Analyze the three classical-era trade networks — Silk Road (overland Eurasia c. 130 BCE onward), Indian Ocean maritime trade (East Africa - Arabia - South Asia - Southeast Asia - China via monsoon winds), and trans-Saharan caravan trade (Mediterranean North Africa - sub-Saharan West Africa via camel after ~300 CE) — as the FIRST documented world-system per Andre Gunder Frank / Janet Abu-Lughod / Philippe Beaujard scholarship
Exercise
Difficulty 2
~3 min
hist.g6.s.ex_40
Short Answer
Prompt
What is the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea? What does it document?
How it's presented
mode
text
Answer criteria
type
rubric scored
rubric
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea c. 50 CE — Greek mariner's handbook to the Indian Ocean trade documenting Roman trade with Muziris (South India, Malabar coast), Aksumite Adulis (Red Sea), East African ports as far south as modern Tanzania
Hints
- Greek mariner's handbook.
- Primary-source for Indian Ocean trade.
Misconceptions to watch
- Forgetting how early Roman-Indian trade is documented
Used in lessons