--- title: Map of the Roman Trade with the East, c. 1st–3rd Centuries: Silk Roads and Indian Ocean Routes across Afro-Eurasia author: Simeon Netchev source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15772/map-of-the-roman-trade-with-the-east-c-1st-3rd-cen/ format: machine-readable-alternate license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) updated: 2026-07-05 --- # Map of the Roman Trade with the East, c. 1st–3rd Centuries: Silk Roads and Indian Ocean Routes across Afro-Eurasia _Authored by [Simeon Netchev](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/simeonnetchev/)_ ## Image File [![Map of the Roman Trade with the East, c. 1st–3rd Centuries: Silk Roads and Indian Ocean Routes across Afro-Eurasia](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/15772.png)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/15772.png) ## Image Caption [Roman](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roman/) [trade](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/trade/) with the East refers to the overland and maritime exchange networks that connected the [Roman Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Empire/) with Parthian Iran, the Kushan [Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/empire/), [India](https://www.worldhistory.org/india/), Southeast Asia, [Han](https://www.worldhistory.org/Han_Dynasty/) [China](https://www.worldhistory.org/china/), and, from the 3rd century CE, the [Sasanian Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sasanian_Empire/). During the 1st–3rd centuries CE, these routes linked the [Mediterranean](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/mediterranean/) world with wider Afro-Eurasian systems of commerce through the [Silk](https://www.worldhistory.org/Silk/) Roads, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea. This was a shifting network of corridors shaped by geography, monsoon winds, desert oases, imperial frontiers, and the actions of merchants, sailors, envoys, and local intermediaries. Goods such as silk, [pepper](https://www.worldhistory.org/Pepper/), cotton textiles, gems, ivory, aromatics, glassware, coral, wine, metalware, and [Roman coinage](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Coinage/) moved across these routes, often changing hands many times before reaching their final markets. These exchanges linked Han China (206 BCE–220 CE), Indian kingdoms and port polities, Southeast Asian maritime hubs, the [Parthian Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Parthia_(Empire)/) (247 BCE–224 CE), the [Sasanian](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sasanian_Empire/) Empire (224–651 CE), and the Roman Mediterranean. Chinese silk reached Roman consumers through Central Asian, Kushan, Indian, and Iranian intermediaries; Indian pepper, cotton textiles, gems, and aromatics moved toward the Red Sea and Mediterranean; and [Buddhist](https://www.worldhistory.org/buddhism/) monks, scholars, and merchants traveled from [Gandhara](https://www.worldhistory.org/Gandhara_Civilization/) and [Taxila](https://www.worldhistory.org/taxila/) into Central Asia and China. [Cities](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/) and ports such as [Chang](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Chang/)’an, Samarkand, Palmyra, Barygaza, Muziris, and [Alexandria](https://www.worldhistory.org/alexandria/) functioned as cosmopolitan entrepôts where caravans, river traffic, and monsoon shipping converged. As empires rose, declined, and contested frontier zones, trade routes adapted to changing political control, demand, technology, and environmental knowledge, making Roman trade with the East part of one of the ancient world’s most important systems of interregional exchange. #### Editorial Review This human-authored image has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/). ## About the Author Simeon is a freelance visual designer and history educator, passionate about the human stories that shape the past. - [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/in/simeon-netchev/) ## Cite This Work ### APA Netchev, S. (2026, July 05). Map of the Roman Trade with the East, c. 1st–3rd Centuries: Silk Roads and Indian Ocean Routes across Afro-Eurasia. *World History Encyclopedia*. ### Chicago Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the Roman Trade with the East, c. 1st–3rd Centuries: Silk Roads and Indian Ocean Routes across Afro-Eurasia." *World History Encyclopedia*, July 05, 2026. . ### MLA Netchev, Simeon. "Map of the Roman Trade with the East, c. 1st–3rd Centuries: Silk Roads and Indian Ocean Routes across Afro-Eurasia." *World History Encyclopedia*, 05 Jul 2026, . ## License & Copyright Submitted by [Simeon Netchev](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/simeonnetchev/ "User Page: Simeon Netchev"), published on 05 July 2026. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0deed.en). This licence only allows others to download this content and share it with others as long as the author is credited, but they can't change the content in any way or use it commercially. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. 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