factbase-ancient-history/trade-routes/silk-road.md

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# 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

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- [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.