Trade
Babylon:
http://www.bible-history.com/babylonia/BabyloniaTrade.htm
Though farming was the main industry of the ancient Babylonian, trade was also an
integral part of their life and of Babylonian civilization. A king could not raise taxes
for some great war from poor peasants. Trade was the key to wealth. The kings knew
that to preserve their own wealth they had to promote trade. They supported the
merchants and would often ransom them if bandits or some hostile kingdom captured
them. By promoting trade a king could tax people.
For trade to flourish the trade routes had to be safe and protected from bandits.
Therefore it was good for trade when there were large stable empires. This is because
if there was one empire controlling the trade route there would be peace and security
because there would be no wars. This would mean greater prosperity.
If the trade routes were not secure and merchants were left to the mercy of bandits,
trade would be discontinued and a general decline in the prosperity of the area would
happen, as in 1000 BC, when throughout the Near East trade decreased.
Babylon became important in the Middle Eastern trade network. Not only were
traders taking exports out and bringing imports in, but also merchants were carrying
goods from places such as India, Europe, Persia, Anatolia and Egypt up the rivers
west and down the rivers east again. Nearly all of this merchandise was carried on
boats up and down the river. One important source of trade, which had declined by
the time of Hammurabi, was the Indus valley (India).
It was largely because of nations attempting to control position on the trade routes that
so many wars took place. There were other lucrative centers of commerce in the
ancient world.
Own ideas:
Farming was the main industry in ancient Babylon, though after this trade was the most
important. A king knew that trade could not be ended or else war would start as well as
hunger. A king also knew that he could not raise taxes to start a big war. Kings often helped
traders if they were captured by bandits.
How were different items for trade transported and secured?
Traders often used trade routes that were secured from bandits, often secured by a specific
kingdom.