| A MAP OF TIME |
|---|
| 430 B.C.E. | Trade-borne disease enters Greece from Egypt |
| 200 B.C.E.–200 C.E. | Initial flourishing of Silk Road commerce |
| By 1st century B.C.E. | Spread of Buddhism to Central Asian cities and northern China |
| Early centuries C.E. | Knowledge of monsoons enables expansion of Indian Ocean commerce |
| 300–400 C.E. | Beginning of trans-Saharan trade |
| 350 | All-water route opened between India and China |
| 6th century | Chinese monopoly on silk production broken |
| 7th century | Rise of Islam |
| 670–1025 | Srivijaya kingdom |
| 800–1300 | Khmer kingdom of Angkor |
| 1000–1500 | Swahili civilization along East African coast |
| 13th and 14th centuries | Mongol Empire revitalizes Silk Road commerce |
| 1250–1350 | Kingdom of Zimbabwe in southeastern Africa |
| 1275–1292 | Marco Polo in China |
| 1346–1350 | Black Death enters Europe via transcontinental trade routes |
| 1354 | Ibn Battuta visits West Africa |
| 15th century | Aztec and Inca empires facilitate commercial exchange in the Americas |