Week 2 Timeline on the Indian Ocean Trade Route

4000 BCE

Zanzibar may have been settled as early as this time by fishing folk from mainland Africa.
3000 BCE

The northernmost tombs date from 3000-2600 BCE and are simpler than those appearing further south and dating from 2600-2000 BCE.
2800 BCE

Magan was a very prosperous region, connected with and important to the other major civilizations of the period.
2750 BCE

As early as around 2750 BCE, archeological evidence shows that these regions began to import their copper from Oman, which had large natural deposits of the metal.
2300 BCE

Sumerian and Akkadian texts from around 2300 BCE mention trade by sea with Magan, which was especially rich in timber, copper, and the stone diorite. All of these materials were very important for building (art, and making everyday utensils such as pots)
1500 BCE

The kamal is a simple navigation device used by Arab navigators in the Indian Ocean since ancient times. It consists of a small, rectangular card with a knotted cord passed through it.
1500 BCE

Diffusion of cholera, smallpox, plague and influenza in the Indian Ocean area
800 BCE

Trade Began to take place
800 BCE

Trade Goods (silk, spices, incense, etc)
800 BCE

Major Exports (iron, coal, rubber, etc)
700 BCE

Recognizable Monsoon Marketplace
515 BCE

Cylax of Caryanda made a voyage into the Indian Ocean. 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.
300 BCE

Before the Indian trade was discovered
1 BCE

Exchange of ideas

As all trade networks did, the Indian Ocean trade fostered the exchange of ideas, such as Buddhism to Southeast Asia, and Islam across Eurasia. Additionally, many famous travelers such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and eventually Ming Admiral Zheng He utilized these key routes, and their records would soon spread to much of the world.
1400

The Swahili city-states steadily grew and prospered, and were a major world economic power by the 1400’s.
1500

Declined in the 1500's when Portugal invaded and tried to run the trade for it's own profit.
1514

Portuguese completed their control of the chokepoint by taking the strategic island of Hormuz, where they built a fort protected by cannon and a permanent troop presence.

Zanzibar may have been settled as early as this time by fishing folk from mainland Africa.

The northernmost tombs date from 3000-2600 BCE and are simpler than those appearing further south and dating from 2600-2000 BCE.

Magan was a very prosperous region, connected with and important to the other major civilizations of the period.

As early as around 2750 BCE, archeological evidence shows that these regions began to import their copper from Oman, which had large natural deposits of the metal.

Sumerian and Akkadian texts from around 2300 BCE mention trade by sea with Magan, which was especially rich in timber, copper, and the stone diorite. All of these materials were very important for building (art, and making everyday utensils such as pots)

The kamal is a simple navigation device used by Arab navigators in the Indian Ocean since ancient times. It consists of a small, rectangular card with a knotted cord passed through it.

Diffusion of cholera, smallpox, plague and influenza in the Indian Ocean area

Trade Began to take place

Trade Goods (silk, spices, incense, etc)

Major Exports (iron, coal, rubber, etc)

Recognizable Monsoon Marketplace

Cylax of Caryanda made a voyage into the Indian Ocean. 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.

Before the Indian trade was discovered

Exchange of ideas

The Swahili city-states steadily grew and prospered, and were a major world economic power by the 1400’s.

Declined in the 1500's when Portugal invaded and tried to run the trade for it's own profit.

Portuguese completed their control of the chokepoint by taking the strategic island of Hormuz, where they built a fort protected by cannon and a permanent troop presence.