Foreign Trade in Ancient India – Indian History Notes for APSC, UPSC & other Exams
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Foreign Trade in Ancient India
- Although the volume of trade between India and Rome seems to have been large, it was not carried on it articles of daily use for the commerce people there was a brick commerce in luxury goods.
- The Romans mainly imported spices for which south India was famous. They imported muslin, pearls, jewels, and precious stones from central and south India. Iron goods, especially cutlery, formed an important item of export to the Roman Empire.
- Silk was directly sent from China to the Roman Empire through north Afghanistan at Iran. But the establishment of the Parthian rule in Iran and the neighbouring are created difficulties. Therefore silk had to be diverted to the western Indian ports through the north-west part of the subcontinent. Sometimes it also found its way from China to India via the east coast of India. From there was considerable transit trade in silk between India and the Roman empire.
- The Romans exported to India wine, wine-amphorae and various other types of pottery. Roman writer Pliny, who wrote his account called Natural History in Latin in A.D. 77, believed that Rome was being drained of gold on account of her trade with India. Since the Westerners were very much fond of Indian pepper, it is called yavanpriyai.
- The concept of the balance of trade may not have been known to the people. But numerous finds of Roman coins and pottery in the peninsula leave no doubt that India was a gainer in its trade with the Roman Empire.
- The loss of Roman money was felt so much that eventually steps had to be taken Rome to ban its trade with India in pepper and steel goods.
- Although Roman traders resided in south India, there is little evidence for Indians residing in the Roman Empire.
Black Pepper was one of the most thing thing imported by Greek traders from Ancient India. In ancient times the people in Central Asia are called as Yavanas in India. They liked the pepper and imports large amount of pepper from India so the pepper is named as Yavana-the people of foreign countries. Priya-they like pepper so it was called as Yavanapriya.