Classical Period,

By jennlancaster12
  • 5000 BCE

    Fishing Boats

    The boats used during this time period had an outrigger for stability, and were known to be made of planks or a single log. Also these boats were made from teak or mango wood, which is resistant to rot. These particular boats were very useful during this time period because it made trade and traveling faster and easier. They were used before the Classical Era but they played a major role in the Classical Era.
  • 1000 BCE

    Sugar Cane Trade

    Sugar cane had reached India from its original origin of Southeast Asia during this time. Toward the end of the Classical Period, Sugar Cane was very well known in Persia for being a wonderful ingredient for cooking.
  • 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.
  • 1000 BCE

    Aryan People

    Aryan people began to settle in India during this time.
  • Period: 1000 BCE to 300 BCE

    Classical Era

    Historians seem to think that long-distance trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia had decreased around 1000 BCE. Although during this time, trade had expanded to other new groups of people and these groups of people were including Mauryan Empire (323-185 BCE), Persian Empire, the Roman Empire in Europe, and the Han Dynasty in China.
  • Period: 1000 BCE to 1 BCE

    Phoenicians

    Phoenicians were the people who had dominated trade during this time period. The Phoenicians had also come to specialized in the art of glass making. Some different examples of imports and exports from the Phoenicians were honey, cedar wood, wheat, wine and olives.
  • 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: 751 BCE to 666 BCE

    Kings of Meroë

    During this short span of time, the kings of Meroë had ruled as pharaohs of Egypt. These rulers had the mineral ores and fuels needed to produce iron on a large scale for other civilizations. With this knowledge of technology along with the extensive trading within Egypt and the Mediterranean- this caused the Kings of Meroë to flourish so well for this time frame.
  • Period: 700 BCE to 800 BCE

    Indigo Dye

    Indigo plant was a valuable plant during the early 7th century BCE near Babylon and later found its way in Greece and Rome. Eventually Chinese silks were dyed with indigo during this time frame.
  • 600 BCE

    Iron and Silk

    Iron was first introduced to China and then silk was introduced to the trade system. China had exported the silk and this particular silk from China was often highly prized in India, the Middle East, and the Roman Empire.
  • 600 BCE

    Trade Networks

    During this time period, three different large trade networks developed between 600 BCE and 600 CE: the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean trade, and the Saharan trade.
  • 600 BCE

    Dhows and Lateen sails

    Dhows and Lateen sails along with knowledge of Monsoon winds had creating opportunitieswhich 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.
  • 500 BCE

    Camel Saddle

    The camel saddle was developed in Northern Arabia between 500 and 100 BCE. The frame held the saddle over the hump of camels with two pieces of wood or rope located on each side of the hump parallel with the camel's backbone. These Camel Saddles had allowed the camels to be able to carry more of a load which made trading and traveling a lot easier for the people.
  • 500 BCE

    The Romans and The Greeks

    Roman and Greek sailors and traders had entered the Indian ocean not too long after 500 BCE and these sailors were sent there by Persian Ruler Darius I. This added more goods and innovations.
  • 400 BCE

    Isthmus of Kra

    The Isthmus of Kra was a tight and narrow strip of land that had connected Malay Peninsula to Asia. During the fourth century BCE, traders from India had 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.
  • 334 BCE

    Alexander the Great

    Alexander the Great conquers Western Asia during this time period. This was also the beginning of the Hellenistic period and this period lasted about ten years and no more.
  • 300 BCE

    The Trans-Saharan Trade

    The Trans-Saharan was a land-based trade route in Northern Africa that had cut though Sahara Desert. This trade route had allowed trading to be more effectively. It had also used camels for transportation of goods which also made it more efficient and easier to carry more goods on trips.
  • 300 BCE

    Frankincense and Myrrh

    This type of trading served as a driving force to help open Indian Ocean Trade. During this Era, they were transported by Arab merchants-along with spices, gold, ivory, pearls, precious stones and textiles.
  • 200 BCE

    Camels

    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

    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.
  • 130 BCE

    Silk Road

    Silk Road offically opens as a trade route during this time.
  • 100 BCE

    Diseases

    the commons diseases in Rome and China that were spread during this time period were smallpox, measles, and bubonic plague. The Roman Empire and China's population dropped because of those things. As these diseases entered into these civilization, the effects of these diseases caused the Han and Roman Empires to weaken.
  • 100 BCE

    Pearls

    Pearls became a huge investment and popular fashion piece during this time period, mostly in the Roman Empire. These pearls were considered ideal trade goods based on the fact that took up less space than other goods when being shipped. These pearls were mostly used for jewelry and decorations but were also used often for medicine.
  • 200

    Improvement to Saddles

    The Chinese made improvements to the saddle during this time period. These improvements had facilitated land trade. The Chinese improved the harnesses used for horses, developed straps that would not choke the horse and they also introduced the first saddle knob during this time.
  • Period: 271 to 232

    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.
  • Period: 300 to 200

    Land Trade extension

    Land trade routes extended across the desert.
  • Period: 430 to 426

    Athenian Plague

    The Athenian Plague was a massive plague that killed 1/3 of the population, including Pericles.