The Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires
The Roman Empire (27 B.C. – 476 A.D.)
The map shows the evolution of the Roman Empire (27 B.C. – 476 A.D.), from her genesis to her fall in 476 A.D. Her eastern part, the Byzantine Empire, survived for another 10 centuries, until Constantinople (Istanbul) fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 A.D.
http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4821916/Roman_Republic_Empire_map.gif
Map of the Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire ( 330 A.D. – 1453 A.D.)
The Byzantine Empire survived the fall of the Roman Empire and lasted for another 10 centuries, until Constantinople was fallen to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 A.D.
Map of the Byzantine Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire#/media/File:Justinian555AD.png
The Ottoman Empire (1299 B.C. – 1923 A.D.)
The following map shows the evolution of the Ottoman Empire, from its birth in 1300, to the replacement of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 with the conquer of Constantinople (Istanbul), to its peak in the period 1500-1650, to its destruction after World War 1 (1914-1918), and to the creation of the Turkish Republic as we know it today by Kemal Attaturk in 1923.
http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4224911/ottoman_empire_gif.gif
Map of the Ottoman Empire
http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/83/89983-004-C90ACD71.gif
The Greek-Persian Wars and the Silk Roads
The following map shows the Persian Empire at 500 B.C. It was the time that the Persians (Iranians) were trying to conquer Greece, launching two invasions during the period 500 B.C. – 450 B.C. In the first one they were defeated in Marathon, and in the second one they were defeated in Salamis. See “Greek-Persian Wars”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Persian_Wars
Map 1 Persian Empire
http://www.worldmapsonline.com/images/Cram/History/persian_empire.jpg
During the period of the Persian Empire, the trade routes were safe, and communications were highly developed. It was a great period for the Silk Roads and trade.
About two hundred years later, the Greek King Alexander the Great, invaded Persia from Macedonia. The decisive battle during Alexander’s invasion of Persia was the Battle of Gaugamela, near today’s city of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. After their defeat at Erbil the Persians were finished, and Alexander became the master of the Silk Roads. See “Battle of Gaugamela”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gaugamela
Map 2 Macedonian Empire 323 B.C.
http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/49/89949-004-3D198429.gif
In the 21st Century the Persians (Iranians) found again their way to the Mediterranean Sea, through their influence in Syria and Iraq. This time it is not the Greeks that will try to stop them, but an unholy alliance between the Arabs and the Turks. The Arabs and the Turks have a common interest to reduce the Persian (Iranian) influence over the Silk Roads, but each one of them wants greater control over the Silk Roads for himself. That’s why I call their alliance “unholy”.
Map 3 (Arabs+Turks) VS Iranians
