Caravans were made up of many groups of both private merchants and government officials.
Caravans were made up of many groups of both private merchants and government officials.
The travelers hired professional camel drivers, baggage handlers, camp tenders, and other workers, all of whom typically worked only one relatively short stretch of the entire route.
The travelers hired professional camel drivers, baggage handlers, camp tenders, and other workers, all of whom typically worked only one relatively short stretch of the entire route.
Private merchants hired their own armed guards; the Chinese government officials who traveled between Chang'an and Tashkent had military escorts.
Private merchants hired their own armed guards; the Chinese government officials who traveled between Chang'an and Tashkent had military escorts.
The caravans carried supplies of food, water, and animal fodder for crossing the deserts that lay in their path. Depending on the terrain, they might go as few as ten or as many as fifty miles in a day.. . .