- The Incense Road, also known as the Spice Road, was a Camel Caravan route in the Ancient World that ran from Timna in the Yemen to Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea.
- Incense came from trees on southern Arabia.
Description
- The Incense Road started from Timna on the Yemen Coast, then ran parallel to the Red Sea coast, about 100 miles (160km) inland, until it reached Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea.
- The Incense was derived from trees in southern Arabia.
- Other Goods were also carried from India and the East and from Ethiopia and Africa.
- The Route was originally controlled by the Nabataean Kingdom.
Nabataean Kingdom (168 BCE-106 CE)
- The Spice Road ran from Arabia to the Mediterranean through present day Jordan. It was controlled by the Arab Empire of the Nabataean Kingdom which peaked between 168 BCE and 106 CE
- Pliny the Elder described Petra as the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom. Entire Camel Caravans could be housed in Petra.
- Trajan annexed the Kingdom to the Roman Empire in 106 CE.
The Goods
- Frankincense
- Myrrh
- Malabathrum known to us as Cinnamon from India
- Gold from India
- Ivory from Africa and India
- Pearls from the Red Sea
- Gemstones
- Textiles from India
Strabo
- Strabo described the great Camel Caravans on the route as being organised like a huge army.
Pliny's description of the Camel Caravans
- Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) described the Route between Shabwa and Gaza, as being divided into 65 stages with 65 halts for the Camels, covering 2,437 Roman miles.
- Pliny says the Route took 62 days to complete.
- Pliny states each camel caravan had a different fixed Itinerary leading to Egypt, Mesopotamia and Syria, from which it was a criminal offense to deviate.
- Each stage was about 20 to 25 miles in length, and each resting place was either a city or an oasis.
- The Route ran parallel to the Red Sea coast, 100 miles (160km) inland, with the possible exception of Jeddah:
- Shabwa (Capital of Hadhramaut)
- Timna (Capital of Qataban), Yemen (The start).
- Marib, the capital of the Sabaean Kingdom
- Najran oasis, Yemen
- Jeddah (possibly)
- Yathrib (Medina)
- Dedan, (Al Khuraybah)
- Hegra (Mada’in Saleh) Al-‘Ula oasis
- From Hegra a route led to Taym, Duma to northern Mesopotamia.
- Aramava, probably the oasis of Wadi Rum, next to the Wadi Rum Desert.
- Petra
- Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea. (The end)
Pliny's description of the Taxes
- Pliny, in Natural History 12.65, wrote that at each waystation, merchants had to pay for fodder, water, accommodation and tolls.
- The total cost was 688 Denarii per dromedary.
- Finally, on reaching a Roman Port on the Mediterranean, they then had to pay taxes to Roman Tax officials.
Sources
- Strabo
- Pliny the Elder
- Natural History Chap 12. 65 and Chap. 6
Timna, Beihan Valley, Yemen