Page:Bury J B The Cambridge Medieval History Vol 2 1913.djvu/69

530-554] Far East were brought to the Mediterranean from China through the oases of Sogdiana, and the sea routes by which precious stones, spices, and silk were brought from Ceylon to the ports on the Persian Gulf, were in the hands of Persia. Persia not only guarded these routes jealously, but also regulated with special severity the exportation of silk, which was indispensable to the Byzantines. Justinian determined to remedy this state of things. In the Black Sea, the ports of the Crimea, Bosphorus, and Cherson made, with the south of Russia, a splendid district for barter; besides this Byzantium, situated at the mouth of the Black Sea, carried on a brisk trade with Lazica. But, from the Sea of Azof, as well as from Colchis, the Caspian could be reached, and then if a northerly direction were taken the oases of Sogdiana could be reached without crossing Persian territory. Another route offered itself more to the south. The Syrian and Egyptian merchants set out from Aila on the Gulf of Akabah to work the shores of the Red Sea, and then extended their operations as far as the ports of Himyar on the east, and the great Ethiopian port of Adoulis on the west. But Adoulis kept up wide-spread relations with the whole of the Asiatic East, and her ships, like those of the Arabs of Yemen, went as far as Ceylon, the great emporium for India. Thanks to these routes, Justinian thought that he could divert the trade of which the Persians had the monopoly from the usual routes. During 530 or 531 strange negotiations took place with the Himyarites and the Court of Axum, with the object of persuading those peoples to agree with the Emperor's plans, and to bring the products of the Far East straight to the Red Sea. The "King of Kings" of Axum readily agreed to do so; but the Persians had the upper hand in the Indian ports, and they would not allow themselves to be deprived of their profits. The peace therefore of 532 restored the transactions between the Empire and the Sassanid monarchy to their ordinary footing.

However, thanks to the importation of raw silk, which became once more regular, the Syrian manufactures were flourishing. The rupture with Persia in 540 brought about a grave crisis for them, and Justinian only made matters worse by the unwise measures which he took. In his excessive love of regulations he attempted to fix the price of raw silk, by a law which enforced a maximum price. He hoped thus to substitute a monopoly of the manufactures of the State for the ruined private industry. The Syrian industry was seriously injured by these measures. Luckily the cultivation of silk-worms did much to repair the disasters. The eggs of the worms were brought into the Empire from the country of Serinda by two missionaries, between 552 and 554. The silk industry soon recovered when raw material could be obtained more cheaply, although Byzantium was not successful in freeing herself completely from Persia. On the whole, however, Byzantine commerce was flourishing. Alexandria was a splendid port, and grew rich by exporting corn,