 One important luxury product was silk , which was imported and then processed in the Empire . In order to protect the manufacture of silk products , Justinian granted a monopoly to the imperial factories in 541 . In order to bypass the Persian <unk> , Justinian established friendly relations with the Abyssinians , whom he wanted to act as trade mediators by transporting Indian silk to the Empire ; the Abyssinians , however , were unable to compete with the Persian merchants in India . Then , in the early 550s , two monks succeeded in smuggling eggs of silk worms from Central Asia back to Constantinople , and silk became an indigenous product . 
