Trade between the Indian subcontinent and the Roman Empire
Indo-Roman trade relations
(see also the
spice trade
and
incense road
) was trade between the
Indian subcontinent
and the
Roman Empire
in
Europe
and the
Mediterranean Sea
. Trade through the overland caravan routes via
Asia Minor
and the
Middle East
, though at a relative trickle compared to later times, preceded the southern trade route via the
Red Sea
which started around the beginning of the
Common Era
(CE) following the reign of
Augustus
and
his conquest
of
Egypt
in 30 BCE.
[1]
The southern route so helped enhance trade between the ancient
Roman Empire
and the Indian subcontinent, that Roman politicians and historians are on record decrying the loss of silver and gold to buy silk to pamper Roman wives, and the southern route grew to eclipse and then totally supplant the overland trade route.
[2]
Roman and Greek traders frequented the
ancient Tamil country
, present day
Southern India
and
Sri Lanka
, securing trade with the seafaring
Tamil
states of the
Pandyan
,
Chola
and
Chera
dynasties and
establishing trading settlements
which secured trade with the Indian subcontinent by the
Greco-Roman world
since the time of the
Ptolemaic dynasty
[3]
a few decades before the start of the
Common Era
and remained long after the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
.
[4]
Background
[
edit
]
The
Seleucid dynasty
controlled a developed network of trade with the
Indian Subcontinent
which had previously existed under the influence of the
Achaemenid Empire
. The Greek-
Ptolemaic dynasty
, controlling the western and northern end of other trade routes to
Southern Arabia
and the Indian Subcontinent,
[5]
had begun to exploit trading opportunities in the region prior to the Roman involvement but, according to the historian
Strabo
, the volume of commerce between Indians and the Greeks was not comparable to that of later Indo-Roman trade.
[2]
The
Periplus Maris Erythraei
mentions a time when sea trade between Egypt and the subcontinent did not involve direct sailings.
[2]
The cargo under these situations was shipped to
Aden
:
[2]
Aden ? Arabia Eudaimon was called the fortunate, being once a city, when, because ships neither came from India to
Egypt
nor did those from Egypt dare to go further but only came as far as this place, it received the cargoes from both, just as
Alexandria
receives goods brought from outside and from Egypt.
?
Gary Keith Young, Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy
The Ptolemaic dynasty had developed trade with Indian kingdoms using the Red Sea ports.
[1]
With the establishment of
Roman Egypt
, the Romans took over and further developed the already existing trade using these ports.
[1]
Classical geographers such as
Strabo
and
Pliny the Elder
were generally slow to incorporate new information into their works and, from their positions as
esteemed scholars
, were seemingly prejudiced against lowly merchants and their
topographical
accounts.
[6]
Ptolemy
's
Geography
represents somewhat of a break from this since he demonstrated an openness to their accounts and would not have been able to chart the
Bay of Bengal
so accurately had it not been for the input of traders.
[6]
It is perhaps no surprise then that Marinus and Ptolemy relied on the testimony of a Greek sailor named Alexander for how to reach "
Cattigara
" (most likely
Oc Eo
,
Vietnam
, where
Antonine
-period
Roman artefacts
have been discovered) in the
Magnus Sinus
(i.e.
Gulf of Thailand
and
South China Sea
) located east of the
Golden Chersonese
(i.e.
Malay Peninsula
).
[7]
[8]
In the 1st-century CE
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
, its anonymous Greek-speaking author, a merchant of
Roman Egypt
, provides such vivid accounts of trade cities in Arabia and India, including
travel times from rivers and towns
, where to drop
anchor
, the locations of royal courts, lifestyles of the locals and goods found in their markets, and favorable times of year to sail from Egypt to these places in order to catch the
monsoon
winds, that it is clear he visited many of these locations.
[9]
Establishment
[
edit
]
The replacement of Greek kingdoms by the Roman Empire as the administrator of the eastern
Mediterranean
basin led to the strengthening of direct maritime trade with the east and the elimination of the taxes extracted previously by the middlemen of various land based trading routes.
[10]
Strabo's
mention of the vast increase in trade following the Roman annexation of Egypt indicates that monsoon was known from his time.
[11]
The trade started by
Eudoxus of Cyzicus
in 130 BCE kept increasing according to Strabo (II.5.12.):
[12]
At any rate, when
Gallus
was prefect of Egypt, I accompanied him and ascended the
Nile
as far as
Syene
and the frontiers of
Kingdom of Aksum
(
Ethiopia
), and I learned that as many as one hundred and twenty vessels were sailing from
Myos Hormos
to the subcontinent, whereas formerly, under the
Ptolemies
, only a very few ventured to undertake the voyage and to carry on traffic in Indian merchandise.
?
Strabo
By the time of Augustus up to 120 ships were setting sail every year from
Myos Hormos
to India.
[12]
So much gold was used for this trade, and apparently recycled by the
Kushan Empire
(Kushans) for their own coinage, that
Pliny the Elder
(NH VI.101) complained about the drain of specie to India:
India, China and the Arabian peninsula take one hundred million
sesterces
from our empire per annum at a conservative estimate: that is what our luxuries and women cost us. For what fraction of these imports is intended for sacrifices to the gods or the spirits of the dead?
?
Pliny, Historia Naturae 12.41.84.
-
Gold coin of
Claudius
(50?51 CE) excavated in South India.
-
Gold coin of
Justinian I
(527?565 CE) excavated in India probably in the south.
Trade of exotic animals
[
edit
]
There is evidence of animal trade between Indian Ocean harbours and the
Mediterranean
. This can be seen in the
mosaics
and
frescoes
of the remains of
Roman villas
in
Italy
. For example, the
Villa del Casale
has mosaics depicting the capture of animals in India, Indonesia and Africa. The intercontinental trade of animals was one of the sources of wealth for the owners of the villa. In the
Ambulacro della Grande Caccia
,
[13]
the hunting and capture of animals is represented in such detail that it is possible to identify the species. There is a scene that shows a technique to distract a
tiger
with a shimmering ball of
glass
or
mirror
in order to take her cubs. Tiger hunting with red ribbons serving as a distraction is also shown. In the mosaic there are also numerous other animals such as
rhinoceros
, an
Indian elephant
(recognized from the ears) with his Indian conductor, and the
Indian peafowl
, and other exotic birds. There are also numerous animals from
Africa
. Tigers,
leopards
and Asian and African
lions
were used in the
arenas
and
circuses
. The
European lion
was already extinct at that time. Probably the last lived in the
Balkan Peninsula
and were hunted to stock arenas. The birds and monkeys entertained the guests of many villas. Also in the
Villa Romana del Tellaro
there is a mosaic with a tiger in the jungle attacking a man with Roman clothes, probably a careless hunter. The animals were transported in cages by ship.
[14]
Ports
[
edit
]
Roman ports
[
edit
]
The three main Roman ports involved with eastern trade were
Arsinoe
,
Berenice
and Myos Hormos. Arsinoe was one of the early trading centers but was soon overshadowed by the more easily accessible Myos Hormos and Berenice.
Arsinoe
[
edit
]
The Ptolemaic dynasty exploited the strategic position of
Alexandria
to secure trade with the subcontinent.
[3]
The course of trade with the east then seems to have been first through the harbor of Arsinoe, the present day
Suez
.
[3]
The goods from the
East African
trade were landed at one of the three main Roman ports, Arsinoe, Berenice or Myos Hormos.
[15]
The Romans repaired and cleared out the silted up canal from the Nile to harbor center of Arsinoe on the Red Sea.
[16]
This was one of the many efforts the Roman administration had to undertake to divert as much of the trade to the maritime routes as possible.
[16]
Arsinoe was eventually overshadowed by the rising prominence of Myos Hormos.
[16]
The navigation to the northern ports, such as Arsinoe-Clysma, became difficult in comparison to Myos Hormos due to the northern winds in the
Gulf of Suez
.
[17]
Venturing to these northern ports presented additional difficulties such as
shoals
,
reefs
and treacherous
currents
.
[17]
Myos Hormos and Berenice
[
edit
]
Myos Hormos and Berenice appear to have been important ancient trading ports, possibly used by the
Pharaonic
traders of ancient Egypt and the Ptolemaic dynasty before falling into Roman control.
[1]
The site of Berenice, since its discovery by
Belzoni
(1818), has been equated with the ruins near
Ras Banas
in Southern Egypt.
[1]
However, the precise location of Myos Hormos is disputed with the latitude and longitude given in
Ptolemy
's
Geography
favoring Abu Sha'ar and the accounts given in
classical literature
and
satellite images
indicating a probable identification with Quseir el-Quadim at the end of a fortified road from
Koptos
on the
Nile
.
[1]
The Quseir el-Quadim site has further been associated with Myos Hormos following the excavations at
el-Zerqa
, halfway along the route, which have revealed
ostraca
leading to the conclusion that the port at the end of this road may have been Myos Hormos.
[1]
In Berenike in March 2022 an American-Polish archaeological mission excavating the main early Roman period temple dedicated to the
Goddess Isis
uncovered in the forecourt of the temple a marble statue of a
Buddha
, the
Berenike Buddha
, suggesting the presence of Buddhist merchants from India in Egypt at that time.
[18]
[19]
Major regional ports
[
edit
]
The regional ports of
Barbaricum
(modern
Karachi
),
Sounagoura
(central
Bangladesh
),
Barygaza
(Bharuch in
Gujarat
),
Muziris
(present day
Kodungallur
),
Korkai
,
Kaveripattinam
and
Arikamedu
(
Tamil Nadu
) on the southern tip of present-day India were the main centers of this trade, along with
Kodumanal
, an inland city. The
Periplus Maris Erythraei
describes Greco-Roman merchants selling in Barbaricum "thin clothing, figured linens,
topaz
,
coral
,
storax
,
frankincense
, vessels of glass, silver and gold plate, and a little wine" in exchange for "
costus
,
bdellium
,
lycium
,
nard
,
turquoise
,
lapis lazuli
,
Seric skins
, cotton cloth,
silk
yarn, and
indigo
".
[20]
In Barygaza, they would buy wheat, rice, sesame oil, cotton and cloth.
[20]
Barigaza
[
edit
]
Trade with Barigaza, under the control of the
Indo-Scythian
Western Satrap
Nahapana
("Nambanus"), was especially flourishing:
[20]
There are imported into this market-town (
Barigaza
), wine, Italian preferred, also Laodicean and Arabian; copper, tin, and lead; coral and topaz; thin clothing and inferior sorts of all kinds; bright-colored
girdles
a cubit wide; storax,
sweetclover
, flint glass,
realgar
,
antimony
, gold and silver coin, on which there is a profit when exchanged for the money of the country; and ointment, but not very costly and not much. And for the King there are brought into those places very costly vessels of silver, singing boys, beautiful maidens for the harem, fine wines, thin clothing of the finest weaves, and the choicest ointments. There are exported from these places
spikenard
,
costus
,
bdellium
,
ivory
,
agate
and
carnelian
,
lycium
, cotton cloth of all kinds,
silk
cloth, mallow cloth, yarn,
long pepper
and such other things as are brought here from the various market-towns. Those bound for this market-town from Egypt make the voyage favorably about the month of July, that is Epiphi.
?
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (paragraph 49).
Muziris
[
edit
]
Muziris
is a lost port city on the south-western coast of India which was a major center of trade in the ancient Tamil land between the Chera kingdom and the Roman Empire.
[21]
Its location is generally identified with modern-day
Cranganore
(central Kerala).
[22]
[23]
Large hoards of coins and innumerable shards of
amphorae
found at the town of
Pattanam
(near Cranganore) have elicited recent archeological interest in finding a probable location of this port city.
[21]
According to the
Periplus
, numerous Greek seamen managed an intense trade with Muziris:
[20]
Then come Naura and Tyndis, the first markets of
Damirica
(Limyrike), and then Muziris and Nelcynda, which are now of leading importance. Tyndis is of the
Kingdom of Cerobothra
; it is a village in plain sight by the sea. Muziris, of the same Kingdom, abounds in ships sent there with cargoes from Arabia, and by the Greeks; it is located on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and sea five hundred stadia, and up the river from the shore twenty stadia"
?
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (53?54)
Arikamedu
[
edit
]
The
Periplus Maris Erythraei
mentions a marketplace named Poduke (ch. 60), which
G.W.B. Huntingford
identified as possibly being
Arikamedu
in
Tamil Nadu
, a centre of
early Chola
trade (now part of
Ariyankuppam
), about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the modern
Pondicherry
.
[24]
Huntingford further notes that Roman pottery was found at Arikamedu in 1937, and
archeological
excavations between 1944 and 1949 showed that it was "a trading station to which goods of Roman manufacture were imported during the first half of the 1st century AD".
[24]
Cultural exchanges
[
edit
]
The Rome-subcontinental trade also saw several cultural exchanges which had a lasting effect on both the civilizations and others involved in the trade. The
Ethiopian
kingdom of
Aksum
was involved in the Indian Ocean trade network and was influenced by Roman culture and Indian architecture.
[4]
Traces of Indian influences are visible in Roman works of silver and ivory, or in Egyptian cotton and silk fabrics used for sale in
Europe
.
[25]
The Indian presence in Alexandria may have influenced the culture but little is known about the manner of this influence.
[25]
Clement of Alexandria
mentions the
Buddha
in his writings and other
Indian religions
find mentions in other texts of the period.
[25]
Han China
was perhaps also
involved in the Roman trade
, with
Roman embassies
recorded for the years 166, 226, and 284 that allegedly landed in
Rinan
(
Jiaozhi
) in northern
Vietnam
, according to
Chinese histories
.
[7]
[26]
[27]
[28]
Roman coins
and goods
such as glasswares
and
silverwares
have been found in China,
[29]
[30]
as well as Roman coins, bracelets, glass beads, a bronze lamp, and
Antonine
-period medallions in Vietnam, especially at
Oc Eo
(belonging to the
Funan Kingdom
).
[7]
[26]
[31]
The 1st-century
Periplus
notes how a country called
This
, with a great city called
Thinae
(comparable to
Sinae
in
Ptolemy's
Geography
),
produced silk
and exported it to
Bactria
before it traveled overland to
Barygaza
in India and down the
Ganges River
.
[32]
While
Marinus of Tyre
and
Ptolemy
provided vague accounts of the
Gulf of Thailand
and
Southeast Asia
,
[33]
the Alexandrian Greek monk and former merchant
Cosmas Indicopleustes
, in his
Christian Topography
(c. 550), spoke clearly about China, how to sail there, and how it was involved in the
clove
trade stretching to
Ceylon
.
[34]
[35]
Comparing the small amount of Roman coins found in China as opposed to India,
Warwick Ball
asserts that most of the Chinese
silk
purchased by the Romans was done so in India, with
the land route
through
ancient Persia
playing a secondary role.
[36]
Christian
and
Jewish
settlers from Rome continued to live in India long after the decline in bilateral trade.
[4]
Large hoards of Roman coins have been found throughout India, and especially in the busy maritime trading centers of the south.
[4]
The
Tamilakkam
kings reissued Roman coinage in their own name after defacing the coins in order to signify their sovereignty.
[37]
Mentions of the traders are recorded in the
Tamil
Sangam literature
of India.
[37]
One such mention reads: "The beautifully built ships of the Yavanas came with gold and returned with pepper, and Muziris resounded with the noise." (from poem no. 149 of '
Akananuru
' of Sangam Literature)"
[37]
Decline and aftermath
[
edit
]
Roman decline
[
edit
]
Trade declined from the mid-3rd century during
a crisis in the Roman Empire
, but recovered in the 4th century until the early 7th century, when
Khosrow II
, Shah of the
Sasanian Empire
,
occupied the Roman parts of the Fertile Crescent and Egypt
until
being defeated
by the
Eastern Roman Emperor
Heraclius
[38]
at the end of 627, after which the lost territories were returned to the Eastern Romans.
Cosmas Indicopleustes
('Cosmas who sailed to India') was a Greek-Egyptian trader, and later monk, who wrote about his trade trips to India and Sri Lanka in the 6th century.
Ravaging of the Gupta Empire by the Huns
[
edit
]
Find spots
of epigraphic inscriptions (red dots) indicating local control by the Alchon Huns in India between 500-530 CE,
[39]
with neighbouring polities,
[40]
and territorial extent of the Alchon Huns (brown).
[41]
The
Gupta Empire
had been benefiting greatly from Indo-Roman trade. They had been exporting numerous luxury products such as
silk
, leather goods, fur, iron products,
ivory
,
pearl
or pepper from the ports of
Bharutkutccha
,
Kalyan
,
Sind
and the city of
Ujjaini
.
[42]
The
Alchon Huns
' invasions (496?534 CE) are said to have seriously damaged the Gupta's (c.319-560 CE) trade with
Europe
and
Central Asia
.
[43]
Soon after the invasions, the Gupta Empire, already weakened by these invasions and the rise of local rulers, ended as well.
[44]
Following the invasions, northern India was left in disarray, with numerous smaller Indian powers emerging after the crumbling of the Guptas.
[45]
Arab expansion
[
edit
]
The Arabs, led by
'Amr ibn al-'As
, crossed into Egypt in late 639 or early 640 CE.
[46]
This advance marked the beginning of the
Islamic conquest of Egypt
.
[46]
The capture of Alexandria and the rest of the country
[47]
brought an end to 670 years of Roman trade with the subcontinent.
[3]
Tamil speaking south India turned to
Southeast Asia
for international trade where Indian culture
influenced the native culture
to a greater degree than the sketchy impressions made on Rome seen in the adoption of
Hinduism
and then Buddhism.
[48]
However, knowledge of the Indian subcontinent and its trade was preserved in Byzantine books and it is likely that the court of the Emperor still maintained some form of diplomatic relation to the region up until at least the time of
Constantine VII
, seeking an ally against the rising influence of the Islamic states in the Middle East and Persia, appearing in a work on ceremonies called
De Ceremoniis
.
[49]
The
Ottoman Turks
conquered
Constantinople
in the 15th century (1453), marking the beginning of Turkish control over the most direct trade routes between Europe and Asia.
[50]
The Ottomans initially cut off eastern trade with Europe, leading in turn to the attempt by Europeans to find a sea route around Africa, spurring the European
Age of Discovery
, and the eventual rise of European
Mercantilism
and
Colonialism
.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Shaw 2003: 426
- ^
a
b
c
d
Young 2001: 19
- ^
a
b
c
d
Lindsay 2006: 101
- ^
a
b
c
d
Curtin 1984: 100
- ^
Potter 2004: 20
- ^
a
b
Parker 2008: 118.
- ^
a
b
c
Young 2001: 29.
- ^
Mawer 2013: 38.
- ^
William H. Schoff (2004) [1912]. Lance Jenott (ed.).
"
"The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century" in The Voyage around the Erythraean Sea"
.
Depts.washington.edu
.
University of Washington
. Retrieved
19 September
2016
.
- ^
Lach 1994: 13
- ^
Young 2001: 20
- ^
a
b
"The Geography of Strabo published in Vol. I of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1917"
.
- ^
Archived
13 February 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Il Blog sulla Villa Romana del Casale Piazza Armerina"
.
villadelcasale.it
. Retrieved
12 February
2017
.
- ^
O'Leary 2001: 72
- ^
a
b
c
Fayle 2006: 52
- ^
a
b
Freeman 2003: 72
- ^
"Garum Masala;Dramatic archaeological discoveries have led scholars to radically reassess the size and importance of the trade between ancient Rome and India"
.
New York Review
. 20 April 2023.
- ^
Magazine, Smithsonian; Parker, Christopher.
"Archaeologists Unearth Buddha Statue in Ancient Egyptian Port City"
.
Smithsonian Magazine
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Halsall, Paul.
"Ancient History Sourcebook: The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century"
. Fordham University.
- ^
a
b
"Search for India's ancient city"
. BBC. 11 June 2006
. Retrieved
4 January
2010
.
- ^
George Menachery (1987)
Kodungallur City of St. Thomas
; (2000)
Azhikode alias Kodungallur Cradle of Christianity in India
- ^
"Signs of ancient port in Kerala"
.
telegraphindia.com
. Calcutta (Kolkata): The Telegraph. Archived from
the original
on 4 August 2009
. Retrieved
12 February
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Huntingford 1980: 119.
- ^
a
b
c
Lach 1994: 18
- ^
a
b
Ball 2016: 152?53
- ^
Hill 2009: 27
- ^
Yule 1915: 53?54
- ^
An 2002: 83
- ^
Harper 2002: 99?100, 106?07
- ^
O'Reilly 2007: 97
- ^
Schoff 2004 [1912]:
paragraph #64
. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ^
Suarez (1999): 90?92
- ^
Yule 1915: 25?28
- ^
Lieu 2009: 227
- ^
Ball 2016: 153?54.
- ^
a
b
c
Kulke 2004: 108
- ^
Farrokh 2007: 252
- ^
Bakker, Hans (2017).
Monuments of Hope, Gloom, and Glory in the Age of the Hunnic Wars. 50 years that changed India
. Amsterdam: J. Gonda Fund Foundation of the KNAW. pp. 484?534.
ISBN
978-9069847153
.
- ^
Schwartzberg, Joseph E.
(1978).
A Historical atlas of South Asia
. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 25.
ISBN
0226742210
.
- ^
Schwartzberg, Joseph E.
(1978).
A Historical atlas of South Asia
. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 145, map XIV.1 (k).
ISBN
0226742210
.
- ^
Longman History & Civics ICSE 9 by Singh
p. 81
- ^
The First Spring: The Golden Age of India by Abraham Eraly
pp. 48 sq
- ^
Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen
p. 221
- ^
A Comprehensive History Of Ancient India
p. 174
- ^
a
b
Meri 2006: 224
- ^
Holl 2003: 9
- ^
Kulke 2004: 106
- ^
Luttwak 2009:
167?68
- ^
The Encyclopedia Americana 1989: 176
References
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edit
]
- An, Jiayao (2002). "When Glass Was Treasured in China". In Annette L. Juliano and Judith A. Lerner (ed.).
Silk Road Studies VII: Nomads, Traders, and Holy Men Along China's Silk Road
. Brepols Publishers. pp. 79?94.
ISBN
2-503-52178-9
.
- Ball, Warwick (2016).
Rome in the East: Transformation of an Empire
(2nd ed.). Routledge.
ISBN
978-0-415-72078-6
.
- Curtin, Philip DeArmond; el al. (1984).
Cross-Cultural Trade in World History
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
0-521-26931-8
.
- The Encyclopedia Americana
(1989)
. Grolier. 1989.
ISBN
0-7172-0120-1
.
- Farrokh, Kaveh
(2007).
Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War
. Osprey Publishing.
ISBN
978-1-84603-108-3
.
- Fayle, Charles Ernest (2006).
A Short History of the World's Shipping Industry
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ISBN
0-415-28619-0
.
- Freeman, Donald B. (2003).
The Straits of Malacca: Gateway Or Gauntlet?
. McGill-Queen's Press.
ISBN
0-7735-2515-7
.
- Harper, P.O. (2002). "Iranian Luxury Vessels in China From the Late First Millennium B.C.E. to the Second Half of the First Millennium C.E.". In Annette L. Juliano and Judith A. Lerner (ed.).
Silk Road Studies VII: Nomads, Traders, and Holy Men Along China's Silk Road
. Brepols Publishers. pp. 95?113.
ISBN
2-503-52178-9
.
- Hill, John E. (2009).
Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, First to Second Centuries CE
. BookSurge.
ISBN
978-1-4392-2134-1
.
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Ethnoarchaeology of Shuwa-Arab Settlements
. Lexington Books.
ISBN
0-7391-0407-1
.
- Huntingford, G.W.B. (1980).
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
. Hakluyt Society.
- Kulke, Hermann; Dietmar Rothermund (2004).
A History of India
. Routledge.
ISBN
0-415-32919-1
.
- Lach, Donald Frederick (1994).
Asia in the Making of Europe: The Century of Discovery. Book 1
. University of Chicago Press.
ISBN
0-226-46731-7
.
- Lieu, Samuel N.C. (2009). "Epigraphica Nestoriana Serica".
Exegisti monumenta Festschrift in Honour of Nicholas Sims-Williams
. Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 227?46.
ISBN
978-3-447-05937-4
.
- Lindsay, W S (2006).
History of Merchant Shipping and Ancient Commerce
. Adamant Media Corporation.
ISBN
0-543-94253-8
.
- Luttwak, Edward (2009).
The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire
. Harvard University Press.
ISBN
978-0-674-03519-5
.
- Mawer, Granville Allen (2013). "The Riddle of Cattigara". In Nichols, Robert and Martin Woods (ed.).
Mapping Our World: Terra Incognita to Australia
. National Library of Australia. pp. 38?39.
ISBN
9780642278098
.
- Meri, Josef W.
; Jere L. Bacharach (2006).
Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia
. Routledge.
ISBN
0-415-96690-6
.
- O'Leary, De Lacy
(2001).
Arabia Before Muhammad
. Routledge.
ISBN
0-415-23188-4
.
- O'Reilly, Dougald J.W. (2007).
Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia
. AltaMira Press, Division of Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
ISBN
978-0-7591-0279-8
.
- Parker, Grant (2008).
The Making of Roman India
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
978-0-521-85834-2
.
- Potter, David Stone (2004).
The Roman Empire at Bay: Ad 180?395
. Routledge.
ISBN
0-415-10058-5
.
- Schoff, Williamm H. (2004) [1912]. Lance Jenott (ed.).
"
"The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant of the First Century" in The Voyage around the Erythraean Sea"
.
Depts.washington.edu
.
University of Washington
. Retrieved
19 September
2016
.
- Shaw, Ian
(2003).
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
0-19-280458-8
.
- Suresh, S. (2004).
SYMBOLS OF TRADE Roman and Pseudo-Roman Objects found in India
(PDF)
. Manohar.
- Young, Gary Keith (2001).
Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy, 31 BC?AD 305
. Routledge.
ISBN
0-415-24219-3
.
- Yule, Henry (1915). Henri Cordier (ed.).
Cathay and the Way Thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, Vol I: Preliminary Essay on the Intercourse Between China and the Western Nations Previous to the Discovery of the Cape Route
. Vol. 1. Hakluyt Society.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Lionel Casson,
The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text With Introduction, Translation, and Commentary
.
Princeton University Press
, 1989.
ISBN
0-691-04060-5
.
- Chakrabarti D.K. (1990). The External Trade of the Indus Civilization. Delhi: Manoharlal Publishers Private Limited
- Chami, F. A. 1999. “The Early Iron Age on Mafia island and its relationship with the mainland.”
Azania
Vol. XXXIV.
- McLaughlin, Raoul. (2010).
Rome and the Distant East: Trade Routes to the Ancient Lands of Arabia, India and China
. Continuum, London and New York.
ISBN
978-1-84725-235-7
.
- Miller, J. Innes. 1969.
The Spice Trade of The Roman Empire: 29 B.C. to A.D. 641
. Oxford University Press. Special edition for Sandpiper Books. 1998.
ISBN
0-19-814264-1
.
- Sidebotham, Steven E. (2011).
Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route
. University of California Press.
ISBN
978-0-520-24430-6
.
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