The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean: The Ancient World Economy & the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia & India

by Raoul McLaughlin

Overview

This study of ancient Roman shipping and trade across continents reveals the Roman Empire’s far-reaching impact in the ancient world.
 
In ancient times, large fleets of Roman merchant ships set sail from Egypt on voyages across the Indian Ocean. They sailed from Roman ports on the Red Sea to distant kingdoms on the east coast of Africa and southern Arabia. Many continued their voyages across the ocean to trade with the rich kingdoms of ancient India. Along these routes, the Roman Empire traded bullion for valuable goods, including exotic African products, Arabian incense, and eastern spices.
 
This book examines Roman commerce with Indian kingdoms from the Indus region to the Tamil lands. It investigates contacts between the Roman Empire and powerful African kingdoms, including the Nilotic regime that ruled Meroe and the rising Axumite Realm. Further chapters explore Roman dealings with the Arab kingdoms of southern Arabia, including the Saba-Himyarites and the Hadramaut Regime, which sent caravans along the incense trail to the ancient rock-carved city of Petra.
 
The first book to bring these subjects together in a single comprehensive study, The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean reveals Rome’s impact on the ancient world and explains how international trade funded the legions that maintained imperial rule.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473840959
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	934,845
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Raoul McLaughlin was educated at Lagan College, the first Integrated School in Northern Ireland. He studied Archaeology and Ancient History at Queens University Belfast before completing a Masters degree and then a PhD in the study of trade beyond Romes eastern frontiers. He lives in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland.

Table of Contents

List of Plates vi

Acknowledgements vii

Abbreviations viii

Ancient Figures and Modern Estimates ix

Ancient Greek and Roman Authors xi

Maps xiii

Introduction: The Ancient Economy xvii

1 Revenue and the Roman Economy 1

2 Roman Prosperity 18

3 Incense: A Unique Product 28

4 The Intermediaries: Petra and the Nabataeans 50

5 Beyond Egypt: The Nile Route and the African Kingdom of Meroe 59

6 The Red Sea Route 73

7 The Scale and Significance of Indian Ocean Trade 88

8 International Business 95

9 East Africa and the Aksumite Kingdom 113

10 Southern Arabia and the Saba-Himyarites 128

11 Arabia Felix and the Hadramawt Kingdom 140

12 The Indo-Parthians 150

13 The Saka and Satavahana Kingdoms 157

14 The Tamil Kingdoms of Southern India 172

15 The Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka and the Far East 196

16 The Antun Embassy to China and the Antonine Pandemic 207

Conclusion: Assessing the Roman Economy 218

Appendix A The Roman Economy 226

Appendix B Reconstructing Roman Revenues 228

Appendix C The Expense of the Roman Legions 230

Notes 232

Bibliography 266

Index 270

Editorial Reviews

"Investigating how the Roman Empire functioned, and particularly how it paid its enormous military costs, McLaughlin argues that the answer lies outside the Mediterranean and western part of Europe to which most classical historians limit their view. He contends that the Roman Empire belonged to an ancient world economy that stretched thousands of miles across the Indian Ocean and that significant commercial contacts linked Roman subjects with their distant counterparts in east Africa, southern Arabia, and the kingdoms of ancient India. He confirms these trade exchanges by source testimony from many different cultures and numerous archaeological finds."

Protoview

"Investigating how the Roman Empire functioned, and particularly how it paid its enormous military costs, McLaughlin argues that the answer lies outside the Mediterranean and western part of Europe to which most classical historians limit their view. He contends that the Roman Empire belonged to an ancient world economy that stretched thousands of miles across the Indian Ocean and that significant commercial contacts linked Roman subjects with their distant counterparts in east Africa, southern Arabia, and the kingdoms of ancient India. He confirms these trade exchanges by source testimony from many different cultures and numerous archaeological finds."

ProtoView