China - Silk Road
Silk Road Artifacts
A traveling exhibit from China allows us to take a look at some of the exquisite and surprising artifacts from the Tarim Basin, along the Silk Road.
The Legend of the Invention of Silk by the Wife of the Yellow Emperor
The wife of the Yellow Emperor, Huangdi, is credited in Chinese myth with inventing sericulture -- silk production.
Acquisition of Silk and Silkworms
With the Persians or Parthians as intermediaries, the Romans had long traded for silk along the silk road, but under the Emperor Justinian, the Roman Empire decided to produce silk on its own. Here is how they acquired the materials they needed to start native silk manufacture.
Silk Roads
The silk roads refer to a trade network in the ancient world.
"Empires of the Silk Road"
In "Empires of the Silk Road," Christopher I. Beckwith provides a history of the silk road and Eurasia from prehistory to today from the perspective of what is usually considered the barbarian.
What Was Asia to Ancient Greece and Rome?
For the early ancient Greeks and Romans, Asia can be thought of as an unraveling mystery.
Parthians As Intermediaries Between China and Rome in the Silk Trade
The Parthians served as intermediaries between the Chinese, growers of silkworms and producers of brocaded silk, and the Romans, manufacturers of gauzy silk at the end of the first century A.D.
Silk Route - Kushans as Intermediaries Between China and Rome on the Silk Route
The Kushans served as intermediaries between China and Rome on the silk road.
Transoxiana
Transoxiana is an area of ancient Central Asia that is across (trans) the Oxus river.
Along the Silk Road - Archaeology at About.com
The Silk Road contained 3 major routes leading westward from Xian, with probably hundreds of smaller ways and by ways. The northern route ran westward from China to the Black Sea; the central to Persia and the Mediterranean Sea; and the southern to Afghanistan, Iran, and India.
Silk Road
Basic glossary entry on the Silk Road.
The Warrior Women - The Sarmatians
Chronology of the civilizations of the Sauromatians, Sauro-Sarmations, Middle Sarmatians (Suslovo cultures), and the Late Sarmatian (Alan or Shipovskaya cultures) who were absorbed by the Huns.
Silk Road Chronology
Timeline from 5000 B.C. showing events and developments relevant to the history of the Silk Road.
Silk Road
Cities along the path of the Silk Road trade route from the west to China, from before the discovery of a sea route to India.
Map of the Silk Road
Map in Chinese with legend in English showing 4 routes to the West.
A Picture Essay on Silk Manufacture in Ancient China
A look at the process of manufacturing silk in ancient China through pictures, from the mulberry leaves to the skeins of dyed silk.
The Taklamakan Desert
The Taklamakan Desert is an important desert for Silk Road and Chinese history.