The silk road was a series of Eurasian trade networks spanning over four thousand miles connecting Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. The silk road existed from 114 BCE to 1450 CE. The silk road wasn't just important for trade but was also necessary for spreading culture, religion, and belief systems from other cultures. The silk road was used by many famous explorers, travelers, and traders. Without the silk road the world would be a much different place because of how it counted people of many different standing and cultures and allowed everyone to influence each other.

Al Shakandi was a muslim moorish traveler as well as a scholar. Moors are muslims from the Iberian peninsula which is now modern day Spain and Portugal. This source covers a personal narrative of Al Shakandis travels between Spain and north Africa. He considered the Iberian peninsula to be more culturally significant than other islamic centers of importance. All of this

Marco Polo was a venetian merchant and explorer who traveled the silk road from 1271 to 1295. This source covers Marco polo's travel log about his experience with the yuan dynasty’s paper money. Marco Polo describes in detail how the Yuan dynasty mints their currency and avoids counterfeit currency. Marco polo was greatly impressed by the yuan dynasty’s proficiency with paper currency and how convenient it was. He wrote, “And you can take my word for it that the sheet worth ten bezants16 does not weigh even one.” This quote is important because it shows how convenient and valuable this foreign paper currency is in comparison to the bulky currency commonly used elsewhere..