Southern Silk Road: The Establishment of A Southern Route

We do not know exactly when the South Taklamakan Route was first used, but silk from c 1500 BC has been found in Bactria, suggesting the use of the route very early in history. Khotan was possibly the source of nephrite for China as early as 645 BC.

However, from historical sources, such as the writings from Sima Qian, it seems the route was poorly known before the 2nd century BC and that it importance was during the Han period, when Khotan had garrisons to protect it. The importance that this route had is illustrated by the bronze Sino-Kharosthi coins, based on the tetradrachm from the 1st century AD, that have been found in Khotan, suggesting an already well established relationship between China and the Indo-Greek empires through Khotan in the beginning of the Han era.

Moreover, it seems from Mitochondrial DNA analyses that Central Asian population share genes with East Asians and Europeans, suggesting regular contacts between them. The foundation of Khotan is seen as reflecting a marriage between an Indian and a Chinese. All these factors suggest that interaction between Khotan and its neighbours, whether to the south, west or east had taken place over a protracted period of time.