The Silk Roads

The Silk Roads were the trade routes at the heart of a network of exchange that connected Afro-Eurasia. From West Africa to East Asia, merchants moved luxury goods in a long-distance relay that spanned thousands of miles and 1,500 years. Use these lesson plans and materials to teach students the central role the Silk Roads played in creating our modern world.
Silk Roads

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Featured Materials

Rebuilding the Silk Road
Map of Asia depicting the routes of the Silk Road and an illustration of men and camels
World History AP®
Video

Rebuilding the Silk Road External link

The Silk Road didn’t collapse after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It continued to tie together local networks and boost economic production across Asia.
Du Huan
World History Origins
Graphic Biographies

Du Huan External link

Du Huan was a Chinese soldier of the Tang Dynasty who was captured by an Abbasid army. He traveled widely in East Africa and Arabia before returning home.
Medieval Trade Routes Thematic Map
OER Project
Visual Aid

Medieval Trade Routes Thematic Map External link

A full-color thematic map of Medieval Trade Routes in 1450 CE, meant to help you support, extend, and challenge the frame narratives.

Lessons

Lesson 5.6
World History Origins
Regional Webs
200 to 1500 CE
The Silk Roads
The Silk Roads carried a lot more than just silk—they also brought technologies, cultures, and religions to new places. Discover how trade routes like the Silk Roads expanded and contracted over time.
View Lesson
Lesson 2.1
World History AP®
Networks of Exchange
c. 1200 to 1450 CE
The Silk Roads
Explore the people, goods, and ideas that traveled along the Silk Roads from 1200 to 1450.
View Lesson

Materials

Trade Game
Big History
Activity

Trade Game External link

Collect points based on how much you can trade—but be careful, there might be a few trade obstacles to overcome.
Archipelago of Trade
A somewhat faded painting of a bustling city. There is a crowded market with many people milling around, and behind them is a very large castle.
World History AP®
Article

Archipelago of Trade External link

A highly sophisticated and expansive commercial network developed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was able to move goods, ideas, and germs throughout Afro-Eurasia.
Source Collection: Networks of Exchange c. 1200 to 1450 CE
An ancient Chinese map showing lines connecting India, Ceylon, and Africa.
OER Project
Article

Source Collection: Networks of Exchange c. 1200 to 1450 CE External link

People trekked over vast distances to acquire goods from far-off lands. But luxury goods weren’t the only things people traded; new ideas, technologies, beliefs, and diseases moved with them.
Silk Roads Simulation
World History Origins
Activity

Silk Roads Simulation External link

Learn how the Silk Roads connected Afro-Eurasian societies through the exchange of goods, technology, and ideas.
Guilds, Wool, and Trade: Medieval England in a Global Economy
Guilds, Wool, and Trade: Medieval England in a Global Economy
World History 1200
Video

Guilds, Wool, and Trade: Medieval England in a Global Economy External link

Around 1250 to 1350 CE, an archipelago of trade stretched across Afro-Eurasia. Historians Nick Dennis and Trevor Getz explore the role of the wool trade in this system and its impact on England.
How Did the World Become Interconnected?
Big History
Video

How Did the World Become Interconnected? External link

New trade networks caused an explosion in the trade of goods, but also in ideas, technologies, and diseases. These networks were also essential to collective learning.

Teacher Resources Icon
Teaching This Topic

Events Icon

PD Event: Unlock the Secrets of the Silk Roads External link

Learn from Peter Frankopan, professor of global history at Oxford University.
Blog

Blog Post: Who really built the Silk Roads? External link

The story of the Silk Roads is in many ways the story of the diasporic communities that helped hold the system together. We explore one of the most crucial and lesser known of these diasporas: the Sogdians.
discussions

Community Forum: Silk Roads Ideas External link

Check out teachers’ ideas for bringing the Silk Roads trade to life.

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