The Bahrain fortress was built close to the seashore around the 3^rd century AD, presumably by Persian Sasanian kings. Islamic coins bearing the symbol of a member of the Salgharid family have revealed that it was reused and transformed during the 13^th century. In the 14^th century, a new fortress was built by the Kings of Ormus and restored by the Portuguese in the late 15^th century. In the Qalat al Bahrain, Chinese coins from the Tang and Song dynasties and ceramics from various origins were found.

Chinese sources play an important role in the historiography of ancient Brunei. The earliest known description of Brunei can be found in the book of Liang. During the Liang dynasty in the 6^th century AD, many Chinese monks sailing to India landed in Brunei. During the Ming dynasty, Brunei was described in accounts of various Chinese travellers, such as Huang Xingzeng’s book Xi Yang Chao Gong Dian Lu (Tributes from the Western Countries) and Zhang Xie’s book Dong Xi Yang Kao (Studies on the Eastern and Western Oceans).

Ancient ceramics, which are usually well conserved in tropical climates, constitute valuable evidence for the dating of excavation sites and the study of historic cultures and trade relations. Peninsular Malaysia was a stopover for merchants travelling from East to West and vice versa on the maritime Silk Road, and ceramics were also transported on the inland river routes. Excavations in Malaysia, especially in ancient ports, have revealed porcelain from various origins including China, India, the Middle East and several Southeast Asian countries.

Sumatra was influenced by Indian culture from the 6^th century AD onwards. The kingdom of Srivijaya became an important centre of Buddhism. There are various archaeological traces of the development of Buddhism in Sumatra from the 7^th to the 14^th century AD, such as inscriptions, religious buildings and bronze and stone sculptures. Many of these artefacts have a Tantric character, which corresponds to parallel developments in East Java. Tantric Buddhism reached Sumatra already during the 7^th century AD.

Ancient Korea was renowned for its textiles. It was probably closely connected to the emergence of sericulture, which had its centre in China in the nearby Shandong province. The English word “silk” might have its etymological origin in Ancient Korean. The Korean language was influenced by Western elements which reached the peninsula through China and Mongolia.

In 1975, the discovery of Chinese ceramics in the sea near Shinan launched a series of underwater excavations close to the Korean peninsula. They revealed a shipwreck which was subsequently explored and salvaged over nine summers, from 1976 to 1984. It belonged to a Chinese merchant ship from the 14^th century AD which had sunk on its way along the sea Silk Road. Inside the ship, over 20 000 pieces of ceramics and a large number of other objects were found.

Monasteries in Bulgaria have a long history and have always occupied a significant position in Bulgarian public life. Many of them were built in sacred sites which can be traced back to the Protobulgarians, who came to the West from Asia on similar routes to the later Silk Roads. On their way to Europe, the Protobulgarians came in contact with numerous tribes and peoples from different parts of Asia and were influenced by their culture and religion. In turn, their beliefs had an impact on Orthodox Christian dogmas.

After the Portuguese reached China in 1514 and Japan in 1542, they soon started trading with porcelain from these countries. Other Europeans also started to engage in the ceramics trade. During the 17^th and 18^th centuries, most porcelain was exported to Europe in bulk to be used as tea and table ware. It was mainly blue-and-white, but there was also a smaller number of more costly overglaze painted ceramics.

The mural paintings in Ajanta constitute a unique example of ancient Buddhist art in Asia. They are the only well preserved mural paintings from this era in India. These paintings from the Gupta period had an important impact on the arts in the rest of India and Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the Indian pictorial tradition spread to the Northeast, East and Southeast Asia via the Silk Road. In the Himalaya, the Ajanta style had a very significant influence on Buddhist art.

In Buddhist art, two different ways of worshipping Shakayamuni have led to the emergence of two types of the triad format. From the Dharma cult, due to which the Dharma (the truth) is the essence of Buddha, has sprung the format of the Buddha surrounded by two attendants. In the context of Mahayana Buddhism, these attendants came to be represented as Mahayana Bodhisattvas. The Buddha cult, according to which there had been many other Buddhas before the birth of Shakyamuni, has given rise to a format showing three Mahayana Buddhas.