Indian Ocean History

By taneiacoleman005
  • Period: 1500 BCE to 300 BCE

    The Phoenicians

    They were the first to use Polaris as a navigational tool. The Phoenician sailors stayed on the correct route by looking at the location of Polaris, called the 'Phoenician Star' by ancient writers. They also knew about the winds and ocean currents, Polaris navigation allowed the Phoenicians to sail long distances and trade with many foreign cultures.
  • Period: 1000 BCE to 300 BCE

    Sugar cane

    Production of this starter in Southeast Asia but, by 1000 BCE, sugar cane had reached India, where it was cultivated on a larger scale.By the end of the Classical Era, sugar was known in Persia as a wonderful luxury for cooking and sweetening
  • Period: 600 BCE to 300 BCE

    Spread of religion

    Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism spread across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia.As people traveled for trade, they also spread their religions.
  • 500 BCE

    Greek and Roman sailors and traders entered the Indian Ocean

    They were sent there by the Persian ruler Darius I
  • Period: 500 BCE to 599 BCE

    Camels

    People began to use one hump camels to trade between North Africa and the African savannah. (sometime during the 5th century BCE)
  • Period: 500 BCE to 515 BCE

    Scylax of Caryanda

    He went exploring in the service of King Darius of Persia, who had heard of the riches of India and wanted to discover the mouth of the Indus River. HIs voyage was a success! He was actually famous for it. He brought the news of the regions he visited and the news encouraged trade expeditions.
  • Period: 356 BCE to 323 BCE

    Alexander the Great

    He was declared king of that ancient Greek state in 336 BCE. He led the largest army that included 48,500 soldiers. Over the course of eleven years, Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Empire and extended Greek control over lands in western Asia, Egypt, Central Asia, and the Indus Valley. He also founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt, which would become a major center of art and trade.
  • Period: 323 BCE to 185 BCE

    Mauryan Empire of India

  • 300 BCE

    Roman coins

    Roman coins were found in Sri Lanka from this time period. This indicated that they traded with the Romans. Because of it's geography, Sri Lanka was a great place to trade.
  • Period: 300 BCE to 399 BCE

    Strabo

    He exported ivory and tortoiseshell from Sri Lanka to India (not an exact date, but during the 3rd century BCE)
  • Period: 300 BCE to 399 BCE

    Cinnamon

    Sri Lanka was known for it's cinnamon during this time period.(not an exact date, but during the 3rd century BCE)
  • Period: 300 BCE to 600 BCE

    Berenike

    This is an Egyptian port city located on the Red Sea. It was a major center of international trade during its time.
  • Period: 200 BCE to 299 BCE

    Taklamakan Desert

    Instead of crossing the desert, merchant caravans traveling to and from China branched over the northern and southern parts of the Desert. These routes were wrapped around a lot of oasis towns, which provided water and supplies to the caravans. These trade routes were used for hundreds of years. (estimated time)
  • Period: 200 BCE to 300 BCE

    Arikamedu

    This was a trade center on the southeast coast of India. The city was the capital of the Mauryan Empire during this time. It became so important for the trade with Rome that archaeologists used to think Romans founded it as a trading post, but now its earlier origins are known.
  • Period: 150 BCE to 200 BCE

    Trade expansion

    There was a huge expansion in international trade between the following five neighboring powers: the Roman Empire, the Parthian Empire, the Kushan Empire, the Nomadic Confederation of the Xiongnu, and the Han Empire. (The year was an estimate. This happened towards the end of the first century BCE)
  • Period: 138 BCE to 106 BCE

    Zhang Qian

    He introduced Chinese culture and technology to the lands he visited, and brought back foreign music, dance forms, and foods like grapes, pomegranates, watermelon, and walnuts
  • 106 BCE

    Silk Road

    The Silk Road was created due to Zhang Qian's travels and was a common trade place by this time.
  • 100 BCE

    Isodorus of Charax

    This is a famous, Greek writer of 3 well known books during that time.The titles of these books are Parthian Stations, Journey Around Parthia, and Description of the World. The first book is about the overland trade route and posts between the Near East and India. The second and third book was aren references from Isodorus' travels in the writings of later important historical figures. (the year is an estimate, because his first book was written about early first century BCE trade.)
  • Period: 100 BCE to 200 BCE

    Pearls

    At the time, the world's best pearls came from the waters of the Arabian (Persian) Gulf, particularly near Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Oman. The pearling industry was very important to the economies of these countries, which exported the gemstones to the Roman Empire and other lands.
  • Period: 1 BCE to 1000 BCE

    Jar burials

    Instead of placing the dead in graves dug in the ground, the bodies were placed in very large, decorated ceramic jars in the shape of globes. The idea started in Southeast Asian, but the practice stretched from India to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Western Japan with traders exchanging not just goods, but ideas. (not an exact start date)