-
3000 BCE
The Monsoon
The monsoon wind pattern became well established during the first millennium BCE though it may have been discovered as early as 3000 BCE. With the discovery of the seasonal monsoon winds, combined with the ability to navigate by reckoning with the stars, mariners now sailed across the Arabian Sea in open water. -
3000 BCE
Roman coins
Roman coins have been found in Indian hoards with Indian coins. Cloth, ceramics, pottery, metal wares, glass, beads, incense, rare woods, and spices, pearls, and coral were traded alongside common goods, and have been found at archaeological sites on the Indian coast. -
Period: 1550 BCE to 300 BCE
The Phoenicians
Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550 BCE to 300 BCE -
1500 BCE
The Phoenicians
The Phoenicians may have circumnavigated Africa, but they probably did explore some of the West African coasts. The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea from the first century CE names many ports, lands, and goods in the Indian Ocean, including information about the east coast of Africa and of India. -
1000 BCE
Trade Expanded Greatly
The picture of trade in the Indian Ocean becomes clearer, with many more written records and artifacts. Always keeping in mind the local and regional coasting trade in all settled parts of the ocean, long-distance trade expanded greatly in the 1300 years from 1000 BCE to 300 CE. -
1000 BCE
3rd and 2nd centuries
During the third and second centuries BCE, Indian and Arab ships are known to have sailed directly from Southern Arabia to the Malabar (western) coast of India and back. About the same time, in the eastern ocean, Austronesian mariners sailed toward the West. -
1000 BCE
Crops
By BCE 1000 the crops like banana, coconut, and yam, and construction of houses in Madagascar. -
Period: 600 BCE to 300 BCE
Spread of Religion
A major phase of the Classical Era is the spread of religions. Between 600 - 300 BCE, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism spread across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia. Pilgrims’ and missionaries’ travel accounts tell about journeys in search of knowledge and to found religious communities, collect sacred texts, and visit shrines. -
Period: 550 BCE to 350 BCE
The Achaemenid
The Achaemenid Persian empire was the largest that the ancient world had seen, extending from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia to northern India and Central Asia. Its formation began in 550 B.C. King Astyages of Media, who dominated much of Iran and eastern Anatolia (Turkey), was defeated by his southern neighbor Cyrus II (“the Great”), king of Persia (r. 559–530 B.C.). -
500 BCE
Greek and Roman sailors
Greek and Roman sailors and traders entered the Indian Ocean after 500 BCE, sent there by the Persian ruler Darius I. -
326 BCE
Nearchus
Alexander the Great sent Nearchus from the Indus to the Arabian Gulf in 326 BCE, and other Greeks sailed to India and around the Arabian Peninsula to Oman -
Period: 324 BCE to 185 BCE
The Mauryan Empire
The Mauryan Empire (324–185 BCE), based in the Gangetic plains of India and with its capital city at Pataliputra (modern Patna), was one of many small political dynasties of the early historic period whose development included the original growth of urban centers, coinage, writing, and eventually, Buddhism -
Period: 323 BCE to 185 BCE
Mediterranean traders
Mediterranean traders and mariners entered a system in the Indian Ocean that was already developed. Goods from China and Southeast Asia appear in records of trade with India. India exported many goods and imported silver, copper, and gold. Several strong states existed at this time, including the Mauryan Empire (323-185 BCE) of India, the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire in Europe, and the Han Dynasty in China. -
305 BCE
Conflicts With Southern India and Persia
In 305 BCE, Chandragupta decided to expand his empire into eastern Persia. At the time, Persia was ruled by Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Empire, and a former general under Alexander. Chandragupta gained control of that land as well as the hand of one of Seleucus’s daughters in marriage. In exchange, Seleucus received 500 war elephants, which he put to good use at the Battle of Ipsus in 301. -
Period: 202 BCE to 220 BCE
The Han Dynasty in China (202 BCE–220 CE),
The Han Dynasty ruled China after the fall of the first imperial dynasty, the Qin in 206 B.C. The Han Dynasty's founder, Liu Bang, was a commoner who leads a rebellion against the son of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of unified China whose political career was short-lived and full of contempt from his peers -
Period: 33 BCE to 475
The Regal Period
The Regal Period lasted from 753–509 BCE and was the time during which kings (beginning with Romulus) ruled over Rome.