Classical Time Period Indian Ocean Trade

By cmccarty001@my.wilmu.edu
  • Period: 8000 BCE to 5000 BCE

    Bananas

    bananas originated from a wild variety of a tropical plant on the island of New Guinea. Bananas were cultivated in other areas of Southeast Asia and then traveled to India.
  • 5000 BCE

    Ancient Fishing Boats

    These flat-bottomed boats were used for setting out from the coast and could be used with or without a sail. They were made from teak or mango wood which was rot resistant.
  • Period: 610 BCE to 595 BCE

    Pharaoh Necho II

    He began building a canal to link the Nile River and the Red Sea. He quit building the canal when he realized he was giving the Babylonians easy access to Egyptian territory since the two were at war at this time. The canal could be choked with sand, and the freshwater of the Nile could become salty which would ruin the agriculture.
  • Period: 600 BCE to 450 BCE

    Phoenicians

    Dominated trade and travel. They specialized in making glass products. The Phoenicians imported and exported items like wine, olives and olive oil, wheat, spices, metals, honey, and cedar wood. The Phoenicians traveled further than any previous Mediterranean society and developed the most advanced ships and navigation techniques for their time.
  • Period: 522 BCE to 486 BCE

    King Darius I

    The canal project was restarted by the Persian King Darius I. The project was not finished until 1869 CE when the Mediterranean was linked with the Red Sea
  • Period: 510 BCE to 515 BCE

    Scylax of Caryanda

    He made voyage into the Indian Ocean in the service of King Darius. There was word of riches in India and he wanted to discover the Indus River.
  • 330 BCE

    Alexander the Great

    Alexander the Great was declared king of the ancient Greek state, Macedonia, in 356 B.C.E., and defeated the Persian Empire. He founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt which became a major center of art and trade.
  • Period: 64 BCE to 23 BCE

    Strabo the Geographer

    He was a scholar who traveled to read about others. He collected and compared many sources in order to get a picture of the best state of knowledge about the known world. He traveled as far as the Red Sea on ships; from the ports he heard about other lands. His account of India is accurate even though he never went there himself.
  • 4 BCE

    Punch-marked coins

    the silver coin represents an early form of currency. They were cut out of metallic sheets of silver and then punched with stamps made from harder metal.
  • 1 BCE

    Muziris

    Ancient port in today's Indian state of Kerala. Famous trading market for Roman-Indian trade in Southern India.