From the 2nd century BC to the beginning of the 15th century the Silk Road (or more correctly roads, as there were alternative routes) was the primary trade route between China and the West. One would think that a trade route would invite highwaymen and substantially raise the cost of shipping valuables. How then was security of the merchants traveling on the Silk Road assured? Did they have to ride in large caravans, convoy-style? Pay "protection" fees to tribes along the way? Or did the major powers along these roads provide a police presence? Were there checkpoints or fortresses along the road? The latter seems possible to me because with the fragmentation of the Mongols and the rise of the Ottomans in Asia Minor the silk road came into disuse and a motivation factor for the Portuguese and others (e.g. Columbus) to look for a sea route to China in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
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2What research have you done? Have you researched the etymology of the word caravan? Have you at a minimum read the Wikipedia article on the Silk Road?– Pieter GeerkensCommented Dec 22, 2014 at 18:16
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2@PieterGeekans Yes, I read the Wikipedia article on the Silk Road. It does not really answer this question; it suggests that the big states had an interest in keeping it running, but they do not explain how, or to what extent, peace on the road was maintained.– Bruce JamesCommented Dec 22, 2014 at 19:32
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I think this question should show more preliminary research, but I'm reluctant to close a question with an excellent answer.– MCW ♦Commented Dec 22, 2014 at 20:16
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8@MarkC.Wallace When I ask questions, I'm trying to get good answers. All that is needed is enough information to get someone's juices running and to keep the scope of the answer somewhat limited. You'll find at other Stackhouse sites, the best questions are often asked by neophytes who know little but want to learn. I don't like when sites play "stump the expert" or questions are asked to show off the OP's brainpower.– Bruce JamesCommented Dec 22, 2014 at 20:52
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3@BruceJames Eloquently stated. I had to reconsider my position after reading this. I won't carry out the discussion here, but I wanted to recognize a well articulate counterargument.– MCW ♦Commented Dec 23, 2014 at 11:54
2 Answers
Mentions of Bandits and robbers:
Bandits and robbers were a constant threat on the Silk Road. Xuanzang mentions several encounters with bandits.
Near Dunhuang, the Silk Road split in two to skirt the rim of the Taklamakan Desert. The roads met again 1400 miles west at Kashgar. But between these two oases lay the Silk Road's most dangerous terrain. Among the threats were starvation, thirst, bandits, and ferocious sandstorms that were known to bury entire caravans.
The Mogao Caves near Dunhuang are laden with Buddhist art spanning a period of 1000 years. Most of the images are religious, but there are also images of everyday life. There are scenes that show travelers on the Silk Road, and some portray bandits.
The Logistics:
The Silk Road goes through some of the most challenging terrain in terms of vast deserts and high and rugged mountain ranges. The terrain, the weather and many other risks did indeed result in higher transit costs. Bandits and robbers certainly added to the risk. But several systems were in place to reduce the risk.
Few people ever traveled the full length of the Silk Road. The goods were transported by a series of routes and agents. This mode meant that local agents, familiar with terrain, politics, and bandits of their own region, who were better suited for the task, would ensure safe transit.
The shipment of goods from South Asia to Central Asia (or vice versa) was a long process that involved a number of transporters, which resulted in high transit costs. Whether the transporters were local villagers in the role of kiraiyakash or professional long distance porters such as the caravan men in Rasool Galwan’s autobiography (Galwan 1923), the transporters of goods through Ladakh had to be well informed concerning regional conditions, and familiar with the terrain. Landslides, sudden snowstorms, and bandits were just a few of the hazards faced by those transporting goods through Ladakh.
Travelers joined caravans to benefit from safety in numbers and experience of the caravaneers gathered from their previous trips.
Caravans were used mainly in desert areas and throughout the Silk Road, where traveling in groups aided in defense against bandits as well as helping to improve economies of scale in trade. -- Wikipedia
Another important choice was in the the routes used by the merchants, which were selected according to the political stability of the regional power. Centralized states, confederations and regional powers promoted trade and diplomacy. They invested in communications and economic infrastructure such as secure roads, water depots, inns, reliable coinage, standard weights and measures. They imposed taxes on travelers and traders. The merchants found it wiser and safer to pay the controlling authorities for safe passage than to risk encounters with bandits.
Defense against banditry took place at private and institutional level. Caravans of goods needed their own guards against plundering by the bandits (i.e., for security risk), and this was an added cost for the merchants making the trip. The institutional level had three forms: The Chinese garrisons and watchtowers beyond the Great Wall, Mongolian postal stations, and caravanserais in the Middle East and Anatolia. These institutions provided safety, supplies, and lodgings for merchants. Besides, the Chinese soldiers informed about incidents using smoke and flag signals in real time.
Different groups rose and fell through the ages, gaining political and military power, and hence controlling the trade along the Silk Road. Trade along the Silk Road was at its zenith during the Tang dynasty due to the stability of the government.
The travelers along the Silk Road changed over time. Chinese, Yuezhi, Bactrians, Indians, and Sogdians were the first to create the historical Silk Road in Central Asia in the first century BC. In time Muslim powers came to control large parts of the road.
Islamic patrons built hostels, known as caravanserai, that accommodated both people and beasts of burden. In addition, the Seljuk Turks who controlled the western part of the Silk Road offered the traders a special guarantee of safety. The government assured their financial security by paying compensation out of the state treasury for any loss caused by robbery. The Turkish authorities, whether the unified Seljuk sultanate or independent amirs, also built fortified caravanserais that provided food, fodder, and lodging for the travelers at intervals of one day’s journey apart all along the trade routes.
Source: The Silk Road in World History
Taking into account the the time taken for 1 day's travel, caravanserais were strategically located on the trade routes at distances of 25 to 40km from each other. The topography, of course, affected the distance of the caravanserais. The caravanserais not only sheltered caravans, but also served as military stations.
And lastly, there was also Insurance.
The Seljuk Sultanate of Anatolia created a state insurance policy in order to manage the security risks of land and sea traders whose goods are damaged or stolen due to bandit, pirate, and neighboring state attacks (Turan, 2009). For insurance purposes, contracts were signed between caravaneers and merchants that guaranteed the quantity of the goods and also reduction in the transportation fee if any delays occurred. Similar transportation contracts are used by third part logistics firms in today’s supply chains.* The caravaneers kept lists of goods carried with specifications such as variety, weight, and volume (Matthee, 1999). This practice is the origin of today’s bill of lading in global supply chains.
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Thank you very much for the links to books, especially the supply chains one. Commented Nov 21, 2015 at 12:10
The Silk Road was very secure during the peak of the Mongolian Empire, basically the early 13th to 15th centuries.
Most of it was subsumed in Mongol controlled territory, and the movements of troops along or around it also acted as a "policing" mechanism.
Prior to the Mongols, the nearly-as-ferocious Turks maintained the security over most the Silk Road.
During times when there was no "dominant power," bandits and robbers were a real problem, as pointed out in other answers. At such times, only relatively short "stretches" of the roads, between nearby cities, were reasonably safe, and most of the shipping took place over those stretches in "relays." People that went beyond those relatively safe stretches really "paid their money and took their chances."
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