Who or what we called the caravan merchant?

The traders who traveled in groups in order to increase the scale of trade and also to be able to defend bandits are called caravan merchants.

Explanation:

In the ancient and the medieval period, the traders walked over huge distances simply to trade in the commodities that they had got with the people who valued the commodities. During these trade expeditions, they faced numerous obstacles and hindrances. Attacks by bandits were common and the merchants had to defend these attacks in order to save their valuables from getting stolen. Hence, for their own security, the merchants traveled in groups and so were referred to as caravan merchants.