Roman Trade in India: Numismatic Evidence

[guy]

Pliny the Elder complained about the drain of specie (coin money) to India:

India, China and the Arabian peninsula take one hundred million sesterces from our empire per annum at a conservative estimate: that is what our luxuries and women cost us. For what fraction of these imports is intended for sacrifices to the gods or the spirits of the dead?

— Pliny, Historia Naturae 12.41.84.

 

I recently read "The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean" by Raoul McLaughlin and was impressed by the extensive interactions between Romans and the residents of the Indian region. The book mentions that Roman merchant ships traveled into the Bay of Bengal and along trade routes leading to Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and even the Han Empire of ancient China. According to the Greek geographer Strabo (64 BC - 24 AD), the number of ships sailing from Egypt to India yearly increased from less than 20 to at least 120 after the Romans gained control of Egypt and her ports.

I was surprised by the presence of Roman coin hoards in India and the size of the Kottayam hoard discovered in southern India.

 

Professor Raoul McLaughlin states there was a 25% tax (known as the tetarte) on imports. These imports included spices (especially pepper, cinnamon, ginger), ivory, incense, and gems (such as pearls and rubies) imported from India. These would enter the Empire through Alexandria. When they left Alexandria for Rome and other Mediterranean cities, these items would be taxed again. The tax revenues helped fund Rome's prosperity, including the Roman military and civilian programs. Professor McLaughlin states that this tax revenue from India and the East may have funded 25-30% of the entire Roman budget.

I am unsure about the extent of funding these taxes provided, but I am convinced that the trade between these two regions is far greater than I ever imagined.

 

 

Below is an interesting Indian perspective on ancient Roman-India interactions and the numismatic evidence.

 

 

Professor McLaughlin's book may be controversial, but it is certainly thought-provoking. 

I look forward to reading McLaughlin's book "The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy and the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia, and Han China."

 

It is always good to have our previous notions about ancient Rome challenged.

Edited June 26 by guy

[guy]

A recent video on the subject by Professor McLaughlin:

 

[Shayun]

Thank you for the article and reference to The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean.   It is really interesting putting Roman trade into the Indian Ocean context.  On a recent visit to Sri Lanka at the museum located below Sigriya I was also surprised and interested to find Roman coins on display with some explanation of the Indian Ocean trade routes and hoards:

 

"Large hoards of copper or bronze Roman coins and contemporary Indo-roman imitations have been found at many places in Lanka with a large hoard being found in 1987 at Sigiriya. The coins are always very worn indicating a wide and constant circulation and the roman coins are usually third century and later in age. These hoards suggest that the roman and indo-roman coinage was probably used as small change long after the minting date of the coins themselves. Occasional gold trade coins from Rome are also found in Taprobane, like a Byzantine Roman solidus of Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine (610-641 AD). "

 

http://researchomnia.blogspot.com/2016/09/roman-commerce-with-ceylon-surrounding.html

 

[guy]

Thank you for reading my post.

I always was skeptical about Roman trade with India and beyond, but the evidence is too strong to ignore. Even if there wasn't the extensive and routine trade described by Professor McLaughlin, there was at least intermittent trade and commerce.

[guy]

Another interesting video on the Roman-Romano-Egyptian-Indian trade route:

 

 

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archives_de_Nicanor

Edited February 25, 2023 by guy

[Guaporense]

The period of the Late Republic and Early Roman Empire, around the year 1 AD, represented a historical peak in economic prosperity for the Mediterranean world, and when people had extra money available, they consumed luxury goods. Importing exotic goods from distant places like India was a consequence of this prosperity.

Consumption of goods from India was not exclusive to the elites: Roman soldiers in Britain consumed Indian pepper.

Although it is true that trade with India was mainly restricted to high-value goods like pepper and not bulk commodities like wheat or bricks. Inside the Mediterranean, the physical scale of trade was much greater, as African bricks have been found on Roman buildings in Italy.