Discuss the relationship between trade and religion in the world of 1000 to 1200

Question

How did these factors interact? Which, if any, took precedence when they conflicted? Is the relationship between these factors the same today as it was then? How does this affect our view of the past?

Answer 1

Answers will vary but correct responses should include: Trade, warfare and religion were strongly connected in the world of 1000-1200 . In India in the Chola Kingdom the power, wealth, and ambitions of the Chola kings fused with those of the merchant communities on the coast to establish trade network. The religion of this area was connected with the success of the kingdom as Hindu temples became the kings' helpers in managing the state and the biggest beneficiaries of victories in war. These temples showed the grandeur of the Chola Empire and the reach of its power and trade. They were responsible for the shift of priorities toward agriculture and land-based wealth and turned Indian enterprise inward. In this case, religion was responsible for changing the view on trade in India. In Ethiopia, increased trade affected state-building and was fueled by religion.The new dynasty recovered political unity and began an internal crusade that was recorded in the lives of trailblazing frontier saints. The ideology of holy war seems to have taken hold as Gebre-Menfas-Qeddus challenged the surrounding Muslims and pagans to convert to Christianity. The spread of propaganda along trade routes represented Ethiopia as a holy place. In this example, trade helped religion spread and gain traction in the region. In Southeast Asia in the Khmer Kingdom, rhythms of its rise matched the growth of Indian Ocean trade. Its major city, Angkor, was laid out to evoke the divine design of the world common to Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. The spread and growth of religion and the change from Buddhism to Hinduism in this region reflected a broader trend of Buddhism spreading elsewhere along trade routes into East, Southeast, and Central Asia. The great leap of Latin Christendom, the renaissance or rebirth in art and thought that began after the year 1000, was possible because people in Western Europe found ways to cope and contend with relative isolation. In the late eleventh and twelfth centuries, pilgrimages, wars, and trade took Western Europeans in unprecedented numbers to the eastern Mediterranean, and brought them into contact with Islam and Eastern Christendom. We can see from these examples that trade and religion have an interactive relationship and often grow and spread together. This affects our view of the past as we begin to understand that while religion can inspire conflict and emotion and can overshadow aspects of trade, the development and sustainability of a region's economy is always a factor. This is true today as well as religion continues to travel through regions connected by trade and also affects their relationships as they strive to maintain economic sustainability.