Why did the opening of ocean trade routes reduce prosperity in Central Asia?

The prosperity of Central Asia was historically tied to its role as a bridge between East and West via the Silk Road, an ancient network of caravan tracts that facilitated the exchange of goods and ideas.12

The opening of ocean trade routes during the Age of Discovery significantly reduced the region's economic importance. As European nations sought new maritime paths to Asia to bypass traditional overland routes—which had become increasingly insecure following the breakup of the Mongol Empire and the control of Mediterranean access by the Ottoman Turks and Venetians—the reliance on Central Asian middlemen diminished.32

By shifting trade from slow, costly, and often dangerous land caravans to more efficient maritime shipping, global commerce bypassed the Central Asian heartland. This transition effectively marginalized the region, as the major urban centers that once thrived as way stations on the Silk Road lost their primary function as hubs for international trade.24