Erythrean Sea
In ancient times, the Erythrean Sea was understood to mean the Red Sea , the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean . The Greeks thought of the mythical King Erythras as the namesake , whose name is derived from ἐρυθρός ( erythros , "red").
Important sources for trade in this area are the Periplus Maris Erythraei (40-70 AD) by an unknown author (probably a Greek or Egyptian merchant) and a customs decree of the emperor Marcus Aurelius , which was created between 176 and 180 and the goods from the Erythrean Sea, which had to be cleared in Alexandria. In Berenike (Baranis) ostraka were also excavated, which presumably represent customs lists. Plant remains from this settlement also provide important information about Roman trade with India and East Africa. The most important ports were Myos Hormos , Philoteras , Leukos Limen and Berenike. The Erythrean Sea was notorious for its pirates.
In India, the excavations in Arikamedu in particular have produced Roman coins and ceramics. According to written sources, Barbarikon and Barygaza in the west of the subcontinent were also important.
The Greek Indian trade began around 120 BC. And was significantly intensified in Roman times.
The ships were 40–50 m long and made of teak . Theophrast (5,4,7.1) describes this wood, which could last up to 200 years if it remained under water. The ships had two to three masts and could carry up to 700 people. The sails were made of cotton.
literature
- Lionel Casson : The Periplus Maris Erythraei: text, translation, and commentary . Princeton University Press, Princeton 1989.
- GF Hourani: Arab seafaring in the Indian Ocean . New Jersey 1951.
- GWB Huntingford (ed.): Periplus Maris Erythraei / The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea by an unknown author with some extracts from Agatharkhidēs 'On the Erythraean sea' . Hakluyt Society, London 1980.
- M. Rice: The archeology of the Arabian Gulf c. 5000-323 BC . Routledge, London 1993.
- D. Schlingloff: Indian sailors in Roman times . In: Hermann Müller-Karpe (Ed.) On the historical significance of early seafaring . Beck, Munich 1982, pp. 51-82.
Individual evidence
- ↑ GF Hourani: Arab seafaring in the Indian Ocean . New Jersey 1951.