From the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean

AbstractThe role of commodities from the Indian Ocean is at the centre of this study of Roman imperial worldviews (c. 1st to 6th century). It begins by surveying the various kinds of objects brought to the Mediterranean from South Asia, e.g. spices and fabrics, and their routes, and then examines the ways in which Romans thought about them, both moralising and more strictly economic. This affords the chance to assess the notion of the exotic in Roman culture. Le rôle des marchandises venant de l'Océan Indien se retrouve au centre de cette étude des visions romaines impériales du monde (1er au 6e siècles). Ce travail commence par une étude générale des objets variés importés à la région méditerranéenne de l'Asie du Sud, par exemple des épices et des tissus, et de leurs itinéraires, et examine par la suite ce que les Romains peuvent en avoir pensé du point de vue moralisant et plus strictement économique. Ceci permet d'évaluer la notion de l'exotisme dans la culture romaine.

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Reviews of Books:Modernity and Culture: From the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean Leila Tarazi Fawaz, C. A. Bayly, Robert Ilbert

The American Historical Review ◽

10.1086/533219 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 108 (1) ◽

pp. 299-300

Author(s):

Ira M. Lapidus

Keyword(s):

Indian Ocean ◽

The Indian Ocean ◽

The Mediterranean

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The Ribât System and Its Role In Coastal Navigation

Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient ◽

10.1163/1568520991446811 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 212-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Hassan Khalilieh

Keyword(s):

Indian Ocean ◽

Defense System ◽

Coastal Defense ◽

The Indian Ocean ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Medieval Islam ◽

Written Sources

AbstractThe article deals with the role of the coastal defense system, called ribât in medieval Islam, in coastal navigation. The issues emerge through this discussion are the distance between each one of the watching points along the coastal frontiers, inhabitants of the ribats, and the civil functions of the ribâts. The article proves that these fortresses located along the Islamic coastal frontiers along the Mediterranean as well as the Indian Ocean functioned as a refuge for attacked Muslim merchant ships by foreign powers and pirates. Our evidence came from written sources and archeological finds.

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