The Silk Road opens
An envoy sent to find allies comes back with a map of the western world.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 637 years
- Known to
- ± 5 years
- Era
- Classical, Holocene
Zhang Qian is sent west in 138 BCE to seek allies against the Xiongnu, is imprisoned for a decade, and returns after thirteen years having found no allies but detailed knowledge of Central Asia, Persia and India. The routes that open carry silk west and glass, horses, spices and precious stones east — and also Buddhism, Manichaeism, technologies, and eventually plague. Rome and Han China trade without ever making direct contact.