Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route

1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-0-520-24430-6
Verlag: University of California Press

Buch, Englisch, Band 18, 456 Seiten, Cloth Over Boards, Format (B × H): 189 mm x 262 mm, Gewicht: 978 g

Reihe: California World History Library

The legendary overland silk road was not the only way to reach Asia for ancient travelers from the Mediterranean. During the Roman Empire’s heyday, equally important maritime routes reached from the Egyptian Red Sea across the Indian Ocean. The ancient city of Berenike, located approximately 500 miles south of today’s Suez Canal, was a significant port among these conduits. In this book, Steven E. Sidebotham, the archaeologist who excavated Berenike, uncovers the role the city played in the regional, local, and “global” economies during the eight centuries of its existence. Sidebotham analyzes many of the artifacts, botanical and faunal remains, and hundreds of the texts he and his team found in excavations, providing a profoundly intimate glimpse of the people who lived, worked, and died in this emporium between the classical Mediterranean world and Asia.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sidebotham, Steven E.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Figures
Preface and Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

1. Introduction
2. Geography, Climate, Ancient Authors, and Modern Visitors
3. Pre-Roman Infrastructure in the Eastern Desert
4. Ptolemaic Diplomatic-Military-Commercial Activities
5. Ptolemaic and Early Roman Berenike and Environs
6. Inhabitants of Berenike in Roman Times
7. Water in the Desert and the Ports
8. Nile–Red Sea Roads
9. Other Emporia
10. Merchant Ships
11. Commercial Networks and Trade Costs
12. Trade in Roman Berenike
13. Late Roman Berenike and Its Demise

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Steven E. Sidebotham is Professor of History at the University of Delaware and author of Roman Economic Policy in the Erythra Thalassa, 30 BC–AD 21.