Indian Ocean Trade During the Classical Period

By Zsatinae
  • 1000 BCE

    King David

    King David established Jerusalem as his capital. The Aryan people began to settle in India. Western Asia, Southeastern Europe and North Africa began to settle in India.
  • 800 BCE

    The Nubian Kingdom

    The rise of the Nubian Kingdom at Napata.
  • 771 BCE

    Zhou Kingdom

    The Zhou Kingdom ends in China
  • Period: 712 BCE to 660 BCE

    Nubia

    Nubia dominates Egypt.
  • 600 BCE

    Iron Metallurgy

    China begins to heat and separate iron.
  • Period: 600 BCE to 300 BCE

    The Spread of Religion

    Hinduism,Buddhism, and Jainism spread across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia. Pilgrims’ and missionaries’ travel diaries tell us about journeys in search of knowledge and to find religious
    communities, collect sacred texts, and visit shrines. Sacred texts influenced languages, scripts,Storytelling material and Gods were exchanged among Indians and Southeast Asians.
  • Period: 551 BCE to 479 BCE

    Confucianism

    This was the beginning of Confucianism
  • Period: 522 BCE to 486 BCE

    Darius I

    Darius I rules the Persian Empire. Trade expanded among new groups of people. Greek and Roman sailors and traders entered the Indian Ocean.
  • 507 BCE

    Roman Republic

    The Roman Republic begins
  • Period: 400 BCE to 300 BCE

    Kingdom of Meroe

    The Kingdom of Meroe began in Nubia
  • Period: 334 BCE to 323 BCE

    Alexander The Great

    Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquers Western Asia and begins the Hellenistic period. Alexander the Great sent Nearchus from the Indus to the Arabian Gulf.
  • Period: 324 BCE to 185 BCE

    Mauryan Empire

    Silk from China graced Roman aristocrats, Roman coins mingled in Indian treasuries, and Persian jewels sparkled in Mauryan settings.
  • Period: 323 BCE to 30 BCE

    Ptolemaic Kings

    Ptolemaic kings rule Egypt
  • Period: 206 BCE to 220

    Han Dynasty

    The Han Dynasty rules China until Qin Emperor unites eastern China
  • Period: 50 BCE to 560

    Funan

    Funan dominates Indochina and Isthmus of Kra in South Asia. Goods were carried across the Isthmus of Kra on the Malay Peninsula to reach the South China Sea. Crops such as sugar cane, cotton, sesame, and rice were grown for export with irrigation,
    and became known elsewhere through the Indian Ocean trade.
  • Period: 31 BCE to 14

    Caesar Augustus

    Caesar Augustus rules the Roman Empire
  • Period: 4 to 30

    Jesus and Christianity

    The birth of Jesus in Nazareth. The beginning of Christianity after his reported crucifixion.
  • Period: 45 to 58

    Apostle Paul

    The life of Apostle Paul, who traveled and spread Christianity around the Mediterranean.
  • Period: 224 to 651

    Sassanid Empire

    The Sassanid Empire rules in Persia until the defeat of chosroes by the Arab Muslims.
  • 700

    Islam

    The beginning of the spread of Islam