Trade amidst Turmoil: Analyzing the Impact of Conflict on transnational Commerce during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)

The Han Empire’s (206 BCE–220 CE) duration eclipsed that of any other ‘Chinese’ dynasty. It shared its northern borders with the Xiongnu Empire and became one of the pillars of the Silk Roads. This thesis studies the international trading relations of the Han Empire and whether this was impacted by the internal and/or external conflicts that the Han Empire engaged in. Cases of foreign goods unearthed from Han contexts include foreign ornaments made from various materials that reached Han tombs at Hepu through the Maritime Silk Road, and Xiongnu belt plaques uncovered from Western Han royal tombs. These are studied alongside Han bronze mirrors and Han lacquerwares found in respectively Xiongnu burials in Mongolia, and a Kushan site in Afghanistan. Trends that emerge from these case studies show that international trade gained momentum during the reign of Emperor Wudi (r. 141–87 BCE), which was characterized by expansionist policies, and continued throughout the later Western Han...Show moreThe Han Empire’s (206 BCE–220 CE) duration eclipsed that of any other ‘Chinese’ dynasty. It shared its northern borders with the Xiongnu Empire and became one of the pillars of the Silk Roads. This thesis studies the international trading relations of the Han Empire and whether this was impacted by the internal and/or external conflicts that the Han Empire engaged in. Cases of foreign goods unearthed from Han contexts include foreign ornaments made from various materials that reached Han tombs at Hepu through the Maritime Silk Road, and Xiongnu belt plaques uncovered from Western Han royal tombs. These are studied alongside Han bronze mirrors and Han lacquerwares found in respectively Xiongnu burials in Mongolia, and a Kushan site in Afghanistan. Trends that emerge from these case studies show that international trade gained momentum during the reign of Emperor Wudi (r. 141–87 BCE), which was characterized by expansionist policies, and continued throughout the later Western Han period into the 1st century CE. In the Eastern Han period (23–220 CE), which was more plagued by conflict than the earlier Western Han period, foreign goods in Han contexts see a decline while Han goods in foreign contexts cease to occur in the 2nd century CE. By placing these trends in the historical framework of the Han Dynasty, this thesis finds that the Han Empire’s foreign trading relations were more affected by the internal conflicts of the Han Dynasty, than by the external conflicts that the Han Empire engaged in.Show less

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Trade amidst Turmoil: Analyzing the Impact of Conflict on transnational Commerce during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)