What was the best form of trade during medieval warfare?

The most legendary of these trade routes was the Silk Road. However, the Silk Road is not a product of the Middle Ages; for its roots go back thousands of years to ancient China and Central Asia. During the Middle Ages, the Silk Road was revived after a few hundred years of inactivity mainly due to to the Islamic Caliphates, who ruled over large swaths of Central Asia and the Middle East. But the renewal of this ancient route was provoked by the most fear hordes of Mongols lead by Genghis Khan who destroy Central Asian states along his path and continue his drive into the Middle East and Europe. His trail of destruction ended the Caliphates and their dominance and reopened the Silk Route for Eastern goods which were popular among the courts of Europe but had no relevance for the Mongolian nomadic lifestyle that had little use for material goods.

As Mongol control of Central Asia declined in the mid-14th century it also caused the Silk Route to decline again as the political fragmentation made trade along the route very dangerous and costly for the 4,000-mile long journey. The rebirth of an Islamic state in the Middle East as the Ottoman Empire signaled the end of major trading along the Silk Road for the period.

In recent time the Chinese have completed rail tracks for a luxurious 21 day rail trip between Beijing and Moscow through Central Asia reviving once again this hardy road. The Silk Road is also known as the Silk Route, which is not a single road, but a network of historical trade routes across Asia from China to Europe. Also, it follows the footsteps of such legendary figures as Alexander the Great and Marco Polo as it winds across 5 countries through areas only accessible by train.

Indian Ocean Trade

As important as the Silk Road was, it did not represent the only means for trade in the Middle Ages and for vast distances in Southern Asia, the traders and merchants of the Middle Ages looked to the sea for their needs. Indian Ocean trade was one of the most dynamic trading routes of the Middle Ages, bridging the city-states of East Africa in the west to the seaboards of the Middle East, India, China, and Southeast Asia.

The Indian Ocean trade depended heavily on the sailing winds of the monsoons in the Indian Ocean, that changed directions seasonally. This allowed merchants and traders to sail in one direction during the spring and summer months and return home during the fall and winter months. The dependability of these winds encouraged an enormous amount of trade, with everything from slaves to timber to spices being traded east and west. Sailing trade winds in the Mediterranean were also extensible use and known as the Sirocco which is a hot and humid southeast to southwest winds originating in the hot, dry desert-air over Northern Africa and flowing northward into the southern Mediterranean basin. In opposite direction flows the Mistral which is a strong, cold, northwesterly wind that blows from southern France into the Gulf of Lion in the northern Mediterranean, with sustained winds often exceeding 66 km/h (41 mph), sometimes reaching 185 km/h (115 mph). These winds were also reliable with the seasons and could be use by sailors to steer their boats from one side of the Mediterranean to the other.

Other major influence in the Middle ages were church-sponsored wars which brought some benefit to Medieval Europe. For instance, the crusades allowed westerners to take advantage of the richer East for the first time since the days of ancient Rome. It also served as an outlet for Europe's youth and aggression as population exploded during the height of the Middle Ages (1050-1300 CE). Sending young men off to fight in a holy cause temporarily quiet down the internal wars that had afflicted the West since the collapse of the Roman Empire.

The crusaders tasted conquest and ignited in them a curiosity about adventure beyond Europe, which, in turn, helped to lay the foundation for the colonial period that followed. Columbus' expeditions three centuries later, mark the real onset of Western expansionism, arguably the single most significant development of the last millennium for conquest, colonialism and trade.

The revival of material culture came long before the so-called “European Renaissance." Farming techniques that reduced labor and increased yields became increasingly required and saw an adoption of changes in the period between 500 and 1200 that revolutionized agrarian production. While fertile Northern European soils could be brought under production for the first time. The range of processes and techniques driven by these new machines include sawing masonry, driving trip hammers, automated forge bellows, and other methods of production and enhancement of trade.

The resultant rise in production and standards of living from these technologies, combined with the end of the wars of invasion and promotion of greater political stability, facilitated an upswing in the later Middle Ages.