Which ancient empire was considered the middleman when explorers traveled east to asia

The Persian Empire

Explanation:

Persia, which is modern day Iran, was the middleman between the European and Middle-eastern world, and the East Asian world.

The Persian empire had many names accross history: the Achemenid Empire, the Sassanid Empire, the Seleucid Empire, and so on.

For thousands of years, these empires connected the Western world and the Eastern world, althought they did not always work as a good middleman. Persians often extracted expensive tributes from the merchants.

The Ottoman Empire

Explanation:

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