The Steppe trade route network is in place about two thousand years before the official establishment of the Silk Roads in the 2nd century BCE. Trade routes are highly valued for travel, commerce, barter and exchange. They can range from simple trails to well-trodden roads with comfort stops.
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Northerners, Iberians and Celts mingle with Minoans, Egyptians and Phoenicians. The latter are rising to prominence as seafaring merchants in the 20th century BCE. The Mycenaeans, mainland Greeks, are quick to establish a connection. Trade reaches continental Asia, especially Korea, and the islands of Japan.
Items for trade could include metals, silk, wool, furs, dye, spices, yarn, tools, weapons, charms, amber, slaves, bronze, Egyptian faience, horses, livestock, oils, olives, amethyst and other precious stones, glass, pottery, tea and wine.
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Traveling east/west from the far East to Eurasia, the Steppe Route meets up with the legendary Amber Road south of the Black Sea. The Amber Road is the primary north/south trade route, running from the area of today's Gdansk, Poland at the Baltic Sea, to the Mediterranean and Greek Aegean Seas.
The Steppe Route stretches 10,000 km (6,200 mi). Centered on the North Asian Steppes the route connects eastern Europe to northeast China, from the Danube River to the Pacific Ocean. It runs just south of Siberia.
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The first person considered to use the Silk Road is Zhang Qian, explorer and diplomat from Han China in 138 BCE. He took an expedition from East to West to demonstrate how safe travel could be achieved to the West, and is also the first person to bring reliable descriptions of western lands to China.
From the main routes, more roads, rivers and seaways branch off to reach distant destinations such as Egypt and north Africa. Eurasia is a network of ground, ocean and freshwater routes. It's an early industrial revolution as new lands are discovered, knowledge expands and transportation gets faster and better.
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The four stages of the Steppe Route are easy going with horse and wagon, but interrupted by challenging landscapes of the Urals, Altai and Sayan mountains, and the Greater Kinghan range. To the south, the land becomes arid and barren.
With trade goods come ideas, information, news and networking. Towns spring up to become stopping and shopping places for travelers. Security is enforced either by state or local bodies, as raiders such as Kaskians come down from the mountains to rob or pillage. Safe travel is a priority for all who use the roads.
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Along the Steppes terrain is varied, from dry grassland to hills and forest valleys. Much of the land in ancient times is given to agriculture and (today) cotinuance of the unique ecosystems of the Steppes.
Good agricultural land is sparse, making settlement sporadic. Many people adopt a hunter-gatherer lifestyle based on a militant mentality. Others are herders who move their animals to the best grazing grounds, and some farm the land, and many combine activities.
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Early People
Early cultures along the Steppe Route are known primarily by burial sites and grave goods. The Steppes are inhabited from c. 7000 BCE by nomadic groups. From these evolve the Yamnaya Steppe People. Around 3000 BCE the Yamnaya migrate in all directions, displacing settlers and causing a ripple effect as farmers move to other lands.
They lack a written language but create artifacts of fine craftsmanship. Those found in grave sites are unique for their delicacy of detail. Botai people of the Steppe are the first to domesticate horses.
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During and after the Steppe migrations a new world order begins. Traders trickle through, on the way somewhere else. Over time the trickle becomes a steady current. By 2000 BCE the route begins to take the shape of the later network of Silk Roads.
By 1000 BCE, the Steppe Route is well known and traveled. Traders, mercenaries, herders, horse warriors, hunting groups, merchants and itinerate workers exchange ideas but guard their secrets well.
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The Silk Roads form a tangible network in c. 130 BCE. The Romans first see silk in 53 BCE, as Parthian victory banners are unfurled after a Roman defeat. Soon, the exchange network along the Steppe Route becomes known as the Silk Road.
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