Pliny the Elder complained about the drain of specie (coin money) to India:   I recently read "The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean" by Raoul McLaughlin, and I was fascinated by the extensive connections between the Romans and the people of the Indian region. The book highlights how Roman merchant ships ventured into the Bay of Bengal and along trade routes that extended to Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and even the Han Empire of ancient China. Greek geographer Strabo (64 BC -