Silk road

Zhou dynasty: early silk road trade

1045 BCE

around 600 BC, gold, jade, and silk was being traded between Europe and Western Asia

Zhou dynasty: early silk road trade

221 BCE

The Han Empire Trade Developed

206 BCE

Originally, the people in the Han Empire traded silk within the empire from the interior to the western borders, but the internal trade was stymied by the attacks of small nomadic tribes on the trade caravans.

Sogdian Traders The Important Middlemen

200 BCE

To reach western Asia and Europe, products were transported through the Sogdian territories west of Xinjiang in modern day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and from the second century BC until the 10th century, the Sogdians dominated the Silk Road trade.
They were the Silk Road's most prominent merchants and middlemen for more than 1,000 years. They established a trading network across 1,500 miles from Sogdia to the Chinese empires.

The Han Empire Trade Developed

220

Three Kingdoms Period Trade Ceased

220

After the Han Empire fell in the year 220, from 220 to 581, the region was divided into three big warring states. At the same time during the 200s, barbarian attacks on the Roman Empire increased, and this further stymied trade with Europe.

Three Kingdoms Period Trade Ceased

581

Tang Dynasty Trade Flourished

618

In the early Tang Dynasty era, the Silk Road route in Xinjiang was controlled by Turkic tribes. They allied with small states in Xinjiang against the Tang. The Tang Dynasty later conquered the Turkic tribes, reopened the route, and promoted trade. Trade with the West boomed. The Sogdians played a major role in the Tang Dynasty trade and rose to special prominence in the military and government of the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD) court.

Tang Dynasty Trade Flourished

917

Song Empire Trade Ceased Once Again

960

The Song Empire was powerful, but they didn't have control of the Gansu Corridor. The Song Dynasty thought that if they could regain the land of the Western Xia, they could perhaps reestablish the lucrative Silk Road trade. They tried to conquer the country, but they couldn't. However, as the Mongol Empire expanded in Central Asia and Europe before the fall of the Southern Song Empire, they promoted and protected the trade on the western Silk Road routes.

Sogdian Traders The Important Middlemen

1000

Yuan Dynasty Trade Reached Its Zenith

1271

Trade on the Silk Road revived and reached its zenith during the Yuan Dynasty, when the Mongols promoted trade in their huge empire that stretched across Eurasia.

Song Empire Trade Ceased Once Again

1279

Yuan Dynasty Trade Reached Its Zenith

1386

The silk road ending

1453

Technological changes, political changes in the Ming Empire, and European production of silk, porcelain and other traditional export products caused the decline of the Silk Road.