![Picture](/uploads/2/3/8/0/23803917/276383787.jpg)
- India has always been rich in spices, diamonds, sapphires, gold, pearls, and woods
- These have been valuable items of trade
- Trade expanded even after the Mauryan Empire ended
- Central Asian nomads told the Indians about a vast network of routes call the Silk Roads
- Traders used these to bring silk from China to western Asia
- Once India learned about the Silk Roads, the hired middlemen to aid transactions
- Traders also used the sea to transport goods from India to Rome
- Archaeologists have found many Roman gold coins in Southern India
- India also imported African ivory and gold and exported cotton cloth
- They traded rice and wheat with Arabia in exchange for dates and horses
- Increased trade led to the rise of banking in India
- Bankers were willing to lend money to merchants and charge them interest on the loans
- During Mauryan times, the annual interest on loans for oversea trade was 240%
- During the Gupta empire, it was 15-20% a year