The silk road was an ancient roadway used by many ancient civilizations such as the Chinese, Byzantium, and India to transport goods from East Asia in to Europe and so forth. The road traveled through many different Empires and along the way and each different Empire usually had tariffs that they placed on the caravan traders who were on their way to sell goods such as porcelain, spices, silk, etc. The road was also home to many bandits and plunderers which made the journey a long and dangerous one. The Silk Road was a passage way for culture, goods, and ideas to travel across the ancient world and although the goods brought from the east Asia were expensive, they were sought after by many Europeans which kept the Silk Road in heavy traffic for many decades.
All you need to know about the Silk Road in the opening paragraph of my research paper...