MONGOL EMPIRE
Under Genghis Khan
and his family the Mongols
expand south into China, west into
Central Asia and Russia and southwest
in the Middle East. The destruction of
Baghdad in 1258 ends the Islamic Golden
age, with at least 400,000 killed.1258
ISLAMIC GOLDEN AGE
9TH CENTURY CE
Access to so many cultures,
supported by lucrative trade,
leads cities like Baghdad and
Samarkand to become Islamic
centres of scientific discovery.
WESTERN TRADERS
11TH CENTURY
The great trading cities of Genoa
and Venice are now connected
to the most westerly points
of the Silk Road network,
increasing their power in Europe.MARCO POLO
TRAVELS EAST 1271-
Venetian Marco Polo travels east
along the Silk Road and writes
a vivid (but debatably accurate)
account of China under the rule of
Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis.WHAT’S IN A NAME? 1877
None of the traders travelling
through Asia ever called it the Silk
Road. That term is created in
the 19th century by German
explorer Ferdinand von
Richthofen.END OF AN ERA 1720s
As the Safavid Empire collapses
in Persia, maritime trade from
Europe to Asia increases and
the New World produces
resources, the Silk Road
gradually fades away.SIEGE OF
KAFFA
The Genoese trading
post of Kaffa on the
Black Sea is attacked
by the Mongol warlord
Jani Beg. The attackers
get ill and hurl their
dead men into the city.
The Genoese leave
for home in disgust,
spreading the Black
Death to Europe.1345
All^images:^ ©^AlamyA LEGEND IS BORN
1158
On the Mongolian Steppe,
Temujin is born. He will
grow up to unite the
Mongol tribes and be given
the title Genghis Khan.THE SILK ROAD
The Black
Death was the
worst viral outbreak
in history, killing
between a third to
half of Europe’s
population.BALANCE OF
POWER SHIFTS
Central Asia is conquered by the
Kara-Khanid Khanate, a Turkic
state that quickly converts to
Islam. The conquests disrupt
trade for a time, but their
conversion and settling in the
area returns trade to normal.
Religions other than Islam
fade away.CE1000
The Mongol
Empire was the
second-largest
in history and the
largest land-based
empire.CE(^100012581345)