Before the Silk Roads, women were viewed as inferior to men and patriarchy was common in most cities. When silk became popular, women were assigned tasks to produce silk and craft items to be traded. Since these items were in such high demand, women had a more important place in the social hierarchy. In social caste systems, women and merchants were the lowest rank in most countries (along with slaves) in the second wave civilizations. In the third wave, this changed due to the silk road and other trade routes. Merchants were thought of as less important because their success depended on other’s work and this was frowned upon. With the Silk Road, merchants were needed for the transportation. The Silk Road gave merchants and women a higher ranking in society due to the desire of luxury