Silk Road Camel Caravan Route

Timeline

1. 1451–1453Asia Minor to Constantinople section · Asia MinorAfter Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II acceded in 1451, he intensified pressure on Byzantium and captured Constantinople in 1453, severing the traditional western passage of the Silk Road. Venetian and Genoese merchants' eastern trade privileges were weakened, and the western terminus of the camel caravans was forced to shift inland to Anatolia and to Persian Gulf ports.
2. 1454–1460Samarkand to Dunhuang · TransoxianaThe core Central Asian segment from Samarkand to Dunhuang continued normal operations under the successor rulers of the Timurid Empire, with silk, porcelain, and spices in steady circulation. Ming merchants and Central Asian Muslim traders conducted border trade through the Hexi Corridor; camel caravans could number several hundred camels, making round trips among the oasis cities each year, with cargo of considerable value.