Centuries before freight ships and telecommunications , the far - flung corner of Eurasia were hook together by a meshing of trade routes know as the Silk Road . It ran from some 1,500 years from the second hundred BCE until the mid-15th hundred CE and became a staggeringly influential force in the modern world . After all , it was n’t just good that were ferry along these routes , but also ideas , multitude , and diseases .
What was the Silk Road?
As perUNESCO , its name stems from the luxurious textiles that are woven from the protein fibre of wild wilkworm , a process that was pioneer in China around 2700 BCE .
China kept silk a closely defend secret for M of age , even sentencing people to destruction if they unveil how to makesilk goodsto a foreigner . However , their secrets started to spill and noesis of silk production leak into India and Japan .
The initial foundations for the Silk Road were laid by the elaboration of China ’s Han Dynasty into Central Asia in the 2nd century BCE . This prompted China to broadcast out an envoy to this undiscovered and " untamed " part of the creation to gain data , as well as find potential trading married person and ally . The person in charge of this mission was General Zhang Qian who is sometimes considered as the " innovator of the Silk Road " .
A simplified map of the historical Silk Road. Image credit: Dimitrios Karamitros/Shutterstock.com
Also around this time , in the first C BCE , theRoman Empirewas emerging as a global world power that just so chance to have taste for silk , viewing it as a must - have “ alien ” accessary .
Where was the Silk Road?
TheSilk Roadconsisted of legion route that stretched from East Asia , across the Indian subcontinent , Central Asia , the Middle East , and East Africa , and ended in Europe . The legion paths took slightly different routes , but the whole road about cross around 6,400 kilometers ( 4,000 land mile ) .
This included some rough terrain that were previously annul by travelers and tradespeople , such as the Gobi Desert and the Pamir Mountains . The promise of riches changed this and the itinerary part to attract middleman and opportunists , finally giving rise to a chain of small settlements and trading posts along the means .
What was traded along the Silk Road?
Silk kickstarted the trade path , but East Asia was also keen on ship out other fine goods , such as teatime , dyes , essence , spices , and porcelain . Likewise , Europe was experience to export commodities to Asia , let in art , honey , wine , animal skins , pelt , and precious metal .
Arguably the most of import goods to be exported out of China were paper and powder . While paper held the potential to change the way selective information and knowledge were fan out , gunpowder would go on to revolutionize warfare , ultimately changing the trajectory of world chronicle ( for better or worse ) .
It was n’t all fine wine-coloured and beautiful clothes , though . Scientists have foundevidence thatparasitic infections , such as the Chinese liver good fortune ( Clonorchis sinensis ) , were also being " traded " across the Silk Road among the people of Eurasia .
The trade route may have evenplayed a rolein the feast of the Black Death in the 1300s , helping the pathogen trip out of distant Central Asia towards Europe , culminate in the deaths of 75 to 200 million citizenry .
Why was the Silk Road so important?
Ideas , culture , and people also flowed backward and forwards across the Silk Road . For the first time , people across Eurasia were becoming peril to a wealth of fresh estimation and religions . Buddhism spread from India into China , while Christianity and Islam flourished across Eurasia .
One of the most famous Europeans to trip the Silk Road was Marco Polo ( 1254 - 1324 ) , a Venetian merchant who documented his travels across the Middle East , Central Asia , and China . Although he was n’t the first person from Europe to visit this part of the world , his writings are held up as one of the early European insights into East Asian culture .
The Silk Road continued to flourish until the Middle Ages , even surviving a radar target in activity around the Black Death and the Mongol conquests in the 14th century CE .
By the 15th century CE , the Silk Road ultimatelymet its end . The Ottoman Empire was gaining power and managed to block the corridor between Europe and Asia , essentially marking an conclusion to the flourishing trade wind across the continent .
Meanwhile , the empires of Europe were ramping up their efforts through theAge of Discovery . New knowledge and technology were allowing Europeans to reach India , China , and beyond without the need for the Silk Road .
The resplendency days of the Silk Road were over , but its bequest was undeniably profound . Even today , it persist in toinspire cultureand geopolitics . China is currently working on the so - calledBelt and Road Initiative , which looks to rest down substructure that will appropriate easier trade between China , the rest of Asia , Europe , and Africa . Given the vast ambition of this project and its potential to shape the world , it ’s been dub the " New Silk Road " .
