Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a Greek text written around the middle of the 1st century CE, probably by a merchant from Alexandria. It contains a description of the trading places (emporia) of the western Indian Ocean, and lists various commodities that were imported and exported there.

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a text written in Greek, the title of which defines its contents. The Greek word periplous designates a certain category of scholarly texts (including geography, ethnography, zoology, etc.), the purpose of which is to describe a country or a group of countries from a maritime point of view, as if one were sailing along the coastline. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a description of the countries of the Erythraean Sea, i.e., those bordering the western Indian Ocean. The author first describes the countries on the right, starting from Berenike in Roman Egypt and stopping at Rhapta. Returning again to Berenike, he describes the countries to his left, from Arabia to the Ganges (the regions beyond are sparsely detailed). The important islands of Dioskoridês [Soqotra] and Taprobane [Sri Lanka] are not forgotten, especially the latter, which played a vital role in trade. The author also devotes a few lines to the “discovery” of the southwest monsoon, which he calls the “Hippalos wind”.

However, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea differs from other Greek periplous. Firstly, it is written in an unliterary Greek, sometimes obscure, and full of technical terms. Secondly, rather than describing landscapes, animals, local societies' customs and natural features (although these details are not non-existent), the author focuses on emporia (i.e., places of commercial exchange, which are almost always sea or river ports) and the commodities traded there. Each mention of an emporion is followed by a list of the unloaded or loaded freight: some lists are long, for major emporia (Barygaza, Muza, Adulis); whereas others are much briefer (the emporia of the north Somali coast). The author also mentions places where there are no emporia (e.g., the Azania stopovers).

The text, preserved in a single 10th-century manuscript, has been falsely attributed to the Greek historian Arrian. The reason for this is that the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea was placed in a collection of Arrian’s works by Byzantine scholars in the second half of the 9th century. Arrian’s authorship has long been denied, but the name of the author remains unknown. Some points however seem to be unquestionable. The work was written by a single author — it is not an assemblage of several texts. The author lived in Egypt, which had become part of the Roman Empire since 30 BCE, as evidenced, for example, by his habit of giving the Egyptian equivalent of the Roman months. He was a merchant (emporos), or at least one of those doing business In the Indian Ocean area, parts of which he knew well: the Red Sea, East Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula and western India. His personal experience of navigation is clearly evident when he describes the crossing of the Bab al-Mandab straits, or the great dangers of sailing in the Gulf of Kutch and the approach to Barygaza.

The date on which the book was written has, after much debate, now been established. The main argument is the name of the Nabataean king. Indeed, in §19, the author speaks of Malichus [Malikhas], king of Petra (the king of the Nabataeans). Two Malichus reigned over the Nabataeans: Malichus I, between 60 and 30 BCE, and Malichus II, between 40 and 70 CE. The first possibility has to be rejected, as some of the information contained in the Periplus post-dates this period, such as the sack of Eudaimôn (Aden) by a certain Kaisar (Caesar), or the importance of pepper in trade between the Mediterranean and South India. The Periplus is therefore situated in the 40–70 CE chronological bracket.

As the example of the Nabataean kings shows, the author of the Periplus is interested in the political powers at work. This should come as no surprise: merchants engaged in long-distance trade and transporting mostly sought-after products were in contact with the local authorities. There is even mention of goods specially destined for sovereigns, as documented for King Zoskalês, who resided in Adulis. This book therefore depicts a fairly accurate picture of the political organization of the peoples of the Indian Ocean, from powerful states (e.g., Ariakê, on the west coast of India) to local chieftaincies (e.g., Somalia), and gives us some idea of what was happening in the hinterland (e.g., the emergence of Aksum in Abyssinia). Even more interesting are the indications of the hierarchy of powers referred to: the domination of Charibael/Karibʾīl, “legitimate king of the two nations, the Homerite and the one, lying next to it, called the Sabaean” (§ 23) over Mapharitis, the control over Soqotra by the king of Ḥaḍramawt, and a probable rivalry between monarchs in India.

But what makes the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea an exceptional work is clearly the references to numerous products. The list is long, and includes products that were exported from the Roman world to the countries of the Indian Ocean (wine, glass, copper, different types of clothing, etc.), and products transported in the opposite direction (precious stones, aromatic resins, spices, ivory, pearls, silk, etc.), as well as products that circulated between different regions of the Indian Ocean (for example, rice or clarified butter, which was shipped from India to the Horn of Africa). For many of these products, the author gives vernacular names (for example, douaka, certainly an aromatic resin). Along with Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, which is practically contemporary with the Periplus, this is the most detailed inventory of what circulated between the Roman Mediterranean and the countries of Erythraea.

It would undoubtedly be wrong to describe this work as a kind of practical guide for merchants: the information provided is far from sufficient for those wishing to engage in high-risk trading activities. Furthermore, the author is writing a periplous, a work with scholarly and literary pretensions, and occasionally proves it. However, the author of the Periplus is not a scholar in the manner of his predecessors, viz. the scholars of the Hellenistic period. His erudition is not only bookish (although it is obvious that the author has a book-learning culture); it is also that of someone who describes countries and peoples with the eyes and experience of a merchant. It is an erudition of another kind, but a respectable erudition, which may help to explain why this atypical and exceptional work has been attributed to Arrian.

Pierre Schneider

References and suggested reading

• Belfiore, S. 2013. Periplus maris Erythraei (2036), in: H.J. Gehrke & F. Maier (eds) Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker Part V. Accessed online on 29 March 2019.
• Boussac, M.-F., J.-F. Salles & J.-B. Yon (eds) 2012. Autour du Périple de la mer Érythrée (Topoi. Orient-Occident Supplément, 11). Lyon.
• Casson, L. 1989. The Periplus Maris Erythraei. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Charlesworth, M.P. 1928. Some notes on the Periplus Maris Erythraei. Classical Quarterly: 92–100.
• Fussman, G. 1991. Le Périple et l’histoire politique de l’Inde. Journal Asiatique 279(1–2): 30–38. DOI: 10.2143/JA.279.1.2011207.
• Marcotte, D. 2016. Le Périple de la mer Érythrée et les informateurs de Ptolémée. Journal Asiatique: 33–46. DOI: 10.2143/JA.304.1.3146832.
• Robin, C.J. 1991. L’Arabie du Sud et la date du Périple de la mer Érythrée (Nouvelles données). Journal Asiatique 279: 1–30. DOI: 10.2143/JA.279.1.2011206.
• Robin, C.J. 1994. Kulayb Yuhaʾmin est-il le Kolaibos du Périple de la mer Erythrée? Raydān 6: 91–99.
• Robin, C.J. 1997. The Date of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea in the Light of South Arabian Evidence, in F. de Romanis & A. Tchernia (eds) Crossings. Early Mediterranean Contacts with India: 41–65. New Delhi: Manohar.
• Seland, E.H. 2010. Ports and political power in the Periplus: complex societies and maritime trade on the Indian Ocean in the first century AD (BAR International Series, 2102). Oxford: Archaeopress.

_{Alternate spellings: Periplus Maris Erythraei, Periplus maris Rubri, Periplous tēs Erythras thalassēs, Der Periplus des Erythräischen Meeres, Circumnavigation of the Red Sea, Periplo del mar Rosso, Périple de la mer Érythrée}