Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route
The legendary overland silk road was not the only way to reach Asia for ancient travelers from the Mediterranean. During the Roman Empire’s heyday, equally important maritime routes reached from the Egyptian Red Sea across the Indian Ocean. The ancient city of Berenike, located approximately 500 miles south of today’s Suez Canal, was a significant port among these conduits. In this book, Steven E. Sidebotham, the archaeologist who excavated Berenike, uncovers the role the city played in the regional, local, and “global” economies during the eight centuries of its existence. Sidebotham analyzes many of the artifacts, botanical and faunal remains, and hundreds of the texts he and his team found in excavations, providing a profoundly intimate glimpse of the people who lived, worked, and died in this emporium between the classical Mediterranean world and Asia.
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Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route
The legendary overland silk road was not the only way to reach Asia for ancient travelers from the Mediterranean. During the Roman Empire’s heyday, equally important maritime routes reached from the Egyptian Red Sea across the Indian Ocean. The ancient city of Berenike, located approximately 500 miles south of today’s Suez Canal, was a significant port among these conduits. In this book, Steven E. Sidebotham, the archaeologist who excavated Berenike, uncovers the role the city played in the regional, local, and “global” economies during the eight centuries of its existence. Sidebotham analyzes many of the artifacts, botanical and faunal remains, and hundreds of the texts he and his team found in excavations, providing a profoundly intimate glimpse of the people who lived, worked, and died in this emporium between the classical Mediterranean world and Asia.
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Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route

Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route

by Steven E. Sidebotham
Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route

Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route

by Steven E. Sidebotham

Hardcover(First Edition)

$85.00 
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Overview

The legendary overland silk road was not the only way to reach Asia for ancient travelers from the Mediterranean. During the Roman Empire’s heyday, equally important maritime routes reached from the Egyptian Red Sea across the Indian Ocean. The ancient city of Berenike, located approximately 500 miles south of today’s Suez Canal, was a significant port among these conduits. In this book, Steven E. Sidebotham, the archaeologist who excavated Berenike, uncovers the role the city played in the regional, local, and “global” economies during the eight centuries of its existence. Sidebotham analyzes many of the artifacts, botanical and faunal remains, and hundreds of the texts he and his team found in excavations, providing a profoundly intimate glimpse of the people who lived, worked, and died in this emporium between the classical Mediterranean world and Asia.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780520244306
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication date: 02/02/2011
Series: California World History Library , #18
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 456
Product dimensions: 7.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Steven E. Sidebotham is Professor of History at the University of Delaware and author of Roman Economic Policy in the Erythra Thalassa, 30 BC–AD 21.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Preface and Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

1. Introduction
2. Geography, Climate, Ancient Authors, and Modern Visitors
3. Pre-Roman Infrastructure in the Eastern Desert
4. Ptolemaic Diplomatic-Military-Commercial Activities
5. Ptolemaic and Early Roman Berenike and Environs
6. Inhabitants of Berenike in Roman Times
7. Water in the Desert and the Ports
8. Nile–Red Sea Roads
9. Other Emporia
10. Merchant Ships
11. Commercial Networks and Trade Costs
12. Trade in Roman Berenike
13. Late Roman Berenike and Its Demise

Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This highly readable, indeed exciting, book explores numerous aspects of ancient Berenike."—American Journal of Archaeology

"A remarkably detailed picture of the Egyptian business world along the Red Sea and
Indian coast. . . . Many historians will be grateful."—Bryn Mawr Classical Review (Bmcr)

"[A] fascinating story."—Times Literary Supplement (Tls)

"The detail of data is remarkable, and one is left with excellent understanding of life in this remote city."—American Journal of Archaeology

"Sidebotham tells the fascinating story of how this isolated harbour site owed its existence to long-range commerce."—Times Higher Education

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