The Buddhist faith, being well nourished and quite protected in the region, gave birth to many different sects, also well received in Central Asia. That was the widespread movement of mystery, peace, love, and the fairytales that little educated citizens of Central Asia really enjoyed. It was something to dream of. That gave them the sense of something really good being just around the corner and coming for you soon. After all, this was the leading religion of the continent. Of these, the “Pure Land” and the “Chan” (also known as Zen) sects were particularly strong and welcomed and even beyond China. They are both still flourishing in India, Indo-China, Japan, Europe, and America. Concepts of peace, love, and earth were so appealing to people with all kinds of background that foundation for religion became stronger surviving the turmoil of age, sex, station in life, distance, hardship, and hate. Wars and injustice scarred it, making even stronger and more acceptable by those who yearned love and peace. Love and peace were more desirable than war and hate too many people. Is not it true even now? Primitivism and the huge holes in the theory were not crucial for the average human trying to hide from his share of the daily problems. After all, life was not easy for anyone and at any time. Who could understand the holes in the theory if you could hardly understand the argument itself? It was so soothing, and that was most important. Buddhism, its philosophy, branches, and the gentleness of approach were well suited for scores of people, so it flourished and spread out.
Christianity also made an early, but a somewhat limited appearance on the scene, yet it was not the Roman Church. The Nestorian sect was outlawed in Europe by the Roman Church in 432 A.D., and its followers were driven eastwards. One could stay but had to give up the principles, and many did not like that. Many would rather die than to give up the beliefs, and many did. Nestorians had some fundamental disagreements with the ruling church doctrine giving more powers to men and limiting the importance of God. The Roman Church could not accept it without fighting, and the Nestorians lost. The Nestorians had to go and rather fast. They were few and with no money or power to speak of. What chance did they have fighting the machine of the organized religion that was supported by the Emperor? It was not clear if the Emperor really understood the difference or cared about, but Constantine was on the other side and how do you fight that. With what? Church of the time trying to survive and to gain the momentum could not allow any cracks in the united front of the teaching. The church was presenting itself as a united front. After all, it was the “True Religion with a True God,” and there could be only one interpretation of that. How else could you handle such complex issues as God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, the Apostles, and the doctrine itself? The theological revolts (there were a few) were put down with brute force not allowing any deviations from the mainstream or the “freethinking.” Even the writings of the opposition were destroyed, burnt to ashes. Who knows for sure what documents were burnt? Was there another Christianity, hidden from us, that we were not allowed to know? The theological deviations were considered the sacrilege by all in the mainstream. After the condemnation of Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, at the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), and his banishment, his disciples, fleeing for life, spread the “errors of Nestorius” through Asia. It went far and wide. They believed in doing God’s work even if they could be severely punished and even killed. That was the strength of the beliefs. The belief was extremely strong, and to the levels, we probably do not have now. So, they suffered and died but kept going farther and farther. Some documents and facts indicate that they reached China and were allowed to live there and preach Christianity in the Nestorian interpretation. That was the only part of the known world where tolerance was a common virtue. Did they reach any other areas, regions? We do not know for sure but most likely, yet not in numbers. From the religious point of view, the Silk Road culture was as multifaceted as was only possible at the time. Still, there were many different religions and beliefs. Some were easy to understand and embrace, and some were quite difficult to swallow. Many religions were only cults, and some were violent. Yet, tolerance, including religion, was one of the cornerstones of the society thriving there. Everyone who came in peace was welcomed and could live in peace. It was not just the law but the widely accepted belief. “Peace be upon you and all you love and care about.” That’s what was preached there and by many, but not always followed. Still, we know that and respect. This probably was the best part of that society.
Mongols
The final shake-up that occurred along the Silk Road came from a completely different direction. It was not China, India, or the Arabs. It was not Western Europe that was still trying to figure out what the Silk Road was and combat the internal problems. That was not Eastern Europe that was shaking like life in the wind. That was the Nomads, the Mongols. The hordes from the grassland of Mongolia had overrun Asia and then Europe changing everything: people, countries, rulers, cultures, and religions. That was like the major surgery restructuring all civilizations along the road from the Mongolian steppes and to the West. Trade along the route was already adversely affected by the strife rapidly building up between the Christian and the Muslim worlds. Now, came the Mongols introducing the new twist.
The Crusades did not make these relations any better but had brought the Christian world a little nearer Central Asia. But, the unified Muslim armies under Saladin drove them back again and again, defending the realm. Blood was flowing freely on both sides and for a while already. In the Fourth Crusade, the forces of Latin Christianity scored a triumph over their Muslim rivals with the bloody capture of Constantinople (present Istanbul). As a result, Islam suffered a tremendous and excruciating defeat. However, it was not the Christians who finally split the Muslim world but the unknown Mongol hordes from the East. While Europe and Western Asia were torn by religious differences, the Mongols had only a simple framework of spiritual beliefs and that helped them to unite on many levels. And, other Nomads were joining them at will. Religion was the only tradition for them and never a fervent obligation. In their philosophy, Gods served them more than they served gods. That was the prevailing trend among the Nomads. Then, several of the tribes from Turkistan launching the offensives westwards towards Persia and Arabia, came to adopt Islam. As a result, Islam started to spread out far away across Central Asia but had not reached as far as the tribes wandering the vast grasslands of Mongolia and Kazakhstan. The foreign God, Allah, was still unknown to them when they started to see the world ready and ripe for taking. The riches were the attraction and not the religion. It was quite questionable if they even thought about faith. The hordes of the Nomad people from so many tribes, national groups, and even nations, swelled to the wave that could not be stopped if it rolled over the world. The world had to unite first to resist, but it did not even see the problem yet. The world was looking the other way fighting the wasteful crusades and among themselves for better pieces of the pie. Well, pies were not that many around because everyone was concentrating on fighting and not on producing the pies. Often, they were fighting for any piece of the pie, just to be at the table. Brother was killing a brother and son was killing the father and often just for the crumbs of the pie. And, that was a hard piece of the pie no matter how you slice it. Loyalty and the kinship were doubly important, but the riches were.