The Maritime Spice Route.

[JayAg47]

I've wanted to create a map like this for a long time and finally got around to doing it now.

As we know, the Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes connecting the East and West, facilitating the exchange of goods like silk and precious metals, as well as the flow of ideas, culture, and technology. Originating in China and stretching across Asia to the Mediterranean, the Silk Road was instrumental in shaping civilisations. Another major trade network was the maritime spice route, which connected the Arabian, Indian, and Southeast Asian peninsulas.

The Romans were avid consumers of spices, which they used for culinary, medicinal, and religious purposes. Roman merchants ventured as far as India, particularly the kingdoms of the Chera, Chola, and Pandyas, to obtain spices like pepper, cinnamon, and ginger, as well as goods like beryl, pearls, and ivory. Pliny the Elder, detailed the extensive spice trade in his work "Natural History." He expressed amazement at the wealth funneled to India due to the spice trade, noting that pepper sold for 15 denarii a pound. He lamented the high costs of these exotic goods and the wealth flowing out of the Roman Empire to procure them. The Greeks, acting as intermediaries, facilitated exchanges between the East and the West. The "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea," a Greek maritime guidebook, offers detailed descriptions of the trade routes and ports along the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, providing insights into the trade dynamics.

Later on, Arab merchants played a crucial role in the spice trade, controlling much of the trade between the East and the Mediterranean. They traded spices from the Malabar Coast of India, the Arabian Peninsula, and Southeast Asia. Arab navigators and traders were known for their extensive knowledge of the monsoon winds, which facilitated their voyages across the Indian Ocean.

Southeast Asia, particularly the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Java, was the primary source of valuable spices like cloves, nutmeg, and mace. Southeast Asian kingdoms, such as Srivijaya, controlled the spice trade routes and facilitated the distribution of spices to other parts of Asia and beyond. The Chinese were also active participants in the spice trade, both as consumers and traders. Chinese records from the Han Dynasty mention trade relations with India and Southeast Asia. Silk, porcelain, and other Chinese goods were traded for spices, creating a complex web of exchange that linked China with the rest of the ancient world.

We can even see numismatic evidence of this trade other than plain imitations. While a Byzantine gold solidus typically weighs 4.4-4.5g, another version called the lightweight solidus around 4.2g was issued for circulation outside the empire. When the Arabic caliphates emerged, they issued gold dinars weighing 4.2g, modeled after the lightweight solidii available in their markets. Unsurprisingly, the Chola gold kahavanu also weighs around 4.2g, and the Sri Vijayan 1 massa weighs 2.4g, matching the weight of a Byzantine semissis.

The ancient spice trade was a complex and multifaceted network that connected distant civilisations across continents. Merchants not only traded goods but also exchanged religion, culture, and architecture. Contrary to the common belief that ancient civilisations were isolated, they were in fact highly interconnected.

Although, the coins shown in the map come from different time periods, the cities and regions that produced them were always major trading hubs. In fact, what I showed doesn't even scratch the surface, as numerous kingdoms and cities were involved in the spice trade over the last 2500 years!

 

[expat]

A well written guide through the network, lovely visible example of the route and some beautiful coins along the way. Well done and thanks for posting it.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Nice write-up. I always found it impressive that Constantinian bronzes ended up in Sri Lanka. The Egyptian city of Berenike on the Red Sea coast was instrumental as a hub of this trade. Not much there today but the road that cut from the Nile Valley through the cliffs and Eastern desert is the same as today's two-lane highway connecting Coptos and its environs to Berenike. Coptos was later re-named Justinianopolis in Byzantine times. After the fall of Egypt in the 7th century the Arabs took over this trade.