Page 1 - LN-sub topic 2-The story of the Silk Route
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SAI INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL

                                                    SUBJECT HISTORY
                                                   CLASS VI (2020-21)
                                         CH- 9 TRADERS, KINGS AND PILGRIMS
                                                        MODULE-2
                                                      LESSON NOTES


               The story of the             Raw silk has to be extracted from the cocoons of
               Silk Route                     silkworms, spun into thread and then woven into cloth.
                                            China first invented the technique of making silk.
                                            The paths followed by people from China  to carried silk
                                              came to be known as the Silk Route.
                                            Chinese rulers sometimes sent gifts of silk to rulers in Iran
                                              and West Asia, due to which the knowledge of silk spread
                                              further west.
                                            The Silk route was controlled by the Kushanas,
                                            Their two major centres of power were Peshawar and
                                              Mathura. Taxila was also included in their kingdom.
                                            During their rule, a branch of the Silk Route extended from
                                              Central Asia down to the seaports at the mouth of the river
                                              Indus, from where silk was shipped westwards to the
                                              Roman Empire.



               The Spread of                Kanishka was the most famous Kushana ruler, who
               Buddhism                       organised a Buddhist council, where scholars met and
                                              discussed important matters.
                                            Ashvaghosha, a poet who composed a biography of the
                                              Buddha, the Buddhacharita.
                                            Mahayana Buddhism, a new form of Buddhism and The
                                              older form of Buddhism, was known as Theravada.
                                            Bodhisattvas were supposed to be persons who had
                                              attained enlightenment. They remained in the world to
                                              teach and help other people.
                                            Buddhism also spread southeastwards, to Sri Lanka,
                                              Myanmar, Thailand, and other parts of Southeast Asia
                                              including Indonesia.
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