Where was the Silk Road?

The Silk Road was not a single road but an interconnected network of overland and maritime routes spanning the breadth of Eurasia. The term covers multiple pathways that shifted over time as political conditions, climate, and trade patterns changed.

The overland routes began in Chang'an (modern Xi'an), the capital of Han Dynasty China. From there, they ran westward through the Hexi Corridor — a narrow strip of fertile land between the Gobi Desert and the Tibetan Plateau — to the oasis city of Dunhuang. At Dunhuang, the route split to circumvent the deadly Taklamakan Desert: a northern branch through Turpan and Kashgar, and a southern branch through Khotan. These routes reunited at Kashgar before crossing the Pamir Mountains into Central Asia.

From Central Asia, the routes continued through Samarkand, Bukhara, and Merv — great oasis cities that served as commercial and cultural hubs. From there, branches led to Persia, Mesopotamia, and eventually the Mediterranean ports of Antioch and Tyre. Other branches connected to India through the Hindu Kush and Karakoram passes.

Maritime silk routes were equally important. Sea routes connected Chinese ports to Southeast Asia, India, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the East African coast. The port of Adulis (Aksum) and the Egyptian port of Berenice were major transfer points between maritime and overland routes.

Key cities along the Silk Road included Dunhuang, Kashgar, Samarkand, Bukhara, Merv, Ctesiphon, Palmyra, and Antioch. Many of these cities owed their existence and prosperity entirely to Silk Road trade, serving as stops where goods changed hands between different groups of merchants.