What motivated and sustained the long distance commerce

Silk Roads, Sea Roads, and Sand Roads?

Explanation:

The desire of elites for hard-to-find luxury items

from distant parts of the Eurasian network, as well as

the accumulation of wealth, especially among

merchants who participated in the trade, motivated

long-distance commerce. Sustaining the commerce were the support of empires and smaller states that benefited directly from the trade; the spread of religious traditions, including Islam and Buddhism, that through shared beliefs tied merchants and sometimes whole societies together over wide regions; and the development of technologies like larger ships and the magnetic compass.