27 Facts About Silk Road

Silk Road was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century.

Silk Road derives its name from the highly lucrative trade of silk textiles that were produced almost exclusively in China.

Silk Road trade played a significant role in opening political and economic relations between China, Korea, Japan, India, Iran, Europe, the Horn of Africa and Arabia.

The name "New Silk Road" is used to describe several large infrastructure projects seeking to expand transportation through many of the historic trade routes; among the best known include the Eurasian Land Bridge and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.

Silk Road derives its name from the lucrative trade in silk, first developed in China, and a major reason for the connection of trade routes into an extensive transcontinental network.

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The term "Jade Road" would have been more appropriate than "Silk Road" had it not been for the far larger and geographically wider nature of the silk trade; the term is in current use in China.

Silk Road was initiated and spread by China's Han dynasty through exploration and conquests in Central Asia.

Silk Road made reports on neighbouring countries that he did not visit, such as Anxi, Tiaozhi (Mesopotamia), Shendu (Indian subcontinent) and the Wusun.

Zhang Qian's report suggested the economic reason for Chinese expansion and wall-building westward, and trail-blazed the Silk Road, making it one of the most famous trade routes in history and in the world.

The Silk Road essentially came into being from the 1st century BCE, following these efforts by China to consolidate a road to the Western world and India, both through direct settlements in the area of the Tarim Basin and diplomatic relations with the countries of the Dayuan, Parthians and Bactrians further west.

Maritime Silk Road Route opened up between Chinese-controlled Giao Chi, probably by the 1st century.

Tang dynasty established a second Pax Sinica, and the Silk Road reached its golden age, whereby Persian and Sogdian merchants benefited from the commerce between East and West.

Silk Road represents an early phenomenon of political and cultural integration due to inter-regional trade.

The Silk Road reached its peak in the west during the time of the Byzantine Empire; in the Nile-Oxus section, from the Sassanid Empire period to the Il Khanate period; and in the sinitic zone from the Three Kingdoms period to the Yuan dynasty period.

Dybo noted that "according to historians, the main driving force of the Great Silk Road were not just Sogdians, but the carriers of a mixed Sogdian-Turkic culture that often came from mixed families.

Silk Road gave rise to the clusters of military states of nomadic origins in North China, ushered the Nestorian, Manichaean, Buddhist, and later Islamic religions into Central Asia and China.

Silk Road's tales, documented in The Travels of Marco Polo, opened Western eyes to some of the customs of the Far East.

Silk Road was not the first to bring back stories, but he was one of the most widely read.

Silk Road had been preceded by numerous Christian missionaries to the East, such as William of Rubruck, Benedykt Polak, Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, and Andrew of Longjumeau.

Silk Road trade continued to flourish until it was disrupted by the collapse of the Safavid Empire in the 1720s.

The land route of the Silk Road seems to remain a niche project in terms of transport volume in the future.

Maritime Silk Road follows the old trade route that was opened by the Chinese admiral Zheng He during the early Ming Dynasty.

At the beginning of the Maritime Silk Road are the major Chinese ports in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Ningbo-Zhoushan.

Route for caravans, the northern Silk Road brought to China many goods such as "dates, saffron powder and pistachio nuts from Persia; frankincense, aloes and myrrh from Somalia; sandalwood from India; glass bottles from Egypt, and other expensive and desirable goods from other parts of the world.

Notably, established Buddhist monasteries along the Silk Road offered a haven, as well as a new religion for foreigners.

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Transmission of Buddhism to China via the Silk Road began in the 1st century CE, according to a semi-legendary account of an ambassador sent to the West by the Chinese Emperor Ming.

Silk Road was a representation of art, serving as a religious symbol.