Аннотация
The Great Silk Road served as a catalyst for the development of ancient and medieval civilizations. Its study began in the mid-20th century and is associated with the name of A.Kh. Margulan. The article briefly outlines the factors that led A.Kh. Margulan to turn to archaeology, highlights the main methodological approaches used to reconstruct the routes of the Steppe Silk Road from the medieval cities of southern Kazakhstan northward to the cities of the foreststeppe zone of the Urals and Siberia. It is noted that the cartography of transcontinental caravan routes is based on the direct localization of settlements and cities discovered by him, the analysis of medieval written sources, and knowledge of oral steppe historiology. The article presents archaeological evidence of the operation of trade and diplomatic arteries in the Eurasian steppe from ancient times, starting from the mid-1st millennium BC.