The chapter Silk Road is a travelogue written Nick
Middleton about his travel along the ancient trade route
called “ Silk Road ”
The Silk Road was a network of Eurasian trade routes
active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th
century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometres , it played a
central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and
religious interactions between the East and West.
The vast trade networks of the Silk Roads carried more than
just merchandise and precious commodities. In fact, the
constant movement and mixing of populations brought
about the widespread transmission of knowledge, ideas,
cultures and beliefs, which had a profound impact on the
history and civilisations of the Eurasian peoples.
Travellers along the Silk Roads were attracted not only by
trade but also by the intellectual and cultural exchange
taking place in cities along the Silk Roads, many of which
developed into hubs of culture and learning. Science, arts
and literature, as well as crafts and technologies were thus
shared and disseminated into societies along the lengths of
these routes, and in this way, languages, religions, and
cultures developed and in uenced one another. Similarly
Nick Middleton who is an Oxford professor as well as an
adventurer followed di cult terrain through the Silk Road
and reaches mount Kailash . The purpose of his journey
was to complete Kora , which was a sacred religious ritual
according to Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
Silk is a textile of ancient Chinese origin woven from the
protein bre produced by the silkworm as it makes its
cocoon. The cultivation of silkworms for the process of
making silk, known as sericulture, was, according to
Chinese tradition, developed sometime around the year
2,700 BCE. Regarded as an extremely high value product,
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silk was reserved for the exclusive usage of the Chinese
imperial court for the making of cloths, drapes, banners,
and other items of prestige. Its production technique was a
ercely guarded secret within China for some 3,000 years,
with imperial decrees sentencing to death anyone who
revealed to a foreigner the process of its production.
At some point during the 1st century BCE, silk was
introduced to the Roman Empire, where it was considered
an exotic luxury that became extremely popular, with
imperial edicts being issued to control prices. Silks
popularity continued throughout the Middle Ages, with
detailed Byzantine regulations for the manufacture of silk
clothes, illustrating its importance as a quintessentially royal
fabric and an important source of revenue for the crown.
Additionally, the needs of the Byzantine Church for silk
garments and hangings were substantial. This luxury item
was thus one of the early impetuses for the development of
trading routes from Europe to the Far East.
The map above illustrates the great variety of routes that
were available to merchants transporting a wide range of
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goods and travelling from different parts of the world, by
both land and sea.
Beyond Silk: a diversity of routes and cargos
These routes developed over time according to shifting
geopolitical contexts throughout history. For example,
merchants from the Roman Empire would try to avoid
crossing the territory of the Parthians, Rome’s enemies, and
therefore took routes to the north instead, across the
Caucasus region and over the Caspian Sea.
The history of maritime routes can be traced back
thousands of years, to links between the Arabian Peninsula,
Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilisation. The early
Middle Ages saw an expansion of this network, as sailors
from the Arabian Peninsula forged new trading routes
across the Arabian Sea and into the Indian Ocean. Indeed,
maritime trading links were established between Arabia and
China from as early as the 8th century CE. Technological
advances in the science of navigation, in astronomy, and
also in the techniques of ship building, combined to make
long-distance sea travel increasingly practical. Lively
coastal cities grew up around the most frequently visited
ports along these routes, such as Zanzibar, Alexandria,
Muscat, and Goa, and these cities became wealthy centres
for the exchange of goods, ideas, languages and beliefs,
with large markets and continually changing populations of
merchants and sailors.
Maritime silk route
Routes of Dialogue
Despite the Silk Roads history as routes of trade, the man
who is often credited with founding them by opening up the
rst route from China to the West in the 2nd century BC,
General Zhang Qian, was actually sent on a diplomatic
mission rather than one motivated by trading Sent to the
West in 139 BCE by the Han Emperor Wudi to ensure
alliances against Chinas enemies the Xingnu, Zhang Qian
was ultimately captured and imprisoned by them. Thirteen
years later he escaped and made his way back to China.
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General Zhang Qian
Pleased with the wealth of detail and accuracy of his
reports, the emperor then sent Zhang Qian on another
mission in 119 BCE to visit several neighbouring peoples,
establishing early routes from China to Central Asia.
These routes were also fundamental in the dissemination of
religions throughout Eurasia. Buddhism is one example of a
religion that travelled the Silk Roads, with Buddhist art and
shrines being found as far apart as Bamiyan in Afghanistan,
Mount Wutai in China, and Borobudur in Indonesia.
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and
Manichaeism spread in the same way, as travellers
absorbed the cultures they encountered and then carried
them back to their homelands with them. Thus, for example,
Hinduism and subsequently Islam were introduced into
Indonesia and Malaysia by Silk Roads merchants travelling
the maritime trade routes from the Indian Subcontinent and
Arabian Peninsula.
Travelling the Silk Roads
As trade routes developed and became more lucrative,
caravanserais became more of a necessity, and their
construction intensi ed across Central Asia from the 10th
century onwards, continuing until as late as the 19th
century. This resulted in a network of caravanserais that
stretched from China to the Indian subcontinent, Iranian
Plateau, the Caucasus, Turkey, and as far as North Africa,
Russia and Eastern Europe, many of which still stand today.
Maritime traders had different challenges to face on their
lengthy journeys. The development of sailing technology,
and in particular of ship-building knowledge, increased the
safety of sea travel throughout the Middle Ages. Ports grew
up on coasts along these maritime trading routes, providing
vital opportunities for merchants not only to trade and
disembark, but also to take on fresh water supplies, as one
of the greatest threats to sailors in the Middle Ages was a
lack of available drinking water. Pirates were another risk
faced by all merchant ships along the maritime Silk Roads,
as their lucrative cargos made them attractive targets.
Conclusion
Today, many historic buildings and monuments still stand,
marking the passage of the Silk Roads through
caravanserais, ports and cities. However, the long-standing
and ongoing legacy of this remarkable network is re ected
in the many distinct but interconnected cultures, languages,
customs and religions that have developed over millennia
along these routes. The passage of merchants and
travellers of many different nationalities resulted not only in
commercial exchange but in a continuous and widespread
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process of cultural interaction. As such, from their early,
exploratory origins, the Silk Roads developed to become a
driving force in the formation of diverse societies across
Eurasia and far beyond.
