The Seleucids inherited the Mesopotamian and Syrian areas after the death of Alexander the Great. During their prosperous rule, they were masters of the Silk Route and it’s goods, at least at the western terminus. Gathering the goods and caravans at Seleucia, they exported Hellenism culture and it’s products as far a China. We will begin our travels in Seleucia, travel through Iran and then Afghanistan, but will stop at Kashmir, the last small country before China proper.

Seleucia (Baghdad)

The city of Seleucia is on the Tigris River, on the route to Babylon. Babylon is yet a few days to the south. The city was founded by, who else but, Seleucus I in 312 BCE. It has since flourished as an emporium, being the hub of several trade routes heading in all directions. The Royal Road, and later Lower Road passed on their way to Susa, the Persian capital. Another local route brings goods from the delta formed by the Tigris-Euphrates River system. Goods also travel up the Euphrates by boat as far as Babylon, then overland to Seleucia.

Yet another route, not often used, crosses the Arabian peninsula to the lands of incense, Yemen. The incense route, usually travelling through Palestine, occasionally came across the Arabian Peninsula direct. This was no route for amateurs! This route crosses the desert and then travels up along the west shores of the Persian Gulf, bringing with it pearls and all sorts of strange fish from the gulf.

Seleucia gathers foods from all sorts of strange countries. Ships from far away India bring spices unknown here, as cinnamon stick and black pepper. Many foodstuffs travel down from Antioch and Damascus, as anise seed, dried dates, products of the olive and wine or beer. Dried fruits come in along the Royal Road, as apricot, cherries, and carrots. And the selection of fish from the Persian Gulf to the south is legendary.

Salt from the Dead Sea and central Anatolia is brought to Seleucia, then travels south to be used in the preparation of dried fish. Asphalt is brought down from Hit and, again, the Dead Sea, for use in the building trades. Having no wood, buildings in Seleucia and Babylon are of mud brick, cemented with asphalt. Marble and lapis lazuli 1 come up from Susa, at the southern end of the Zagros chain of mountains.

Approaching the Zagros from Mesopotamia, the mountains appear to be formidable after the many days of flat, dry, central Mesopotamian plain. The mountain sides are heavily cut by steep gorges, a few which lead over the ridge, and many which end in forbidding walls. We will follow the Khorasan Road, or Great High Road, which is the natural route from Baghdad to Hamadan. This route pre-existed the Silk Road, and now is considered a part of the Silk Road. But to most caravaneers, who seldom see either end of a major route, we are entering the Khorasan Road.

Khanaqin

About ninety miles east northeast of Seleucia is the village of Khanaqin, the frontier of Iran. Here we will leave the lowland plains of Mesopotamia, and begin the climb up to the Iranian plateau. We will cross a series of parallel ridges with intermontane valleys and occasional rivers. This is a world of individual tribes, jealous of their land, and each an authority of their own. They make the rules in their lands, and are more than willing to fight for the right to do so. Generally they are peaceful; we hope.

There will be about 500 miles to go to reach Tehran, and virtually all of it over passes, saddles and through small grass-covered plains. We will reach as high as 8000 feet above sea level, although the plateau floor is nearer 6000 feet. Still, this is an abrupt change from the lowlands of Mesopotamia. There is only one lowland in all of Iran once we cross the Zagros. That will be along the coast of the Caspian sea, from Chalus through Behshahr.

Kermanshah

Kermanshah lies in a loop of the Qara Su River, a tributary of the great Tigris. We first cross the river as it flows to the northwest. After leaving Kermanshah, we will again cross the Qara Su River which is now flowing to the southeast. Skirting the flanks of several small ridges, and again following a small river called the Gamas Ab, tributary to the previous Qara Su River, our trail arrives at Behistun.

Behistun

Behistun is a small caravansary town of mud-brick buildings located about 25 miles east of Kermanshah. An oasis springs up, supporting a small village community and several copse of trees. While there are relief carvings in the mountain near Behistun, no one bothers to go over to view them. They are so far above the road that nothing can be made out. And there are so many rumors about who carved them that no one now knows for sure who they refer to. These self-sustaining villages are composed of separate tribes, and information traded between them often gets confused over time.

We water the animals here, pitch the tents for the night, and tomorrow head deeper into the Zagros., toward Ecbatana, still four or five days to the northeast. Along the way we will pass Kangavar, another small village, where we will spend the night. This part of the route is a series of discontinuous agricultural plains nestled among mountain ridges. Sometimes we flank a ridge; at others, we cross over a saddle.

A day out of Kangavar, we reach the mountain ridge west of Ecbatana. Tomorrow we will climb up the sides, cross over in a saddle, and drop down into one of the largest cities in Iran. At Kangavar, a minor route heads to the southeast, toward Susa. However, most of the caravaneers cross over to Ecbatana to trade, then head toward Susa if that be their final destination.

Ecbatana (Hamadan)

The mountain area around Ecbatana was forested, and the climate was pleasant. Until winter set in. Then the passes snowed closed, and the climate was bitter. The Persian aristocracy maintained their summer residence at Ecbatana, but moved to Susa for the winter. After Babylon became part of the Persian Empire, Babylon was also used for winter residence. However, these mountain people could not well survive in the low, damp, and extremely flat, land of Babylonia. Susa was better.

The land around Ecbatana would sustain animal grazing, and the raising of horses was a favorite business. The village was isolated from other villages by better than a days walk, and was thus self-sustaining. This was typical of most villages along the Silk Road, but even more so in Persia (Iran and Afghanistan). Travel was cut off during winter, and outside help was mostly unavailable.

Kazvin

In the rainy season, a small rivulet of water may be found, heading inland to add it’s burden of minerals to the salt desert in central Iran. It is a mixed blessing, however. When there is water on the surface, frequently the soil is very soggy and difficult to traverse. Not quite a marsh, but nonetheless a hazard to animals which are caught in its sticky hold. We stay in the foothills of nearby ridges where the footing is firm, even at the expense of adding a few miles in our winding course.

Tehran

Entering the valley leading up to the Kandavan Pass, Demavend peak, the highest in the Elburz range, soon comes into view. Snow-covered all year long, it is the source of water for the Sofud Rud, the river on which Tehran is sited. Demavend peak is 18,900 feet high and can be seen from almost anywhere in Iran within a hundred miles. It is this mountain peak which has guided us for the last week or so. It’s promise of water and cool air sustains us while we cross desert lands, always there ahead, beckoning us onward.

Chalus

The village of Chalus, an agricultural village, lies about 30 feet below sea level, rather the Caspian Sea does. Here are the rains the rest of Iran so desperately needs. These lands are very fertile, and for the next one hundred miles to the east almost anything can be grown. This low stretch of coastland varies from 1.5 miles to as much as 30 miles wide. Near Chalus the alluvial plain is widest, and it narrows in both directions.

Behshahr

The village of Behshahr is like Chalus, an agricultural village. There is a fishing industry as well as agricultural pursuits. Behshahr is one of many such villages along this coast. Soon after Behshahr and the east corner of the Caspian, our trail turns east as the coast turns north near where the Elburz range plunges down to the plateau’s level. A gap or valley which separates the Elburz range from others further north affords us a passage east. We will follow this valley toward Meshad, keeping the mountains to our left (north).

Meshad

From the gap to the south, the land is hilly, arid, and with occasional swamp when the rivers overflow. There is no outlet for overflow and it ends up in the seasonal lakes to the south. The plains extended from the gap, in a broad arc to India, and was easily traveled in the winter. Since the rains come between December and March, late summer and fall was the time to travel this route and avoid the passes. To get caught in one of the high passes of the Hindu Kush was to court disaster. Kandahar, on the way to India, was another trade hub. From there trails lead to Pakistan, to India, or north to Kabul.

Kohsan

Herat

Herat lies on the eastern side of the gap in mountain ranges, on the Afghanistan side. It’s location puts it in harms way every time a plundering horde came south. It’s history is one of repeated destruction and reconstruction. Since is lies on the major crossroad of trade routes, it naturally developed a bazaar which made it famous throughout the east. Silk from the far east; pepper from India to the southeast; lapis lazuli from the mountains of northeast Afghanistan. The list is endless.

An item of trade, originally from Egypt, but more and more from other countries, was glass. The demand in China for glass articles was lucrative, especially after the art of glass-blowing was developed. The articles were then useful as well as decorative. The color of glass, in ancient times, was almost totally dependent upon the impurities in the sand used [or the flux]. Glass produced near and in Herat was a beautiful blue, probably the most in-demand color in history. Consequently, a glass industry grew up around Herat.

Obeh

Bamian

Dropping down from the saddle to the valley floor, we travel one leg of a ‘Y’. The other leg heads almost due north to Bactria, connecting with the northern Silk Road. Both these legs combine at Bamian, continue roughly east toward Kabul over the Shibar Pass, then through an extremely narrow valley. The Bamian valley lies at an altitude of about 8500 feet, with a wide fertile floor surrounded by rocky hills and mountains. A clear, rapid stream passes through the valley carrying snow melt to the north, where the river joins the Oxus. Looking across the distance we see steep yellow cliffs along the river, full of caves while behind these hills are red sandstone ranges stretching for many miles, rugged and barren. And much farther back the high mountains which make up the Koh-I-Baba range of the mighty Central Mountains. These are blue, and snow-covered.

This solitude is what enticed the early Buddhist monks to settle in this area and build monasteries. The yellow sandstone cliffs are full of their caves and individual living cells, and of course, the famous giant Buddhas, carved into the cliff. Bamian became a bazaar for trade goods and a resting place for the caravans traveling this route. To the east was Kabul, although getting there was a confusion of tangled gorges and passes.

The distance between Kabul and Bamian valley is about 130 miles, passing through the Central Mountains [Koh-I-Baba range] and several other twisted ranges. The Shibar Pass is only one of many, each with advantages and disadvantages. I chose the Shibar because it is where the modern road now passes over. However, in detail, the passage with all it’s twist and turn could take pages to describe. The Salang Pass, an alternate route, would take us east, but miss Kabul, and join our route in the Panjshir valley.

  Special map showing the complex mountains between Bamian and Kabul.   c.1863

Kabul

Finally we arrive at Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. After exiting the narrow gorge, we are a day crossing the hilly foothills to the west of Kabul. Cultivation is apparent everywhere one looks. Orchards and small wheat fields, irrigated by several small streams coming down the mountain side. The land is terraced in many places, the streams trained to follow and irrigate them in turn.

Begram [Charjkar]

The village of Begram was built on a mound or ridge overlooking mouth to both the Ghorband and Panjshir valley. It commanded all traffic passing here and acted as a customs house for whomever controlled the Silk Road. And the Silk Road split here, as one could use a couple extra days and detour a few miles to Kabul, or continue on to Bamian. Excavation has brought to light the ancient city, a military-like encampment, with it’s water supply and drainpipes. There was a time in Afghanistan when it was on the leading edge of modern innovation. The Silk Road brought wealth to this obscure location; but when the route declined in importance, so did the local economy.

Zebak

The Panjshir valley was heavily wooded in ancient times, and mining had just begun in the Roman Era. As time went on, the forests were cut down to feed the smelter of copper and silver until the hills were barren. Today these hills are covered with green foliage, as grass and brush, but the trees are all gone. Along the valley several villages are passed, as Zebak, where farmers eke out a living. In peace-time, life here is a good.

Zarkhari

Ishkashim

Snow melt due to late season heat often cause rapid melt, and a small rapid stream may become an impassable torrent in late afternoon. A caravan caught ‘napping’ in an otherwise dry arroyo may find itself in serious trouble in seconds. To lull the uninitiated, the streams often dry up into small pools until late afternoon. This happened to Alexander the Great during his sojourn in the area.

Another serious problem for the amateur plying this route: sun glare. For those who have never climbed in the mountains it is difficult to describe the painful headache one gets from sun glare if the surrounding rocks are mostly white. And if there is snow, the effect is much worse. The Eskimos used strips of leather or wood with narrow slits cut in to limit the amount of sunlight in the eye. The people of Afghanistan also used the same method. If something is not done, the end result is sunburnt eyes, which translates into blindness.

Qala Panja

And the trail is narrow, often less than a hundred yards wide, with a raging torrent at the bottom. There are a few bridges thrown across the stream, but many would rather risk the river’s pull. Near the top, the snow remains year around. Along the trail, there are a few villages, although there are few people who remain through the winter. The last such village is Gumbaz, then we tackle the 16,100 foot pass: Wakhjir Pass. On the other side, China…

Sinkiang Province, CHINA

By 400 CE Europe was aware of how silk was produced and the first of the silk worms had arrived. By 500 CE, silk production began in places like Tarsus and Antioch. As they became proficient, profits along the Silk Road began to drop.

PEPPER ROUTE
Kabul to Delhi; going east then south east.

The overland Silk Route takes its name from the most prestigious commodity traded along it. The sea route from India to Egypt could therefore be called the Pepper Route, for though the great warehouses in the Indian ports were stocked with pearls and gems, fine fabrics and perfumes, and valuable carved ivory, but it was the tangy spice from Malabar which was valued above all. In exchange, the merchants from Greece and Alexandria brought wine, metalwork, ceramics, glass-ware and slaves. The following is a description of the route as far as Peshawar.

Kabul

To the south is the wide fertile plain of Kandahar, the ‘breadbasket’ of Afghanistan. Water is available as well as relatively flat alluvial plains. Here are the fields of wheat and barley which feed the people of Afghanistan. And to the east, toward India, is the sub-tropical area of Jalalabad, where the vegetables are grown. Our trail will follow the Kabul River to the east, dropping from 6000 feet in Kabul to around 2000 feet at Jalalabad. The trail is fairly easy, and always downhill, although generally contained in a narrow gorge. Every mile shows evidence of the forage becoming better; the change in the animal’s attitude is also evident. Gone is the dry, barren hillsides, replaced by the verdure of abundant foliage.

The Kabul River system is a tributary of the Indus River system, and we will generally follow it’s banks to Peshawar. There are, however, small deviations around narrow gorges when a low saddle is available. Lataband Pass and Khyber Pass are examples. Overall the Kabul River is about 250 miles long, confined in narrow gorges for the most part. It’s headwaters begin at 14,000 feet in the Hindu Kush mountains northeast of Kabul, and continue to Peshawar, around 2000 feet. Shortly thereafter it joins the Indus River. The Kabul River does not flow through the Khyber Pass, but rather takes a long and narrow gorge in a curve to the north. The Khyber Pass saves difficulty and many miles of travel.

Jagdalak

The Panjshir valley is used as a north-south route for nomads, giving access to the mountains in the north for the summer, and to the south for the winter. There are real forests in this area, which increase to the east and south.

Jalalabad

Jalalabad lies about 150 miles due east of Kabul, at the exit of the trail to a great floodplain nearly a mile wide. Just after Jalalabad, the Kunar River joins the Kabul River, creating large areas of marsh. To nomads used to arid, rocky hillsides, this looks like a jungle, with the tall reeds and high humidity. Looks however are deceiving. While water is plentiful, the land must irrigated through canals. The climate is actually quite dry. On the floodplains rice is a common crop, while on the terraced hillsides are found the citrus groves. Water is available, but nothing grows of itself. It all takes a large amount of work to sustain the crops needed to feed the rest of Afghanistan. And all is in delicate balance, reliant on climate and the rains.

Loe Dakka

The village of Loe Dakka stands on the Afghanistan side of the Khyber Pass, a trade checkpoint for all goods imported and exported. The information was used for taxation and control of goods. It was also used as a garrison to protect the trade caravans against bandits, the plague of many trade routes. Caravans leaving Afghanistan carry wood, skins and a few tree gums. Precious gems are included, along with lapis lazuli. There are metals available for mining in Afghanistan, but the logistics of getting the metals to market and still be competitive is daunting.

The roads and trails in Afghanistan keep the larger part of the country isolated from the progress of the rest of the world. Cities along the Silk Road, and other major trails tend to much more cosmopolitan, in stark contrast to the ‘hillfolk’.

Peshawar

Author’s note:
The pepper route is my own creation. The true Pepper Route was across the Indian Ocean from India to Alexandria, through Egypt. It went by sea during the Roman Era, after someone discovered the trade winds. However, I was interested in the short route from Kabul to Peshawar, and the foregoing is the result. You will just have to live with my indiscretion.

MONGOLIAN SILK ROUTE
thru Bactria