Traveling the Silk Road

A Journey from Chang’an to AntiochWorld Studies A

By Gabe Castagna

and Connor Bitterman

• Chang’an was the greatest city in the world during most of the of the first millennium CE.

• The city’s bell tower marks symbolically the start of the Silk Road.

• It was constructed by the Qin dynasty to serve as their capital, under the rule of Wu Di. It was under his rule that missions on the silk road began.

Chang’an

• Dunhuang, which is an oasis and a stopping point for travelers on the Silk Road, gets water from the melted snow of the Qilian Mountains.

• It is the home of the Mogao Grottoes, or the 1,000-Buddha Caves.

• In 111 A.D., the Imperial Court set up Dunhuang and made it into a successful town.

• They are the largest, best preserved, and richest area of Buddhist art on Earth.

• The first cave was chiseled in 366 A.D. by a monk named Yeu Seng.

• 492 of the carved caves still stand today, holding 30 Km. of murals and about 2,100 carvings.

Dunhuang To Kashgar Southern Route

Tanya Bush and Maria Chaves

-Climate, lack of water and distance made the taklamakan desert hard to travel.

-Travelers of the silk road had to stop at oasis towns to refuel because of lack of recourses.

- Desert was crossed at its northern and at its southern border by two parts of the Silk Road. Was located in Central Asia.

Taklamakan Desert

Kashgar (Northern Route)

• Oasis Market Town

• Western Corner of the Taklamakan desert

• Attracted different kinds of settlers from all across the Silk Road

Dunhuang to Kashgar (Northern Route)

Tian Shan Mountain Range• Surface temperature: could reach up to 176°F- hotter than a desert• “Flaming Mountains”: part of Tian Shan that is a vivid red colour• Traveled the foothills: over 600 miles

– Climate: -4° to 27°C

Turfan: A Desert Oasis• Bountiful farming oasis in the Tian

Shan mountains– Situated on the Northern Route

from Dunhuang to Kashgar between two deserts

• Intriguing sites near by– “Flaming Mountains”– Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves

• Biggest and nicest along Northern route

– Special irrigation system that uses the Tian Shan mountains

– Exporter of fine grapes

By Rory Finnegan

Flaming Mountains

The production of fine grapes

5e

Lexie

The ancient city of Merv

• Merv is the oldest and one of the most preserved oasis cities on the Silk Road.

• The unpredictable weather was a great factor when traveling.

• Merv hosted worship sites for several different religions (packet) but the main religion was Zoroastrianism.

The Karakum Desert

•It was the only way to get the Merv on the Silk Road.• The Karakum Desert is harsh and dry.•Although it’s conditions were not as rough as the Taklamakan Desert.

Zagros Mountains

• Located in modern-day Iran and Iraq • Laid between the important Silk Road cities of

Merv and Palmyra• Location of the Persian Royal Road • 10,000-18,000 feet in height• Travelers at risk of frostbite, snowstorms, and

rockslides.

Baghdad

•Located near the Tigris and Euphrates River

•Varied geography: deserts, highlands, steppes

• Was a link, on the silk road, between the European and Asian World

Antioch

•Mid-point for silk road travelersBetween Europe and Asia.

•Located in Syria, on the MediterraneanSea.

•Stopping point for Chinese travelers from Chang-an.

Orontes River