Page 121 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol V

1898 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

victorious conqueror of Gaul, Caesar was extraordinar- Europe. Like Herodotus, Pliny recorded his first-hand
ily popular and in 46 BCE made himself dictator for life. observations of his travels in the world around him.
He sought to centralize the military and administration However, some parts of his work, such as his discussion
of Rome.When he was assassinated by disenfranchised on the “monstrous” races of the world outside of Europe,
members of the Roman elite in 44 BCE, his death again clearly had a basis in myth.
plunged Rome into civil war, which abated only with the
ascension of the nephew of Caesar, Octavian, later The World Outside of Europe in
known as “Augustus” (d. 14 CE). For the next two cen- the European Consciousness
turies the Roman empire expanded to its greatest extent Although Pliny’s account is not generally favorable
and integrated the distant lands of central Asia. toward non-Romans, his depiction of monstrous races
nonetheless sparked Europeans’ imaginations. Moreover,
Greek and Roman Travelers the sight of luxury goods—including Chinese silk, south-
Because the Roman empire was physically extensive— east Asian spices, Indian cotton textiles and pearls, and
about 4,800 kilometers from east to west—a system of central Asian horses and jade, which traversed the central
well-designed and engineered roads and bridges was Asian Silk Road—whetted Europeans’ appetite for
necessary for its successful administration. The Latin “exotic” items. The Romans, in turn, offered Asian mar-
adage omnes viae Romam ducunt (all roads lead to kets various products, including glassware, jewelry, art,
Rome) attested to the safe, well-maintained network of bronze, olive oil, wine, and gold and silver bullion.
roads that could permit a traveler to journey from the far- Merchants and diplomats who traversed the branches
thest regions of the empire to its heart. of the Silk Road recorded their observations. For in-
Additionally, Rome was a cosmopolitan empire, with stance, the detailed travel accounts of the diplomatic mis-
more than 50 million inhabitants, all of whom spoke var- sion of Zhang Qian (d. 113 BCE), recorded in Sima
ious languages, worshipped many local and imperial Qian’s Shiji (Historical Records, c. 100 BCE), provide
deities, and engaged in a plurality of customs. The east- extensive information about the peoples and lands of
ern provinces of the empire, where commerce and civi- Central Asia, Persia (modern Iran), and northern India.
lization flourished long before the Romans appeared, This connection between East and West was not perma-
had a historic cultural and cosmopolitan legacy, ensuring nent, however. The collapse of the Han dynasty (206
its popularity as a travel destination during antiquity. BCE–220 CE), compounded with near-contemporary
Greek epic poetry, such as Homer’s The Iliad and The third-century crises of the Roman empire, disrupted trade
Odyssey, written around 800 BCE, conveyed the sense of along the Silk Road.
excitement, but also danger, of travel. One of the earliest
travel narratives is that of the Greek historian Herodotus. An Early Medieval Pilgrimage
In his Histories, written around 440 BCE, Herodotus Travel Guide—The Codex
recorded his personal observations of his extensive travels Religion also motivated travelers. The pilgrimage was a
in the Mediterranean basin, visiting places such as Egypt, form of travel in which a person, as a form of devotion
the Black Sea, Scythia, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Cyrene, or penance, walked from his or her home to a shrine.
north Africa, and Anatolia (in modern Turkey). Ancient Located at the shrine were relics—bits of clothes and/or
Greek writers who probably traveled to India included body parts of saints, to whom the travelers could pray for
Ctesias (c. 398 BCE) and Megasthenes (c. 303 BCE). intercession.
Natural History (c. 77 CE) by the Roman writer Pliny One of the most popular pilgrimage routes for me-
was another travel account that influenced later Euro- dieval Christians led to the shrine of Santiago de Com-
peans’ perspectives concerning the world outside of postela, located in Galicia, the northwestern corner of the