Foltz on Silk Roads (Secondary SAQ)

“Caravan traffic existed primarily by and for long-distance trade. For the most part nobody but a merchant would have the means, the motivation, or the courage to undertake travel when its conditions were so rigorous and its outcome so uncertain. This also explains why it was mainly goods of high value in proportion to their bulk that were carried along the Silk Road: one had to stand to make a considerable profit from his [goods] for such a daunting endeavor to seem at all worthwhile. Still, there were people who joined caravans for other than purely commercial reasons. Diplomatic missions attached themselves to them. . . . Others had scholarly interests, and traveled for purposes of research. With the appearance of proselytizing religions came missionaries. . . . As new religious traditions carried by the Silk Road spread eastwards and took root along the way, travelers were increasingly able to find fellow believers in even the most far-flung and out-of-the-way places who could provide them with assistance, fellowship, [and often cash donations].”