History glossary
Silk Roads
networks of land and sea routes linking East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
- Category
- Trade network
- Region
- Afro-Eurasia
What it means
The Silk Roads were not one road but many routes used by merchants, pilgrims, diplomats, soldiers, and migrants. They carried silk, spices, horses, metals, religions, technologies, diseases, and ideas across Afro-Eurasia.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Rise of Islam
From Muhammad's first revelations to the early caliphates, Islam grew from a Meccan message into a civilisation spanning Africa, Asia and Europe.
The Age of Exploration
An era of exploration and empire linking continents through trade, conquest, and cultural exchange.
The Mongol Empire
From scattered steppe tribes to the largest contiguous empire in history, the Mongols reshaped Eurasia through conquest, terror, and trade.
The Han Dynasty
From Liu Bang's foundation to the end of the dynasty in 220 CE, the Han built the institutions, Confucian statecraft, frontier policy, and cultural memory that shaped imperial China for centuries.
