Silk Road Case

The Silk Road or Silk Route was the ancient trade route linking China with the West. It carried silk and other goods between the great civilizations of Rome and China. The most global importance besides trade was probably the spread of ideas. Buddhism spread along the Silk Road. It originated in India and spread to China and other Asian lands. With the loss of Roman territory in the Middle East and the rise of Moslem power there the Silk Route became unsafe and less travelled. After 800 AD traffic decreased as traders began to travel by safer sea routes. This was especially true as the Ottoman Turkish Empire expanded to control the Middle East. During the 13th and 14th century the Mongols revived the Silk Road for a while.

The Silk Road was significant for the development of trade and the transference of ideas during the Age of Exploration.

The Silk Road interconnected series of routes through Southern Asia traversed by caravan and ocean vessel, and connecting Chang'an, China with Antioch, Syria, as well as other points.

The continental Silk Road diverges into North and South routes as it extends from the commercial centers of North China, the North route passing through the Bulgar-Kypchak zone to Eastern Europe and the Crimean peninsula, and from there across the Black Sea, Marmara Sea and the Balkans to Venice; the South Route passing through Turkestan-Khorasan, through Iran into Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and then through Antioch in Southern Anatolia into the Mediterranean Sea or through the Levant into Egypt and North Africa.