In the 20th century, excavations provided new information on the contacts between the Roman Empire and ancient India. Roman artefacts, such as pottery, textiles and jewellery, were found in various sites along the Coromandel coast as well as in the hinterland in Southeast India. These sites formed part of a vast trading network on the land and on the sea. Ships from the Roman Empire usually sailed to the Indian West coast and the goods they brought were then transported to the East coast on Indian vessels or via the land route.
Buddhism had a significant influence on early trading networks. By the 2nd century BC, certain regions of mainland and peninsular Southeast Asia formed an integral part of trading networks. Buddhism was in favour of trade, and Buddhist monasteries were closely connected to trading groups. On the Indian subcontinent, monasteries were often situated along the trade routes, received important donations from merchants and became significant economic centres.
From the 13th century onwards, Persians established stable trade relations with the kingdoms of Sukhotai and subsequently Ayutthaya. They also settled in Siam and occupied official positions at court. The Thai royal family adopted elements of Persian culture, for instance in their style of dress. Since music was very important both at the Persian and Thai court, songs and musical instruments were exchanged and adapted to the local culture. The blending of traditional and foreign instruments led to the creation of new instruments in Thailand.
From the 7th century onwards, ships sailed from China and Vietnam to India and Sri Lanka along the maritime Silk Roads, using magnetic needles and star compasses. Arab and Persian merchants sailing in the Indian Ocean elaborated a universal navigational system, and they invented several nautical instruments. Portuguese explorers, who were ignorant of these techniques, had to significantly develop nautical science as they first ventured into the open sea and sailed towards India in the 15th century, a process which took 79 years.
Glass was brought to China from West Asia around the 5th century BC, probably via the maritime Silk Road. Shortly after, the Chinese started making their own glass and exported it to Korea and Japan. At the same time, Roman glass arrived in China over the inland and maritime roads. The import of pre-Islamic Sasanian glassware via the desert route was followed by Islamic glass, which reached China both by land and by sea. From the 11th century, most glass was imported and exported over the maritime road.
International trade with Chinese ceramics began in the 8th century AD, mostly via the maritime Silk Road. The very popular light-green monochrome Celadon, which was conceived as an imitation of jade, was exported from the 10th century onwards. Due to the influence of Arab merchants, who preferred the more flamboyant Blue-and-White ware, the fabrication of this more recent type of porcelain increased significantly, whereas the trade with Celadon diminished.
Shortly after prophet Muhammed founded Islam during the first half of the 7th century, the new religion spread to China through the Sea Silk Route. It also quickly expanded to North Africa where Muslims came to be known as “Moors”, a name given to them by the Europeans. Before the 10th century, Muslims of North African descent arrived in the Philippines over the oceanic trade route and founded families there.
The religious cults practiced by Central Asian nomadic tribes before the rise of the Sasanian Empire were varied, and some bore similarities to Zoroastrianism. Archaeological evidence from sites in Bactria, Magiana and Sogdia has revealed how the myths, gods and their representation as well as funerary rites in Central Asia evolved and spread from the Bronze Age until the arrival of Islam in the seventh century AD.
The Chinese harbour city Quanzhou which was a strategic juncture at the mouth of the Jin River and at the centre of several sea routes became an important centre for trade during the Tang dynasty. Due to advantageous political and economic conditions, the city developed rapidly in the course of the following centuries. The importance of Quanzhou and abundance of goods in the city were admired by famous travellers such as the Italian Marco Polo and the Moroccan Ibn Battuta.
At the margins of the main Silk routes, numerous secondary routes equally contributed to the exchange of goods and works of art and the diffusion of languages, religions and cultural influences. Thus, several routes through the Himalaya connected India and China after the rise of the Kushan Empire in the 1st century AD. The route running through Nubra Valley in the Ladakh district saw the passage of several Western explorers, and it remained open until the middle of the 20th century.
