Silk Road Caravanserai (Inn)

Timeline

1. 1251–1260Central Asian steppe trade routes · Central AsiaDuring Möngke Khan's reign (r. 1251–1259), the Mongol relay system required the provision of remount horses, food, and lodging along the route, operating in parallel with the Islamic world's courtyard-style caravanserais (khan/caravanserai), shortening travel time for Eurasian messengers.
2. 1258–1260Persian and Iraqi trade routes · IranAfter the Mongols captured Baghdad, traditional Mesopotamian trade routes were rerouted across the Persian Plateau. Relays built during the Seljuk and Ilkhanate periods along the way received merchants, with central courtyard pools and livestock pens, and high outer walls to fend off bandits.
3. 1253–1260Eastern Anatolia · AnatoliaThe Sultanate of Rum and successor polities built stone caravanserais along the trade route from Anatolia to Aleppo (types such as Sultan Han), offering tax-free rest to caravans of spices, furs, and metalware, forming key nodes of overland trade.