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Trade and Political Fragmentation on the Silk Roads: The Economic Effects of Historical Exchange between China and the Muslim East

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  • Lisa Blaydes
  • Christopher Paik

Abstract

The Silk Roads stretched across Eurasia, connecting East and West for centuries. At its height, the network of trade routes enabled merchants to travel from China to the Mediterranean Sea, carrying with them high‐value commercial goods, the exchange of which encouraged urban growth and prosperity. We examine the extent to which urban centers thrived or withered as a function of shocks to trade routes, particularly political fragmentation along natural travel paths. We find that political fragmentation along the roads to Aleppo and historic Chang'an — major terminus locations for cross‐regional trade—damaged city growth. These conclusions contribute to our understanding of how a premodern international system operated through an examination of exchange between the two most developed world regions of the medieval and early modern periods, China and the Muslim East.

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  • Lisa Blaydes & Christopher Paik, 2021. "Trade and Political Fragmentation on the Silk Roads: The Economic Effects of Historical Exchange between China and the Muslim East," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(1), pages 115-132, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:amposc:v:65:y:2021:i:1:p:115-132
    DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12541
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    Cited by:

    1. Ahmad, Zofia & Chicoine, Luke, 2021. "Silk Roads to Riches: Persistence Along an Ancient Trade Network," MPRA Paper 105146, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Jie Li & Ninghui Pan & Xin Ma & Zhiyuan Cheng & Yao Yao & Guang Li & Jianyu Yuan & Guorong Xu, 2024. "Mutual Causality Between Urban Transport Superiority Degree and Urban Land Use Efficiency: Insights from County Cities in Gansu Province Under the Belt and Road Initiative," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-25, October.
    3. Paik, Christopher & Shahi, Keshar, 2023. "Ancient nomadic corridors and long-run development in the highlands of Asia," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Jedwab, Remi & Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2022. "Medieval cities through the lens of urban economics," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

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