The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

Discuss the role of nomadic tribes such as the Mongols in shaping the Silk Roads and their impact on commercial and cultural exchange.

How did the Silk Roads facilitate the transmission of ideas, culture, and technology?

How did the Silk Roads facilitate developments in technology and innovation, including advancements in navigation and transportation?

Discuss how the Silk Roads contributed to the globalization of trade and the emergence of a global economic system.

Choose two Silk Road cities (examples include Constantinople, Baghdad, and Samarkand, though there are many others). Analyze the significance of these cities in the history of the Silk Roads, comparing and contrasting the political, economic, and cultural roles they played.

Explore the connections between the Silk Roads and the rise and fall of empires such as the Roman Empire, the Mongol Empire, and the British Empire.

What were the factors that contributed to Western control of the Silk Roads after the 15th century? Why is this control eroding in modern times?

Discuss the importance of geography in the history of the Silk Roads.