09-26-2016, 01:53 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-27-2016, 01:34 AM by Michael Kerr.)
The Tarim city-states, the Sogdian cities and the Pontic/Black Sea city-states and the Kushans and various Saka kingdoms of Northern India would have been successful middlemen in trade between Rome and China. Indian Ocean sea trade between India, Arabia and the African horn with India acting as a "middleman" between those western regions and China & Central Asia for silks & South-East Asia for the supply of spices would have provided an alternative to the troublesome land routes of Central Asia. There was a big demand in India for Roman currency because it was predominantly silver and a lot of Roman merchants made a lot of money as money changers. Some Roman merchants who lived and traded in India converted to Buddhism and returned to Rome to retire as this 2nd Century AD bust of a Roman with a buddhist top knot although the head was probably put on a military bust. 
Regards
Michael Kerr
Michael Kerr
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
