- Berenice, also known as Berenice Troglodytica, was an Ancient Egyptian Port located at Medinet-el Haras on the Red Sea in Egypt.
- The Ruins of the Roman Port of Berenice have been excavated, but very little is visible. Today, the harbour has silted up.
History
- Berenice was founded in 275 BCE by Ptolemy II of Egypt (285-246 BCE), who named the city after his mother, Berenice I. He built Berenice to give his Fleets shelter on their way to and from Myos Hormos.
- Berenice was further south than Myos Hormos, lying on the border with Kush. It took a caravan from Coptos 12 days to travel the 230m (370 km).
- Berenice, along with Myos Hormos, was the Terminus for the Sea Route from Africa, India and the Far East.
- The harbour was protected by the island of Ophiodes. The City came to have a population of around 10,000 people.
- Berenice was the Port where Trade from Africa, India and the East was disembarked.
- The other Port on the Red Sea trading with the East was Myos Hormos, which was another five days sail to the north.
- Both Myos Hormos and Berenice ceased to be used by the fourth century CE, and were replaced by Clysma (Suez), which was connected to the Nile by Trajan's Canal.
Berenice, the Port to India
- Pliny the Elder
- wrote that an annual caravan left Alexandria, travelled up the Nile to Coptos, and continued across the Desert to Berenice.
- Strabo
- Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
- The Fleet returned with the Northwest Monsoon which blows from November to March.
- Since Berenice was the first Egyptian Port on the return journey, part of the Fleet could quickly disembark its Goods and put them on the Camel Caravans to Coptos.
Camel Caravan from Berenice to Alexandria
- The Goods would travel by Camel Caravans along the Coptos to Berenice Roman Road. Pliny the Elder wrote that the journey took 12 days, travelling by night to avoid the heat.
- The remainder of the Fleet would then spend another 5 days sailing to Myos Hormos, where the Goods would travel along the Coptos to Myos Hormos Roman Road by Camel Caravan to Coptos.
- From there they went by barge following the current of the Nile to Alexandria. The journey took 10 days, and had to be completed in time for the Goods to be loaded on the April sailing of the Alexandrian Grain Fleet to Rome.
Roman Roads
- Coptos to Berenice Roman Road
- built as a branch off the Coptos to Myos Hormos Roman Road.
- Via Hadriana
- completed by Hadrian in 137 CE from Antinopolis on the Nile to Red Sea port of Berenice using Hydreumata, fortified watering holes.
- The Goods disembarked at Berenice were then transported across the Eastern Desert by the Via Hadriana to reach the Nile at Antinopolis. The Goods were then reloaded onto river vessels and taken to Alexandria for shipment to Rome and elsewhere.
Roman Legion
- Legio III Cyrenaica
- The Legion was based at Thebes and sent a unit to Berenice.
- A Vexillatio of the Legio III Cyrenaica is attested here between 30 BCE-c.35 CE.
- Their duties would have been to defend the Port and protect the cargos in the Warehouses.
Types of Imported Goods
- Pepper:
- An earthenware vessel containing the largest find during the Roman period of black peppercorns from India, was unearthed at Berenice.
- Spices:
- from India and Indonesia: Cardamom, Cloves.
- Frankincense:
- from Southern Arabia, has been excavated.
- Myrrh:
- from Arabia
- Ivory:
- from southeast Africa via Somalia
- Tortoise shells:
- from Somalia
- Precious Gems:
- from southern Africa via Somalia
- Silk:
Origin of the Goods
- Arabia:
- Frankincense and Myrrh.
- Ethiopia:
- Elephants and Elephant Tusks Ivory.
- Somalia:
- Ivory, Tortoise shells, Precious Gems.
- India:
- Spices from the Malabar coast, in south western India.
- Sri Lanka:
- Thailand:
- Silk from China.
- Java:
- Spices, such as Pepper.
- China:
- Silk.
Goods Exported
- Wine:
- to India.
- Amber:
- from the Baltic to India.
- Tin:
- from Portugal and Spain to India.
- Resin Blocks:
- Resin blocks from the Syrian Fir Tree in Syria and Turkey have been excavated and were probably exported to India.
- The Resin was used for medicinal purposes, as an antiseptic, a diuretic, as a skin cream, and to prevent hair loss.
- It was also used in mummification and was therefore similar to Frankincense.
Goods Exchanged in India according to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
- Exports to Barbaricum in India:
- Clothing, Linen, Topaz, Coral, Frankincense, Glassware, Silver and Gold Plate, Wine.
- Imports from Barbaricum:
- Nard, Lapis Lazuli, Furs from China, Cotton Cloth, Silk, Indigo
- Imports from Barigaza:
- Cotton, Cloth, Rice, Sesame oil, wheat.
Origin of the Merchants
- Archeologists have found Inscriptions and writings in eleven different languages, including Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Coptic and Sanskrit.
- Evidence has been found of a Tamil community from southern India.
Possible Roman Red Sea Fleet
- The vessels were perhaps part of a Roman Red Sea Fleet based in Myos Hormos and Berenice.
- The Trade was possibly conducted in vessels built in India, judging from the fragments of Teak wood, that have been found in buildings in Berenice (perhaps reused from dismantled vessels).
- Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) wrote that the first port of call for ships travelling to and from India where they could take on water was Ocelis, just inside of the Bab el Mandeb Strait on the Arabian coast.
- However, Indian vessels were apparently prohibited from sailing beyond Ocelis, so whilst the Merchants themselves were from either the Mediterranean Sea or from India, the owners of the vessels must have held either Roman Citizenship or been Peregrini.
Muziris Papyrus
- The Muziris Papyrus is a Papyrus dating from the second century CE written in Greek.
- It is a contract between a Merchant of Alexandria and an Alexandrian Financier, regarding a cargo of Pepper and Spices from Muziris on India.
- The Muziris Papyrus indicates Roman ownership of the Red Sea vessels.
Berenice, Egypt