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Trade and economy

As migrations and conquests disrupted trade networks throughout the old Roman lands, goods from long-range trade were replaced with local products. Non-local goods in the archaeological record are usually luxury goods or metal works. In the 7th and 8th centuries, new commercial networks were developing in northern Europe. Goods such as furs, walrus ivory and amber were delivered from the Baltic region to western Europe, triggering the establishment of toll stations and conflicts over their control. In the post-Roman kingdoms, base metal coinage nearly ceased but bronze Roman coins remained in circulation. Although gold coins were struck, they were mainly used for extraordinary expenditures such as the purchase of land or luxury goods. A shift from gold coinage to the mint of silver pennies began in the late 7th century, with the cessation of Byzantine subsidy payments to the Lombards and Franks. The elites' new emphasis on Christian charity also increased the demand for coins of lower value.

The flourishing Islamic economies' constant demand for fresh labour force and raw materials opened a new market for Europe c. 750. The continent emerged as a major supplier of house slaves and slave soldiers for Al-Andalus, northern Africa and the Levant. In addition, timber, fur and arms were delivered from Europe to the Mediterranean; Europe imported spices, medicine, incense, and silk. Large rivers, connecting distant regions, facilitated the expansion of transcontinental trade. Contemporaneous reports indicate that Anglo-Saxon merchants visited fairs at Paris, pirates preyed on tradesmen on the Danube, and Eastern Frankish merchants reached as far as Zaragoza in Al-Andalus.