The increased demand Request for Chinese silk also led to Causation the establishment of the Silk Road connecting Europe , the Near East , and China .

The Tarim Basin was first referred to as `` Xiyu '' ( ) under the Han dynasty , which drove Motion the Xiongnu out of the Tarim Basin in 60 BCE ( Han–Xiongnu War ) in an effort to build Building and secure the profitable Silk Road , maintaining a variable military presence until the early 3rd century .