Silk Road Trade Network

Timeline

1. c. -200–600Chang'an–Dunhuang–Tarim Basin oases · GuanzhongFrom the Han dynasty, routes ran from Chang'an through the Hexi Corridor to the Western Regions, with silk, horses, and Buddhist scriptures circulating along chains of oasis towns, forming the early skeleton of Eurasian overland trade.
2. c. 1190–1199Samarkand–Bukhara–Kashgar · Tarim BasinIn the late 12th century Seljuk power declined and Khwarazm rose; overland trade was organized in segments, with Muslim merchants and Central Asian caravans relaying goods through Samarkand, Bukhara, Kashgar and elsewhere. Porcelain and spices still circulated, but political fragmentation raised the risks and costs of the routes.
3. c. 1250–1350Area covered by the Mongol Empire's relay station system · Mongolian PlateauAfter Mongol unification, postal relay stations (yam) and relatively unified security lowered the cost of transcontinental travel; Venetian, Persian, and Chinese merchants circulated frequently, and the network entered one of its most efficient phases in history.