Silk Road Trade under the Pax Mongolica (1240s)

Timeline

1. 1241–1246Karakorum · Mongolian PlateauDuring Ögedei Khan's reign, the postal relay (zhanchi) system was perfected, ensuring that envoys and caravans could change horses and resupply along the way. The main routes from Central Asia to North China were relatively safe, and silk, porcelain, spices, and precious metals circulated along multiple routes, attracting Venetian and other Mediterranean merchants to trade via the land routes east of the Black Sea.
2. 1246–1250Samarkand · UzbekistanAfter Güyük Khan's accession, the open trade route policy continued, and Central Asian hub cities like Samarkand teemed with merchants. Latin Christian envoys, Nestorian clergy, and Islamic merchants traveled the same roads; the passport system reduced robbery along the way, sustaining the exchange of goods and information between Eurasia into the late 1240s.