Editing Silk Road (section)

=== Southern route ===
The southern route or Karakoram route was mainly a single route from [[China]] through the [[Karakoram]] mountains, where it persists in modern times as the [[Karakoram Highway]], a paved road that connects [[Pakistan]] and [[China]].{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} It then set off westwards, but with southward spurs so travelers could complete the journey by sea from various points. Crossing the high mountains, it passed through northern [[Pakistan]], over the [[Hindu Kush]] mountains, and into [[Afghanistan]], rejoining the northern route near Merv, [[Turkmenistan]]. From Merv, it followed a nearly straight line west through mountainous northern [[Iran]], [[Mesopotamia]], and the northern tip of the [[Syrian Desert]] to the [[Levant]], where [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] trading ships plied regular routes to [[Italy]], while land routes went either north through [[Anatolia]] or south to [[North Africa]]. Another branch road travelled from [[Herat]] through [[Susa]] to [[Charax Spasinu]] at the head of the [[Persian Gulf]] and across to [[Petra]] and on to [[Alexandria]] and other eastern Mediterranean ports from where ships carried the cargoes to [[Rome]].{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}