Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
A guidebook for merchants operating out of Egypt's Red Sea ports, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (a.k.a. the Periplus Maris Erythraei) provides most of what is known about early trading networks incorporating ports in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Recent archaeological work has confirmed much of the detail. It includes the first mention of China in classical documents and the first description of the Silk Route. While the author is unknown, and the text has been ascribed to different dates between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, it was probably written by an Egyptian-Greek trader who lived at Berenike in the middle of the first century CE.
The text delivers a detailed account of the Hellenic world's knowledge of the lands around the Erythraean Sea, an ancient designation that covered the Gulf of Aden between Arabia Felix and the Horn of Africa and was often extended to include the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean. For each destination, the author explains how and when to sail, what to buy and sell, and discusses the rulers, the local people and other useful snippets of information. Although the author credits Hippalus with discovering the direct sailing route from the Red Sea to the Indian peninsula across the open ocean rather than coasting along the Arabian shoreline in the 1st century BCE, he does not directly refer to the monsoon winds that made the passage possible.
While the chapters describing the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the coasts of the Arabian Sea seem to be based on first-hand knowledge or reliable reports, descriptions of Africa's east coast below Ras Hafun, the Persian Gulf, and the Bay of Bengal appear to be less authoritative.
Links:
Red Sea
Persian Gulf,
Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Indian Ocean monsoon wind system
Horn of Africa
Silk Route.
Berenike
Erythraean Sea
Gulf of Aden
Arabia Felix
Ras Hafun
