Review of the Meaning of Mecca by M.E. McMillan (original) (raw)
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This paper focuses on the two main Egyptian ports, Myos Hormos (Quseir al-Qadim) and Berenike, with an emphasis on their external connections in order to demonstrate their importance within Mediterranean and Indian Ocean trade. Firstly the range of imports and exports occurring at these sites will be outlined in order to identify trading partners; following on from this the distribution of Egyptian pottery across the Indian Ocean will be examined in order to obtain a more nuanced interpretation of interactions between sites. The early Roman period (1st century BC to 3rd century AD) will be emphasised, although many of the same connections were maintained in some form until at least the 6th century AD.
British private trade networks in the Arabian seas, c.1680-c.1760
2012
So many people have contributed to this project in one way or another over the last few years, and I am immensely grateful to them all. First and foremost of course, my thanks must go to my supervisor, Maxine Berg. Her 'Treasure Fleets of the Eastern Oceans' special subject course sparked my initial interest in the East India Companies and all things global. She has since been unfailingly supportive, reassuring, and has shown tremendous faith in me and my research. I cannot stress enough how much hard work she has put in reading multiple chapter drafts, offering innumerable helpful suggestions and keeping me sane whilst completing this project! It would not have seen the light of day without her, and I am extremely thankful for all her encouragement throughout my time at Warwick. My family, and especially my mum Rebecca have, as always, been wonderfully supportive throughout the 'thesis years' and all my academic endeavours; I can't thank them enough. All my fellow PhD students and colleagues at Warwick provided constant inspiration, assistance and light relief during some of the most stressful days. David Doddington deserves to be singled out for special mention however: he had the dubious pleasure of living with me for the last few years, and I have to thank him hugely for his fantastic support, friendship, advice, and numerous comments on my work. Several other Warwick people past and present including Meike Fellinger, Margot Finn; and David Arnold and Giorgio Riello as part of my Upgrade panel, have read various bits of the thesis at various times, and I am grateful for their helpful suggestions. Special thanks are also due to Anne Gerritsen for her close reading, extremely useful comments, and the invaluable and comforting advice she's offered every time I have wandered into her office for a chat! The project benefitted greatly from preliminary discussions with three legends of East India Company scholarship: Peter Marshall, Om Prakash, and Huw Bowen. I am also grateful for the perceptive comments and suggestions received from participants at conferences in Mumbai, Cambridge, the EHS, the IHR, Ghent and Warwick, where I have presented my research. I must also mention the staff of the India Office Records in the British Library and several other record offices that have helped patiently and efficiently along the way, and had to put up with many of my strange requests! In institutional terms, I wish to thank the Economic and Social Research Council for generously funding the thesis, and the MA that preceded it. Finally, I could not have completed this project without the support (and patience) of Louise: she has been my rock throughout, and offered many a helpful peptalk when the going was tough. Although she's probably sick of it by now, this thesis is dedicated to her, with all my love. vi Declaration This thesis is entirely my own work and has not been submitted for a degree at another university. None of the material in this thesis has been published prior to the date of submission. Elements of Chapters Two and Three are also discussed in my MA dissertation, 'Private Merchants and Global Trade: Commercial Networking in the Eighteenth
The Indian trade between the Gulf and the Red Sea
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean
This essay evaluates the relative importance of the maritime trade between the Roman Empire and India along two routes that were in use: one started and ended on the Egyptian shore of the Red Sea, the other at the head of the Gulf. Both continued on land along caravan tracks to the Nile valley or through the Syrian desert to Palmyra. The latter land route, longer and presumably more cost-consuming, was used only during the 1st to 3rd centuries AD. The land link with the Far East, the so-called Silk Road, does not seem to have been regularly used. A document from Palmyra allows to estimate the value of the trade along the Syrian route as much smaller than that of the Red Sea traffic. It could have been mainly of local, Syrian importance, and lasted only as long as political circumstances allowed.
e prevailing image of the Indian Ocean world of trade before the arrival of western Europeans and Ottomans in the region in the sixteenth century is one of a generally peaceful, confl ict-free realm dominated by cosmopolitan traders who moved easily across boundaries of geography, ethnicity, language, and religion. is paper modifi es this picture by examining the evidence for confl ict and competition between pre-modern maritime polities in the western end of the Indian Ocean. In the fi fth/eleventh and sixth/twelfth centuries maritime polities on the islands of Kish in the Persian Gulf and Dahlak in the Red Sea antagonized Aden's supremacy as the region's most frequented entrepot. In the subsequent three centuries, the Ayyubids and Rasulids of Yemen also strove to control maritime routes and networks.
The Expansion of Muslim Commerce in the Red Sea Basin, c. AD 833 – 969
2009
Commercial activity in the Red Sea was muted between the late sixth and early ninth centuries, when a general revival of commerce becomes apparent. The mining industry, slave trade, textile manufacture and ‘India trade’ are considered here. Causes of early Islamic commercial expansion are found in the social and cultural changes associated with the Sāmarrāʾn caliphate. Contrary to the received wisdom, it is argued that the commercial revival of the Red Sea in the Islamic period began a century earlier than the Fāṭimids and was based on a broader platform than the ‘India trade.’ Key words: Early Islamic; economy; mining; slavery; textiles; ‘India trade.’