With his expansion far into eastern Asia, Alexander had opened a vast section of the Silk Road. In the following centuries, the
Graeco-Bactrians, the Indo-Greeks, and the Sogdians played an important role as
middlemen in this chain where goods were exchanged between East and West.
The road between China
and the eastern Mediterranean was nearly 6,500 kilometers
long. Travel was dangerous, and robberies were frequent. The goods changed hands
on the way. In this process, each intermediary increased the price to cover their
own expenses and make a profit. To reduce the expenses, especially those for the silk from China, the
Romans opened a sea route by the 1st century AD. It started near Hanoi
in modern Vietnam, with stopovers
in harbors on the coasts of India
and Sri Lanka, all
controlled by China.
The shipments eventually reached Roman-controlled ports in Egypt and the northeastern coast of the Red Sea. From there, they could handily be distributed
around the Mediterranean.
Two centuries earlier, from the 1st century BC onward, silk had become
the luxury fashion par excellence. In those days, the Romans still thought silk
was obtained from tree leaves. Pliny
the Elder tells us that the Seres (Chinese) used the woolen substance
from the tree leaves, which they soaked in water and then combed off the white
down from the leaves.
Chinese silk was sold at exorbitant prices. It was far more expensive
than gold, which caused a colossal outflow of this precious metal. In fact, the
acquisition of silk hurt the Roman economy badly.
In pure despair, the Roman Senate issued several edicts to prohibit
wearing silk, more so since they had decided that silk clothes were decadent
and immoral. Seneca
(c.3 BC - 65 AD) goes as far as declaring: I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide the
body or even one's decency, can be called clothes ... Wretched flocks of maids
labor so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress so that her
husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife's
body.
It is surprising to read that in the 1st century AD, women were still
(or again) considered a man’s property, although men themselves didn’t shy away
from wearing silk outfits!
No comments:
Post a Comment