The story of the silk route


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

The story of the silk route

The Story of The Silk Route: The rich, glossy colors of silk, as well as its smooth texture, make it a highly valued fabric in most societies. Making silk is a complicated process. Raw silk has to be extracted from the cocoons of silk worms, spun into thread and then woven into cloth. Techniques of making silk were first invented in china. While the methods remained a closely guarded secret for thousands of years, some people from china who went to distant lands on foot, horseback, and on camels, carried silk with them. The paths they followed came to be known as the silk route.

Chinese rulers sent gifts of silk to rulers in Iran and west Asia, and from there, the knowledge of silk spread further west. Wearing silk became the fashion amongst rulers and rich people in Rome. It was very expensive, as it had to be brought all the way from china, along dangerous roads, through mountains and deserts. People living along the route often demanded payments for allowing traders to pass through. Some kings tried to control large portions of the route. This was because they could benefit from taxes, tributes and gifts that were brought by traders travelling along the route. In return, they often protected the traders who passed through their kingdoms from attacks by robbers. The best- known of the rulers who controlled the silk route were the Kushanas, who ruled over central Asia and north-west India.

Their two major Centres of power were Peshawar and Mathura. Taxila was also included in their kingdom. During their rule, a branch of the silk route extended from central Asia down to the Sea ports at the mouth of the river Indus, from where silk was shipped westwards to the Roman Empire. The Kushanas were amongst the earliest rulers of the subcontinent to issue gold coins. These were used by traders along the silk route.

The Silk Route had two main branches-the northern route and the southern route. The southern route ran through northern Indian, across Khorasan in Central Asia and Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean Sea. The northern route ran north of the Tibetan Plateau through Russia to the Black Sea, and then to the Mediterranean Sea. The Chinese traded their raw and woven silk for spices, precious stones, pearls, ivory and raw cotton from India. Buddhism   came to China along this route. Chinese inventions and discoveries like paper, gunpowder, porcelain and tea to the west.

 
 
 


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