Editing Silk Road

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{{Quote|Through the passing of untold ages, this road has buried the strife and dreams of petty kingdoms and caravans... as well as wars that have been forgotten.|an account of the Silk Road and the Battle of Talas|Assassin's Creed: Dynasty|Beacon (Part 1)}}
[[File:ACIMarcoPolo.png|thumb|250px|The caravan of [[Marco Polo]] travelling along the Silk Road.]]
The '''Silk Road''' was a network of trade routes that linked together [[Asia|eastern]] and [[Europe|western]] civilizations across the great Eurasian continent and northeastern [[Africa]]. It was vital to ancient commerce and cultural exchange, connecting realms as far apart as [[Roman civilization|Rome]], [[Iran|Persia]], [[India]] and [[China]] for thousands of years.<ref name="Dynasty 8">''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' – [[Beacon (Part 1)]]</ref>

Among the most significant goods that passed through this network were the [[silk]]s of China, the glassware of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]], and the spices of Central Asia.<ref name="Dynasty 8" /> Cities situated along these routes rose in importance, as was the case with [[Herat]], which benefited from its proximity to the {{wiki|Hari River}}.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' – [[Database: Herat]]</ref> The area of Central Asia known to the Chinese as the [[Western Regions]] was a strategic borderland between empires. Conflicts like the [[Battle of Talas]] in 751 between the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] and the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasids]] constitute some of the "forgotten" stories of the Silk Road.<ref name="Dynasty 8" />

Exchange was not limited to material goods; the dissemination of ideas and beliefs of all forms was facilitated as well. From India, [[Buddhism]] spread into Central Asia and reached China by the 1st century, where the growth of its influence only accelerated in the tumultuous era that followed in the region. By the time of the [[Tang dynasty]], it had been thoroughly entrenched as a predominant faith in East Asia. By extension, the Silk Road also served as a channel for the movement of [[Pieces of Eden]] and other relics of the [[Isu]] like the [[śarīra]], which the Buddhists venerated as remains of enlightened masters. [[Chang'an]] was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, and under the open society of the Tang, the city was home to a sizable population of [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], [[Christianity|Nestorian Christians]], [[Islam|Muslims]], scholars, merchants, and entertainers from as far away as [[Middle East|Western Asia]]<ref name="Special 1">''Assassin's Creed: Dynasty'' – [[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty Special 1|Special 1]]</ref>

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed Chronicles: India]]'' {{Mdat}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Dynasty]]'' {{1st}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[zh:丝绸之路]]
[[Category:Locations in China]]