- Roman Trade with India expanded after the conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE. A 1st century CE document called the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes this trade in detail.
- A fleet of ships set off from Egypt each year and used the Southwest Monsoon to reach India, returning shortly afterwards on the Northeast Monsoon.
Roman Trade with India
- One of the main trading destinations from Berenice in Egypt.
- The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the various Ports in India, that ships from the Red Sea in Egypt can sail to, such as Barygaza.
- The Southwest Monsoon from June to September, brought vessels from the Red Sea, across the Arabian Sea to the west coast of India. The Northwest Monsoon from October to February, took them back to Egypt.
- India was on the Silk Road from China.
- Strabo, Dio Cassius and Plutarch all mention an Embassy to Augustus between 22 BCE and 14 CE, from a King Porus in India. The Embassy included a Buddhist Sramana who caused a sensation when he burnt himself alive in Athens, as an indication of his faith.
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, Spikenard, Cloth, Rice, Sesame oil, wheat.
Roman Coin Hoards
- Pudukkottai Hoard:
- The Hoard contained Roman Gold Coins of Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE), Caligula (31-41 CE) and Nero (54-68 CE). The Hoard is now in the British Museum.
Christianity
- In 52 CE, Thomas the Apostle arrived in Muziris, India, accompanied by Thaddeus. His most likely route was via the Red Sea and the island of Socotra. St Thomas then crossed to the southeast coast of India, and was martyred in Mylapore. In 232 CE, his remains were sent to Edessa in Mesopotamia. In 1258 CE his relics were moved to the Cathedral of St Thomas the Apostle in Ortona, Italy.
- The Acts of Thomas in the New Testament describes his mission to establish Christianity in India, and his martyrdom there.
- St. Thomas is also known as doubting Thomas, because at first he disbelieved the story of Jesus’ Resurrection.
The ‘Indica’ by Megasthenes
- Although the ‘Indica’ is now a lost work, we know of it in fragments, because it is mentioned by four Roman Geographers: Arrian, Strabo, Diodorus and Pliny the Elder.
- Megasthenes was a Greek Geographer, living between 350-290 BCE. He was an Ambassador under the Seleucid Dynasty, possibly in India.
- In ‘Indica’, Megasthenes describes India, including the Himalayas, Taprobane, the Caste system, the Rivers that form the Indus,
India