Silk Routes

Silk Road
Main routes of the Silk Road
Route information
Time period:	Around 120 BCE – 1450s CE
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv, vi
Designated	2014 (38th session)
Reference no.	1442
Region	Asia-Pacific

Silk Road
"Silk Road" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	絲綢之路
Simplified Chinese	丝绸之路
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sīchóu zhī lù IPA [sɨ́.ʈʂʰǒu ʈʂɨ́ lû] other Mandarin Xiao'erjing صِ چِوْ جِ لُ Wu Suzhounese Sy-zǿy tsyu lôu Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Sī-chàuh jī louh Jyutping Si1-cau4 zi1 lou6 Southern Min Tâi-lô Si-tiû tsi lōo
Persian name
Persian	(Jâdeye Abrišam) جاده‌ی ابریشم
Arabic name
Arabic	(Tarīq al-Aḥrīr) طريق الحرير
Armenian name
Armenian	Մետաքսի ճանապարհ (Metaksi chanaparh)
Greek name
Greek	Δρόμος του μεταξιού (Drómos tou metaxioú)
Sanskrit name
Sanskrit	रेशम सड़क (Resham sadak)
Latin name
Latin	Via Serica
Hebrew name
Hebrew	דרך משי
Somali name
Somali	وادادا وادادا (Waddada Waddada)
Kawi name
Kawi	Sutra dalan
Tamil name
Tamil	பட்டு வழி (Paṭṭu vaḻi)
Turkish name
Turkish	İpek yolu

The Silk Road or Silk Route was an ancient network of trade routes that were for centuries central to cultural interaction originally through regions of Eurasia connecting the East and West and stretching from the Korean peninsula and Japan to the Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road concept refers to both the terrestrial and the maritime routes connecting Asia and Europe. The overland Steppe route stretching through the Eurasian steppe is considered the ancestor to the Silk Road(s).

While the term is of modern coinage, the Silk Road derives its name from the lucrative trade in silk (and horses) carried out along its length, beginning during the Han dynasty (207 BCE – 220 CE). The Han dynasty expanded Central Asian sections of the trade routes around 114 BCE, largely through missions and explorations of the Chinese imperial envoy, Zhang Qian. The Chinese took great interest in the safety of their trade products and extended the Great Wall of China to ensure the protection of the trade route.

Trade on the Silk Road played a significant role in the development of the civilizations of China, the Goguryeo kingdom (Korea), Japan, the Indian subcontinent, Persia, Europe, the Horn of Africa and Arabia, opening long-distance political and economic relations between the civilizations. Though silk was certainly the major trade item exported from China, many other goods were traded, as well as religions, syncretic philosophies, and various technologies. Diseases, most notably plague, also spread along the Silk Routes. In addition to economic trade, the Silk Road was a route for cultural trade among the civilizations along its network.