Silk was an important item that was traded and began in the Han dynasty. The Silk Road was a network of trade routes and the first marketplace for people to spread their beliefs and cultural ideas across Europe and Asia. Merchants and traders from many countries traveled the Silk Road in technology, disease, and religion; connecting the West and the East. They also imported horses, grapes, medicinal products, stones, etc. and deported apricots, pottery and spices. The interaction of these different cultures created cultural diffusion. The route consisted of vast and numerous trade routes connecting China and Europe. Long-distance trade became a reality when leaders invested in building roads and bridges. “During the 1870s, silk was shipped to the West Coast of the United States via the Pacific Ocean and then redirected to the East Coast by the Transcontinental Railroad. » Although long-distance trade was efficient, it was risky and subject only to pirates. Classical societies brought about a vast expansion of Eurasia and North Africa. As a result, traders did not face as great risks as in previous eras and the costs of long-distance trade declined. The Hellenistic years were an international and diverse period. Merchant interactions were common, and people of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds coalesced in populated urban areas. A key element of the development of the Silk Road is cross-cultural trade. Maritime trade was linked to the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The Monsoon system allowed sailors to know where the wind blows in summer and winter. Religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism traveled through the Silk Roads. "The Chinese empire had extended its border to the center... middle of paper ....... The Manichaean body: in discipline and ritual. : The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.Bentley, Jerry. “Ancient World Encounters: Intercultural Contacts and Exchanges in Premodern Times.” In Journal of World History. : University of Hawai'i Press, 2000. Behera, Subhakanta. “India’s encounter with the Silk Road.” Economic and Political Weekly, December 21, 2002. Heather, Peter. “The Huns and the end of the Roman Empire in Western Europe.” In The English Historical Review. : Oxford University Press, 1995. Ma, Debin. “The Modern Silk Road: The World Raw Silk Market, 1850-1930.” In The Journal of Economic History. Cambridge: Economic History of Association, 1996. Okamura, Lawrence. “The fall of the Roman Empire: a new history”. The Journal of Military History 70: 489-490. Swearer, Donald. The verbality of Buddhism. : The Wilson Quarterly , 1997.