The Silk Road's Secret Currency: Silk Bolts as Money

Long before paper money, merchants on the Silk Road used bolts of silk as a universally accepted currency. This episode traces how silk functioned as money from Han dynasty China through the Abbasid caliphate, backed by state monopolies and official workshops. We explore the practical challenges of silk currency—counterfeiting, degradation, and the logistics of carrying vast lengths of fabric across deserts. Lucas and Luna discuss the 8th-century crisis when an oversupply of silk in Chang'an caused inflation, and the famous 9th-century hoard of silk discovered at Dandan Uiliq in the Taklamakan Desert. They also examine how the Byzantine Empire tried to replicate Chinese silk currency and why it failed without the monopoly on raw silk. The episode draws on primary sources like the Tang Code and the travelogue of Du Huan, who was captured at the Battle of Talas and wrote about Abbasid silk currency. Tune in for a fresh angle on the economics of the world's most famous trade route. #SilkCurrency #SilkRoad #HanDynasty #TangDynasty #ChangAn #AbbasidCaliphate #DandanUiliq #DuHuan #BattleOfTalas #TaklamakanDesert #ByzantineEmpire #EconomicHistory #HistoryOfMoney #SilkMonopoly #TangCode #WorldHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo