The Silk Route is neither an bodily route nor a single road. The term instead refers to a network of routes used past traders for more than i,500 years, from when the Han dynasty of Prc opened trade in 130 B.C.E. until 1453 C.E., when the Ottoman Empire closed off merchandise with the West. German geographer and traveler Ferdinand von Richthofen first used the term "silk road" in 1877 C.E. to describe the well-traveled pathway of goods betwixt Europe and East asia. The term also serves as a metaphor for the exchange of goods and ideas between diverse cultures. Although the trade network is commonly referred to every bit the Silk Road, some historians favor the term Silk Routes because it better reflects the many paths taken by traders.

The Silk Route extended approximately vi,437 kilometers (iv,000 miles) across some of the earth's about formidable landscapes, including the Gobi Desert and the Pamir Mountains. With no one government to provide budget, the roads were typically in poor condition. Robbers were mutual. To protect themselves, traders joined together in caravans with camels or other pack animals. Over time, large inns called caravanserais cropped upwardly to house travelling merchants. Few people traveled the unabridged route, giving rise to a host of middlemen and trading posts along the style.

An abundance of goods traveled along the Silk Route. Merchants carried silk from Communist china to Europe, where it dressed royalty and wealthy patrons.  Other favorite commodities from Asia included jade and other precious stones, porcelain, tea, and spices. In exchange, horses, glassware, textiles, and manufactured goods traveled eastward.

One of the most famous travelers of the Silk Road was Marco Polo (1254 C.East. –1324 C.E.). Born into a family unit of wealthy merchants in Venice, Italy, Marco traveled with his father to Mainland china (and then Cathay) when he was just 17 years of age. They traveled for over three years before arriving at Kublai Khan'south palace at Xanadu in 1275 C.Eastward. Marco stayed on at Khan's court and was sent on missions to parts of Asia never earlier visited by Europeans. Upon his return, Marco Polo wrote about his adventures, making him—and the routes he traveled—famous.

It is hard to overstate the importance of the Silk Road on history. Faith and ideas spread along the Silk Road but as fluidly as goods. Towns along the route grew into multicultural cities. The commutation of information gave rise to new technologies and innovations that would modify the world. The horses introduced to China contributed to the might of the Mongol Empire, while gunpowder from China changed the very nature of war in Europe and across.  Diseases besides traveled forth the Silk Road. Some research suggests that the Black Death, which devastated Europe in the late 1340s C.E., likely spread from Asia along the Silk Road. The Age of Exploration gave rise to faster routes between the Eastward and W, but parts of the Silk Road continued to be critical pathways among varied cultures. Today, parts of the Silk Route are listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

The Silk Road

A tourist looks around the ancient city of Kharanaq, Iran. Towns such as these played a crucial role in the functioning and success of the Silk Route.

Age of Exploration

Noun

(1400s-1800s) period during which Europeans traveled the world past ocean in search of trade.

Black Death

Noun

(1345-1400) plague that devastated Europe, killing a quarter of the population.

caravan

Noun

grouping of people who travel together for safety and companionship through hard territory.

Noun

inn with a key courtyard often constitute in the desert that served travelers along the Silk Road in Asia and North Africa

metaphor

Noun

word or phrase used to represent something else, or an agreement of ane concept in terms of another concept.

silk

Noun

soft, strong cobweb spun by some moth larvae, spiders, and other animals.

textile

Substantive

cloth or other woven fabric.

trade route

Noun

path followed by merchants or explorers to exchange appurtenances and services.

Substantive

the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation.

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    Tyson Chocolate-brown, National Geographic Society

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    National Geographic Lodge

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    Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society
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    Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Gild
    Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

    Specialist, Content Production

    Clint Parks

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    André Gabrielli, National Geographic Order

    Last Updated

    July 26, 2019

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