Emperor Justinian Receives First Silkworm Cocoons, 6th Century
Emperor Justinian on horseback in a square, receiving the first imported silkworm cocoons from two monks; the emperor's entourage seen on either side; two dogs seen in the foreground. Justinian I (482 - November 14, 565), traditionally known as Justinian the Great and also Saint Justinian the Great in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was the Eastern Roman emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the historical Roman Empire. Greek historian Procopius stated that two Nestorian Christian monks uncovered the way silk was made. Monks were sent by Justinian as spies on the Silk Road from Constantinople to China and back to steal the silkworm eggs, resulting in silk production in the Mediterranean, particularly in Thrace in northern Greece, and giving the Byzantine Empire a monopoly on silk production in medieval Europe. Taken from Vermis serivs, The history of the silkworm and silk-spinning, engraving by Karel van Mallery, circa 1590-1600.
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