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Silk Road Trade Boom Period

Type Event Region Central Asia Time 1270–1279

In the 1270s, under the Mongol Empire's Pax Mongolica, Silk Road trade across Central Asia entered a period of prosperity.

Timeline

  1. 1270–1275Bukhara · TransoxianaUnder the Ilkhanate, trade routes between Persian Gulf ports and Transoxiana cities in Central Asia were open; Indian cotton cloth, Persian silk, and Central Asian livestock products were distributed through Bukhara and Samarkand, with merchants of many peoples residing there, and market taxes were an important source of revenue for the khanates.
  2. 1271–1279Otrar · Seven Rivers regionThe Mongol Empire's postal relay (yam) network spanned Eurasia; caravans holding khaganate paizas could obtain food, lodging, and escort, greatly reducing the cost and risk of long-distance trade, and records of European and East Asian merchant travel increased markedly in the 1270s.
  3. 1273–1279Kashgar · Southern Tianshan routeThe two main Silk Road routes north and south of the Tianshan converged at Kashgar, connecting Transoxiana with the Western Regions under Yuan rule; Western Regions cities provided transshipment and lodging for merchants, making Central Asia a key hub for east-west goods flow across Eurasia.

Sources