The Silk Road - Ο δρόμος του μεταξιού

The Silk Road

This article is a Travel route.

The Silk Road is known as the network of trade routes between China and the countries to the west and south. This network spread throughout the Asian continent, starting on China and destination India, Persia and the Mediterranean regions, while at the same time, through the Indian Ocean, the products were transported by sea to Indochina, the India, the Arabian Peninsula and the countries of the east Africa. The Silk Road was the most important commercial network from Antiquity until its abandonment after its fall. Istanbul in 1453.

The name "Silk Road" (German: Seidenstraße) was first officially used by the German geographer Ferdinand von Rindhofen in the 19th century. The name comes from one of the most lucrative products traded in China, Chinese silk, the commercial exploitation of which began in an intensive form during the Han Dynasty, after the explorations of Chang Qian. Through the Silk Road, silk , spices, glass, porcelain, precious stones and many other luxury items. Through these routes, the knowledge of paper and gunpowder from China reached its Europeans. The importance of the Silk Road, apart from its commercial and economic aspect, has to do with its political influence as well as its enormous cultural significance. . Significant civilizations developed along the Road, and it was a gateway for the spread of Buddhism in China and Japan and Christianity in the East, as well as the spread of Islam and the culmination of the achievements of Islamic civilization. The sharp decline in trade between East and West that followed its establishment Of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, led to the need to find new routes, which eventually led to the discovery of the New World.