The name 'silk routes' points to the importance of:

1. The silk routes linked vast regions of Asia with Europe and northern Africa. 2. Their name points to the importance of the West-bound Chinese silk cargoes carried along them. 3. Pottery, textiles and spices moved along the same routes. _Source: NCERT Class 10 Social Science, 'India and the Contemporary World II', Ch 3 'The Making of a Global World'_