Week 2 Timeline

Bananas

1000 BCE

Bananas were cultivated in Southeast Asia, then traveled to India, and may have reached Africa by around 1000 BCE. During the classical era, bananas spread as a crop and food into China, and may have been known in part of the Middle East.

Sugar Cane

1000 BCE

Sugar cane became a medicinal plant and was treated with such luxury. By the end of the classical era, sugar was known in Persia as a wonderful luxury for cooking and sweetening.

Pharaoh Necho II

700 BCE

Necho II hired Phoenician sailors to explore the seas surrounding Africa. This journey gave the Egyptians a better understanding of the coastal geography of Africa.

Greek Coin

600 BCE

Currency was intruded into the Indian Ocean trade.

Iron

600 BCE

Iron metallurgy is known in China. Copper and iron were the two major metals in the early stage of metallurgy. The tools then played an important role in the development of ancient societies.

Trade Networks

600 BCE

Trade networks are established primarily consisting of the Silk Road, Indian Ocean trade, and the Saharan trade.

Cinnamon and Cassia

500 BCE

Cinnamon is mentioned in the Old Testament. Cinnamon and Cassia arrived in the Gulf of Aden by monsoon winds. It was then carried on the Red Sea routes or via the parallel overland routes to the mediteranean.

King Darius I

486 BCE

Began project to have the Suez Canal linked the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and became and important time saving route for shipping.

Yehawmilk Stele

450 BCE

A stone marker was discovered to be a Phoenician advancement. The stone describes the alphabet that was used during these times. It is a writing system developed by the Phoenicians and was passed along to the Greeks, and is the basis of the alphabet used in most Western languages.

Ban Don Ta Phet

400 BCE

Artifacts show evidence of trade relations between Thailand and India, Vietnam and the Philippines. The natives used bronze and convinced travelers that it was gold that they were trading.

Nearchus

325 BCE

Nearchus was an explorer and officer in the navy of Alexander the Great who was ordered to build a naval fleet to take part of the army back of Babylongia. Nearchus documented the voyage and expressed the challenges they encountered harsh winds.

Ashoka

254 BCE

One of the most famous Indian emperors, who ruled about 271- 232 BCE, converted to Buddhism and worked to spread the religion. Ashoka sent religious envoys which later encourage contact and interactions that contributed to the establishment of trade relations. Under his rule, India traded with cultures in both West Asia and Southeast Asia.

Camels

200 BCE

Camels had been introduced by Saharan Berber-speaking nomads into much of North Africa. Trade between North Africa and the African savannah was established along with the relationship between farmers on both desert edges and pastoral nomads crossing the desert.This led to the gold/salt trade.

Arikamdeu

200 BCE

This was a trade center on the southeast coast of India. The town became so important for the trade with Rome that archaeologists used to think Romans founded it as a trading post. Arikamedu crafted stone and glass beads, which were widely sold in India and Southeast Asia, where they have been found in jar burials and at other sites.

Strabo the Geographer

64 BCE

Strabo was a Greek traveler and author of the famous work Geography. He was able to collect and compare many sources in order to get a picture of the best state of knowledge about the known world. Strabo was able to give scholar's an idea of how the regions that surrounded the Indian Ocean.

Chhien Han Shu

23

This is a passage that was found and describes the history of China under a series of rulers known as the Han Dynasty. Chhien Han Shu focuses and discusses trade with Iran and an area referred to as the "South Seas." The Text shows proof of the country's earliest attempt at maritime trade and exploration.

Kaveripattinam

100

It was the capital and major port city of the early Chola kings of the Tamil state. The town had two districts, one that had a shipyard and warehouses. This district was were merchants, travelers, fishermen and sailors stayed. The other district was for the wealthy residents and oficals stayed.

Pearls

200

They became to be known a favorite of wealthy Romans. It became an ideal trade good because they took up very little room on ships. Pearls were commonly used for jewelry and decoration, or sometimes ground up into powder for medicine. They became important to the economies of countries which exported the gemstones to the Roman Empire and other lands.

Ubar

300

Ubar was a town that thrived on the incense trade. Because they had frankincense trees close to them, they became prized in India. It was in high demand for use in temples, as medicine, and in perfumes. The city then became lost.

Phoenicians

400

This culture conquered trade and travel during this time. The name came from the Greek word phoenixes, meaning "red people," a reference to the unique and highly prized reddish-purple cloth that the Phoenicians exported. They also exported items like wine, olives, wheat, spices, metals, honey, and cedar wood.

Zheng He

1405

Zheng He was a Chinese muslim who commanded series of Indian Ocean trade expeditions under third Ming emperor, Yunglo. He's expeditions were close to the coastline. Zheng had in possession improved compass and excellent maps as well as huge vessels that contained ample supplies and even gardens, just like good for trade. Zheng He brought gifts to the lands he visited but also had well-armed troops on his expedition. Several missions visited China from the Middle Easy and Africa.