WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Silk Road is neither an actual road nor a single route. The term instead refers to a network of routes used by traders for more than 1, 500 years, from when the Han dynasty of China opened trade in 130 B.C.E.

Detailed explanation-2: -Key Points. The Silk Road was established by China’s Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) through territorial expansion. The Silk Road was a series of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction between the West and East.

Detailed explanation-3: -For example, during the Han and Jin Dynasties (265-420 CE) nomadic people from the Eurasian prairie introduced crops such as carrots, walnuts, garlic, flax seeds, and cucumber to China via the Northern Silk Road.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Silk Road was initiated and spread by China’s Han dynasty through exploration and conquests in Central Asia. With the Mediterranean linked to the Fergana Valley, the next step was to open a route across the Tarim Basin and the Hexi Corridor to China Proper.

Detailed explanation-5: -It was under the Han Emperor Wu Di (141-87 BC) that the first Chinese missions were sent to south-eastern Asia, central Asia and eventually even Rome, marking the beginnings of the Silk Road.