> They lasted until 1453 - incidentally only 50 years before Columbus sailed Sidenote: incidentally not coincidentally. The closure of the Silk Road and other

> They lasted until 1453 - incidentally only 50 years before Columbus sailed Sidenote: incidentally not coincidentally. The closure of the Silk Road and other important East-West land routes as a result of the Ottoman conquest was one of the important spurs that kicked off the Age of Discovery, as everyone scrambled to find new routes.