Silk Road
Ancient trade route, linking China with the West
the route between the two great civilizations of Rome and China.
What was the Silk Road?
The Silk Road was an ancient trade route that linked the Western world with the Middle East and Asia. It was a major conduit for trade between the Roman Empire and China and later between medieval European kingdoms and China. Silk Road, actually the Silk Roads, was the vast trade networks developed over time according to shifting geopolitical contexts throughout history. For example, merchants from the Roman Empire would try to avoid crossing the territory of the Parthians, Rome’s enemies, and therefore took routes to the north instead, across the Caucasus region and over the Caspian Sea. Similarly, whilst extensive trade took place over the network of rivers that crossed the Central Asian steppes in the early Middle Ages, their water levels rose and fell, and sometimes rivers dried up altogether, and trade routes shifted accordingly. The great variety of routes were available to merchants transporting a wide range of goods and travelling from different parts of the world, by both land and sea. Most often, individual merchant caravans would cover specific sections of the routes, pausing to rest and replenish supplies, or stopping altogether and selling on their cargos at points throughout the length of the roads, leading to the growth of lively trading cities and ports. The Silk Roads were dynamic and porous; goods were traded with local populations throughout, and local products were added into merchants’ cargos. This process enriched not only the merchants’ material wealth and the variety of their cargos, but also allowed for exchanges of culture, language and ideas to take place along the Silk Roads. China also received Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism (from India) via the Silk Road.
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The Silk Road began over 2,100 years ago
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The total length of the Silk Road was about 4,000 miles (more than 6,400 km)
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Silk was introduced to the Roman Empire 1st century BCE
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the most famous Silk Road trader/explorer was Marco Polo
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The Silk Road was severed around 1368
The Great Wall Of China
Silk Road, also called Silk Route, ancient trade route, linking China with the West, that carried goods and ideas between the two great civilizations of Rome and China. Silk went westward, and wools, gold, and silver went east.
Originating at Xi’an (Sian), the 4,000-mile (6,400-km) road, actually a caravan tract, followed the Great Wall of China to the northwest, bypassed the Takla Makan Desert, climbed the Pamirs (mountains), crossed Afghanistan, and went on to the Levant; from there the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. Few persons traveled the entire route, and goods were handled in a staggered progression by middlemen.
Chinese Silk
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China Highlights
Regarded as an extremely high value product, silk was reserved for the exclusive usage of the Chinese imperial court for the making of cloths, drapes, banners, and other items of prestige. Its production technique was a fiercely guarded secret within China for some 3,000 years, with imperial decrees sentencing to death anyone who revealed to a foreigner the process of its production.
At some point during the 1st century BCE, silk was introduced to the Roman Empire, where it was considered an exotic luxury that became extremely popular, with imperial edicts being issued to control prices.
Marco Polo
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UNESCO
With the gradual loss of Roman territory in Asia and the rise of Arabian power in the Levant, the Silk Road became increasingly unsafe and untraveled. In the 13th and 14th centuries the route was revived under the Mongols, and at that time the Venetian Marco Polo used it to travel to Cathay (China).
It is now widely thought that the route was one of the main ways that plague bacteria responsible for the Black Death pandemic in Europe in the mid-14th century moved westward from Asia.
Silk Road Maps
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China Highlights
The term “Silk Road” is not limited to the one route the Polos followed, but rather, it is a network of routes that were established during the Han Dynasty, centuries before the Polos traveled, when China opened up trade with other countries in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and East Africa.
There were 5 “Silk Roads” from China. The main Silk Road went from China's capital through Central Asia to Europe, a southern branch went through the Karakorum mountains, a northern branch went into Russia and then west, the Tea Horse Road went through Tibet to India, and the "Maritime Silk Road" went via seas to the Middle East and Europe.
Not Just Silk
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HISTORY
Merchants on the silk road transported goods and traded at bazaars or caravanserai along the way. They traded goods such as silk, spices, tea, ivory, cotton, wool, precious metals, and ideas.