Posted on 12/14/2007 10:49:17 AM PST by blam
Mapping Pune's Roman connection
14 Dec 2007, 0216 hrs IST,Vishwas Kothari,TNN
PUNE: Ever imagined the Romans taking a circuitous sea route around Africa to reach the Persian Gulf and further touch the western Indian shores of Bharuch in Gujarat for trade with Pune over 2,000 years back?
Archaeologists from the Deccan College here have come across a plethora of evidence at the Junnar excavation site, 94 km from city, that establishes Pune’s trade links across the oceans, with the ancient Roman Empire.
The evidence suggests that Satavahanas, the earliest rulers of Maharashtra (230 Before Christ Era), who reigned from Junnar, were engaged in a flourishing import-export trade not just with the Romans but also with the Greeks and the Persians.
The port of Kalyan on the Konkan coast offered the link for the Romans touching the Indian shores at Bharuch, to reach Junnar via the western ghat pass of Naneghat.
Junnar, along with Paithan in Marathwada region, and Amaravati in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, was an important seat of power for the Satavahanas, whose reign of over four centuries covered parts of western, southern and central India.
"The early rulers of the state had developed a fondness for wine brought into India by traders from these foreign countries," said Vasant Shinde, professor of archaeology, who is heading the research initiative at Junnar, while speaking to TOI on Thursday. "Similarly, luxury goods and glassware were being imported," he added. Junnar was also a vital place for large-scale exports of spices, ivory and silk, he said.
The trade link was mainly through the sea route as the Romans would take a circuitous route to travel around Africa and reach the Persian Gulf coast between Iran and Arabian Peninsula in south-west Asia. Further, they would reach the coast of Makran that stretches along south Balochistan, Iran and Pakistan, and would head for Bharuch (also spelt as Bhroach), which was then among the biggest ocean-going ports on the Arabian sea coast in India, explained Shinde.
From Bharuch, the Roman traders would spread out to smaller ports like Kalyan in Konkan coast, Nala Sopara in Thane and Chaul in Raigad district. "Kalyan was a major loading and offloading centre from where the traders would proceed by road to Junnar via Naneghat," he added.
The link extended beyond Junnar, to Paithan and the ancient town of Ter in Osmanabad, which was the biggest market place established by the Satavahanas. "Ter was an important distribution point for domestic trade, linked with places in south, east and north India," said Shinde.
Archaeological remains like clayware, utensils, farm and industrial implements, ornaments and shells, among other things, found at the site - provide sufficient evidence of influence of not just the Romans but also other dynasties like the Mauryans from northern India and the Kshatrapas from neighbouring Gujarat, over the Junnar region.
The excavations started towards the end of 2005 with a view to collect data on the human habitation, economy and social structure under the Satavahana rule.
Junnar has one of the largest concentration of Buddhist caves (around 200) commissioned by the Satavahana rulers. Similarly, the caves at Naneghat, 20 km from Junnar, provide sufficient quantum of ancient inscriptions.
The impending 45-day-long excavation (beginning December 20) would focus on the religious and social aspects of human habitation under the Satavahanas at Junnar, he said.
GGG Ping.
Romans (and Greeks and Persians) trading with India, absolutely.
Romans sailing around Africa to get there, not a chance. The Red Sea is a much more obvious route, although at this point in history it was controlled by Ptolemaic Egypt or possibly an Ethiopian dynasty.
The Romans would have had little if any direct contact with India at this point. Rome was still somewhat of a rustic backwoods empire at the time, when compared to the highly civilized Hellenistic empires of the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. The Romans were also not known as great sailors, at any time in their history.
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“Romans sailing around Africa to get there, not a chance. The Red Sea is a much more obvious route, although at this point in history it was controlled by Ptolemaic Egypt or possibly an Ethiopian dynasty.”
How stupid could they be if they didn’t take the Suez canal?
Actually, there is some evidence that the Ptolemys built a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea.
“Actually, there is some evidence that the Ptolemys built a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea.”
Now that would be cool. Naval history has always intrigued me.
The Nile to Red Sea Canal appears to have been functional at intervals from roughly 1800 BC to 800 AD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal
I didn’t see anything in the article that ‘proved’ the Romans used a sea route around Africa for their trade. I’m not saying it couldn’t have happened but I’d have to see some evidence along the African shores of Roman shipping for me to believe in it. Articles of Roman trade that are found at Indian ports only prove that trade goods moved between these points, not how or where they were transported.
Using Occam’s Razor, from the viewpoint of a Roman trader, It would have been much more expeditious, safer and cheaper to go overland from several points on the Med coast that they controlled (eg.Egypt, Palestine) to the Red Sea and then tranship to India. It might have been even easier to simply sell the goods on the Med side and then let Arab traders take over from there without any direct participation by Romans in the final destination.
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