Revealing the Mongolian sections of the Silk Road

• Published in: Türkbilig Vol. 2022; no. 44; pp. 87 - 96
• Main Author: Obrusanszky,Borbala
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hacettepe Üniversitesi 2022
• Subjects: Edebiyat; Türk Dili; Ankara; Türkiye; Hun; ticaret yolları; Altay Dağları; Çin kronikleri; Silk Road; Chinese chronicles; Moğolistan; Altai Mountains; Mongolia; trade routes; İpek Yolu; caravans; Xiongnu
• ISSN: 1302-6011

Researching the great Eurasian trade routes, commonly known as the Silk Road, is a
huge topic for scholars. Firstly, the route extended from Innermost Asia to Western Europe, and
secondly, the sections of the trade routes have been changed through the periods of time. Some sections
became more important, while others diminished. Many empires, states, and kingdoms ruled parts
of the big trading road, but only the steppe empires were able to retain control over the bigger part of
it.
The main sections of the Silk Road are well known to researchers, but its branches, such as the
northern or Mongolian sections, are only partially known, -- despite the fact that they were used by
horsemen peoples from ancient times to the late Middle Ages, who transported important products
from the steppes and the Altai Region to present-day China and back. Taking into account the
geographical conditions of the area and using the records of the Chinese chronicles, in this paper I
will try to identify the main routes of the horsemen people, mainly the Xiongnu (Hun), and I will
describe how they approached the marketplaces of the Silk Road. Thanks to the One Belt One
Road initiative, these old trade routes seem to have revived, and they play an important role in
Mongolian-Chinese regional trade: The Mongols are transporting natural sources - coal and other
minerals - to China on the ancient roads.