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perfume, and sandalwood from India is being loaded with ceramics, glassware, and engraved copper dishes to take back to India. A one-humped dromedary loaded with olive oil spits at a passerby who has come too close. A trader offers lapis lazuli from, Afghanistan to a merchant headed to Egypt where the stone is highly valued, while a pickpock- et tries to rob the distracted merchant. In the bazaar, Buddhists mingle with Zoroastrians, Nestorian Christians, and Muslims. Business is conducted in a dozen languages. Turks trade with Indians. Chinese trade with Greeks, and Egyptians trade with Uzbeks. Language, ethnicity, and tribal allegiance are not important so long as there is a chance to make a profit. A skilled and lucky trader can become fabulously wealthy. Buildings surround the central square. A few are built in the old style using square bricks, but most are made of the oblong bricks introduced by the Greeks after Alexander the Great conquered the city in 329 BCE . Beyond the build- ings, a complex system of irrigation canals supplies the city

Words to Understand in This Chapter

barter— to exchange things for other things instead of buying and selling using money. city-state— an urban area protected by walls that had its own ruler. resin— a sticky semi-solid substance similar to pine pitch that oozes out of some trees when their bark is cut. tribute— protection money; money paid to keep from being attacked.

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Global Trade in the Ancient World