His 320 Timeline

By Bammarvel
  • 1000 BCE

    Riding the winds

    Seasonal monsoon winds, along with the ability to navigate by the stars, mariners sailed across the Arabian Sea in open water.
  • 1000 BCE

    Sugarcane

    Sugarcane
    Sugar Cane came from South East Asia. By the end of this era, it was known in Persia as a luxury cooking item.
  • 1000 BCE

    bananas

    Bananas were a crop that originated in Africa and spread to China and has been known to be in parts of the Middle East. This was a delicacy of the time and was a large factor of beginning trade in the area.
  • 900 BCE

    How goods were traded

    How goods were traded
    Ships would carry massive amounts of cargo at one time. They carried more bulk and staple items rather than larger amounts of luxury items. They used the monsoon winds to travel.
  • 900 BCE

    The kamal

    The kamal
    The kamal is a navigation device used by Arab navigators in the Indian Ocean. It determines latitude at sea by observing the distance between the horizon and a particular star.
  • 800 BCE

    connections

    The Indian Ocean Trade included places like Kilwa, Sofala, Mombasa, and Malindi. These African city-states exported gold, ivory, and iron to India, Southeast Asia, and China.
  • 750 BCE

    Persian migration

    The Persian people migrated from Asia to Iran.
  • 600 BCE

    Dye

    Indigo dye, which becomes a highly coveted trade item, makes its first recorded appearance in Greek history and is traded throughout.
  • 600 BCE

    Silk

    China exports silk which became highly prized in India, the Middle East, and the Roman Empire.
  • 550 BCE

    Alexandria

    Alexandria
    Alexander the great defeats the Persian Empire. He establishes the city of Alexandria in Egypt. The city becomes a hub city of trade.
  • 515 BCE

    Scylax

    Scylax of Caryanda made a voyage into the Indian Ocean from 510-515 BCE. He went exploring in the service of King Darius of Persia, who had heard of the riches of India and wanted to discover the mouth of the Indus River.
  • 500 BCE

    Hanno the navigator

    Hanno the navigator
    An admiral from Carthage sailed the coast of Africa and gave the earliest description of Western Africa. He also established a trading post and several colonies
  • 500 BCE

    Buddhism

    Buddhism
    Because of the silk road Buddhist beliefs began to spread
  • 400 BCE

    marked coins

    Punch-marked silver coins begin to be used for trade all along the trade routes.
  • 118 BCE

    Eudoxus of Cyzicus

    Eudoxus of Cyzicus
    Greek explorer who traveled the monsoon wind system of the Indian Ocean bringing back cargo of precious stones and aromatics. His second trip was a failure as he disappeared on the return voyage.
  • 105 BCE

    Zhang Qian

    Zhang Qian
    Zhang explored the Silk Road trade routes. Many foreign cultures and lands became available thanks to Zhang helping to open China. After his travels in the Indian trade routes the new name for his route was called "The Silk Road."
  • 100 BCE

    Pepper

    Pepper
    The spice was considered so valuable that the ancient Romans used it as a form of money, equal to gold and other precious metals.
  • 100 BCE

    Pearls

    Pearls
    Pearls were a popular jewelry style in the Roman Empire. They were an ideal trade good because they took up very little room on ships or caravans. Pearls were commonly used for jewelry and decoration and were even ground up for medicinal purposes.
  • 100 BCE

    disease

    disease
    Diseases begin to break out in China and Rome. These included smallpox, measles, and bubonic plague. These diseases greatly weaken these empires.
  • Period: 165 to 180

    Antonine plague

    Ships that had returned from military missions brought back what was called the Antonine Plague, a form of smallpox. The disease ravaged Rome and permanently damaging Rome's relationship with the Indian Ocean trading routes.