The Silk Road
The silk road
stretched across
Afro-Eurasia, from
China, to the west
coasts of Africa
Important cities on
the silk road:
Palmyra: Palmyra was located in the
Syrian desert and was a very important
city as all the silk and incense traveling
to Rome had to pass through here.
Rome: Rome was located in central
Italy and was a very important city as
they had a high demand for the luxury
goods being traded such as silk.
Xi’an China: Xi’an was located in
Northwest China and was extremely
important to silk road trade as this was
the city most of the merchants began
their long journey.
Goods that
were traded:
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Fine goods
Silk
Ivory
Cotton textiles
Olives
Raw Materials (Jade
Silver and Iron)
Knowledge and
Ideas spread:
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Buddhism
Zoroastrianism
Paper Making
Advances in sea
navigation (compass,
astrolabe)
Reasons to travel and trade
on the silk route:
• On the silk road, you were able to find goods that you could not get
anywhere else.
• Some of these goods, such as silk, were signs of importance and
wealth, so a king may want to send merchants along the trade route
to get these things.
• On these roads, knowledge and ideas were spread, so a kingdom
could make technological developments by learning from others on
the trade route.
• By participating in trade, a kingdom would become more connected
to the kingdoms around them.