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The Silk Road [a] was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. [1] Spanning over 6,400 km (4,000 mi), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds.
Prior to the Silk Road an ancient overland route existed through the Eurasian Steppe. Silk and horses were traded as key commodities; secondary trade included furs, weapons, musical instruments, precious stones (turquoise, lapis lazuli, agate, nephrite) and jewels. This route extended for approximately 10,000 km (6,200 mi). [6]
These were roadside stations which supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa, and southeastern Europe, and in particular along the Silk Road. Caravanserais provided water for human and animal consumption, for washing, and for ritual ablutions.
Centuries went by, civilizations, and dynasties were formed, prospered, or perished, but the route that linked the continents of Europe and Asia survived and expanded, becoming known as the Silk Road. [23] [24] The Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the civilizations of China, India, Ancient Egypt, Persia, Arabia, and ...
The Silk Road (red) and spice trade routes (blue).. The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe.Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in the Eastern World. [1]
The characteristic trade of silk through the Silk Road connected various regions from China, India, Central Asia, and the Middle East to Europe and Africa. The history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of several distinct peripheral coastal regions such as East Asia , South Asia , Southeast Asia and the Middle East linked by the ...
The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that connected many communities of Eurasia by land and sea, stretching from the Mediterranean basin in the west to the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago in the east.
Austronesian vessels dominated the long-distance maritime trade for much of the history of the Maritime Silk Road. [3]: 10 [41] Chinese ceramics are also valuable archaeological markers of the Maritime Silk Road due to their relative indestructibility and the fact that they can be precisely dated. They first entered Southeast Asia via the ...