Long-distance commerce acted as a motor of change in pre-modern world history in several ways:
1- Plants, animals and technology spread in several regions and areas
2- Long-distance commerce altered and changed the pattern of consumption
3- The spread of Buddhism and Islam
4- The increase in the gap between the rich and the poor
5- With the help of the means of social mobility, the traders became a distinct and well-known social group
6- The exchange led to the creation of more powerful states
7- The economic self-sufficiency of local societies decreased
8- Specialization was encouraged
9- Epidemic diseases spread faster beyond local regions, sometimes having devastating effects