The Roman Silk Ban: Economic Warfare Under Tiberius

Trade Routes That Changed Human History Forever — Fexingo History · May 17, 2026 · 4m · transcript

In 14 CE, Rome faced a crisis of silk. The Senate passed a decree banning men from wearing silk, but the real target was the empire's staggering trade deficit with the East. Lucas and Luna explore how a single garment sparked moral panic, why Pliny the Elder calculated that 100 million sesterces flowed to China and India each year, and how the ban failed spectacularly. They follow the silk road from Roman Syria through Palmyra and Parthia to the Han workshops of Chang'an, uncovering the economics of luxury, the limits of imperial decrees, and the unintended consequences that…