Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route: Volume 18 (California World History Library) - Softcover

Sidebotham, Steven E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520303385 ISBN 13: 9780520303386

Publisher: California University Press, 2019

Synopsis

The legendary overland silk road was not the only way to reach Asia for ancient travelers from the Mediterranean. During the Roman Empire's heyday, equally important maritime routes reached from the Egyptian Red Sea across the Indian Ocean. The ancient city of Berenike, located approximately 500 miles south of today's Suez Canal, was a significant port among these conduits. In this book, Steven E. Sidebotham, the archaeologist who excavated Berenike, uncovers the role the city played in the regional, local, and "global" economies during the eight centuries of its existence. Sidebotham analyzes many of the artifacts, botanical and faunal remains, and hundreds of the texts he and his team found in excavations, providing a profoundly intimate glimpse of the people who lived, worked, and died in this emporium between the classical Mediterranean world and Asia.

About this title

Review:

"This highly readable, indeed exciting, book explores numerous aspects of ancient Berenike."--American Journal Of Archaeology (07/16/2012)

"A remarkably detailed picture of the Egyptian business world along the Red Sea and Indian coast. . . . Many historians will be grateful."-- (07/05/2011)

"[A] fascinating story."--Times Literary Supplement (TLS) (10/01/2011)

"The detail of data is remarkable, and one is left with excellent understanding of life in this remote city."--Duane W. Roller"American Journal Of Archaeology" (04/01/2012)

"Sidebotham tells the fascinating story of how this isolated harbour site owed its existence to long-range commerce."--David Mattingly"Times Higher Education" (10/28/2011)

About the Author:

Steven E. Sidebotham is Professor of History at the University of Delaware and author of Roman Economic Policy in the Erythra Thalassa, 30 BC-AD 21.

About this edition

• Publisher: California University Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0520303385
• ISBN 13: 9780520303386
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 456