last post, the long eye of Rome was facing a rich source of business that came from Egypt.
Before coming to the Romans, one needs to report an attempt greek to break the Arab monopoly on the spice trade in the Indian Ocean.
Around 118 BC a survivor of an Indian merchant ship was found and captured in the Red Sea, brought from there to Alexandria at the court of Ptolemy VIII, king of Egypt.
The Chronicles say that he offered "voluntarily" to guide the Greek shipping routes to India monsoon. More likely he was "enticed" to offer since the Greeks very much interested to open a direct route without the mediation of the Arab peoples.
Eudoxus of Cyzicus was a navigator on the island, a Greek colony on the shores of the Sea of \u200b\u200bMarmara. Ptolemy designò per il viaggio insieme alla guida indiana.
Vennero effettuato due viaggi da Eudoxus, uno nel 118 a.C. e l’altro nel 116 a.C. In entrambi raggiunse l’India e tornò indietro con le navi cariche di spezie e merci preziose. Poi sparì nel corso di un terzo viaggio dove tentava di circumnavigare l’Africa, e di lui non si hanno più tracce.
Nel frattempo, l’antica rotta che dall’India portava le prime spezie all’Africa Orientale, si era trasformata velocemente in un commercio a due vie, con merci che venivano importate verso l’Europa e merci che procedevano in senso inverso, fino all’India ed oltre.
Ma un altro grande impero era interessato all’Oceano India and its spices.
Rome and spices
In Rome, the use of spices became important between the first century BC and AD Strong Greek cultural heritage, had already introduced the spices in their dishes.
The Roman customs records are recorded 84 different types of imported products. But the pepper, cumin and Asia fetida (laser) are the main items of import.
In Roman dishes spices were widely used, in a collection of recipes ranging from I to IV century AD and attributed to Apicius, one can see the quantities of spices used in dishes:
| recipe for Medium to n. 71 recipes 2 fresh herbs local (Leviticus 58%, 30% dill, coriander, 25%, 24% rue, mint 23%, then parsley, leek ...) a local dry aroma (celery seed 21%, 20% of thyme, oregano 20%, and then caraway, myrtle, mustard seeds, coriander, fennel, bay leaf ...) Pepe (97%) Garum (90%) honey or sweet juice (86 %) Vinegar (46%) Wine (42%) Cumin (35%) Dried Fruit (31% above dates) Asa fetida (27%) Cipolla (23%) Praticamente niente aglio ed una bassa percentuale di cipolla. Venivano importati anche lo zenzero, il nardo indiano, lo zafferano, e la cannella cassia. |
Il pepe, uno dei prodotti considerati di lusso, alla metà del I secolo d.C. diventa improvvisamente un prodotto popolare, diffuso sulle tavole dell’impero fino alla Gallia.
Cosa aveva fatto crollare il prezzo del pepe?
L’impero romano e la questione araba
Una partita in due mosse: prima la guerra poi l’astuzia
Sotto Augusto, dal 31 a.C. in poi, la “questione araba” diventò of primary importance for Roma. Augustus, occupied Egypt in 31 BC, not subjugated to the Roman province, but kept it independent, tied to his name, declaring additum regnum Romanorum imperio, and entrusted it to his appointment as chief of staff, did the viceroy, then taking to carry out his orders direct.
Two years later, in 29 BC, the first prefect C. Cornelius Gallus attacked the territory of Ethiopia (today's Sudan). In 27 BC, died a suicide, quickly replaced by C. Aelius Gallus.
The first move: the war
This new prefect immediately went on the aggressive policy of his predecessor: designed a huge military campaign both by land and by sea, setting up a large army of land and a huge fleet of 80 BIREME, galleys and ships long using 130 ships carrying 10,000 men to take on board, part of Legionnaires, Part Auxiliares.
His goal was to seize the long coastline facing the Egyptian side of the Red Sea to put at the disposal of Roman trade, without even imagine nor the length of the coast or the dryness of the domestic territory.
Points and landed in Leuk Kome (Al Khuraybah today in Saudi Arabia), entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, where he was joined by the allied contingents, 500 Jews and 1000 led by Herod the Nabatean Arabs, led by Silleo. The expedition was a disaster, because of the logistical difficulties of such a large number of armed men and the immensity of the desert Arabs. He returned to Alexandria with only a few remnants of the numerous troops set up.
But the shipment, even if disastrous from a military standpoint, it was helpful to the geographical and political Elio Gallo drew up notes and comments in the official report on people and places, which proved particularly useful in the future relations between the Romans and Arabs
Pliny, tells about the Arabian Peninsula: "The same Arabian Peninsula flowing between the two Red and Arabian seas, for a trick of nature, is surrounded by the sea in the likeness and size of Italy, is facing the same direction, equal to the sky, too 'happy' at that site. "
As for its inhabitants: "Arabs are half and half, half of unscrupulous merchants, half bandits or pirates."
Despite the real difficulties - of land, climate, wild people inside - the Romans insisted furiously on the domain of Arabia because of its products, now sought with intense greed, both for display of elegance and culinary sophistication to Lastly is the need for drug: the search of the famous species that entered in various compositions.
Given the well-being Economic reached, they could not do without the many products coming from the East, from outside the borders of imperial Chinese silk always, pearls, perfumes, herbs. Arabia was the center of these forms of trade, partly as a vehicle of transmission, partly as a direct producer.
One of the most valuable products with the spices and precious stones, was silk. This came from at least three land routes throughout Asia, which ran on uneven land and ended up in the territory of the Parthians, who were passing the goods, BUT REQUIRED heavy toll. If we add that China does not exported yarn, but ready-made garments, totally unacceptable to the Roman custom, it was necessary to remove the expense of Chinese and gl'indumenti reweave, great work to laborers Roman figures were achieved very high cost to obtain the right clothes to the Roman fashion.
Hence the constant pressure on empire Parthian and the Roman world, which will never be successful, the route or Indo-Arabic: Indian Ocean, Red Sea, quick passing caravan to the Nile, and then outlet in Alexandria ' Egypt.
was no way to conquer Central Asia, even after repeated attempts, left the other way: direct import from the ports Indians, where the Chinese silk reached by sea or by land or part (Himalayas) and partly by water (the river Ganges and then the sea), but it was necessary to link with the Indian Ocean.
addition to the silk there was another large number of African-asio products that convey the Red Sea ports and were now in high demand by the Roman markets.
entire policy on the Arabian Peninsula, from Augustus onwards, tended to make oriental products in high demand. As we have seen since the time of the Egyptians it was known that the Sabaean territory (Yemen) spontaneously produced frankincense and myrrh, essential now bloody wounds to heal. But Sabean
ports giungevano molti prodotti dall’opposta sponda africana: cinnamomo e avorio in cambio dei prodotti che il Mediterraneo inviava a sua volta. La rotta delle spezie dell’Oceano Indiano si era trasformata completamente in una ricchissima via di scambio commerciale import-export dall’India al bacino del Mediterraneo e viceversa.
Da registri e documenti di epoca imperiale abbiamo questo elenco di prodotti a Roma:
PRINCIPALI IMPORTAZIONI OLTRE ALLA SETA
Nome italiano - Paese d’origine
Acoro dolce - M. Nero, Asia centrale, India
Aloe - Cina, Malacca
Amomo - Nepal, India
Assafetida - Persia, Media, Armenia
Balsamo - Saudi Arabia, Palestine, East Africa
Bdellio - India
Benzoin - SE Asia, Cambodia, Sumatra
Canfora - Japan, Formosa, Tonkin
Cardamom - Malabar (India)
Cassia - China, SE Asia
Cloves - Moluccas Cinnamon
(cinnamon) - India, Sri-Lanka
sedge - India
Comino real - East Africa, India
Curcuma home - China, India
Galanga - S China, Malacca
Sweet Rush - India, Sri-Lanka
Incense - S. Arabia ,
Somalia Myrrh - Somalia, Abyssinia, Arabia
nutmeg (the fruit) - Malabar, India
Long pepper - black pepper
northern India - India South
Putchuk -
Sanatutto India - Persia, Afghanistan
Sandal - China, Java, India, Sri-Lanka
Sarcocolla - Persia
Sesame - Africa, India
spikenard - Himalaya
Ginger - Malacca, Indonesia, East Africa
MAIN EXPORTS (plus wine, oil, wheat, various artifacts, statues and clothing)
(two columns)
Abrotono - Juniper
Garlic - Iris
henna - Hyssop
Alloro - Lentischio
Ammonia - Privet
Dill - Marjoram
Ashkelon - Meliloto
Asphodel - Mint
Absinthe - Nardo (various types)
Balanitis - Poppy
Balsamo (colt.) - Parsley Basil
- Horseradish
Chamomile - Rosemary
Caper - Rocket
Chervil - Ruta
chicory - Salvia
Onion - Savory
saffron - Celery
Dittami - Mustard
Alfalfa - Grass Sylphides
Spain - Storace
Ferula - Elah
Fennel - The Timo
Roman military expeditions to conquer the Arabian Peninsula succeeded without great success for 10 years, until about 20 BC
From this date onwards will cease attempts to conquer Romans by force the Arabian Peninsula: Augusto change tactics.
The second move: the cunning
There is an anonymous document, written around 80 AD, reproduces the situation 70 years earlier, at the time of Augustus. This document, the Periplus Maris erythraea , describes the entire route starting from the Egyptian port of Berenice and Myos Hormos (now Al-Qusair) and Leuk Kome on the Arabian coast, and marks the various subsequent ports, indicating the distance (in miles or in stadiums or on days of shipping). In each port indicates the goods available, both as to land that the other can take on. The goods arrived in the Mediterranean in large quantities in each landing, required by both local residents and agents Roman moved there, eager to products of their distant homeland: in the various ports and cities which they inhabited had created a chain of settlements of personal greek-roman, who kept their customs and practices, requiring the products of the homeland or similar.
The presence of sales representatives greek-roman city in Arabic and Oriental is documented by numerous finds of Roman coins, distinguishable from the bill, the coinage, from images of the rulers of the time: start from August, well below age of pieces minted in retrospect, not only of the First Empire, but also older later, the emperors of the IV, V and VI of the even century, which shows unbroken continuity. All this attests to the presence of Roman traders, not only mercatores , or merchants, but also money changers, who kept alive the trade and consumption of products of the country of origin, in addition to goods always present in the eastern regions of the Mediterranean.
Augustus had finally managed to penetrate the Arab world not through war but through the power of money, donations, gifts generously sent to the leaders of the Arab community, as well evidenced by the Periplus I report in full (in the next post ) which I translated into Italian from the original English translation from the greek Casson, 1989.
- CONTINUED -
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