- The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the River Mekong divides into a labyrinth of distributaries before emptying into the South China Sea.
Mekong River
- The Mekong River is the third largest river in Asia and is a major Trade Route between western China and southeast Asia.
- It is 3,050 miles (4,900km) long and passes through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Kattigara
- Ptolemy, the 2nd century CE Roman Geographer, wrote that Roman Merchants traded in Silk from China with the port of Kattigara.
- Kattigara is thought to have been either, the archeological site of Oc Eo in Vietnam or Jiaozhi, near Hanoi in North Vietnam.
- The Maritime Silk Road from China to India, passed through both the Straits of Malacca as well as over the Isthmus of the Malay Peninsular.
The Book of Liang
- The ‘Book of Liang’ states that the two main ports of call for the Merchants of ‘Da Qin’ (Roman Empire) were in modern Vietnam, which was absorbed into the Chinese Empire in 111 BCE:
- Jiaozhi was the Land around the Red River Delta, corresponding to the Tonking area of North Vietnam, also known as Annam.
- The Capital and Port city of Annam (Rinan) or Jiaozhi was ‘Co Loa Citadel’ near Hanoi. It is located in the Red River Delta, Northern Vietnam.
- Funan in the Mekong Delta, Southern Vietnam.
- The Port was at Oc Eo, where Chinese, Roman and Indian Goods have been excavated.
- Jiaozhi was the Land around the Red River Delta, corresponding to the Tonking area of North Vietnam, also known as Annam.
- The ‘Book of Liang’ recorded that in 226 CE a Roman Merchant from ‘Da Quin’ (Roman Empire) was sent by the Prefect of Tonkin to meet the Wu Emperor Sun Quan.
Mekong Delta