Overland Silk Road (9th-century segment)

Timeline

1. c. 800–850Chang'an · Tang dynastyIn the early 9th century the Tang dynasty was powerful, and Chang'an was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, crowded with foreign merchants; caravans heading west through the Hexi Corridor carried silk and porcelain to Central Asia and Persia, returning with horses, gemstones, and spices.
2. c. 820–880Samarkand · SogdianaSogdian city-states such as Samarkand and Bukhara controlled the routes north and south of the Tianshan, where caravans split off southward or westward; Sogdian merchants played a key intermediary role in 9th-century overland trade.
3. c. 850–900Dunhuang · Hexi CorridorThe manuscripts of the Library Cave at the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang preserve numerous 9th-century records of merchants, relay stations, and customs duties, confirming that the Hexi Corridor still sustained overland traffic in the late Tang, despite local interruptions caused by shifts in Tibetan and Uyghur power.