Short answers, pulled from the story.
German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen introduced the phrase Silk Road in 1877 through a series of lectures. The term did not exist in historical records from the Han dynasty or Roman Empire before this publication.
Chinese expansion initiated formal control over Central Asian territories around 130 BCE following missions led by Zhang Qian. Military campaigns secured the Hexi Corridor and established garrisons along the Tarim Basin to protect merchants from Xiongnu raiders.
UNESCO designated the Chang'an-Tianshan corridor of the Silk Road a World Heritage Site on the 22nd of June 2014 during its annual conference. Additional designations included the Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor in 2023 while Fergana-Syrdarya and Indian portions remain on tentative lists.
The Black Death devastated Europe beginning in the late 1340s possibly originating from marmots in Central Asia before spreading westward along Silk Road trade routes. Genoese traders carrying infected goods from Trebizond introduced plague to Western European ports.
Buddhism spread eastward starting in the first century CE when Kushan Empire expansion brought monks into Chinese territory. Nestorian Christian missionaries arrived on the Silk Road in 781, leaving behind an inscribed stele documenting their presence near Chang'an.