Trade, trade routes and guilds

An army is expensive. Soldiers must be fed, clothed, armed and paid; elephants and horses cared for; roads and ships built. All this needs money, workers and resources.

So production and trade were one of the keys to keeping an empire going, and to people's welfare too, which a good ruler should care about.

That's why trade routes across the empire and beyond mattered so much. More trade meant more goods of more kinds, more income for producers, and more tax for the ruler. Both sides gain, so a wise ruler protected the roads.

What was traded? Books and digs both tell us: textiles, spices, farm produce, luxuries like gems, handicrafts, and animals. Many Indian goods went to distant countries by land and sea.

Traders usually didn't work alone. They joined together in guilds (śhrenīs): strong groups of traders, craftsmen, moneylenders or farmers. A guild had a head, usually elected, and officers who were expected to be honest and good.

Two things made guilds special:

• members were partners, not rivals. Instead of "you sold this much, I'll sell more", they shared information on markets, supply and demand and workers, which helped everyone
• they had autonomy: they made their own rules, and the king didn't interfere (why would he, if trade was doing well?)

Guilds spread over much of India and lasted for centuries; their spirit still shows in Indian business today. Like the old village councils, they show how well Indian society could organise itself.