{"id":12352,"date":"2023-06-06T05:55:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T05:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dorontash.com\/en\/?p=12352"},"modified":"2023-12-13T21:13:15","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T21:13:15","slug":"silk-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dorontash.com\/en\/silk-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Silk Road"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes that was established during the Han Dynasty in China and connected the Far East to the Middle East and Europe.<\/p>\n

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The Silk Road was a network of trade routes that connected the Far East with Europe and the Middle East.\u00a0The route of this road was established in China during the Han dynasty in 130 BC, and trade continued in it until 1453 AD.\u00a0Although a lot of time has passed since the prosperity of the Silk Road as an international road, in addition to the economic benefit, its route had a lasting impact on the history and culture of the nations that were on its way.<\/p>\n

\u00a0What is the Silk Road?<\/h2>\n

The Silk Road was considered one of the important historical highways that played an important role in establishing trade relations and mutual influences between different civilizations and cultures.\u00a0This road, which is also called the “Silk Road”, was a network of interconnected roads with commercial and economic purposes that connected East, West and South Asia to North Africa.\u00a0The route of the Silk Road is about 6,437 km, and some of its parts pass through the most formidable places in the world, such as the Gobi Desert and the Pamir Mountains.\u00a0This road is very famous in the world and it is more than 2,000 years old.\u00a0It is also known as a bridge between China and European, Asian and African countries, which has played a special role in foreign and economic exchanges between East and West.<\/p>\n

History of the Silk Road<\/h2>\n

The Silk Road was first established in the first century BC by the Han Dynasty in China.\u00a0At that time, this road started from China and after passing through Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Iran, it continued to Alexandria, Egypt in the west.\u00a0According to Chinese sources, “Wu”, the founder of\u00a0China,\u00a0 sent\u00a0a person named “Zhang Qian” who\u00a0was a court eunuch in 138 BC to discover unknown lands to the west of China.\u00a0He went on a journey with his slave and after passing through Gansu Province, he reached areas in Central Asia.\u00a0He stayed in the lands located in Central Asia for 10 years and intelligently investigated the economic and social conditions of the people of this land;\u00a0The lands that were in the hands of the Huns at that time.\u00a0After a thorough investigation, he fled to his country via Ferghana (now in Uzbekistan).<\/p>\n

Zhang Qian gave the Chinese court the report he made of the communication routes of the Huns.\u00a0The result of his research was China’s encampment to the western lands.\u00a0By attacking the lands of Central Asia, the Chinese opened the communication routes between China and the West and established an ancient road for trade, which later became known as the Silk Road.\u00a0This road was the link between China, Parthian Empire, India and Rome.<\/p>\n

The Silk Road was built at the same time as Mehrdad I Parthian kingdom in Iran.\u00a0With the establishment of this road, extensive economic relations were formed between the Parthian government and the Chinese government.\u00a0In 115 BC, Mehrdad II welcomed the Chinese trade delegation for the first time and concluded a treaty with the Han Empire.\u00a0In this agreement, the provision of facilities in international trade matters was emphasized, and a strong role was considered for Iran as a transit country.<\/p>\n

The Silk Road was established in the first century BC by the Han government in China<\/div>\n

In the trade relations between Iran and China during the Parthian period, onions and saffron were exported from Iran to China, and in return, peaches, apricots and silkworms were brought from China to Iran.\u00a0After that, they used this road to transport precious goods such as precious stones, silk and spices to the west.\u00a0The most goods transported on this road was silk.\u00a0For this reason, its name remained on the road.<\/p>\n

The Silk Road extended from the first century BC to the second century AD along the countries of “China” in East Asia, “Kushan” in Central Asia and North India, “Persia” in West Asia and “Rome” in Europe.\u00a0This commercial-communication highway was not always open due to the occurrence of war and the settlement of different ethnic groups, due to the political pressures of the neighboring nations;\u00a0Because the Parthians did not allow them to cross the road to compete with Rome.\u00a0These obstacles continued in the following periods according to the policies of other governments and sometimes made trade in this direction difficult;\u00a0Finally, with the discovery of the Silk Road, these obstacles were removed.<\/p>\n

The peak of prosperity of the silk road trade in Iran was during the Sassanid period.\u00a0The Sasanian Empire gained considerable wealth from the Silk Road trade.\u00a0They established a thriving trade by exchanging their products, such as carpets, stones, and expensive jewelry, for Chinese cloth, spices, and silk.\u00a0Collecting customs duties from caravans was very important and was considered the biggest source of government income.\u00a0This business continued in later periods as well;\u00a0But its prosperity was not so great.<\/p>\n

With the economic prosperity of the Silk Road, theft and insecurity also intensified.\u00a0Over time, in order to protect the property of merchants and to make the road more secure, caravanserais were built and used to accommodate itinerant commercial caravans.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Photo source: iranchamber.com<\/sub><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition to the economic benefits, the Silk Road had many cultural effects and caused the transmission of religious ideas from the East to the West and vice versa.\u00a0For example, the Silk Road played an important role in transforming Buddha’s teachings into a complex, doctrinal, diverse and practical school called “Buddhism”.<\/p>\n

From the 7th to the 9th century, trade between China and Western countries through the Silk Road was significantly boosted.\u00a0In this period, birds, rare animals, pearls, glassware, gold and silver coins, food, dance, music, western and central Asian clothes were imported to China, and Chinese silk, papermaking and printing techniques, porcelain, gunpowder and compasses were imported from this country. It was exported to other countries, which made a major contribution to the development of civilization in the world.<\/p>\n

Silk Road trade became very popular among European merchants from the 13th century.\u00a0The nature of this route, with the discovery of direct sea trade routes, connected European merchants with manufacturers in China and eliminated the role of middlemen in this economic and trade route.<\/p>\n

With the formation of the Mongol Empire, from the 12th to the 13th century, the trade of the Silk Road fell into the hands of the Mongols.\u00a0They made a lot of profit during this period.\u00a0The Marco Polo family did the most trade for the Mongols during this period and were the most famous merchants of the Mongol court with Europe.\u00a0With the decline of the Mongol Empire, the trade of the Silk Road fell into the hands of the Sogdians.\u00a0The Sogdians were Iranians who settled in the Trans-Nahar region, in Central Asia (present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan).\u00a0They formed a caravan and traveled from China to Central Asia and Iran.<\/p>\n

The Silk Road reached its peak of prosperity during the Sassanid period, and it declined with the conquest of Constantinople in 1453.<\/div>\n

The Byzantine Empire and its capital, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) played a prominent role in the Silk Road trade.\u00a0The merchants of Constantinople procured various goods, including silk, from the East and imported them to Byzantium, which was very popular with the people of this land.\u00a0The ruling governments of Byzantium were trying to eliminate their dependence on the Persians so that they could exchange significant amounts of gold and precious stones through the Silk Road.\u00a0The Silk Road worked for the Byzantine government until the attack of Sultan Muhammad Fatih, the Ottoman emperor, on the Byzantine government and the conquest of Constantinople in 1453;\u00a0But the Ottoman Empire, after conquering Constantinople, ended the trade relationship with the West.<\/p>\n

By conquering Byzantium, the Ottoman Empire took control of the western end of the Silk Road and by imposing heavy taxes on the goods that passed through this road and enforcing strict religious rules on the merchants of this road, it created barriers to the trade of the road, which eventually led to its closure. became it;\u00a0Because the sea route of the Silk Road was better and easier for the Europeans than the land route.<\/p>\n

The Silk Road was considered the most important trade route in the world from 130 BC to 1453 AD;\u00a0But with the passage of time and the expansion of industry, technology and making big changes, as well as the production of silk all over the world, this road gradually lost its effectiveness.<\/p>\n

The isolationist policies of the Ming dynasty\u00a0in\u00a0China at the end of the 14th century dealt the final blow to the decline of the Silk Road.\u00a0Throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties, China avoided trade with the rapidly advancing West and became a country with ever more repressive laws;\u00a0Finally, he issued an order to stop the flourishing and extensive trade on the Silk Road.\u00a0On the other hand, Italy became the most important supplier of silk in Europe.\u00a0Since then, some of the Silk Road’s side routes in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India were also usable until the beginning of the 21st century.<\/p>\n

Caravanserai left over from Safavid Iran were built along the Silk Road<\/div>\n

Merchants, travelers and caravans traveling the Silk Road needed places to rest and recuperate.\u00a0Iranian kings, especially Shah Abbas I of Safavid, mostly benefited from the sea route of silk trade;\u00a0But he built caravanserais to accommodate travelers on the side of the roads for merchants.\u00a0The remains of some of these caravanserais, which are considered to be the main elements of Iranian architecture, are still available.\u00a0Historical markets were other relics of the Silk Road, the center of trade and exchange of goods by merchants and were built in cities such as Tabriz, Kerman, Yazd and Isfahan, where the main roads of the Silk Road passed by.<\/p>\n

The Silk Road in Iran also lost its prosperity after the Safavid period.\u00a0In addition to the effects of the Ottoman rule on Constantinople and the policies of the Ming government, other factors also played a role in the gradual decline of the ancient Silk Road.\u00a0Lack of security, war, bandits, the emergence of new technologies and people’s efforts to produce goods and items that were previously imported to their countries through the Silk Road are examples of these cases.<\/p>\n

Advances in technology and innovations in transportation led to cost-effective vehicles that significantly reduced the role of the Silk Road.\u00a0Also, with the production of tea, this product became the main competitor of silk in the world and pushed silk out of economic prosperity.\u00a0On the other hand, the speed of progress in transportation systems and the formation of the railway industry in connecting countries to each other made governments unnecessary from the Silk Road.<\/p>\n

iran handicrafts<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>The reason for naming the Silk Road<\/h2>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Photo source: history.com<\/sub><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most famous commodity that was exchanged for several centuries in the network of trade routes between the Far East and Africa and Europe was “silk”.\u00a0For this reason, the name of this route became known as “Silk Road”.\u00a0Silk was produced in China and the areas close to it in the East and was considered one of the most expensive traded goods.\u00a0In addition to economic benefits, this road also played an effective role in political and cultural communication.\u00a0Ferdinand von Richthofen is known as\u00a0the first person who gave the name Silk Road to this trade route .\u00a0This German geographer chose this name for the road in 1877 because of the transportation of silk from China to the Mediterranean Sea and other areas in between.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The importance of the Silk Road among empires<\/h2>\n

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Photo source: myfamilytravels.com<\/sub><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Silk Road was extremely important for the countries that were on its way.\u00a0The governments of China, Iran and Rome were among the governments that benefited from the trade of the Silk Road and made many efforts for its prosperity.<\/p>\n

The Silk Road achieved significant prosperity during the Sassanid period.\u00a0During the\u00a0reign of Justinian I, the Byzantine government tried to\u00a0directly acquire the silk trade through the Indian Ocean by Abyssinian sailors;\u00a0But Iranians had great influence in Indian ports and Abyssinians did not have the ability to compete with Iranian sailors.<\/p>\n

Sassanid Khosrow Anushirvan closed the Red Sea route to the Byzantine government by conquering Yemen in 570 AD.\u00a0The Hun Turks, who dominated Central Asia at that time, intended to trade overland with Byzantium;\u00a0But to do this, they needed the consent of the Sassanid king, and Anushirvan never allowed the Byzantine government to negotiate with the Huns.\u00a0The Turks decided to attack to confront Iran;\u00a0But due to the strength of Iran’s borders, they failed.\u00a0In 571 AD, Anushirvan conquered many parts of Turkish lands and defeated Byzantium.<\/p>\n

In 589 AD, during the Sasanian reign of Hormuzd IV, the Turks and Byzantium united and attacked Armenia.\u00a0Saveh Shah, the ruler of the Turks, also attacked Iran.\u00a0Bahram Chubin faced them and won over them and returned to Iran with many spoils.<\/p>\n

During the reign of Khosroparviz, the Sassanids became weak, and the lands of their territory that were on the Silk Road (Kashghar, Khotan, Ferghana, Takharistan and the land of the Heptals) were taken over by the Turkic Khans.\u00a0For this reason, the silk trade fell into the hands of Sogdian and Khwarazmian merchants in the Central Asia region.<\/p>\n

In addition to the exchange of commercial goods, language, culture and religious beliefs were also exchanged on the Silk Road.<\/div>\n

Silk was one of the most popular traded goods on this road;\u00a0But it was not the only important export product from East to West.\u00a0Trade along the Silk Road Economic Belt included fruits, vegetables, livestock, leather, hides, grains, religious objects, art tools, precious stones, and metals;\u00a0It also included language, culture, religious beliefs, philosophy and science.\u00a0Goods such as paper and gunpowder were invented by the Chinese in the Han government, which had significant effects on the sustainability of Western culture and political history.<\/p>\n

The Chinese government invented paper in the third century BC and its use spread through the Silk Road.\u00a0This industry first reached Samarkand in 700 BC and then went to Europe through the Islamic ports of Sicily and Spain.\u00a0The arrival of paper in Europe brought significant industrial changes and added the written word to mass communication for the first time.\u00a0Rich Eastern spices quickly became popular in the West and gradually changed cooking in Europe.\u00a0Glass making techniques were exported from Iran to East China.<\/p>\n

Historians point to the import of gunpowder through the Silk Road to Europe in the 1300s, which was used to make cannons in England.\u00a0The origin of gunpowder is not precisely known;\u00a0But many trace its history to fireworks in China.\u00a0Gunpowder had a great impact on the political history of Europe and its export was very important for the European governments that used it in the war.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Silk road route<\/h2>\n

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Photo source: thetispersia.com<\/sub><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Land Silk Road<\/h3>\n

The route of the Silk Road started\u00a0from the city of\u00a0Luoyang<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Xian , which were among the capitals of China and were located near the Yellow River, and reached\u00a0<\/strong>Lanzhou<\/strong>\u00a0from the west .\u00a0This road\u00a0was divided into two northern and southern branches in Don Huang\u00a0.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The northern branch of Don Huang reached Kashgar through Kumul or Hami, Turpan and\u00a0Agsu\u00a0,<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0\u00a0its<\/strong>\u00a0southern\u00a0branch\u00a0<\/strong>was\u00a0connected<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Kashgar from Khten-Parkand\u00a0Square\u00a0.\u00a0<\/strong>The route of Kashgar went from\u00a0Samarkand<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Bukhara<\/strong>\u00a0and from there to\u00a0Merv<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0A route also reached from\u00a0Yarkand<\/strong>\u00a0in the south to\u00a0Balkh<\/strong>\u00a0and then to\u00a0Merv<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0The road\u00a0was connected from Merv to\u00a0Neishabur<\/strong>\u00a0and from there to\u00a0Semnan<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Damghan<\/strong>\u00a0and then\u00a0Ray .\u00a0<\/strong>This route passes from Ray to\u00a0Saveh<\/strong>,\u00a0Hegmatane<\/strong>\u00a0(today’s Hamadan),\u00a0Kangavar<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Kermanshah<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0\u00a0Qasr Shirin<\/strong>\u00a0reached;\u00a0Then it was divided into two new branches upon entering\u00a0Tisphon<\/strong>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

From Tisphon, a branch of\u00a0Dora Europas<\/strong>\u00a0(Dora Europas on the border of Syria) reached\u00a0Palmyra<\/strong>\u00a0and from there to\u00a0Antioch<\/strong>\u00a0on the Mediterranean Sea, and another branch of it went from\u00a0Hotra<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Nusibn<\/strong>\u00a0and from there to\u00a0Harran<\/strong>\u00a0. Then it reached\u00a0the Mediterranean Sea<\/strong>\u00a0and from there to\u00a0Greece<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Rome<\/strong>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

Silk Road routes were designed to simplify the transportation, distribution and storage of goods<\/div>\n

The Silk Road routes formed a large network of trading posts, strategic passages, and markets designed to simplify the transportation, distribution, and storage of goods and their exchange.\u00a0These routes extended from Antioch across Syria to Palmyra, Tisophon, and Seleucia on the Tigris River.\u00a0The routes of Seleucia to the east also passed through the Zagros mountains and the cities of Hegmatane and Merv and reached Afghanistan, eastern Mongolia and China.<\/p>\n

Maritime Silk Road<\/h3>\n

The Maritime Silk Road was another branch of the Silk Road that enabled trade by sea.\u00a0This road reaches from\u00a0Hanoi<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Jakarta<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0\u00a0Singapore<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0Kuala Lumpur<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0, and through\u00a0the Strait of<\/strong>\u00a0Malacca and\u00a0Colombo<\/strong>\u00a0in Sri Lanka to\u00a0South India<\/strong>\u00a0, and then to\u00a0Male<\/strong>\u00a0, the capital of the Maldives.\u00a0This sea route passed through\u00a0Mombasa<\/strong>\u00a0in East Africa to\u00a0Djibouti<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0the Red Sea<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0After crossing the Red Sea to\u00a0the\u00a0Suez Canal<\/strong>\u00a0, from there to\u00a0the Mediterranean Sea<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Haifa<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0And then you reach\u00a0Istanbul<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0It was connected to Athens<\/strong>\u00a0from Istanbul\u00a0and through international free ports to\u00a0Central Europe<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0the North Sea<\/strong>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

The secondary routes of this road passed through\u00a0the ports of the Persian Gulf and led to the\u00a0<\/strong>Tigris<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Euphrates<\/strong>\u00a0rivers\u00a0, and from there they reached ports along the Mediterranean Sea, where goods were sent to cities throughout the Roman Empire and the European continent.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Silk Road in Iran<\/h2>\n

\"Silk<\/p>\n

Photo source: samatrans.ir<\/sub><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Silk Road passed through Iran in its main route and its secondary routes, and Iran, as one of the most important commercial countries along its route, played the role of transit.\u00a0The most important part of the Silk Road passed through the coastal strip of Iran through\u00a0Gorgan<\/strong>\u00a0and the cities of\u00a0\u00a0Gilan<\/strong>\u00a0and exited Iran from the same side.\u00a0Other cities located on the main and secondary routes of the Silk Road are the cities of\u00a0Sarkhs<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Mashhad<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Neishabur<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Sabzevar<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Shahroud<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Bastam<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Sari<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Semnan<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Kashan<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Ray<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Alamut<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Qazvin<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Zanjan<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Hamadan<\/strong>\u00a0,They were Biston<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Kermanshah<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Sanandaj<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Takab<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Kandavan<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Tabriz<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Mianeh<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Kalibar<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Chaldaran<\/strong>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

The silk road in Qazvin city was divided into two branches;\u00a0A branch of it in the northwest direction passed through the cities of\u00a0Sarab<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Tabriz<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Khoi<\/strong>\u00a0and from there it extended outside the borders of Iran.\u00a0The other way to the west, passing through the cities of\u00a0Hamadan<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Kermanshah<\/strong>\u00a0, was leaving Iran.<\/p>\n

There were other side roads in Iran that connected to other countries through the Persian Gulf;\u00a0But the most important side route of the Silk Road in Iran was the road that went from\u00a0Ray<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Isfahan<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Shiraz<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Bushehr<\/strong>\u00a0and then left Iran through the Silk Road.\u00a0This route\u00a0covered the cities of\u00a0Bandar Abbas<\/strong>\u00a0,\u00a0Bandar Bushehr<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0the borders of today’s Sistan and Baluchistan province .<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are inscriptions on the Silk Road in Iran that indicate its importance<\/div>\n

Some believe that the road of Susa, which is known as the royal road and connected Susa to Sard with a length of 2,400 km, was a part of the Silk Road;\u00a0While this road was built 300 years before the establishment of the Silk Road, during the time of Darius I Achaemenid.\u00a0The Persians expanded the Royal Road and added smaller routes that connected Mesopotamia to the Indian subcontinent and North Africa.\u00a0Alexander the Great, the ruler of the ancient Greek kingdom, expanded his dominion over Iran through the Royal Road, and eventually parts of it merged with the Silk Road.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Silk Road in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh<\/h2>\n

Iran was considered one of the key countries that was located on the ancient Silk Road.\u00a0Most of the content of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh stories are dedicated to Iran’s relations (war, peace or trade) with nations and countries that have been on the Silk Road, such as China, Turkestan and other nations living in Central Asia.\u00a0Ferdowsi mentions silk production in Iran.\u00a0According to him, the quality of silk produced in Iran was such that the queen of China used it to sew her clothes.<\/p>\n

The Persian language, which Ferdowsi had mastered, was also transferred to other lands through the Silk Road, and the people of other countries got to know it.\u00a0The Persian-speaking countries in Central Asia, which include the main part of Shahnameh’s geography, are the countries that were on the Silk Road.<\/p>\n

An international conference titled “Shahname along the Silk Road” was held on May 24, 2018 at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in which, in addition to the economic aspects of the Silk Road, its characteristics in the transmission of culture and language were emphasized\u00a0.\u00a0In this conference, in addition to confirming Iran as a point of cultural connections on the Silk Road, the cooperation of the countries located on the Silk Road route as a union was prioritized.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The most famous travelers on the Silk Road<\/h2>\n

\"Silk<\/p>\n

Photo source: tasteiran.net<\/sub><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As one of the most important international communication routes in ancient times, the Silk Road has seen many travelers and explorers, which are mentioned below in order of the year of travel:<\/p>\n