Silk noose around the neck of history

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Tell me how, by what force

The law of nature is perverted;

A luminary rises from the West, Is there darkness and sleep in the east?

(N. P. Ogarev)

"Light from the East"! - the Greeks tirelessly said, referring to the ancient civilizations of the Eastern peoples, the culture of the Sumerians, Assyrians and others, borrowing, in addition to architecture and other sciences, and trade routes and trade centers of the ancient civilization.

Goods, trade routes, bargaining, exchange of goods, mining, cultivation and production of goods in the Middle Ages were called in one word - commerce.

"COMMERCE fills the State with diligent and useful inhabitants, revives sciences, arts and crafts, spreads sailing, distant lands leads to useful acquaintance and alliance, reveals the dearest treasures of nature and makes the state strong in itself, and noble among neighbors." (Thomas Plom-Gren, Swedish merchant in "Reflection on Commerce").

Of the ancient, the most coveted country for the acquisition of goods and trade was India, whose wealth was considered inexhaustible.

It served as a source of wealth for many merchants and even states, which is why it has always been the main subject of large trades, not only in the ancient, but also in the Middle Ages for all trading peoples.

The most accessible and cheapest form of transport was and is sea and river shipping.

The legendary biblical king Solomon had trade relations with the country of Ophir (an island near India). From here, valuable species of wood, precious stones, gold, silver, ivory, gold brocade and spices, monkeys and peacocks were delivered to Palestine.

To ensure the delivery of goods from India and the south of Persia to the Mediterranean, the pharaoh of Egypt, Neohai, sent skillful seafarers, taken by him from Phenicia, to his service, with such a command that they find a way from the Red or Red Sea, around Africa. And, they traveled for three years Africa and through Gibraltar returned to Egypt. This was 2,100 years before the voyage of Vasco de Gama.

The existence of a land route to India is clearly evidenced by the Indian elephants used in battles. They ensured the victory over the Galatians for the king of Syria - Antiochus in 275 BC. e.

When Alexander the Great set out on an Indian campaign, he ordered his admiral Nearchus to make a sea passage around Africa to the Persian Gulf and to India, which he completed safely.

At the same time, there was a second trade route to India, hidden in the murky historical "chronicles" that are presented to us, or rather imposed on us.

Aristobulus, who personally accompanied Alexander the Great and is considered one of the more reliable historians of his campaigns, witnessed the trade route along the Amu Darya.

In the words of Strabo: “Aristobulus testifies that the Oxus is the largest river he has seen, except for the Indian ones. He also says that the river is navigable (the same is said by Eratosthenes from the words of Patroclus) and that many Indian goods are transported along it to the Hyrcanian Sea (Caspian), from where they are transported to Albania (the region on the lower reaches of the Kura), and from there along the Kura (Kure) and then brought to the Euxine (Black) Sea”.

Another confirmation of the second trade route to India and quite unexpected (!) We get from Pliny the Elder - an ancient Roman writer of the 1st century AD. (!!!).

Bulgars, who Pliny called "Serichesky Issedons", which they interpret from the Sarmatian language, who know how to do Silk handicrafts, in the most ancient times not so much to war as to merchants were inclined.

They traded with the Persians, Saracens, Araps and other Asian peoples and also had trades with all northern peoples.

These Bulgars or Khvalisss, called by the Greek Writers Kozars and Khozars, in ancient times were divided into lower and upper ones.

The first lived on the northern coast of the Caspian Sea, in the glorious city of Khadzhi - Tarkhan (which is behind Sarai, in history), the second lived above, at the mouth of the Kama into the Volga.

Buying Silk in Persia and Khiva, different cotton fabrics were produced from India by different Manufactories (textiles), for which the Bulgars

Commerce from India itself, and in the other direction, throughout the great Russia and throughout northern Europe spread.

Thus, Bulgaria was, as it were, the center of European and Asian trade. Theophanes of Byzantium in the sixth century already introduced the name of Great Bulgaria. He also calls it Old Bulgaria, where Bulgarian fish is caught.

In ancient Haji - Tarkhan, there was a very glorious, most extensive fair for Indian, Persian and Russian goods.

Greeks from the Crimea, Venetian and Genoese merchants who lived and traded in the city of Tanais had very large profits for themselves.

Incense things and Indian spicy potions, Persian and Indian fabrics, silks, Russian hemp and the famous Russian morocco, yuft were considered the most excellent and were delivered to all European and Asian countries.

The Roman Empire was supplied from this fair, the goods were transported to the Don River, which is only one hundred and forty miles from the Volga, where, having transported goods from the Volga to the Don, they loaded ships there, for further dispatch, that is, to the Black, Marmara and Mediterranean seas.

This is an ancient pier, according to Stralenberg's description, the second, for he believed the first in old Ladoga, in Biarmia, or in great Perm, near the city of Cherdyn, on the Kama River, where this product was already delivered by Russian and Bulgar merchants.

Veliky Novgorod had its own province in Cherdyn for collecting taxes, the main goods were revered: gold, silver and soft junk (fur), as well as transit Indian and Persian for export to other countries, through the Pechersk, Murmansk and White seas.

Among the trade routes, the city of Slovensk is mentioned at Lake Ilmensky, which was located, they say that it was twice devastated from war and a pestilence, and that after a long time after that the Slavs built Novgorod not far from that place.

The devastation of which can be attributed to the Uns is due, although the Novgorodian chroniclers attribute this to later times before the birth of Christ. (!)

The entire river network of northern Russia was permeated with trade routes, with its ancient portages and unusual ways of moving along low-water rivers.

Caesar of Byzantine - Constantine Porphyrogenitus (IX century) announces in addition to this that between the Dnieper and Kherson there were Salt varnits, and the pier of Chersonesos, and these Chersonesos went to Russia to purchase Goods.

Polybius (200-250 BC): The Greeks receive bread, animal skins, salted fish, copper, wax, hemp from the Slavic Russians.

From the Bulgars living at the Khvalynsk Sea and making trades with India, the merchants receive karmazin, and a silk red dress.

This is confirmed by Strabo, who says that Tanais (Azov) is a common merchant city of Asian and European peoples in the possession of the Scythians.

The cunning of the “fathers” from the church that the “light of civilization” came along with Orthodoxy is refuted by Herodotus - the father of History, according to Cicero, who lived 446 years before the birth of Christ.

When the Franks and Goths, still without trousers, ran through the forests, the Slavic people were already producing a noble Commerce. So, in his history, Herodotus, who had a friendly relationship with some of the most noble Scythians, and for that he knew the Scythian people closely, described these places more reliably than others.

In his History he depicts the city of Borysten, which lay in the middle of Scythia by the Black Sea. Its location was at the mouths of the Bug and Dnieper rivers. In the most autocratic times it was a noble Trade City, and the Peoples who lived upstream along the Dnieper and Bug produced noble Commerce here.

He also mentions the city of Kremni, which lay at the Meotic Sea (the Gulf of Azov), describing that in this city, merchants from Borysten and other Pontic cities went to the Scythian Peoples for the Bargaining.

And the Scythians themselves, who lived near the Don and the Meotian Sea, when this Cimmerian Strait froze, they camped on it, and drove across the ice in carts to India.

(Apparently, this is how he described the sleigh and the trip to Khadzhi - Tarkhan for Indian goods.) (Tatishchev, in his History, explains that Herodotus meant Amu - Darya by India).

Describing the Scythian Commerce of those times, Herodotus continues the following:

“They (that is, the Scythians) have a hemp, which is very similar to flax, except that it is thicker and taller. In many ways, she surpasses in kindness those that either sow in Greece or grow wildly.

From this Hemp, the Thracians, (that is, the inhabitants of Thrace), make Linen's dress so similar that one cannot distinguish flax was made, and that in that Scythia there are many other wondrous things."

Descriptions of land trade routes, we meet only in the Middle Ages, such as:

The most detailed data on land trade comes from Balducci Pegolotti, who was in the service of the Florentine company "Bardi" in Tana, and who wrote his manual for merchants around 1340.

This book indicates trade routes, lists the terms used in different countries to designate bazaars and trade duties, provides information about the goods, which ones, where to buy, and, in general, practical advice to merchants.

After 1316 in Tanya, at the mouth of the Don (now Azov), a Genoese colony was formed, in 1332 a Venetian colony, this city became the starting point of the trade route to the east.

Pegolotti considers: - “from Tana to Hadji-Tarkhan 25 days in carts drawn by oxen, or 10 - 12 days of horseback riding, from there to Saray (Astrakhan) - 1 day by water.

"Khadzhi - Tarkhan" is the first mention of the ancient city above Astrakhan along the Volga. (about 50-60 km.)

From Saray to Saraichik - 8 days, also by water, you can go by dry road, but this is more expensive.

From Saraichik to Urgench - 20 days in camel carts; from Urgench to Otrar - 35-40 days, in the same way.

Whoever has goods, it is better to stop by Urgench, since here all kinds of goods are well sold; whoever does not have them, it is better to go by a shorter way (to the north of the Aral Sea) from Saraichik directly to Otrar (50 days)”.

Pegolotti advises taking linen fabrics from Europe with him, selling them in Urgench and stocking up on catfish, that is, silver ingots that were used by those peoples, and sand gold in Samarkand.

From Urgench to Bukhara by caravan 18 days' journey, to Samarkand - 24 days.

From Bukhara to Kokand 21 days, from Kokand to Kashgar 23 days, from Kashgar to Kulja - 30 days, this is the last eastern point of the caravan routes, both in ancient times and in the Middle Ages.

From Astrakhan to India 3 months, most likely by water. These are Trade routes, moreover, separately between all cities. We find paths from writers, for example, near Kazvini, routes along Khorasan and Mazanderan, “From Herat to Merv there are 84 farsakhs, about 500 km. There are 56 farsakhs from Merv to Urgench. (Compare these routes by V. A. Zhukovsky “Ruins of Old Merv”, pp. 56-61).

This is confirmed by Jenconson, who wished under Ivan the Terrible to resume trade with India along the old trade routes.

His records are more reliable, since he did not sell his goods as a true merchant and returned back.

“There was little expense for Aglinsky goods, because many of them were brought from Aleppo and Smyrna, Enkinson could not give his goods as cheaply as others sold in Bukhara, expensive driving, duties, inevitable gifts everywhere raised their price, and besides that, a caravan from Uzbeks to plundering inclined often was in great danger.

From the city of Bukhara back to Manguslav, Enkinson traveled for five weeks and several days."

Running for many hundreds of miles through desert areas, the caravan steppe routes present great difficulties, consisting not only of lack of people, lack of food and fuel in loose sands, but also, mainly, in a lack of water, for water in the steppes and deserts is rare and frequent can be bitter-salty and generally of poor quality.

Therefore, the caravan routes everywhere adhere to wells, which are, thus, the milestone points for the movement of caravans and places of their rest and overnight stay.

The most important center of the caravan routes in Central Asia in the Middle Ages was the Khiva oasis, the so-called Khorezm. From where the roads diverge to the north, east to the Tien Shan and to the south - to Persia, Khorasan.

Prelude to ancient transport across the steppes and deserts:

The camel is a means of delivery of goods and passengers in the desert and steppe regions of Asia and Africa from ancient times to the 20th century.

Carrying capacity - max 300 - 350 kg, depending on distance and terrain. The average load in caravans is 15-18 poods, about 250-300 kg. Divided into two bags, wrapped in a felt mat.

One day or night crossing for a caravan is about 30 km and rest is obligatory to restore the animal's strength. Movement on the way - only horizontally, with a slight slope, between dunes or steppe hills, never (!) Uphill or along slopes. So the mountains are not for him …

The duration of a camel's work is 50 - 60 days a year. After this period, he is released for feeding to restore performance, or, as they used to say in the old days, “until he gets fat”.

In order to present the caravan road as a means of transportation, the journal Novoye Vremya published the travel notes of a Russian official from Katta-Kurgan to Bukhara, an extract from them:

“In 1884, on June 7, leaving the last point belonging to Russia - Katty-Kurgan, I set off on camels. There were no signs of a road or a tract, where today there is a smooth plain, tomorrow a huge dune (alluvial sandy hillock) can be seen.

In our caravan there was an experienced arbakesh (guide), who made more than one end from Tashkent to Bukhara and back, he knew the steppe far and wide.

In order to somehow while away the eighteen-day journey that we had to complete to the borders of Bukhara, I took a gun, binoculars and books, thinking to do reading. The road ran through the steppe, and there was no water, except for the stinking pits (bedbugs).

Some of the camels (20) were loaded with goods, 7 - with water, and 3 of them accommodated the guides and me. Water is stored in special leather bags (tursuks) and specially prepared pumpkins, such as bottles that can hold a bucket or more.

Camels - these "ships of the desert", fortunately, can go without food and water for a long time, chewing salt, which is given to them in lumps, they can easily endure a tedious journey for a whole week.

The heat was terrible, the air was literally hot, the boundless steppe stretched for hundreds of miles. Neither dwelling nor trees, rarely where there is saxaul, lonely sticking out in the sand, but even that does not give the slightest shadow.

The dead silence is broken only by the plaintive howl of a hungry jackal, and the scratching of turtles - and then from time to time, and there again not a sound …

Goods shipped by camel are tied in large bales, sewn into rugs, and placed on either side of the camel.

On the camels, where the passengers are accommodated, a kind of tent is arranged - on the boards. At the special cry of the guide, the "ship" immediately stops, lies down, bending its legs under itself, and then it is loaded with goods.

No reason (rope) is needed for those sitting, each camel has a rope threaded through its nostrils, with which it is tied to another …

Swaying slowly, step by step, they walk, stepping smoothly with huge, soft paws, drowsiness overcomes the traveler, sleep, sleep endlessly, even saliva flows from an open mouth …

You try to read, it is impossible, the brain finally ceases to function …

In the evening, when the heat subsided, we stopped, collected dung (dry droppings left by previous caravans) and boiled tea, which, by the way, serves as the only food along the way …

But now, the long journey is over. The walls of Bukhara are spread before us."

This is - you can put it that way, a postal - luggage caravan, and if a merchant with goods and security for 10-15 people, then you can estimate how many additional camels with water are needed … and so on.

I specifically cited this example, the geographical distance between Katta-Kurgan and Bukhara is 154 km, and we spent 18 days on the road.

The caravan did not move straight, but carefully bypassed all the hills and hills, in addition, for example: the inhabitants of Central Asia and the guests remember the Frunze-Jalal-Abad train that connected two Kyrgyz cities.

So the geographical distance between Bishkek and Jalal-Abad is 250 km. The train passed between these points a little less than 2000 km. Therefore, the owner of the camel always used the physical endurance of the animal with its ability to choose a gentle path.

So the camel is not for long journeys, which is the way to China, and even more so when entering the mountains, these roads in most cases turn into mountain paths. Mountain trails running in high places are accessible no more than three months a year, and the best time to travel to such places is July and August.

In September, high mountains are covered with new snow, blizzards and storms begin, or at least imagine the spring-summer stormy mountain streams filled with icy water.

And to overcome them, you often have to go to a ford, which with icy water, a turbulent stream and a rocky bottom does not represent much pleasure.

And the Takla-Makan desert - the length from west to east - over 1000 km, width - up to 400 km, sand area - over 300 thousand km.

And walking shuttles with Chinese synthetic bags in ancient or ancient times?

These are fairy tales - "Go there, you don't know where, bring that - you don't know what."

Rare pundits and a few literate people in Europe and Russia saw the map of Ptolemy and the existence of China, the world learned only at the beginning of the 15th century, when the first merchants from China reached Indian ports.

Even Chinese goods imported from India were not labeled "Made in China".

It took dozens of years for merchants and Europeans to realize and recognize for the Chinese the elegance of porcelain and the beauty of fireworks in the 16th century.

Although Dutch and Portuguese sailors reached the shores and ports of China and Japan, China remained a closed country. (!)

And only in 1685, China opened its land for visiting foreigners. (!)

In 1723, the "General Dictionary of Trade" was published, founded by the French economist Jacques Savary de Brulon, in the Russian translation of the "Lexicon of Commerce".

Along with the indication of all countries participating in world trade, the author also pointed out China opened for trade in 1685. Along with trade routes and goods, the author paid very little attention to Russia and Central Asia in connection with the politics of that time.

Although at that time there was still no general propaganda of the "Mongol invasion", the author did not have any documents about Russia and the countries of Central Asia, or most likely even then it was laid down to ignore and pass off all these peoples as "barbarians" and lower them on the steps of civilization below.

You can familiarize yourself with this book in the public domain at:

where on p. 420 - China, p. 241 - Kafa, Feodosia

From other, different sources, goods exported from Russia since the first century:

“Glorious in Russia Yaroslavl yuft, cowhide and cowhide, black, red and yellow morocco, goats, sheepskin.

Hemp, flax, raw silk, whale oil or lard, pressed and granular caviar, sturgeon, beluzhin, salmon, salmon, lard, resin, pitch, white and yellow wax, Pskov honey.

Vologda tallow candles and lard, Vologda made butter from seeds, flax and hemp from Novgorod.

Siberian squirrel, and other soft junk (fur) coming out of there, except for sables."