Cities along the Silk Road
This articles lists cities located along the Silk Road. The Silk Road was a network of ancient trade routes which connected Europe with China, spanning from the Mediterranean Sea to the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
The Silk Road's eastern end is in present-day China, and its main western end is Antioch. The Silk Road started about the time of the Han dynasty, when Emperor Wu was ruling.
Along the terrestrial/land Silk Roads
Major cities, broadly from the eastern Mediterranean to South Asia, and arranged roughly west to east in each area by modern-day country
The Silk Roads across the Middle East and Western Asia
Central Asia
- Nisa
- Merv
- Urgench
Ruins of Muhammad II's palace in Old Urgench. - Amul
Southern Routes and South Asia
- Tamralipta (or Tamluk)
- Leh
- Jaisalmer
- Mathura
- Varanasi (or Benares)
- Pataliputra
- Wari-Bateshwar
- Pundranagara
- Vikrampura
- Somapura
- Bhitargarh
- Sonargaon
- Chattagram/Chatgaon/Chittagong
- Comilla/Mainamati/Samatata
- Jahangir Nagar/Dhaka
China: The northern route along the Taklamakan Desert
China: The southern route along the Taklamakan Desert
- Kashgar (or Kashi) (Major City)
- Pishan
- Khotan
- Niya
- Mingfeng
- Endere
- Charchan
- Waxxari
- Ruoqiang Town (Charklik)
- Miran
- Yangguan, or Yangguan Pass
- Dunhuang
- the Mogao Caves
- Anxi
China: From Anxi/Dunhuang to Chang'an (Xi'an)
Along the Indian Ocean trade routes
- Ulsan, Korea
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Tamralipta, West Bengal, India
- Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu, India
- chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Korkai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Muziris, Kerala, India
- Goa, India
- Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Cochin, Kerala, India
- Masulipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Lothal, Gujarat, India
Sudak, Ukraine
- Muscat, Oman
- Aden, Yemen
- Bosaso, Somalia
- Suez, Egypt
- Ayas, Turkey
In Southeast Asia
- Kedah (Early history of Kedah)
- Ligor
- Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines
- Malacca
- Muziris, India
- Vijaya, Champa
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Hoi An, Vietnam
- Perlak, Indonesia
List of Ptolemy
This following list is attributed to Ptolemy. All city names are Ptolemy's, throughout all his works. Most of the names are included in Geographia.
Some of the cities provided by Ptolemy either: no longer exist today or have moved to different locations. Nevertheless, Ptolemy has provided an important historical reference for researchers.
(This list has been alphabetized.)
- Africa
- East Africa – Akhmim, Aromaton Emporion, Axum, Coloe, Dongola, Juba, Maji, Opone, Panopolis, Sarapion, Sennar.
- North Africa – Caesarea, Carthage, Cyrene, Leptis Magna, Murzuk, Sijilmassa, Tamanrasset, Tingis.
- Arabia – Cane, Eudaemon Arabia, Mocha, Mosylon, Sanaʽa, Zafār (Saphar), Saue.
- Bangladesh – Sounagaora.
- China – Cattigara, Chengdu, Kaifeng, Kitai, Kunming, Yarkand.
- Europe – Aquileia, Athens, Augusta Treverorum (Trier), Gades (Cadiz), Ostia.
- India – Argaru, Astakapra, Bacare, Balita, Barake, Byzantion, Colchi, Erannoboas, Horaia, Kalliena, Mandagora, Melizeigara, Muziris, korkai, Poompuhar, Naura, Nelcynda, Paethana (Paithan), Palaepatmae, Palaesimundu, Poduca, Semylla, Sopatma, Suppara (Nalasopara), Tagara, Tymdis.
- Pakistan – Barbaricum, Peshawer, Taxilla
- Persia – Alexandria Areion, Kandahar, Persepolis.
- Persian Gulf – Apologos, Asabon, Charax, Gerrha (or Gerra), Ommana.
- Red Sea – Adulis, Aualites, Berenica, Malao, ancient Berbera, Muza, Myos Hormos, Ocalis, Ptolemais Theron.
- Southeast Asia – Kattigara (Oc Eo), Thaton, Trang.
- Unknown – Ecbatana (located in either modern Iran or Syria), Jiaohei.