World Civilizations

Alexander Zubarev
Outline for Chapter V
This chapter focuses partly on importance of nomadic tribes, the decline of all classical civilizations, and the rise of 3 religions, 2 of them major world religions.
Nomads have connected major empires and encouraged trade almost all throughout human history. The silk routes were one of the most famous such trade routes. They connected Western China, Mediterranean, and even Western Europe. Many civilizations had to go far from their borders to protect such trade routes from hostile nomads. Nomads played a crucial role in spreading trade until the Industrial Revolution offered railroads and steamboats--a more effective, efficient, and faster way to trade. Besides trade, nomads spread a lot of technological achievements and inventions. For instance, nomads spread the skill of making paper from China to Arabic world, either intentionally or unintentionally. …