THE BEGINNING OF THE SILK ROUTE
The Silk Route was a chronicled trade route, operating from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. It extends from Asia to the Mediterranean, crossing China, India, Persia, Arabia, Greece, and Italy, because of the heavy silk trading that took place during that period, it was named the Silk Route, and this worthy fabric originated in China.
TRADE FACILITATION
Additionally, the route eased the trade of other fabrics, spices, grains, foodstuff, animal hides, wood and metal work, precious stones, and other items of value, the route comprises a group of trading posts and markets to help in the storage, transport, and trade, also called the Silk Road, travelers used camel or horse caravans and rested in guest houses or inn, they could stop at ports for fresh drinking water and trade opportunities along the Silk Route’s Maritime Route.
ZHANG QUIAN MISSION
The original Silk Route was settled by Zhang Quian during the Han Dynasty, a Chinese official and ambassador, who was seized and detained for 13 years on his first mission before breaking out and stalking other routes from China to Central Asia.
PREACHING OF RELIGIONS
The Buddhist and European monks’ missions were eased by The Silk Route and were involved in spreading Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and other religions all over the regions served by the routes.
REESTABLISHMENT OF THE SILK ROUTE
In 2013, China started to reinstate the historic Silk Route under president Xi Jinping with a $900 billion scheme called “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR), to improve China’s interconnectivity with more than 60 other countries in Asia, Europe, and East Africa.
The Silk Road Economic Belt is land-based to join China with Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe, whereas the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is sea-based, joining China’s southern coast to the Mediterranean, Africa, South-East Asia, and Central Asia.
SIGNIFICANCE OF SILK ROUTE
China considers the journey an important way to enhance its domestic growth. It also performs as a way to establish new trade markets for Chinese goods, providing the country with the cheapest and simplest way to transport materials and goods. It played a critical role in simplifying economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the East and West. The Silk Road is not an actual road nor a single path. The word instead refers to a system of routes used by traders for over 1,500 years.
LOCATION
The Silk Road expanded about 6,437 kilometers (4,000 miles) across some of the world’s most intimidating landscapes, involving the Gobi Desert and the Pamir Mountains.
NEGLIGENCE OF GOVERNMENT
The government did not provide maintenance, the roads were impoverished. Robbers were common. Traders joined together in caravans with camels or other pack animals to save themselves from them.
MARCO POLO’S ADVENTURE
One of the most renowned travelers on the Silk Road was Marco Polo. came into a family of well-off merchants in Venice, Italy, Marco traveled along with his father to China when he was a minor. They traveled for three years before appearing at Kublai Khan’s palace at Xanadu in 1275 C.E. Marco rested at Khan’s court and was addressed on a journey to parts of Asia that were never seen by the Europeans. After coming back, Marco Polo wrote about his experiences, making him — and the routes he traveled — popular.
OTHER PROVIDENCE AND THE DISEASES CAUSATION
It is difficult to exaggerate the significance of the Silk Road on record. Religion and proposals broaden along the Silk Road just as easily as goods. Towns along the route extended into multicultural cities. New technologies and innovations arose due to the exchange of information that would change the world. The horses introduced to China were granted to the force of the Mongol Empire, while gunpowder from China replaced the very nature of war in Europe and beyond, diseases also spread along the Silk Road. Some study indicates that the Black Death, which shattered Europe in the late 1340s C.E., probably traveled from Asia along the Silk Road.
The Age of research increased faster routes between the East and West, but parts of the Silk Road continued to be a critical track among varied cultures. Today, parts of the Silk Road are registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
