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Silk Trade History

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The History of Silk in the Ancient World
Silk is one of the world's oldest and most historically important materials discovered and used since thousands of years. Merriam Webster (n.d.) defines silk as a smooth, soft, and shiny cloth that is made from thread produced by silkworms. It is extracted from the fibers delivered by the silkworm to produce many goods that we use everyday from silk luxury items to extravagant silk pillows that have a Wonderful luster. During the ancient times silk was traded through a path called the Silk Road, which was the begging of globalization, as we know it today. This essay will discuss the history of silk trade and how it affected the ancient worlds demand, how it was cultivated, and what the Silk Road brought …show more content…

Not only did the Chinese recognize its significance but it also gained great popularity in Rome, India, Egypt, Persia, and all around Europe and the Far East and was considered one of the leading elements of luxury. This popularity continued to grow throughout the Middle Ages as it was expended for many purposes like crowns, royal fabrics, garments, and hanging for the Church, this raised the demand of silk to its peak, therefore the silk industry and silk trade were growing impulsively. With knowing the importance of silk, we must look at its origin and way of cultivation. According to well-established Chinese legend, Empress Hsi Ling Shi, wife of Emperor Huang Ti (also called the Yellow Emperor), was the first person to accidentally discover silk as weavable fiber (Lillian,1981) , was the first to nurture silkworms and was also the inventor of the loom (a device used to weave cloth). According to smith dictionary state that ,For thousands of years, her legacy remained undisclosed and was only shared between the Chinese themselves. This made the Chinese dominates the silk production …show more content…

This essay has discussed the history of silk trade and how it affected the ancient worlds demand. It was cultivated in specific conditions, which need to be fulfilled preventing the moth from hatching out and perfecting the diet on which the silkworms should feed (early history of silk, 2012). Silk Road brought to the world exchanging religion, culture and language as merchants traded goods of silk. The route created for its trade, the Silk Road, lit the spark of globalization and cultural exchange along with its main exchange purpose (silk), which received high demand and request all over the

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