Illustration
This map illustrates the Silk Road in the late 8th century, a vital network of trade and cultural exchange across Eurasia. In the east, the Tang Dynasty controlled much of the Silk Road, linking China to the trade networks of Central and South Asia. In the west, the Abbasid Caliphate, with Baghdad at its center, integrated Silk Road commerce into the broader Islamic economy, extending connections to India and beyond. The Uyghur Khaganate controlled key steppe routes, ensuring the security of merchants and facilitating trade between the Tang and Abbasids. Cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara, Kashgar, Merv, and Nishapur thrived as hubs where goods, technologies, and ideas circulated. From Baghdad, trade extended westward through the Levant and into Byzantium, linking the Silk Road to European markets. By the 9th century, however, shifting political dynamics and expanding maritime trade routes contributed to the gradual decline of overland commerce.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Netchev, S. (2025, February 04). The Silk Road at Its Height in the Late 8th Century. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/146/the-silk-road-at-its-height-in-the-late-8th-centur/
Chicago Style
Netchev, Simeon. "The Silk Road at Its Height in the Late 8th Century." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified February 04, 2025. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/146/the-silk-road-at-its-height-in-the-late-8th-centur/.
MLA Style
Netchev, Simeon. "The Silk Road at Its Height in the Late 8th Century." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 04 Feb 2025. Web. 22 Feb 2025.
