Silk Road Caravanserais

Timeline

1. c. 700–900Iranian plateau · IranSasanian and early Islamic Persia already had a tradition of trade-route relay stations; in the Abbasid period, inns with courtyards, arcades, and livestock pens were built along the Tigris and the main roads of the Iranian plateau, forming a standardized form.
2. c. 950–1040Samarkand · UzbekistanUnder the Samanids and Ghaznavids, the number of caravanserais on Central Asian trade routes grew greatly, with stations every few dozen kilometers along the line from Samarkand to Bukhara and Merv, for caravans to rest and trade.
3. 1041–1050Khurasan trade road · KhurasanIn the 1040s, the trade road from Nishapur through Mashhad to Baghdad was lined with caravanserais, mostly built with square courtyards, corner towers, and arched portals; waqf revenues maintained operations, and caravans could replenish water and fodder and trade goods here.
4. c. 1100–1300Anatolia · AnatoliaThe Seljuks and later dynasties built many Sultan Hans in Anatolia, larger and more richly decorated, becoming iconic transport buildings of the western Silk Road, some of which survive to this day.