Great Silk Road

How did it all start?

There is evidence, confirmed by a number of studies that the history of Silk trade routes in the Uzbekistan region goes back several thousand years. At all times, the all-round evolution of nations was associated with the origination of transit and trade routes. For many centuries BC, relations between nations began to develop rapidly in most parts of Central Asia. As it is known from historical sources in the Bronze Age, our region was connected by trade routes with its neighbors. Among the routes there were the so-called Lazurite Route, which brought gems from Central Asia to Iran, Mesopotamia and Egypt; the Shakh Route of the Ahamenid era, as well as other routes.

If we allude to the ancient manuscripts, the beginning of the Great Silk Road functioning dates from the second half of the 2nd century BC, when the Chinese diplomat and traveler Zhang Jian first opened the Western territory for the Celestial Empire - the states of Central Asia. Thus, according to the academician Edward Rtveladze, two great roads were connected into one whole, which previously went into unknown lands. One - from the west from the Mediterranean countries, traversed by the Hellenes and Macedonians during the campaigns of Alexander the Great and the Seleucids; the other - from the east from the Han Empire, explored by Zhang Jian, who passed this region from north to south through Davan (Fergana), Kanguy (Central Asian Mesopotamia) and Bactria.

The Chinese traveler was awaited by an impressive sight at that time: in the Fergana Valley he counted more than 70 urban settlements. Here craft and agriculture were developed, and the inhabitants were trading with India, the Near and Middle East, as well as with Greece and Rome. Zhang Jian reported on everything to the emperor, and also spoke about the amazing beauty of the horses he had seen. The traveler advised to improve relations with the rulers of this region. In 121 BC, the first caravan loaded with silk and bronze mirrors set off along the Great Silk Road. Its destination was the Fergana oasis.

By the way, the familiar, now branded name of the transcontinental route - the Silk Road – has become established by historical standards relatively recently. This term (in German “Seidenstrassen”) was introduced into scientific use by the geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen in 1877. Silk, as it was noted by another German scientist Albert Hermann, was the main product that introduced the two different worlds - East and West.

If not to go into the legends and traditions about the history of silk deeply, then it is worth mentioning that it began to be produced in China two thousand years BC. This thin and pleasant fabric very soon began to be produced in rather large quantities, while other countries could not even guess from what it is made - “as light as a cloud” and “as transparent as ice”. Due to the fact that the Chinese kept the secret of production carefully, outside of the Celestial Empire, it cost fabulous money. This made the export of silk fabric one of the biggest sources of profit. Long before the adjusted communication, separate, irregular caravans were sent to the West, carrying rolls of precious linen.