Pliny’s Description of the Route to India

The Route

The Nile

  • From Juliopolis (2 miles or 3.2km from Alexandria) to Coptos.
  • It is a 308 mile (495km) journey sailing up the Nile in 12 days using the Etesian winds (northerlies).

The Eastern Desert via Wadi Hammamat

  • Travel was mostly by night to avoid the extreme heat of the Desert, staying by day in water stations known as Hydreumata. Some caravans took their own armed guards:
  • Coptos to Berenice: 257 miles crossing the Eastern Desert by night in a Camel caravan, in 12 days.
    1. First water station: Hydreuma 22 miles (35km) from Coptos
    2. Second water station: one day’s travel
    3. Third water station: 95 miles (153km) from Coptos
    4. Fourth water station:
    5. Fifth water station: 184 miles (296km) from Coptos
    6. Sixth water station:
    7. Seventh water station, ‘New Hydreuma’: 230 miles (370km) from Coptos.
    8. Eighth water station, ‘Old Hydreuma’: 237 miles (381km) from Coptos. Defended by an Auxiliary Vexillatio, with a capacity for a Caravan of 2,000 people
    9. Berenice: 257 miles (413km) from Coptos

The Red Sea

  • Berenice to Ocelis
    • Ocelis was near the Bab el Mandeb Strait on the Arabian coast.
    • Sailing took 30 days and vessels departed around 21st June.
  • Ocelis
    • Ocelis was the first port of call, after leaving Egypt, to collect fresh water. Indian vessels were not permitted to enter the Red Sea beyond Ocelis.
  • Cane
    • The alternative to Ocelis was Cane, in Arabia, the source of Frankincense.
  • Muza
    • The third option was Muza, but this was not recommended.

The Indian Ocean

  • Ocelis
    • From Ocelis to Muziris in India was 40 days sail, using the ‘Hippalus’ wind (the south western Monsoon) if available.
  • Muziris
    • Muziris was the nearest Port of Trade in India. However, Pliny did not recommend it, saying it was full of Pirates.

Total Journey Time and dates of departure

  • Approximately 14 weeks (3 to 4 months):
    • 12 days from Alexandria to Coptos.
      • Unloading of vessels and loading of Camel caravan.
      • Set off from the first week of June onwards, coinciding with the Annual Rise of the Nile and using the Etesian winds (Northerlies).
    • 12 days from Coptos to Berenice.
      • Loading of vessels.
      • Setting off around Midsummer, the 21st June, and before or at the latest, immediately after, the Heliacal Rising of Sirius, the Dog Star (around 20th July in 128 CE).
    • 30 days from Berenice to Ocelis.
      • Watering and provisioning of vessels.
      • Set off around the 21st July. The Southwestern Monsoon (Hippalus), blows from June to August in the Gulf of Aden.
    • 40 days from Ocelis to Muziris.
      • Arrive around the 1st September.
      • The Southwestern Monsoon ends around the end of September.

Archers

  • Pliny states in Book VI that companies of Archers were carried on board because of the danger from Pirates on the Indian coast.
  • Lucian (c.125-180 CE) also states that the Romans continued this practice of Archers on board merchant vessels.

The Return Journey

  • The Inter Monsoon Period
    •  This starts in mid October and ends in mid December.
  • The Northeast Monsoon
    • This starts in December and ends in March. It brings cool winds and clear skies with some rainfall.
    • Vessels commenced their return journey at the beginning of December and had to leave before the 13th of January or miss the returning winds.
    • They departed India using the northeast Monsoon Wind.
  • Arrival in the Red Sea
    • Vessels used a southeasterly or southerly wind to turn north and sail up the Red Sea.
    • This enabled merchants to complete a round trip journey within one year.

Other Roman Documents relating to Roman Trade with India

  • Alexandrian Tariff
    • The Tetarte (quarter tax) was paid in Alexandria on Imports from the East.
    • The Alexandrian Tariff was a list of 54 Items from the East that were subject to Duty.
    • It was issued by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius between c. 176-180 CE.
  • Coptos Tariff
    • This was a listing of the people and the animals that had to pay road tolls between the Nile and the Red Sea.
  • Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
    • The document describes two sea routes from Egypt, one across to India and the other down to Africa, with all distances measured from Berenice.
  • Pliny’s Description of the Route to India
  • Muziris Papyrus
    • It is a contract between a Merchant of Alexandria and an Alexandrian Financier, regarding a cargo of Pepper and Spices from Muziris.
    • The contract describes a Loan Agreement for a cargo worth approximately 9,000,000 sesterces carried from Muziris in India, on a Roman vessel called the ‘Hermapollon’.
  • Diocletian's Price List
    • Issued in 310 CE, Diocletian’s Price List was an Edict proclaiming the Maximum Prices, ‘Edictum de Pretiis Rerum Venalium’, which was designed to stop runaway inflation.
    • It is a useful tool for historians to appreciate the cost of Roman goods and services.

 

The Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and India

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