Page 86 - 100 Events That Made History

The Silk borders in all directions.
By the way…
Road starts
During my 54-year rule,
I expanded China’s

The superhighway to the EXOTIC East

Traveled by merchants, monks,
and explorers, the Silk Road was
a series of interconnecting routes
that stretched from the riches
of China 4,000 miles (6,500 km)
overland to Europe.

The secret of silk
The first evidence of silk production
in China dates to 2500 BCE, but according
to legend, EMPRESS LEIZU (wife of
Huangdi) introduced the silkworm as early
as 3000 BCE. This talented queen invented
the loom, too. Silkmaking was a closely
guarded state secret—revealing any detail
outside China was punishable by death!

Han power
East-West trade developed during
the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE).
To boost it, the seventh Han emperor, WU,
sent envoys carrying silks to Persia and
Mesopotamia. Han officials controlled the
Silk Road as far as central Asia. Beyond
that, the Persians ruled, and from 30 BCE the
western end was in the Roman empire.

What came before…
The SCYTHIANS were among In the 400s BCE, Darius I
the first long-distance traders of Persia built a 1,550-mile
in the region. They had links (2,500-km) ROYAL ROAD.
with China, India, Persia, It connected Sardis (in what
and Greece from the 800s BCE. is now Turkey) and Susa
(in what is now Iran).

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