Ebook Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route California World History Library Steven E Sidebotham Books

Product details Series California World History Library (Book 18) Paperback 456 pages Publisher University of California Press; First edition (April 16, 2019) Language English ISBN-10 0520303385

Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route California World History Library Steven E Sidebotham Books Reviews

• This very thorough work of archaeology and history should forever establish Berenike as one of the critically important cities in world history. In the time of the Ptolemies and the Roman Empire, it was a major spice port, often THE major one, for the Greco-Roman world. It also handled all manner of goods, up to and including elephants. How the elephants got over the Sahara to the Nile Valley, and what they did for feed and water, remains unclear. As Roman writers kept emphasizing, the amount of spice imported from India and southeast Asia was enormous--an incredible trade. Sidebotham hints at the intellectual influences that must have come with the spices. Indeed, Greek, Near Eastern, and Indian philosophies and religions influenced each other enormously (as shown by Thomas McEvilley among others), and we should all be more aware of this.
• This volume chronicles the excavation of Berenike, an ancient Egyptian port and a gateway for Roman subjects making epic trade voyages into the Indian Ocean. The book is an intriguing read, an accessible account full of fascinating finds and careful analysis that are supported by plenty of detailed maps and a large bibliography that researchers new to the subject will find very useful.
  
  The modern site of ancient Berenike, on the shores of the Red Sea, is an abandoned desert ruin buried beneath centuries of sand and silt. But, since 1994 Professor Sidebotham has led an international team of researchers in the excavation of the port. The study presented in this book combines testimony from the sources with a range of extraordinary new archaeological discoveries - many of which will be little known, even to experts who have been following the topic.
  
  In thirteen detailed chapters, Professor Sidebotham traces the development of Berenike and its place within the `global economy' that developed two thousand years ago. Sidebotham offers many intriguing insights into life at the ancient port, from its foundation by the Ptolemaic rulers who built a harbour to bring in war elephants, to the rise and fall of Rome's vibrant international commerce. His enquiries reveal the conditions of travel along the busy caravan routes that linked Berenike to the Nile, the role of the Roman military in the Eastern Desert, the conduct of ancient business arrangements in Berenike, and even the presence of distant foreigners at the port. Other important chapters consider the network of trade ports that linked Berenike to ancient India and suggest what new archaeological evidence can reveal about the Roman ships that undertook these distant voyages. Finally, Professor Sidebotham introduces some new theories concerning the scale and value of this international commerce - ideas that have significant implications for the Roman economy and its revenues. I would definately recommend this book to anyone studying Roman commerce, or to those with an interest in ancient archaeology