Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns Before 600 CE Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns before 600 CE

What are the four most well known ancient trade routes? • Mediterranean Sea Maritime Trade (c. 1550 BCE – Present) • Trans-Saharan Trade Routes (c. 800 BCE – Present) • Indian Ocean Maritime Trade Route (c. 300 BCE – Present) • Eurasian Silk Road (c. 200 BCE – Present)

What other ancient trade routes were important? • Via Maris or “The way of the Sea” (c. 3100 BCE – 1500 CE) • Canal of the Pharaohs (c. 600 BCE – 767 CE) • Incense Trade Route (c. 300 BCE – 200 CE) • Grand Trunk Trade Route (c. 300 BCE – Present) • The Amber Road (c. 200 BCE – 300 CE) Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns before 600 CE

Mediterranean Sea Trade Route

• Originated by Phoenician Sea-faring traders (c. 1550 BCE)

• Centered on the Phoenician trade centers of Carthage, Cyrene and Tyre

• Travel by sea was usually by means of a man-powered vessel with oars Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns before 600 CE

VIA MARIS “Way of the Sea”

• Mediterranean Coastal Trade Route originated in the Levant (c. 3100 BCE)

KING’S HIGHWAYS

• Linking land trade routes connected the regions of Egypt to Mesopotamia (c. 3000 – 1500 BCE)

• VIA MARIS and the KING’S HIGHWAYS paved the way for the Phoenicians to create a vast Mediterranean Trade Route by 1550 BCE Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns before 600 CE

TRANS-SAHARAN TRADE ROUTES • The Darb el-Arbain trade route is the earliest of the known Trans-Saharan Caravan Trade Routes (c. 3000 BCE) linking Egypt to the Sudan & Ethiopia • Nomadic Saharan Tribes known as Berber were the first to dominate trade

• Expansion of the Trans-Saharan Trade Networks occurred due to the domestication of the Camel (c. 1000 BCE) and the spread of Islam (c. 640 CE) Basra Persia Egypt Hormuz China India Afro-Eurasian Canton Cambay Dhufar Trade Patterns Aksum Aden Calicut Before 600 CE Zeila Ethiopia INDIAN OCEAN TRADE • Incense Trade from Dhufar Sumatra Zanzibar and Aden served as the driving force to open Indian Kilwa Java Ocean Trade by c. 300 BCE

Madagascar • The Canal of the Pharaohs: Sofala  Completed by Ptolemy II in 274/273 BCE

 Created a shipping route from the Nile River to the • Greco-Roman Indian Gulf of Suez (Red Sea) Ocean trade expanded by 200 CE due to trade • Camel Caravans linked Red in Perfumes & Spices Sea ports to Arabia by land Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns before 600 CE

SILK ROAD • The earliest records of trade along the Silk Road dates to 2nd Century BCE

• Diplomats like Zhang Qian (c. 138-139 BCE) and Buddhist Pilgrims like Fa-Hsien (c. 399 – 414 CE) were the earliest to record the people and trade of the route Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns before 600 CE

• The Grand Trunk Route (Northern India)

 Linked the Mauryan Empire of India to the Silk Route as early as the 3rd Century BCE.

 Still used today by cross-country truckers

• The Amber Road (Northern Europe)

 Developed around 1st Century CE

 Amber treasured in Greece, Rome & Egypt as a Jewel & Static power

 Danube replaced route by 300 CE Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns before 600 CE CHANGES IN TRANSPORTATION

• Domestication of the Horse occurred by 4000 BCE

• Hittites & Hyksos used Horse drawn Chariots c. 1800 BCE

• Assyrians & Sythians developed padded saddle c. 800 BCE

• Sarmatians developed saddle with girth and breastplate to help keep the saddle secure by c. 300 BCE

• Sarmatians are also credited with developing a stirrup for mounting the horse

• The first known double stirrup was in China c. 322 CE

• Origins for use of the Ox and Yoke can not be determined

• However, it was used in ancient Egypt, China & Persia Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns before 600 CE

CHANGES IN TRANSPORTATION • The Bactrain (two hump) Camel was domesticated around 2700 BCE

• The Arabian (one hump) Camel was domesticated around 1000 BCE

• The earliest known use of a Saddle for Camels occurred by 1200 BCE

• By 1000 BCE, use of Camel Caravans were popular throughout the regions of Central Asia

• By c. 800 BCE, Camels were being used in the Trans-Sahara

• Between 500 – 100 BCE, Bactrain Camels were being used in the Persian military

Afro-Eurasian Trade Patterns before 600 CE

CHANGES IN TRANSPORTATION

• The Lateen Sail & Dhow

 Egyptians & Phoenicians used Square Sails as early as 3500 BCE

 Arabs developed the first Triangular sails c. 200 BCE

 Greeks were using the Dhow and Triangular sails on the Agean Sea by the end of the 2nd Century BCE

 In the 3rd Century CE, the Dhow and Lateen sails dominated sea trade from the Mediterranean to East Africa and the Indian Ocean