Iran-China Cultural Contacts: Achaemenians and Sogdians Role in the Formation and Development of the Silk Road

Researchers place the beginning of Iran-China relations and the following development of the Silk Road at Jang Chians visit to the territories to the west of of the Han Empire in the 2nd century B.C. But it is safe to assume that prior to this visit there existed contacts which set the stage for trade via the Silk Road. Studying Chu folk culture and observing its resemblance to Indian and Iranian tradition and its similarity to Zoroastrianism, archeological findings, existing information in Greek and Chinese books, namely those obtained from transcripts of Cyrus Cylinder inscribed on two pieces of horse leg bones in Gurbanunggut desert in the north of Xinjiang, all reveal indirect contacts between Iranian and Chinese culture since the Achaemenians. As Chinese trade with the Sogdians grew in the 3rd century B.C, and following Alexander the Great’s military campaing and the expansion of Greek rule, the contact between the two civilizations started and so did the life of the Silk Road. Thus, the current research seeks to study the role of the Achaemenians and Sogdians in the formation and developmento of the Silk Road based on archeological and historical evidence.