“The Silk Road was more significant for interregional trade than it was for the transmission of ideas.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Candidates will consider the merits or otherwise of the argument that the Silk Road was more significant for interregional trade than for the transmission of ideas. While the focus of the response must be within the timeframe of this topic, it does not need to span it, nor do the factors affecting interregional trade and the transmission of ideas need to be contemporaneous. Candidates may elect to agree or disagree with the statement or they may find some middle ground, arguing that significance varied at different times. Some candidates may suggest that significance varied per the direction of travel. They may note, for example, that the Islamic Golden Age and the 12th century Western renaissance could both be regarded a consequence of ideas that were transmitted from the East. Some candidates may also suggest that the East gained little in return.