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→New Empires and Banking
For the next 2500 years after the initial rise of the Achaemenids, the Near East witnessed a succession of large states and empires, although most were not nearly as large as the Achaemendis. When Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Achaemenids in 333 BC, what is telling is how only a few states were created to cover all the land between Greece and India, Egypt, Arabia, the Caucusus, Iran, and Central Asia. In essence, much of this part of the world was now relatively united and trading actively.<ref>For a discussion on the Seleucids and their contermporaries, which succeeded Alexander the Great, see: Makowiec, Jadwiga, ed. 2011. ''New studies on the Seleucids.'' Wyd. 1. Electrum 18. Kraków: Wydawn. Uniw. Jagiellońskiego.</ref>
By the time of the Parthian (247 BC – 224 CE) king, Mithradates II, we now know of a Near Eastern king to have established political and diplomatic relations with a Chinese emperor, to whom the Parthian king sent an ambassador.<ref> For a discussions on the Parthians, see: Wolski, Joséf. 1993. ''L’empire des Arsacides''. Louvain: Peeters.</ref> This act paved the way for the establishment of long-distance trade contacts with China and laid the basis for the Silk Road along which silk was traded from China up to the Mediterranean, crossing Parthian lands. A maritime route was also opened through the Indian Ocean, perhaps facilitated by extension of Parthian control over the western shores of the Persian Gulf, though this extension is suggested by some mostly archaeological remains only.<ref>For further details on trade activities in this period see: Grajetzki, Wolfram 2011. ''Greek and Parthians in Mesopotamia and Beyond''. Bristol: Bristol Classical.</ref>In the 1st century AD, one would only have to travel through four countries to go from Britain to China. In short, the ancient world had become an early version of globalization. Products were now moving far and wide. Incense and silk were moving all across the Old World, while coins were now found in all of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.
==The Role of Money and Coinage in the Economy==
