Major Global Trade Routes, First Milennium

Maritime Trade Routes between India, Africa, and the Middle East, and inter-Asia trade between India and SE Asia and China, were well established by the 1st century AD. Overland inter-Asia trade routes (called the Silk Road in the 19th century) and the maritime routes came together in trading centers in India and the Middle East, bringing together traders, cultures and commodities from all parts of the ancient world. Different segments of trade routes were dominated by regional merchants, and all trade routes converged on Alexandria where Venetian and Genoese merchants took over Asian and Middle Eastern merchandize for European markets. The volumes of merchandize transported by sea far exceeded the capacity of overland trade.