The Phrase Silk Road Evokes Vivid Images: Of Merchants Leading Camel Caravans Over Deserts And Steppes To Trade Exotic Goods In The Bazaars Of Glittering Oriental Cities, Of Pilgrims Braving Bandits And Frozen Mountain Passes To Gather Scriptures And Spread Their Faith Across Continental Expanses. Beyond The Exotica, However, This Vsi Will Be A Sketch Of The Historical Background Against Which The Silk Road Flourished, And An Essay On The Significance Of Old-world Intercultural Exchange To Eurasian And World History Generally. On The One Hand, Millward Treats The Silk Road Broadly, As A Metonym For The Cross-fertilizing Communication Between Peoples Across The Eurasian Continent Since At Least The Neolithic Era.