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Caravanserai network

Type Object Region Western Asia Time c. 900–1000

Caravanserais were lodging and storage facilities along overland trade routes in Western and Central Asia, usually funded by rulers or charitable end…

Timeline

  1. c. 900–930Persia and Khurasan · KhurasanThe Abbasid caliphate and local regimes built caravanserais (رباط/rabat or خان/khan) at intervals of one to several days' travel along major trade routes, offering free or low-cost lodging, food, and animal feed, thereby reducing the risk and cost of overland trade.
  2. c. 940–970Samarkand–Bukhara trade route · TransoxianaThe Samanid dynasty and its vassal regimes maintained a dense chain of caravanserais on the trade routes between Samarkand, Bukhara, and Merv; camel caravans carried silk, paper, and gems back and forth, and the caravanserais also served for tariff collection and cargo storage.
  3. c. 980–1000Syria–Anatolia trade route · AnatoliaBy the end of the 10th century CE the caravanserai network extended westward along the Damascus–Aleppo–Anatolia route, connecting Mediterranean ports with the Persian interior; caravan stopping points also existed in the borderlands between Byzantine and Islamic regimes.

Sources