Silk Road

The empires of Rome and China developed during the second century B.C., with only vague knowledge of each other because a east to west land route did not exist. At the time, the Chinese called the Romans by the name of Ta Ts'in or Li Kun, while the Romans referred to China as Seres or “Kingdom of Silk.” At first, the Romans believed that silk was grown in trees. However, all of this would change during the Han Dynasty.