Excavations at Mohanjo-Daro (about 3000 BC ) have unearthed bits of cotton cloth and twine. From those ancient days India has been a manufacturing nation and exporter of fine cotton fabrics to all nations of civilized world.
In the 1st century AD, the Arabs and Greeks are reported to have transported raw cotton and cotton goods from Patiala, Ariaka, Barygaza (probably Bharuch in Gujarat), and Masalia (Masulipatnam in Andhra Pradesh) as well as Gangitiki muslin from Bengal.
Cotton trees of India excited the admiration of Greek historians. Herodotus writes, "There are trees which grow wild, the fruit of which is a wool exceeding in beauty and goodness that of sheep.The Indians make their clothes of this tree wool.”
The greatest demand for cotton cloth came from the Mongol armies stationed in the northern regions; they needed uniforms made of some kind of warm, light-weight and resilient material. In the course of their conquests and movements through Central, West, and South Asia, the Mongols must have perceived the value of cotton textiles: cotton cloth's strength, durability, and effectiveness as a padded fabric against winter chill, or as a light, absorbent textile againstsummer heat.
Cotton in ancient time
