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→New Empires and Banking
Given that we begin to see greater movement of trade, it is at this time we begin to see the rise of the great banking houses and investment firms. The best-known early banking family was the Murashu family, although others existed such as the Egibi family, which thrived in the 5th century BC. The Murashu family perhaps established one of the world’s oldest named firms, in essence “Murashu and Sons.” They had over 60 employees stationed in various cities across southern Mesopotamia and Elam in modern Southern Iraq and Southwest Iran respectively. The employees functioned similarly to local branch offices of the main Murashu firm. The company dealt with financing real estate, loans, and investing in agricultural projects. In addition, both poor citizens and the royal family appeared to do business with this family. Overall, more than 2000 individuals are known to have done business with this firm <ref> For a discussion on the Murashu firm see: Stolper, Matthew W. 1985. ''Entrepreneurs and Empire: The Muras̆û Archive, the Muras̆û Firm, and Persian Rule in Babylonia''. Uitgaven van Het Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut Te Istanbul = Publications de l’Institut Historique et Archéologique Néerlandais de Stamboul 54. Istanbul: Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul.</ref> While this is not considered investment banking in its true sense, the investing the firm did demonstrate that financial returns outside of typical banking were now forming that took advantage of new financial opportunities.
These opportunities came in the form of long-distance trade that began to connect much of the Old World. Trade now began to connect Europe, the Near East, and India more directly, allowing more wealth to be generated and investments to flourish at around the time of the Achaemenid Empire and later. This is made possible by the fact the Near East, in its totality, was unified into one single entity that spanned from Egypt to Anatolia and to the east in Turkmenistan and from the Caucuses to Saudi Arabia in the south (Figure 2). In essence, the rise of the super-state created new possibilities of cheaper trade, as routes became more secure and less complicated due to fewer entities controlling the vital trade routes.
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 (Figure 4). In addition to the overland trade routes, 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 mostly archaeological remains.<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. People from different cultures began to benefit from this trade and participate more actively. 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. Coinage, in the 6th century BC, had been a localized development found in the Eastern Mediterranean only, but by the 3rd century BC it was spread to much of Europe, the Near East, India, and China.
[[File:Zhang Qian.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 3. Painting showing the Chinese envoy Zhang Qian heading to Central Asia, where he eventually had contacts with the Parthians.]]
