At the end of the Middle Ages, mainly during the15th century, merchants, artisans, and bankers from the North of Italy became very wealthy thanks to the connection to the Eastern trade routes that they had access to after the Crusades. They took advantage of their strategical position to exchange mainly spices, silk, gold, and other goods from the Middle East, India, and China and sell them to the rest of Europe. All this wealth granted them independence from feudal lords and from the Church and gave them a great economic and political power. They used this independence and power to satisfy their curiosity and their taste for fine arts.
Therefore, many families of bankers and merchants, like the Medici of Florence, became patrons of artists and scientists, who developed a totally new current of art and a new philosophical perspective. Architects like Brunelleschi, painters and sculptors like Michelangelo, and scientists and engineers like Leonardo Da Vinci, were inspired by the ancient Greek and Roman splendor in philosophy and arts in order to create a new artistic and humanistic movement: the Renaissance.
At the same time, the Renaissance was boosted by the marvels they got from the trade with Eastern markets: Arab astrolabes that allowed them to improve the navigation of the seas; gunpowder from China that permitted them to create new weapons; Persian medicine treaties; and inks to paint fine clothes, among other stuff. The Renaissance was the last period of the Middle Ages and the first stage of the modern era.
The persain empire was so vast the road connected in different location. they made trade easier and allowed government offices to travel between cities to collect taxes
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