During the last episode in our series on the economic and trading history of the Roman
Empire, we observed the fascinating interactions between Romans, travelling down from the Red
Sea, and the people of the eastern coast of Africa. As those sailors were casting off
to the south, others were preparing to ride the monsoon winds east. These ancient routes,
used for millennia by even the most ancient civilisations, would eventually lead Rome
to make contact with some of the most sophisticated regions. Welcome to our video on Roman trade
in the Northern Indian Kingdoms.
Roman vessels bound for the enigmatic and prosperous lands of India departed their Red
Sea bases in the month of July, when seasonal northerly winds blew down the gulf. From these
ports, ships embarked on a 700 mile long initial voyage to an Arabian port known as Ocelis,
where they would rest and recuperate before moving on. An old manuscript listing ports
and harbours - a periplus - describes this settlement as ‘not so much a port of trade
as harbour and a watering station, the first stopping place for those sailing on’ - a
point of view Pliny also verifies. It was located near the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb
where the Red Sea met the Gulf of Aden, and was roughly 30 miles south of Muza.
The long eastern voyage was initially made by Greek ships following the coast of Iran
in the first century BC; according to the periplus: ‘men formerly used to sail in
smaller vessels, following the curves of the bay’. However, when later Greek captains
charted the shape of India’s coast, they discovered that shorter open-ocean crossings
were possible. Legends emerged that the very first trans-ocean voyages to India were made
and mapped by a sea captain named Hippalos, and it was for him that the crucial southwest
monsoon winds were named.
As we once again accompany the Roman ships on their journey, we see that they usually
entered the Gulf of Aden in early August at the dawn of the southwest monsoon winds. Some
ships would follow the Arabian coast as far as Qana, while others sailed south to the
point of the Horn of Africa, and would then set out into the open ocean from either of
these points. From here, captains and their crews trusted
that the monsoon winds would carry them to their destination. These winds were often
incredibly powerful, usually blowing at around 40 miles per hour, but would commonly intensify,
increasing to around 60 miles per hour in speed, and were accompanied by high, overhanging
waves. Roman captains making this trip timed their voyages so that they would arrive in
September, spending 2 months in India until the return winds came in early November. As
they approached the subcontinent, Roman merchants had taken 70 days on their Egypt to India
journey and were now roughly 3,000 miles away from their empire.
The famous Indus River was known widely as the ‘mightiest of all rivers along the Indian
Ocean. Its delta’s seven outlets expelled a vast quantity of freshwater, which Roman
pilots could recognise in seawater due to its pale hue compared to the rest of the ocean
water, and the increase in the eel population. During the first century AD, the Indus region
was ruled by a series of Indo-Parthian warlords, who controlled the main cities in the Sindh
region. One of the most well known kings of this lesser known state was Gondophares.
When they reached these lands, Roman ships moored at a port named Barbaricon on the central
mouth of the Indus, but most trade was conducted further inland, at the royal city of Minnagar.
This was the district capital of southern Indo-Parthia, and the periplus tells us that
‘all cargoes are taken up the river to the king at the metropolis’ - the ‘metropolis’
being Minnagar.
At this stage, as the Roman merchants unloaded their cargo, they would begin to experience
what appears in hindsight to be a sophisticated and highly organised process of bureaucratic
organisation - outlined to us in the arthashastra. Firstly, Roman cargo unloaded at Barbaricon
was assessed and catalogued by a customs officer, known as the Antapala, or the ‘Officer in
Charge of the Boundaries’. This person would examine the quality of incoming cargo and
verify it by stamping his own personal seal on it. He also collected road and ferry tolls
on merchants, kept customs records and maintained a network of spies to keep information on
incoming cargo, and to keep an eye on suspicious mercantile activity.
As the merchants and their cargo arrived at the grand gates of Minnagar, another official
known as the ‘Superintendent of Tolls’ operated a customs station, marked by a distinctive
banner which signified his presence. His staff would, according to the Arthashastra, record
‘who the merchants are, where they come from, how much merchandise they bring and
where they received their first customs seal’. Details taken at both Barbaricon and Minnagar
were routinely compared to ensure taxes were not being avoided somehow. Goods without a
seal mark were likely subject to double tax rates, while those having counterfeited a
seal would have their entire cargo forfeited. Despite the necessary taxes, natives who imported
foreign goods were favoured by having their taxes cut.
Roman merchants visiting the great city at Indo-Parthian Minnagar offloaded bulk clothing,
multicultural textiles and printed cloth. Dealers also offered products as diverse as
expensive storax resin perfumes, crystal clear glass vessels and expensive silverware for
luxury dining. It is interesting to note that the high demand for Roman glass in Minnagar
and the east in general was due to its high quality and pure nature, whereas glass ornaments
produced in India and China were small, heavy and filled with opaque impurities.
Higher value deals were often conducted by Roman traders with Imperial coinage, extremely
high demand red coral or peridot gemstones known as chrysolithon - or ‘golden stones’.
Furthermore, Romans would trade incense products, which had been obtained on the journey to
India when the traders stopped off at trading centres in Africa and Arabia.
The Mediterranean variety of red coral is worth a more detailed examination, as it is
incredibly interesting in many ways. Most types of this coral would become brittle or
discolour when brought to the surface, but the mediterranean variety did not. To both
the Roman people and the populations in India, Mediterranean red coral had practical, mythical,
religious and supernatural ‘uses’ which increased its desirability. It was, for example,
used for things as broad as a decoration for jewellery and ornaments, an adornment for
Celtic swords, and as an amulet which supposedly protected the wearer from poison. It is said
that Roman authorities were amazed at how much Indians desired this niche good. The
Arthashastra even advises rulers to stockpile this magical substance in the royal treasuries
alongside such precious items as pearls, rubies and diamonds.
At the turn of the first century AD, the Indo-Parthian kingdom’s territory extended north into
the Hindu Kush, often receiving trade goods from both sides of the Himalayan mountains,
and from the Bactrian region as trading caravans left the Central Asian Silk Road. Roman traders
could therefore exchange their own goods for a variety of exotic Indian, Afghan, Iranian,
Scythian and Chinese goods at Minnagar. Perhaps the most important export market in
this bustling trade centre involved spices, aromatics and plant-based drugs. Roman merchants
received locally grown Bdellium (a fragrant resin), Nard (an aromatic amber) and Lyceum
from the Himalayas, as well as costus from Kashmir. From the Silk Road traffic that reached
the Indus region, Barbaricon offered valuable silk from China, as well as exotic animal
furs, including mink and sable. Interestingly, it was a gift of a valuable ‘sable’ fur
cloak that the young Genghis Khan gave to Toghrul as a gift, in order to win his favour.
Also received were natively produced indigo dyes, turquoise stones from Iran and Lapis
Lazuli from Afghanistan.
Departing Indo-Parthia, Roman ships sailed hundreds of miles to the south along the coast,
heading for a Gujurati port known as Barygaza. These sea routes were notoriously dangerous
for the deep-hulled Roman ships, as the vessels would routinely run aground on invisible underwater
hazards, or would be pulled back and forth by powerful currents.
The port of Barygaza was ruled by a dynasty of formerly nomadic Saka kings, who swept
down onto the Indian subcontinent from their homeland on the Asian steppe during the first
century BC. It it said that in 26BC, while Augustus was campaigning in Hispania, the
Princeps received his first emissaries from these ‘Indo-Scythian’ peoples. This embassy
was sent during a period where the Sakas still ruled most of the Indus region, but were being
progressively threatened by Parthia’s eastern expansion. Therefore, it is likely that these
Saka emissaries came to Augustus seeking a military alliance, by which they and the Romans
could pincer the Parthians from both east and west. Likely having heard of the former
conflict between the two empires, the Saka probably had the impression that Rome was
going to attempt a conquest of Parthia. This diplomatic mission was likely the product
of the last true Indo-Scythian king, known as Azes, who was also responsible for sending
yet another embassy in 22BC. This time, Saka ambassadors delivered a letter to Augustus
which had been written in Greek by Azes himself. It again asked for an alliance against the
Parthians and contained other diplomatic requests. However, at this point the Romans were concluding
peace with Persia and therefore only agreed to a ‘treaty of friendship’ between themselves
and the Indo-Scythian Saka kingdom. With this embassy came a number of exotic
gifts for the Romans, such as a one-armed Indian youth, a Himalayan Monal Pheasant,
and tigers. On top of these extravagances, a Buddhist or Jain missionary also accompanied
the emissaries from India, who sought to establish a religious site in Rome itself. While this
request was denied by Augustus, the missionary in question remained with Augustus well into
21BC.
There were few good quality natural harbours on India’s western coast and Barygaza was
the closest alternative, being roughly 30 miles upstream along the Narmada River. Strong
currents, shoals and reefs in the gulf and in the river made the approach to this centre
dangerous for ships, especially those of foreigners who were not familiar with the local perils.
The Saka king Nahapana, who ruled during the late 1st or early 2nd century, realised these
risks, and arranged for local rowing boats to guide and tow Roman freighters past the
sandbanks and other obstacles. This service was likely paid for by the Roman traders,
with the acquired funds going to the royal treasury.
After reaching Barygaza, ships would dock in the river next to the city and their merchant
crews would proceed to trade in the city’s port district. One of the main commodities
which attracted Roman merchants to northern India was the diverse and plentiful range
of colourful, precious gemstones produced at inland mines. In contrast, only a few mines
of this sort existed in the Roman Empire, and these mines did not produce nearly the
quality and variety of gems to satiate the Roman consumer base’s desire for luxury.
Eastern gemstones were prized for their beauty and expense, and they quickly became an essential
feature in widespread Roman fashions. Affluent Roman women wore gems in their rings, necklaces,
earrings, hair clasps, tiaras and much more. The status garnered by possessing these precious
objects was enough that, in the first century AD, a single rare and costly jewel was enough
to attract male attention and draw envy from other women.
However, not all Romans were keen on this newfangled expensive fad. Clement of Alexandria,
for example, criticised ‘foolish women’ who wore such Indian gems, while Martial called
it ‘their cunning plunder, levied from us for the sake of infatuation’.
It was not only women who adorned themselves in these stones - men increasingly wore larger
amounts of rings encrusted with eastern gemstones as an ostentatious status symbol and display
of wealth. From engravings on drinking vessels to ear pendants, the usage of these gemstones
was almost endless, justifying their high price.
Further inland from Barygaza was a city that it served called Minnagara, which was the
capital city of the Saka kingdom in Gujurat. The city’s name might sound familiar, as
we did indeed just mention Minnagar in this Indus Region. This is because the indigenous
Indian civilisations called the ‘Saka’ nomads the ‘Min’, and their capitals were
therefore known as ‘Minnagara’, or ‘City of the Min’. When Minnagar on the Indus
was eventually captured by the Parthians, the new capital of Minnagara was created in
Gujurat as a replacement. The Saka kingdom centralised the revered gemstone
mines under their control, and placed prohibitions on private dealers who sought to bring stocks
of crystals and gems into designated trade cities. These measures ensured that foreign
merchants were forced to buy precious stones from Saka government agents, meaning that
the revenue would flow into state treasuries. Valuable goods, including these gemstones,
were collected at a secondary royal court at a city named Ujjain in central India. They
were collected as royal tribute there by the Sakas, and were then sent to Barygaza in order
to be sold by state agents to visiting maritime traders. The periplus explains that ‘From
this place - Ujjain - came things that contributed to the region’s prosperity and supplied
trade with us.’ Goods sent the 200 miles from Ujjain to Barygaza
included onyx, agate, Indian cotton garments, and large quantities of cloth. Stocks of cotton
and spices, chinese silk yarn, silk cloth, ivory and precious stones were also taken
aboard Roman ships at Barygaza, ready for transport back to the bustling Roman markets.
Also ready for transport back to the Empire were new crop varieties, which were imported
from the Saka-dominated region of India for their own cultivation. An example of this
process was a variety of black, reed-like stalked millet which was successfully transplanted
to Italy, and produced a yield which was far greater than traditional mediterranean crops.
The main export brought by the Romans to Barygaza was Italian wine, accompanied by Laodicean
wine from Asia Minor, and Arabian wine acquired on their outbound voyage. Lucian - a Syrian
satirist, suggested that ‘owing to climate, when the Indians drink wine they quickly become
drunk, and behave twice as mad as any Greek or Roman’. This unfamiliarity with and sensitivity
to wine might be inferred as a lack of much wine produced natively in India.
Other Roman exports to the Saka kingdom included raw glass, copper, tin and lead, in addition
to the aforementioned plain clothing, printed fabrics, red coral, and peridot gemstones,
which were also exported to the Suren Kingdom of Indo-Parthia.
The Saka would also encourage Roman traders to exchange their Imperial money to the state
for native Indian coins before they did business. This was because the Roman Empire was rich
in precious metals such as gold and silver, and Roman currency was considered a reliable
one throughout Eurasia. Roman Denarii were therefore minted on a pure silver standard,
and Aureii - gold coins - were issued in solid gold.
By contrast, most Indian kingdoms, though they were prosperous in terms of exotix trade
goods, had no gold coinage, and their silver currency was often impure and contained a
large portion of base metals. Saka rulers therefore imposed favourable currency exchange
rates for Roman merchants in order to draw these precious metals from the Roman economy,
and to enrich the silver reserves of their own kingdom.
During his reign, King Nahapana began to mint new Saka coins with a superior silver content,
and modern metal analysis has verified that these coins were minted from silver melted
down from Roman Denarii. Therefore, trade with India increased the continual drain of
silver from the Roman economy, one of the negative impacts of international trade which
ran parallel to the many positives.
We are planning to make more videos on the Roman economy, so make sure you are subscribed
to our channel and have pressed the bell button. We would like to express our gratitude to
our Patreon supporters and channel members, who make the creation of our videos possible.
Now, you can also support us by buying our merchandise via the link in the description.
This is the Kings and Generals channel, and we will catch you on the next one.