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
Turkey
 * Constantinople, ancient Byzantium, (now Istanbul)
 * Bursa
 * Beypazarı
 * Mudurnu
 * Taraklı
 * Konya
 * Adana
 * Antioch
 * İzmir
 * Trabzon

Azerbaijan


 * Baku huj
 * Shamakhi
 * Barda

Georgia


 * Tbilisi (Tiflis)
 * Batumi (Batoum)
 * Poti

Armenia
 * Yerevan

Lebanon

Syria Iraq Iran
 * Tyre
 * Aleppo
 * Tartus
 * Homs
 * Damascus
 * Palmyra
 * Raqqa
 * Dura Europos
 * Mosul
 * Erbil
 * Samarra
 * Fallujah
 * Baghdad
 * Ctesiphon
 * Baquba
 * Tabriz
 * Zanjan
 * Rasht
 * Kermanshah
 * Hamadan
 * Rey (or Ray in modern-day Tehran)
 * Hecatompylos (Damghan)
 * Sabzevar
 * Nishapur
 * Mashhad
 * Tus
 * Bam
 * Yazd
 * Qazvin
 * Qumis (Hekatompylos)

Central Asia
Turkmenistan
 * Nisa
 * Merv
 * Urgench [[Image:Urgench.jpg|thumb|Ruins of [[Muhammad II of Khwarezm|Muhammad II]]'s palace in Old Urgench.]]
 * Amul

Uzbekistan
 * Bukhara
 * Shahrisabz
 * Samarkand
 * Tashkent
 * Kokand (Fergana Valley)
 * Andijon (Fergana Valley)

Tajikistan
 * Khujand (Fergana Valley)
 * Istaravshan

Kazakhstan
 * Otrar
 * Ispidjab (or Sairum)
 * Taraz
 * Hazrat-e Turkestan View of the Mosque of Hazrat in the town of Turkestan.JPG in the town of Hazrat-e Turkestan. Built by Timur in the 1390s.]]
 * Almaty

Kyrgyzstan
 * Issyk kul
 * Tokmok
 * Bishkek
 * Osh

Southern Routes and South Asia
Afghanistan
 * Bactra (Balkh)
 * Herat
 * Alexandria Arachosia (Kandahar)
 * Bamyan
 * Kabul

Pakistan India
 * Purusapura
 * Pushkalavati
 * Takshashila
 * Multan
 * Banbhore/Barbarikon
 * Debal/Patala
 * Tamralipta (or Tamluk)
 * Leh
 * Jaisalmer
 * Mathura
 * Varanasi (or Benares)
 * Pataliputra

Nepal Bangladesh Bhutan
 * Kathmandu – see also Patan & Bhaktapur
 * Wari-Bateshwar
 * Pundranagara
 * Vikrampura
 * Somapura
 * Bhitargarh
 * Sonargaon
 * Chattagram/Chatgaon/Chittagong
 * Comilla/Mainamati/Samatata
 * Jahangir Nagar/Dhaka
 * Jakar
 * Paro



China: The northern route along the Taklamakan Desert



 * Kashgar (or Kashi) (Major City)
 * Liqian
 * Aksu
 * Kucha
 * Korla
 * Loulan
 * Karasahr (Yanqi)
 * Turpan (Turfan)
 * Jiaohe Ruins
 * Turpan Water Museum
 * Gaochang
 * the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves
 * Chang'an
 * Kumul/Hami
 * Ürümqi
 * Yumen Pass (or Jade Gate or Pass of the Jade Gate) (city called Yumenguan or Hecang)
 * Anxi

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)

 * Dunhuang (Major City)
 * Jiayuguan
 * Jiuquan
 * Zhangye
 * Shandan
 * Liangzhou (Wuwei)
 * Tianzhu, Gansu
 * Lanzhou
 * Tianshui
 * Baoji
 * Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an)

Along the Indian Ocean trade routes
Pakistan
 * Debal
 * Barbarikon
 * Banbhore

China
 * Ningbo, China
 * Fuzhou, China
 * Quanzhou, China
 * Guangzhou, China

Bangladesh
 * Chittagong, Bangladesh

Sri Lanka
 * Colombo, Sri Lanka

India
 * 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

Ukraine

Sudak, Ukraine

Russia
 * Astrakhan, Russia
 * Derbent, Russia

Oman
 * Muscat, Oman

Yemen
 * Aden, Yemen

Somalia
 * Bosaso, Somalia

Egypt
 * Suez, Egypt

Turkey
 * Ayas, Turkey

Italy
 * Venice, Italy
 * Rome, Italy

In Southeast Asia

 * Kedah (Early history of Kedah)
 * Ligor
 * Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines
 * Malacca
 * 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.