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1000 BCE
Sugar Cane
From its origins in Southeast Asia, by 1000 BCE, sugar cane had reached India, where it was cultivated on a larger scale. By the end of the Classical Era, sugar was known in Persia as a wonderful luxury for cooking and sweetening. -
1000 BCE
Bananas
Bananas were cultivated in places in Southeast Asia as well, then traveled to India, and may have reached Africa by around 1000 BCE. During the classical era, bananas spread as a crop and a food into China, and may have been known in parts of the Middle East. -
Period: 1000 BCE to 1 BCE
Phoenicians
The Phoenicians dominated trade and travel during the first millennium BCE. They also specialized in making glass products. The Phoenicians imported and exported items like wine, olives and olive oil, wheat, spices, metals, honey, and cedar wood. -
Period: 1000 BCE to 300 BCE
Kaveripattanam
Kaveripattanam was the capital and major port city of the early Chola kings of the Tamil state. -
Period: 1000 BCE to 300 BCE
Classical Era
The Classical Era was from 1000-300 B.C.E.-
Historians think that long-distance trade from Egypt and Mesopotamia may have declined
around 1000 BCE. During the second half of the millennium, trade expanded among new groups of people. Several strong states existed at this time, including the
Mauryan Empire (323-185 BCE) of India, the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire in Europe,
and the Han Dynasty in China. -
Period: 751 BCE to 666 BCE
Moroe
For a short period, from 751 b.c.e. until the invasion of Egypt by the Assyrians in 666 b.c.e., the kings of Meroë also ruled as pharaohs of Egypt. Meroë had the mineral ores and fuels needed to produce iron on a large scale. That technology, and its extensive trade with Egypt and the Mediterranean, allowed Meroë to flourish. -
750 BCE
Persian
Persians migrate to Iran from Asia -
700 BCE
Indigo Plant
The indigo plant was a valuable plant found in documents as early as the 7th century BCE, in Babylon, and later also mentioned in Greek, and Roman sources. Chinese silks were also dyed with indigo during this period. -
Period: 700 BCE to 100 BCE
Aksum
Aksum inked to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean trade networks by its port city of Adulis, Aksum controlled the profitable African gold and ivory trade. It exported gold, gems, spices, incense and ivory to Greece, India, Sri Lanka, and Persia. -
600 BCE
Iron and Silk
600 B.C- Iron metallurgy was introduced to China and silk was introduced to the trade system. China exported the silk and this silk was highly prized in India, the Middle East, and the Roman Empire. -
600 BCE
Trade Networks
Three large trade networks developed between 600 BCE and 600 CE: the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean trade, and the Saharan trade. -
600 BCE
Greek Coin Currency
The Greek coin currency was introduced. -
Period: 600 BCE to 300 BCE
Religion Spreads
Between 600 and 300 BCE, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism spread across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia. -
Period: 600 BCE to 600
Dhows and Lateen sails
Dhows and Lateen sails along with knowledge of Monsoon winds allowed long distance trading. From the western Mediterranean to the South China Sea carried goods of one civilized core to be exchanged with the other. -
Period: 510 BCE to 515 BCE
Scylax of Caryanda
Scylax of Caryanda made a voyage into the Indian Ocean from 510-515 BCE. He brought news of new regions that were friendly which encouraged trade expeditions. -
Period: 510 BCE to 515 BCE
Scylax of Caryanda
Scylax of Caryanda made a voyage into the Indian Ocean from 510-515 BCE. He brought news of new regions that were friendly which encouraged trade expeditions. -
500 BCE
Greek and Roman sailors and traders
Greek and Roman sailors and traders entered the Indian Ocean after 500 BCE, sent there by the Persian ruler Darius I. They traded ceramics, gold, olive oil, and wine. -
500 BCE
Cinnamon
Cinnamon and cassia arrived in the Gulf of Aden on the monsoon winds at least from around 500 BCE. -
500 BCE
Buddhism
Buddhism began to spread via the silk road. -
500 BCE
Saddles
Major developments and growing use of saddles. -
Period: 431 BCE to 404 BCE
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War was where Athens and Sparta fought over rival claims to a colonial city-state. During the 2nd year of this war, a massive plague called the Athenian Plague broke out. This attempt to invade Sicily cost Athens more than 200 ships, 4500 men and many trading allies. -
Period: 430 BCE to 426 BCE
Athenian Plague
The Athenian Plague was a massive plague that killed 1/3 of the population, including Pericles. -
400 BCE
Isthmus of Kra
The Isthmus of Kra is a narrow strip of land that connects the Malay Peninsula to the continent of Asia. As early as the fourth century BCE, traders from India reached the rest of Southeast Asia by crossing the Isthmus of Kra, rather than making the longer and more difficult journey around the entire Malay Peninsula. -
Period: 356 BCE to 323 BCE
Alexander the Great
He founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt, which would become a major center of art and trade. The conquests of Alexander the Great laid the foundation for centuries of interaction and cultural exchanges. -
332 BCE
Alexandria
Alexandria was founded in 332 B.C.E. It was a hub of international trade. It was the center of trade routes connecting Rome to inner Africa, the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, and Asia. -
Period: 321 BCE to 185 BCE
Period of Mauryan Rule
During the period of Mauryan Rule, there was a great expansion in trade between main centers of civilization in Eurasia and Africa. -
300 BCE
Berenike
Berenike, an Egyptian port city located on the Red Sea that was a major center of international trade from the third century BCE until its decline in the sixth century CE. The city traded extensively with India, exchanging goods like cloth, pottery, beads, wood, and bamboo. During the Roman Empire, spices, myrrh, frankincense, pearls, and textiles were all shipped through Berenike to Alexandria and Rome. -
300 BCE
Frankincense and myrrh
Frankincense and myrrh trading served as a driving force to open Indian Ocean Trade. During the Classical Era, they were transported by Arab merchants-along with spices, gold, ivory, pearls, precious stones and textiles. -
Period: 300 BCE to 200 BCE
Land trade
By 300-200 B.C. land trade routes extended across the desert. -
Period: 271 BCE to 232 BCE
Ashoka
Ashoka was one of the most famous Indian emperors. He ruled from 271-232 B.C.E. He sent religious envoys abroad which encouraged contact and interactions that contributed to the establishment of trade relations. -
200 BCE
Saddle improvements and saddle knob
Sometime around 200 B.C.E., the Chinese made improvements to the saddle which facilitated land trade. The Chinese improved the harnesses used for horses, developing straps that would not choke the horse and they also introduced the first saddle knob. -
200 BCE
Date palm and one-humped camel
Sometime around 200 B.C.E., the one-humped camel and the date palm had spread from southern Arabia to Somalia in east Africa,and from there into Ethiopia and Egypt. -
Period: 200 BCE to 500
Angkor Borei and Oc Eo
Funan's ships controlled trade between China and India, and dominated territory across the Indochinese peninsula. The cities of Funan also transferred trade goods from the Indian Ocean and South China Sea ports into inland trade routes. -
100 BCE
Pepper
Peppercorns were an important part of the spice trade. The spice was considered so valuable that the ancient Romans used it as a form of money, equal to gold and other precious metals.
