6.8 KiB
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) @t[130 BCE..1450]
- 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) @t[206 BCE..220]
- Kushan Empire (1st–3rd century CE): Facilitated trade across Central Asia
- Roman demand for Chinese silk drove trade westward
Review Queue
@q[temporal]Line 10: "Period: ~130 BCE – ~1450 CE (ancient period focus: ~130 BCE – ~400 CE)" - when was this true?
130 BCE event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 11: "Length: ~6,400 km (main route)" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 12: "Named by: Ferdinand von Richthofen (1877)" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 13: "Key goods: Silk, spices, gold, glass, horses, precious stones" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 16: "Eastern terminus: Chang'an (Xi'an), China" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 17: "Western terminus: Rome, Antioch, Constantinople" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 18: "Key waypoints: Dunhuang, Kashgar, Samarkand, Merv, Ctesiphon, Palmyra" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 19: "Crossed the Taklamakan Desert, Pamir Mountains, and Iranian Plateau 1 " - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 22: "Buddhism spread from India to China via the Silk Road" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 23: "Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam traveled eastward" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 24: "Technologies transferred: Papermaking, gunpowder (later), glassmaking" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 25: "Diseases also spread, possibly including plague 2 " - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 28: "Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE): Zhang Qian's missions opened the route (~13..." - when was this true?
206 BCE event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
@q[temporal]Line 29: "Kushan Empire (1st–3rd century CE): Facilitated trade across Central Asia" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[temporal]Line 30: "Roman demand for Chinese silk drove trade westward" - when was this true?
Historical event. Attested by Hansen (2012) 1 ; Frankopan (2015) 2 .
@q[missing]Line 10: "Period: ~130 BCE – ~1450 CE (ancient period focus: ~130 BCE – ~400 CE)" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 11: "Length: ~6,400 km (main route)" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 12: "Named by: Ferdinand von Richthofen (1877)" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 13: "Key goods: Silk, spices, gold, glass, horses, precious stones" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 16: "Eastern terminus: Chang'an (Xi'an), China" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 17: "Western terminus: Rome, Antioch, Constantinople" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 18: "Key waypoints: Dunhuang, Kashgar, Samarkand, Merv, Ctesiphon, Palmyra" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 22: "Buddhism spread from India to China via the Silk Road" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 23: "Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam traveled eastward" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 24: "Technologies transferred: Papermaking, gunpowder (later), glassmaking" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 28: "Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE): Zhang Qian's missions opened the route (~13..." - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 29: "Kushan Empire (1st–3rd century CE): Facilitated trade across Central Asia" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 30: "Roman demand for Chinese silk drove trade westward" - what is the source?
@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.
@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.