There are specific events in every person’s life that he or she will identify as defining moments that contributed to where they are currently of who he or she is a an individual. These events can either be major turning points, or simply affirmations of a current belief that played a key role in the current living environment. This idea of a person having key situations in life can also be applied to events or systems such as the Silk Road. The Silk Road was one of the largest international collaborations of its time as many countries worked to ensure that the silk coming from China was able to make its way west as gold and other items from places like Rome worked their way east. Because of its size, the were always issues with the Silk Road ranging from the nomadic steppe people raiding the caravans to the sheer length of such a trek through dangerous terrain such as deserts. Such terrain led to the need for villages and cities along the road to allow merchants to stop and resupply before proceeding. Based on these issues, it is clear that certain points on the Silk Road were more critical to its success and survival than others. The three most important points on the Silk Road were the Ring of oasis cities around the Taklamakan and Gobi Deserts, the city of Dunhuang, and the porter trip from the Nile to the Red Sea all of which provided strategic and sometimes cultural importance on the Silk Road.
The third most important location on the Silk Road, is not actually on the overland route itself, but is rather the only overland trek on the sea route from the Roman Empire all the way to India. This point can be found by “sailing up the Nile for twelve days to Koptos” and is the “twelve days by camels and through the caravan route...


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...The Silk Road led to the eventual Mongol empire which altered the world as we knew it. In this time as in any time or any individual’s life, there are points which change both life and potentially the world in significant ways. It is these points that stand out to humans, as key learning experiences to determine what can be done to make the world a better place.



Works Cited

Atighimoghadam, Parisa. "Indo-Roman Trade: Rise and Demise." Order No. 1519897 State University of New York at Buffalo, 2012. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
Neelis, Jason. Silk Road Trade Routes. n.d. Website. 21 February 2014.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization . Mogao Caves. n.d. Website. 22 February 2014.
Waugh, Daniel C. Dunhuang: University of Washington. 1999. Website. 20 February 2014.
Wild, Oliver. The Silk Road. 1992. Website. 22 February 2014.