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.

About the Author

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.

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

Reviews

“This highly readable, indeed exciting, book explores numerous aspects of ancient Berenike.”
— American Journal Of Archaeology

“A remarkably detailed picture of the Egyptian business world along the Red Sea and Indian coast. . . . Many historians will be grateful.”
— Bryn Mawr Classical Review (BMCR)

— Bryn Mawr Classical Review (BMCR)

“The spectacular discoveries at Berenike have prompted a major rethink about the globalized nature of the Roman economy. Sidebotham tells the fascinating story of how this isolated harbour site owed its existence to long-range commerce, and makes a significant contribution to the wider debate about the scale, nature and organization of far-flung ancient trading networks.”
— Times Literary Supplement (TLS)

“The detail of data is remarkable, and one is left with excellent understanding of life in this remote city, an environment alien to many classicists.”
— American Journal Of Archaeology

“Sidebotham tells the fascinating story of how this isolated harbour site owed its existence to long-range commerce, and makes a significant contribution to the wider debate about the scale, nature and organization of far-flung trading networks.”
— Times Higher Education

“This brilliant combination of scientific archaeological field reports, analysis of ancient historical texts and geography, and straightforward, familiar style have produced an accessible, interesting study of globalization in the ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.”
— Choice

“For almost a millennium, from its foundation in the third century BCE to late antiquity, the Red Sea port of Berenike was a key part of the sea route that linked the Mediterranean to South Asia. The excavations conducted by Professor Sidebotham and his international team have provided unprecedented detail about the urban history of Berenike, the lives of its inhabitants, its role in the spice trade, and the products that passed through its port. Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route is a major contribution to world historical scholarship that will fundamentally change our understanding of ancient trade in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.”

—Stanley M. Burstein, California State University, Los Angeles

“With singular focus and an indefatigable spirit, Sidebotham has pursued the remote and difficult site of Berenike. After ten excavation seasons, only a portion of the site has been excavated, but the dividends have been magnificent, yielding exciting new archeological evidence that illuminates the flourishing maritime sea trade in antiquity beyond any reasonable expectation. Sidebotham places Bernike in the larger contextual framework and considers it from every possible angle, including the transportation lattice that connected Berenike with the Nile, its relations with other emporia, the merchant ships used, the exotic trade items it received, and a fascinating explanation of the demise of Berenike and ‘global’ trade in the sixth century. This engrossing analysis is destined to become the standard source for all who are interested in the international trade of antiquity.”

—David F. Graf, author of Rome and the Arabian Frontier: from the Nabataeans to the Saracens

About the Book

About the Author

Table of Contents

Reviews