Maritime Silk Road: Route Map and History

Sea lanes from southern China through the Strait of Malacca to India, Arabia and East Africa, driven by the monsoon winds. Ceramics, silk and spices moved along it, and it carried Zheng He's fleets in the fifteenth century.

Map of the Maritime Silk Road in AD 700 — Border map for AD 700. See the world in AD 700.

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<p style="font-size:13px;margin:4px 0 0">Interactive map: <a href="https://chronicamaps.com/en/route/maritime-silk-road">Maritime Silk Road: Route Map and History</a> · Chronica Maps</p>

Key facts

Active	100 BC – 1500 (approximate)
Length shown on the map	about 10,400 km
Main stops	9

Stops along the Maritime Silk Road

	Stop	Ruled by in 100 BC	Ruled by in AD 500	Ruled by in 1100	Ruled by in 1500
1	Quanzhou	Min-Yue	Jin Empire	Song Empire	Ming Chinese Empire
2	Guangzhou	Han Empire	Jin Empire	Song Empire	Ming Chinese Empire
3	Champa	Unclaimed / no data	Unclaimed / no data	Unclaimed / no data	Unclaimed / no data
4	Malacca	Unclaimed / no data	Unclaimed / no data	Srivijaya Empire	Malacca
5	Galle	Simhala	Simhala	Cholas	Sinhalese kingdoms
6	Calicut	Hindu kingdoms	Western Gangas	Cholas	Vijayanagara
7	Muscat	Unclaimed / no data	Unclaimed / no data	Muscat	Muscat
8	Hormuz	Seleucid Kingdom	Sasanian Empire	Seljuk Empire	Emirate of the White Sheep Turks
9	Basra	Seleucid Kingdom	Sasanian Empire	Seljuk Empire	Emirate of the White Sheep Turks

The route is drawn schematically through its main stops; real caravans and ships used many variants. The state columns come from the border maps closest to each year.

Other trade routes

Silk Road · 130 BC–1450
Incense Route · 500 BC–AD 200
Persian Royal Road · 500 BC–330 BC
Amber Road · 100 BC–AD 400
Route from the Varangians to the Greeks · AD 800–1100
Trans-Saharan Route (western) · AD 300–1600
Trans-Saharan Route (central) · AD 600–1900
Hanseatic trade route · 1250–1600
Cape Route to India · 1498–1869
Atlantic triangular trade · 1520–1867

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.