess or in a bathhouse is where we would find our writer, Ahmad. There he listened to the stories of travelers and.