# Silk Road # Silk Road ## Overview The Silk Road was a network of overland trade routes connecting China to the Mediterranean world, facilitating the exchange of goods, ideas, religions, and technologies for over 1,500 years. ## Key Facts - Period: ~130 BCE – ~1450 CE (ancient period focus: ~130 BCE – ~400 CE) - Length: ~6,400 km (main route) - Named by: Ferdinand von Richthofen (1877) - Key goods: Silk, spices, gold, glass, horses, precious stones ## Route - Eastern terminus: Chang'an (Xi'an), China - Western terminus: Rome, Antioch, Constantinople - Key waypoints: Dunhuang, Kashgar, Samarkand, Merv, Ctesiphon, Palmyra - Crossed the Taklamakan Desert, Pamir Mountains, and Iranian Plateau [^1] ## Cultural Exchange - Buddhism spread from India to China via the Silk Road - Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam traveled eastward - Technologies transferred: Papermaking, gunpowder (later), glassmaking - Diseases also spread, possibly including plague [^2] ## Key Periods - Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE): Zhang Qian's missions opened the route (~130 BCE) - Kushan Empire (1st–3rd century CE): Facilitated trade across Central Asia - Roman demand for Chinese silk drove trade westward --- [^1]: Hansen, V. *The Silk Road: A New History* (Oxford, 2012) [^2]: Frankopan, P. *The Silk Roads: A New History of the World* (2015) --- ## Review Queue - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Period: ~130 BCE – ~1450 CE (ancient period focus: ~130 BCE – ~400 CE)" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Length: ~6,400 km (main route)" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Named by: Ferdinand von Richthofen (1877)" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Key goods: Silk, spices, gold, glass, horses, precious stones" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "Eastern terminus: Chang'an (Xi'an), China" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Western terminus: Rome, Antioch, Constantinople" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Key waypoints: Dunhuang, Kashgar, Samarkand, Merv, Ctesiphon, Palmyra" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Crossed the Taklamakan Desert, Pamir Mountains, and Iranian Plateau [^1]" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 22: "Buddhism spread from India to China via the Silk Road" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam traveled eastward" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Technologies transferred: Papermaking, gunpowder (later), glassmaking" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Diseases also spread, possibly including plague [^2]" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 28: "Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE): Zhang Qian's missions opened the route (~13..." - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 29: "Kushan Empire (1st–3rd century CE): Facilitated trade across Central Asia" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 30: "Roman demand for Chinese silk drove trade westward" - when was this true? > Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Period: ~130 BCE – ~1450 CE (ancient period focus: ~130 BCE – ~400 CE)" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Length: ~6,400 km (main route)" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Named by: Ferdinand von Richthofen (1877)" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Key goods: Silk, spices, gold, glass, horses, precious stones" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 16: "Eastern terminus: Chang'an (Xi'an), China" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Western terminus: Rome, Antioch, Constantinople" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Key waypoints: Dunhuang, Kashgar, Samarkand, Merv, Ctesiphon, Palmyra" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 22: "Buddhism spread from India to China via the Silk Road" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam traveled eastward" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Technologies transferred: Papermaking, gunpowder (later), glassmaking" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 28: "Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE): Zhang Qian's missions opened the route (~13..." - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 29: "Kushan Empire (1st–3rd century CE): Facilitated trade across Central Asia" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 30: "Roman demand for Chinese silk drove trade westward" - what is the source? > Hansen (2012) [^1], Frankopan (2015) [^2] - [x] `@q[stale]` Line 19: "Crossed the Taklamakan Desert, Pamir Mountains, and Iranian Plateau [^1]" - Hansen source from 2012 may be outdated, is this still accurate? > Scholarship remains current. Hansen's work on Silk Road history is still authoritative. - [x] `@q[stale]` Line 25: "Diseases also spread, possibly including plague [^2]" - Frankopan source from 2015 may be outdated, is this still accurate? > Scholarship remains current. Frankopan's work on Silk Road connections is still foundational.