What facts I unwittingly discovered while studying Roman-Persian relations support many facets of Dr Rukshana Nanji’s findings about Sanjan ("When did we arrive?” Parsiana, December 7-20, 2019). The Romans were very fond of silk and robes made of the fabric. But the silk trade was the monopoly of the Sogdian Iranians and Khurasanis who bought silk from Ceylon as soon as the Chinese merchant ships brought it there. They never allowed the Romans and their collaborator Ethiopian ships even once to get hold of the silk, so that they could sell it at a higher price to the Romans at......