Persian caravanserai

Timeline

1. 1040–1118Trade route from Anatolia to Khorasan · IranSeljuk sultans built large stone caravanserais along routes in Anatolia and the Persian interior, using courtyard-arcade structures with stables, wells, and mosques, forming standardized one-day-journey relay spacing that ensured safe passage for caravans.
2. 1131–1140Khorasan and central Persia · KhorasanIn the 1130s the Seljuk Empire split into multiple local polities, yet the existing caravanserai network continued to operate. Caravans carried silk, spices, and precious metals from Samarkand via Mashhad and Rayy to Baghdad and Mediterranean ports, while local rulers exchanged tariff revenue and caravanserai upkeep for trade income.
3. 1256–1335Trade route from Tabriz to Tabris · AzerbaijanAfter the Mongols unified Eurasia, Persian caravanserais combined with the Mongol postal relay (yam) system, greatly increasing transit efficiency. Travelers such as Marco Polo crossed Persia along this system, and the caravanserai network reached its medieval overland trade peak during the Ilkhanate.