Video: Rome’s trade with India

[guy]

There have been several previous posts about Ancient Rome’s trade with India (see below). Here is an excellent video by Invicta on the subject:

 

🌍 Indo-Roman Trade: A Comprehensive Overview

From the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE, the Roman Empire engaged in vibrant trade with India, mainly using maritime routes through the Red Sea and Egyptian ports like Berenice and Myos Hormos. The Tamil kingdoms of Chera, Chola, and Pandya in southern India played a key role in this trade network, exporting valuable goods to the Roman Empire.

📦 Principal Commodities Traded

Indian Exports: Pepper, cinnamon, ginger, ivory, incense, precious gems (pearls, rubies), fine textiles.

Roman Imports to India: Gold and silver coins, wine, glassware, coral, and luxury items.

Indian merchants largely insisted on payment in precious metals, prompting a substantial transfer of Roman coinage to the subcontinent.

🪙 Coin Hoards: Archaeological Evidence

Roman coins discovered throughout South India offer critical physical evidence of this exchange:

Major Sites: Arikamedu, Pattanam, Karur, and notably, the Kottayam district.

Kottayam Finds:

The Poonjar Hoard, uncovered in 1945, includes four gold aurei featuring emperors Nero, Claudius, and Antoninus Pius.

Nearby, a single Claudius coin was found at Idamakuduru near Poonjar.

These finds are significant for revealing Roman coin circulation deep within Kerala, away from immediate port zones.

Chronology: The coin hoards mainly date from the early to mid-Roman Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE), aligning with the peak of Indo-Roman trade.

Local Adaptations: Some coins were defaced and re-minted by Indian authorities to assert sovereignty, while others were melted down or imitated locally, illustrating integration into indigenous economies.

🏛 Economic and Cultural Impact

Professor Raoul McLaughlin estimates that import taxes, such as the tetarte levied on Indian goods as they entered Roman Egypt, contributed up to 25–30% of the entire Roman budget, financing military ventures and public programs. This highlights the economic significance of Eastern trade in maintaining Roman imperial power. Writers like Pliny the Elder voiced concern about the large quantities of Roman gold flowing to India, emphasizing the extensive scale of this trade.

The discovery of coin hoards inland, especially in Kerala’s Kottayam district, also suggests well-established distribution networks beyond ports—likely using river routes and overland trade paths to spread Roman goods and currency further into the Indian subcontinent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2025 by guy