Justinian I received silkworm eggs from monks who reportedly smuggled them out of China around 552.
According to the sixth-century historian Procopius, two monks brought silkworm eggs to Constantinople after learning about silk production in lands east of the Roman Empire. They concealed the eggs inside hollow walking staffs and delivered them to Emperor Justinian I. The story marks a famous moment in the movement of sericulture westward.
The Byzantine Empire already imported Chinese silk through long-distance trade, but producing silk domestically promised greater control over supply and prices. Once the eggs hatched, Byzantine officials developed silk production in imperial territories, especially around Constantinople, Greece, Syria, and later parts of the Balkans.
The account is often simplified into a direct “China-to-Byzantium” transfer. In reality, silk knowledge and materials had circulated through Central Asian and Persian regions for centuries. The monks’ reported mission helped establish Byzantine sericulture, but it did not create the Silk Road itself.