The Silk Road Research Group at ELTE (in cooperation with MTA and SZTE) aims to conduct a multifaceted study of the ancient, medieval, and modern Silk Road, primarily based on philological, historical, and archaeological foundations. The group comprises sinologists and turkologists working with Chinese and Turkish-language sources, archaeologists, and experts on the modern Silk Road. Together, they pursue an interdisciplinary approach to build a more accurate picture of the material and intellectual intercultural interactions along both the historical and contemporary Silk Road.

A central objective is to examine in detail the types and characteristics of these cross-cultural interactions, situating them explicitly within specific historical contexts. Indirectly, their findings may also serve as analogies for contemporary globalization processes. The research integrates findings from multiple disciplines and eras, and besides aiming to participate in the international scholarly network, it emphasises the Hungarian aspects of Silk Road history