Silk on the Northern Border of Byzantium: Intentions, Possibilities, Findings
Silk on the Northern Border of Byzantium: Intentions, Possibilities, Findings

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with the silk trade (or simply a movement of silk, because silk was not only intended for trade but was also used as a diplomatic gift) and the possible means by which it was imported into and exported from Byzantium across its northern border. More precisely, could such a trade be running through the Crimea? If so, when and on whose initiative? Both literary and archaeological sources indicate that the town of Crimean Cherson was crucial for the Byzantine Empire and in certain times, i.e., in the 6th and 9th centuries, it played a significant role in long-distance trade. If we put together the fragments of sources from both Cherson and elsewhere, e.g., the account of Constantine the Philosopher’s journey to the Khazars, the precious finds of silk in the Caucasian settlement of Moshchevaya Balka or fragments of Crimean pottery in Sarkel, etc., we can see the picture of Cherson as a lively town, through which goods and articles of all sorts (silk included) were passing.

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