Random Intimacy For Nomads Traveling The Silk Road (10 items)

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  (#1) Hosts Along The Road Let Travelers Sleep With Their Wives

  According to Marco Polo, when travelers stayed at the house of a stranger, the host was often willing to let the visitor sleep with his wife.

  Polo wrote that when a traveler arrived:

  the host is delighted, and desires his wife to put herself entirely at the guest's disposal, whilst he himself gets out of the way, and comes back no more until the stranger shall have taken his departure. The guest may stay and enjoy the wife's society as long as he lists, whilst the husband has no shame in the matter, but indeed considers it an honour. And all the men of this province are made wittols of by their wives in this way. The women themselves are fair and wanton.

  Marco Polo indicated that the Mongols were not particularly thrilled about this activity, but they left the men to their shame and their "naughty custom."
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  (#2) Sex Slaves And Workers Bookended The Road

  Roman attitudes about slaves, sex workers, and concubines were not always clear, and intimate relationships between male owners and female slaves were common. In the Byzantine Empire, women sold themselves into sex work to survive, and, despite the modest Byzantine disposition, copulation was the preoccupation of many.

  With the importance of silk in the Byzantine Empire, the Silk Road was traversed by Byzantine traders who had extensive contact with other merchants. Cathouses were present throughout the Empire, which was the western terminus of the Road. 
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  (#3) Same-Sex Relationships Were Common

  During the early days of the Silk Road, Roman influences were heavy, particularly on the western end. As a result, Roman ideas about same-sex relationships were extended along some of its length. The history of male companionship in the Mediterranean is long and storied, but historians find that the Mongols engaged in homosexuality in China as well as in the Russian khanates. There are accounts of Ghenghis Khan, whose given name was Temujin, sleeping under blankets with other men, and while this doesn't mean they were in an intimate relationship, it's impossible to know either way.

  That said, in the Mongol world, there was a heavy Islamic influence, which tended to perceive homosexuality as an improper subject in polite society, but also tended to accept encounters between two people of the same gender as part of one's private life. 
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  (#4) Eunuchs Did Lots Of Political Work, Specifically Because Of Their Condition

  Eunuchs were commonly used as diplomats and court officials by the late Roman and Byzantine Empires, as well as by Chinese dynastic leaders. After castration, a eunuch could be a hot commodity for a merchant within both empires. Perceived as neutral and harmless men, eunuchs often received privilege and prominence in social and political settings.

  In China, eunuchs were similarly deemed unthreatening and found their way into the closest and highest imperial circles. Zheng He, a renowned Chinese explorer was eunuch, and he used his contact and influence to extend Chinese dynastic influence across the Silk Road. 
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  (#5) The Mongols Often Got Intimate Along The Road

  The legacy of Genghis Khan and his genetic code is legendary. Mathematically speaking, he is said to have over 16 million ancestors, which makes sense given the role of women as items of plunder at the time he was alive. Genghis Khan and his carnal activities highlight copulation as a way of demonstrating power – as well as leaving one's mark, so to speak. Marco Polo also mentioned the practice of the Khan taking any beautiful woman for himself. Tribes within the Yuan dynasty of Kublai Khan, Genghis's son, also sent women to the Khan.

  Overall, Mongol leaders did not want for partners. Polo wrote:

  Now every year an hundred of the most beautiful maidens of this tribe are sent to the Great Kaan, who commits them to the charge of certain elderly ladies dwelling in his palace... then such of them as are of approved beauty, and are good and sound in all respects, are appointed to attend on the Emperor by turns. Thus six of these damsels take their turn for three days and nights, and wait on him when he is in his chamber and when he is in his bed, to serve him in any way, and to be entirely at his orders. At the end of the three days and nights they are relieved by other six. And so throughout the year, there are reliefs of maidens by six and six, changing every three days and nights.
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  (#6) Women Were Kidnapped And Exchanged

  The Silk Road served as a conduit for moving women around Asia – by both force and diplomacy. The story of Wenji highlights the role of women along the Silk Road. In the 2nd century, Wenji was captured and transported along the Road, forced to marry a nomad warlord before being rescued. Wenji had two children by the man, and after her rescue, she mourned the loss of her nomad family. 

  For each step is a step away from them.
  My soul is overwhelmed.
  As their figures vanish in the distance
  Only my love remains.

  In the 7th century, Wencheng faired a bit better when she was escorted from China to Tibet as the bride-to-be for for a Tibetan ruler. The event was celebrated in China and Tibet alike.
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  (#7) Buddhist Tantra Influenced Relations In Practice And Spirit

  Tantric Buddhism, a variation of Buddhism that emphasizes the path to Enlightenment through achieving ecstasy, is based on the idea that a person embraces the Divine. As Tantric Buddhism spread along the Silk Road – out of Tibet, where it was based, and into China and India – these depictions influenced carnal attitudes and practices.
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  (#8) The 'Kama Sutra' Spread Along The Road

  The Kama Sutra was written, or at least compiled, in the 3rd or 4th century and is considered a manual for intimate relations by modern readers. In its origin, it emphasized intimate relationships as social and economic duties and offered positions, illustrations, and guidance about lovemaking. "Kama" means pleasure – so that was part of the plan too.

  Hinduism never made its way too far outside of India, but it was one of the faiths exchanged along the Road. Hindu works like the Kama Sutra were popular during the Gupta period throughout the Indian Ocean basin.
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  (#9) Intimacy Could Be Medicinal

  In Ancient China, intimacy was natural, valuable, and believed to have a therapeutic, medicinal value. Medical texts include descriptions of proper and improper intercourse, practices that continued during the ebbs and flows of the period within which the Silk Road was used. The Tang Dynasty manual known as The Classic of the White Girl offers advice to men about lovemaking.

  It also stresses the importance of the act for health and nature. Huangdi asks: “What will happen if one abstains from [intimacy]?”

  Sunu replies: “That is absolutely out of the question. Yin and yang have their alternations as does everything in nature. Human beings should follow the rhythms of yin and yang just as they follow the rhythms of the seasons..."
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  (#10) Inns Along The Road May Have Offered Women To Travelers Too

  Turfan, an area in China through which merchants passed, entered into contracts with locals and officials for services like interpretation and travel passes. Official documents from Turfan reveal that women were at the market, as well, and may have been offered to men staying along the Road as part of a contractual agreement.

  Merchants could also buy female slaves, and "the new owner can beat his slave, maltreat her, tie her up, sell her, hold her hostage, give her as a gift, or do whatever he likes with her." Copulation isn't specifically mentioned, but it is mentioned that the buyer can do "whatever he wants with her."

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