History Homework this time!

The diet of nomads was very much dependent on their livestock and consisted primarily of milk products and meat. Any of the traditional nomadic animals--sheep, goats, yaks, and camel--would be milked and the milk used to make butter, yogurt (ayran) and qurut. Qurut is the dried round-shaped sour curds which could be consumed at times when when fresh milk products were not available, during winter, or at other times when food shortages resulted from droughts and severe weather conditions. Qurut could also be taken as "trail food" by those who might be away from the nomadic camp or on a military campaign. Qurut is crushed and boiled in water to make a healthy meal rich in calories and vitamins.

The demise of the Silk Road also owes much to the development of the silk route by sea. It was becoming rather easier and safer to transport goods by water rather than overland. Ships had become stronger and more reliable , and the route passed promising new markets in Southern Asia. The overland problems of `tribal politics' between the different peoples along the route, and the presence of middlemen, all taking their cut on the goods, prompted this move. The sea route, however, suffered from the additional problems of bad weather and pirates. In the early fifteenth century, the Chinese seafarer Zhang He commanded seven major maritime expeditions to Southeast Asia and India, and as far as Arabia and the east coast of Africa. Diplomatic relations were built up with several countries along the route, and this increase the volume of trade Chinese merchants brought to the area. In the end, the choice of route depended very much upon the political climate of the time.