More than 2,000 years ago, industrious and brave people on the Eurasian continent opened trade routes connecting major civilizations across Asia, Europe and Africa. Together they were referred to as the "Silk Road" by succeeding generations.
"Silk Road" is a relatively recent term, and for the majority of their long history, these ancient roads had no particular name. In the mid-19th century, German geologist, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, named the trade and communication network Die Seidenstrasse (the Silk Road), and the term, also used in the plural, continues to stir imaginations.