Wide Angle: Tales of silken times

Usually attributed to the German geographer Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, the term “Silk Roads” – or Seidenstraße – was used in the 19th century by German historians and geographers exploring connections that existed two millennia ago between the Mediterranean area during the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty China. Silk caught the imagination of scholars because it was (and is) a luxury product that was easily transportable – and worn in imperial Rome.