Products Traded	Trade Routes & Hazards	Religious Travel
Purpose of Travel	Overview of Trade & Travel	The Crusades

The Silk Road

· Constantinople Gateway of trade to the west

· Silk road leads from Constantinople to Chang’an

· Traders only traveled pieces of the road creating a chain of trade along the road.

· Camels utilized as transportation, although when river travel was required the caravans switched to boats.

· Caravans formed for protection against bandits along the route.

· Brigands frequently tried to rob caravans due to the high price of silk.

· Other dangers were warring armies fighting over the Silk Road, and plague.

· Natural dangers included the heat of the desert, and sandstorms.

· It was expensive to trade on the Silk Road, and those wanting to venture it normally had to get backing from a lender.

· The Silk Road also benefited governments that controlled it due to their ability to tax the expensive good traveling along it.