Question

Usage of the Silk Roads for trade declined near the end of the Han dynasty primarily due to

• A. Economic conditions that made long-distance trade too expensive
• B. Constant warfare that made roads unsafe for travel
• C. Decrease in the demand for silk goods in the Mediterranean
• D. Devastating shortage of Chinese silk
• E. Epidemic disease that traveled along the roads and decimated the population

Answer 1

The correct option is E Epidemic disease that traveled along the roads and decimated the population

The decline in trade along the Silk Roads near the end of the Han dynasty was primarily the result of a significant reduction in the population caused by an epidemic disease that travelled the road. Because the Silk Roads connected so many different regions of the world, it was an ideal conduit for the transmission of disease. By the end of the Han dynasty, various diseases had taken a heavy toll on the population in China and elsewhere. As a result of the diminished population, trading decreased.