THE SILK ROUTE - WORLD’S FIRST WORLD WIDE WEB

In less than a second, a banker in London sends the latest stock information to his colleagues in Hong Kong. Likewise, with a single click, a customer in New York orders electronics made in Beijing, swiftly transported across the ocean within days by cargo plane or container ship. The speed and volume at which the goods and information move across the world today is unprecedented in history. However, the concept of global exchange is not as modern as we think it is, extending back two thousand years along a five- thousand- mile stretch, known as the Silk Road. 

This sprawling web of connections was given a name by an eminent German geologist, Ferdinand Von Richthofen in the late 19th century.The route carried along a network that fans out in every direction, routes along which pilgrims and warriors, nomads and merchants have traveled, goods and produce have been bought and sold, and ideas exchanged, adapted and refined. They have facilitated not only prosperity, but also death and violence, disease and disaster. 

The silk road was initially not a single road, but rather a network of multiple routes that gradually emerged over centuries, connecting various settlements and to each other, thread by thread, this is one of the reasons why some people refer to it as ‘Silk Route’.The first agricultural civilisations along these routes were isolated places in fertile river valleys. Their travel was impeded by surrounding geography and fear of the unknown, but as they grew, they found that the arid deserts beyond their borders were inhabited, not by demons from folklore, but by nomadic tribes on horseback. The Scythians, whose empire stretched from Hungary to Mongolia, had come in contact with the civilizations of Greece, Egypt, India and China. These encounters were often less than peaceful, however even through raids and warfare, as well as trade and protection of traveling merchants in exchange for tariffs, the nomads began to spread goods, ideas and technologies between cultures with no direct contact.

With Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia and expansion of Macedonian empire into central Asia through capturing cities like Samarkand and establishing new ones like Alexandria Eschate, the network of Greek, Egyptian, Indian culture and trade extended farther east than ever before, laying a foundation of bridge between China and the West. This was realised in the 2nd Century BCE when an ambassador named Zhang Qian was sent to negotiate with the nomads in the West, who returned to the Han emperor with tales of sophisticated civilisations, prosperous trade and exotic goods beyond the western borders. Ambassadors and merchants were sent towards Persia and India to exchange silk for the horses, making this the most eminent trade in the region.

The silk route extended over 6000 kilometers, across some of the world's most daunting landscapes, including the Gobi desert and the Pamir mountains. With no government to provide upkeep, the roads would more often than not be in a poor condition making theft, a constant threat. Except for silk, other commodities like jade, porcelain, teas and spices were also traded to the west. In exchange glassware, textiles and manufactured goods would be shipped eastward. More importantly, the route enabled exchange of cultures, beliefs, languages and religion. Originating in India, Buddhism migrated to China and Japan to become the dominant religion there. Islam spread from the Arabian peninsula into South Asia, blending with native beliefs and leading to new faiths. 

The Silk route also promoted the travelling culture. There were inns called Caravanserai, built to house the travelling merchants. Explorers also found this route a means to explore the far East. The Venetian explorer Marco Polo famously used the silk route to travel from Italy to China and back in the 13th century. His journey to and fro on the silk road became the central idea for his book, ‘The Travels of Marco-Polo’, which showcased the Asian culture and trade

to the Europeans. Through the book and the tales, the impact of the route was known by the generations to come, even after the route ceased to exist. 

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the Silk Road in history, and its impact on the trade culture today. The idea of trade and travel helped towns along this route to grow into multicultural cities. The exchange of information gave rise to new technologies and innovations that would impact the future. The route’s success led to its own demise, for instance, the new maritime technologies like the magnetic compass found their way to Europe, making long land routes obsolete. Meanwhile, the collapse of Mongol rule was followed by China’s withdrawal from world trade. Even though the old routes and networks did not last, they changed the world forever. 

Europeans seeking new maritime routes to the riches they knew awaited in East Asia led to the  ‘Age of Exploration’ and expansion into Africa and America.

Today, the impact of globalization on culture and economy is indisputable. However, this is far from a new phenomenon. Though the mountains, deserts and oceans that once separated us are now circumvented through supersonic vehicles, cross-continental communication cables and signals beamed through space rather than caravans traveling for months, none of it would have been possible without the pioneering cultures and communities whose efforts created the Silk Road: history’s first World Wide Web.