The term Silk Roads was first coined by the nineteenth century German explorer and geographer Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen to describe the network of routes that cross central Asia.  These routes have been used for millennia by travellers and traders and are still in use today.  Many of the major routes are descendants of natural paths which followed patterns of vegetation in prehistoric times and were used by hunter gatherers to track their game.  They represent a complex topographic, environmental and cultural landscape stretching from the shores of the Mediterranean on the borders of Europe through Afrasial (the precursor of Samarkand) and on to central China.

Recent archaeological excavations have shown that artefacts fashioned from lapis lazuli, jade, bronze and iron have been traded along these routes since Neolithic times.  Silk is known to have been traded during the first millennium BC, among other high quality goods such as perfumes and spices.  Goods were transported great distances, e.g. silk for banners prized by Romans and Parthians, Sasanian glass, tea, salt from the Tibetan plateau and swords fashioned from Damascene steel. However, many traders operated within a much smaller radius of up to 500 kilometres, making use of a complex network of interactions and nodes where they could sell on their wares such as textiles, tin glazed ceramics, dried melons and other valued products of their crafts and industries.

Routes were often defined by the need to avoid physical barriers such as mountains, seasonal lakes and rivers. Some routes passed through settlements where goods could be traded but, as more formal systems of government were established, they frequently avoided centres where taxes might be levied. As the political control of various rulers increased, custom posts, fortifications, garrisons and other military structures were erected.  Watch towers were set up to monitor the movement of horses, camels, mules and pedestrians, whilst porters would seek out older, more hidden paths in order to bypass the custom posts.

As the social and political infrastructure developed, way stations and caravanserais sprang up along the major routes.  These provided shelter and respite for travellers, whilst market places and towns such as Palmyra, acted as distribution centres for goods and ideas.  These facilitated the spread of diverse, often competing religions, including Buddhism, Manichaeism and Islam, as travellers sought to make converts along the way or to establish places of prayer and meditation.  Trade and diplomatic missions influenced thought and culture and facilitated the spread of knowledge, e.g. astronomy, and technology, e.g. miniature painting and printing, between east and west.

Founded around the 6th century BC, the ancient city of Merv in modern day Turkmenistan was one of the most important centres along the Silk Road. As Director of the Ancient Merv Project, Tim Williams, together with a team of archaeologists from UCL, has spent the past 15 years excavating the site, which has now been granted the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Excavations have revealed one of the most complex and well preserved urban centres along the Silk Roads.  The succession of towns that were built on the site over 2000 years chart fluctuations of power and occupation until its decline and sacking by the armies of Ghengis Khan.

Following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, the area came under the influence of the Hellenistic world; adopted a Greek style mixed with elements of central Asia and the city flourished as a major administrative, military and trading centre.  The spread of Islam in the 7th century AD changed the character of the city and its inhabitants, transforming both Afrasial and Merv from antique Greco-Roman to Islamic style.  Whilst Afrasial resisted the invaders and their people were evicted to house the conquering army, the citizens of Merv accepted Islamic law without a fight and consequently retained their property rights.

Jennifer Hunt