Indo-Mediterranean
The Indo-Mediterranean is the region comprising the Mediterranean world, the Indian Ocean world, and their connecting regions in the vicinity of the Suez Canal.
History[edit]
Ancient era[edit]
From around 3000 B.C.E. to 1000 C.E., connectivity within Afro-Eurasia was centered upon the Indo-Mediterranean region.[2] However, Southeast Asia was only loosely connected to the Indo-Mediterranean trade, primarily receiving a few Mediterranean objects through the filter of South Asia.[3]
In the second half of the first century BCE, the Roman Empire emerged with a unified realm and control over the Mediterranean, allowing for more investment and wealth generation; this Pax Romana allowed Rome to become involved in the Indian Ocean trade.[4][5] Their 32 CE conquest of Egypt better positioned them to be involved in the region, with Indian ambassadors coming to Rome in increasing numbers as the Indo-Roman trade began to greatly expand in volume;[6][7] Greek merchants settled on the west coast of India to facilitate the trade,[8] with Romans celebrating the luxury products and wealth thusly acquired.[4][9] The Indo-Mediterranean also facilitated interactions between India and the Mesopotamians, Anatolians and Greeks in different time periods;[10] many actors were involved in facilitating trade throughout this region, including Egyptians, Nabateans and Palmyrenes.[11]
Some evidence is present to suggest that Indo-Mediterranean trade may have also involved a "northern route" through the Caspian Sea and Pontic–Caspian steppe.[12]
Medieval era[edit]
By the 14th century, buoyed by the emergence of overlapping trading networks from the western regions of Africa to the east coast, central sub-Saharan Africa became more involved in Indo-Mediterranean trade, with the Indo-Mediterranean generally going on to become more economically unified by the spread of Islam.[13]
Modern era[edit]
Italian foreign policy planners have recently been examining Italy's modern role in the "Enlarged Mediterranean", including its ties to the Indo-Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific.[14][15]
See also[edit]
- India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
- Berenice Troglodytica, a historical Egyptian port serving Indo-Mediterranean trade[16]
- Indo-Atlantic
References[edit]
- ^ Aubert, Jean-Jacques (2015-01-01), "2 Trajan's Canal: River Navigation from the Nile to the Red Sea?", Across the Ocean: Nine Essays on Indo-Mediterranean Trade, Brill, pp. 33–42, ISBN 978-90-04-28953-6, retrieved 2024-05-30
- ^ Burke, Edmund (2009). "Islam at the Center: Technological Complexes and the Roots of Modernity". Journal of World History. 20 (2): 165–186. ISSN 1045-6007.
- ^ Hoppál, Krisztina; Bellina, Bérénice; Dussubieux, Laure (May 2024). "Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean World at the Turn of the First Millennium ce: Networks, Commodities and Cultural Reception". Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 34 (2): 291–314. doi:10.1017/S0959774323000264. ISSN 0959-7743.
- ^ a b Schörle, Katia (2015-01-01), "3 Pearls, Power, and Profit: Mercantile Networks and Economic Considerations of the Pearl Trade in the Roman Empire", Across the Ocean: Nine Essays on Indo-Mediterranean Trade, Brill, pp. 43–54, ISBN 978-90-04-28953-6, retrieved 2024-05-30
- ^ Pollard, Elizabeth Ann (2009). "Pliny's Natural History and the Flavian Templum Pacis: Botanical Imperialism in First-Century C. E. Rome". Journal of World History. 20 (3): 309–338. ISSN 1045-6007.
- ^ Slootjes, Daniëlle; Peachin, Michael, eds. (2016). Rome and the Worlds beyond its Frontiers. Brill. p. 167.
- ^ Sidebotham, Steven E. (January 2016). "A conference on Indo-Mediterranean commerce - Federico de Romanis and Marco Maiuro (eds.), Across the Ocean: Nine Essays on Indo-Mediterranean Trade (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition vol. 41; Brill, Leiden 2015). Pp. ix + 204, figs. 6, maps 7 including colour. ISBN 978-90-04-28919-2. EUR 99/$128". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 29: 915–919. doi:10.1017/S1047759400073001. ISSN 1047-7594.
- ^ Malekandathil, Pius (2010). Maritime India: Trade, Religion and Polity in the Indian Ocean. Primus Books. ISBN 978-93-80607-01-6.
- ^ Zarmakoupi, Mantha (2014). Designing for Luxury on the Bay of Naples: Villas and Landscapes (c. 100 BCE - 79 CE). OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-967838-9.
- ^ Dandekar, R.N. (1970). "Some Aspects of the Indo-Mediterranean Contacts". Diogenes. 18 (71): 18–38. doi:10.1177/039219217001807102. ISSN 0392-1921.
- ^ Simmons, Jeremy A. (November 2023). "Behind gold for pepper: The players and the game of Indo-Mediterranean trade". Journal of Global History. 18 (3): 343–364. doi:10.1017/S1740022823000165. ISSN 1740-0228.
- ^ Schneider, Pierre (2017). From India to the Black Sea : an overlooked trade route?.
- ^ The Black Road – Trade and State-Building in Medieval Sub-Saharan Africa S R Luttrell
- ^ Coticchia, Fabrizio; Mazziotti di Celso, Matteo (2024-01-10). "Still on the same path? Italian foreign and defence policy in the Enlarged Mediterranean". Mediterranean Politics: 1–10. doi:10.1080/13629395.2023.2294252. ISSN 1362-9395.
- ^ Shenoy, Vas (2021-12-30). "Exploring Draghi's Italy and its relation with India". Decode39. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
- ^ Kotarba-Morley, Anna M. (2015-07-03). "The Port of Berenike Troglodytica on the Red Sea: A Landscape-Based Approach to the Study of its Harbour and its Role in Indo-Mediterranean Trade". Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. 50 (3): 422–423. doi:10.1080/0067270X.2015.1092208. ISSN 0067-270X.