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Fishing boats can be dated all the way back to 5000 B.C.E., before the Classical Era. This type of boat paved the way for trade and transportation all throughout the Classical Era. The simple craftsmanship of these boats evolved over time to suit the needs of those using them.
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Sugar cane is a type of grass that manufactures sugar from sunlight and water. From its origins in Southeast Asia, by 1000 B.C.E., 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.
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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 B.C.E. During this time period, trade expanded among new groups of people, including the Mauryan Empire, Persian Empire, Roman Empire, and the Han Dynasty.
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Bananas that we eat today originated from a wild variety of a tropical plant that were first cultivated by people as long ago as 8000 B.C.E. on the island of New Guinea. This fruit was cultivated in other places in Southeast Asia as well, then traveled to India, and then ended up in Africa.
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During the 8th century B.C.E., the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet for writing their own language. This alphabet was easier to learn than any previous writing system. The advancement of literacy further stimulated trade by aiding in the exchange of commercial information and enhancing cultural life.
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Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who developed concepts about society, government, and education that continue to be followed in China to this day. Confucianism became widely popular in Chinese culture after the 2nd century B.C.
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Alexander the Great was an ambitious military commander, who over the course of eleven years defeated the Persian Empire and extended Greek control over lands in Western Asia, Egypt, Central Asia, and the Indus Valley. He also founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt, which became a major center of art and trade.
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Scylax of Caryanda was an ancient Greek explorer, who was a pioneer in geography and made a voyage into the Indian Ocean from 510-515 B.C.E. This voyage increased trade during the Classical Era immensely.
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Hanno, a Carthaginian explorer, said beyond the Pillars of Hercules, out of the Mediterranean, and into unknown territory down the Atlantic coast of Africa. He successfully established several colonies along the Moroccan coast, in addition to a trading post on a small island off the coast.
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The camel saddle was developed in Northern Arabia during the Classical Era. The frame held the saddle over the hump, allowing the camels to carry more of a load. This made trading and traveling a lot easier for those people in the Classical Era.
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Led by Athens and Sparta, the Greek city-states were engaged in a great war with the Persian Empire at the beginning of the fifth century B.C. Despite an Athenian victory, the Persians did not give up. In 480 B.C., the new Persian king sent a massive army to Thermopylae, where Persian 60,000 Persian troops defeated 5,000 Greeks and the king of Sparta was famously killed.
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Sri Lanka's prominent location linking the eastern and western parts of the Indian Ocean made it a major port and stopping point for merchants from places as distant as Rome, Africa, Persia, and East Asia.
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The establishment of a land-based trade route in Northern Africa that cut through the Sahara Desert. This trade route allowed trading to be done more efficiently.
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Hinduism originally started as a tradition from within the brahmin class, making those of a lower status hard to achieve. This religion is also known as a way of life, that spread wildly throughout the Classical Era.
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Ashoka, one of the most famous Indian emperors, who ruled from 271-232 B.C.E, converted to Buddhism and worked to spread the religion. This encouragement to spread religion contributed to the establishment of trade relations across the region. Under his rule, India traded with cultures in both West Asia and Southeast Asia.
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Cloves, which are fried flower buds taken from the tropical evergreen clove tree, were traded regularly along routes stretching from Europe to China.
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With so many trade routes being created, cultures were bound to cross paths. Buddhism spanned the Indian and Chinese cultural realms of Asia. Many Indian merchants became Buddhists.
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The travels of explorer Zhang Qian, an early pioneer of the 'Silk Road' trade routes, helped open up China to many foreign lands and cultures. After 106 B.C.E., the roads that Zhang Qian first crossed became commonplace for trade between nations.
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At the end of the first century, there was a vast expansion in international trade between the following five powers:
1. Roman Empire
2. Parthian Empire
3. Kushan Empire
4. Nomadic Confederation of the Xiongnu
5. Han Empire
However, due to limited knowledge of the region's geography, traveling by land and sea was immensely challenging. But thanks to Isodorus of Charax, a Parthian Greek, he wrote several books documenting the geography of this vast region, making trade much easier. -
Pepper was an important part of the spice trade, which flourished from the first century BCE to the first century CE. During this period, merchants of the Indian Ocean began to truly understand and seaman mastered the Indian Ocean monsoon wind patterns, which had been discovered earlier.
