Maritime ventures in the Red Sea and the broader Indian Ocean profoundly transformed the economies of the region during the Roman period. Voyages to foreign shores – sometimes spanning many months – required a tenuous balance of seafaring expertise, sailing seasonality, financing, and logistical support by a variety of actors from the Roman military and elite Mediterranean merchants to ship captains of Arabia, pepper gatherers in the Indian Deccan, and many others. Recent archaeological investigations of shipwrecks and ports as well as ancient texts from the Roman world and beyond give us insight into the realities of seaside daily life and the practicalities of sailing across the Indian Ocean.
The George F. Bass Lectures
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