The Trade of India
By P. T. Srinivas Iyengar
Summary
This article continues a series on the history of Indian trade, focusing on the period up to the second century A.D. It surveys the overland and maritime routes linking India with Western Asia, Egypt, China and Southeast Asia and examines how political changes affected commerce. The author describes how the land trade with Western Asia, flourishing under Darius, declined after Alexander’s campaigns and the rise of Parthia and Central Asian nomads, making caravan routes unsafe. In response, Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt opened the Suez canal, established caravan routes from the Nile to the Red Sea and developed ports such as Arsinoë, Hormus, Berenice and Adulis to facilitate trade. Indian goods—including cotton textiles, spices, agate, musk, silks and pepper—were brought to west coast ports like Bharukaccha (Broach) and exported via the Red Sea. Egyptian imports included wine, copper, tin, coral, fabrics and precious metals. The article notes that Indian luxuries for Egyptian kings often came from other parts of India. It describes how Chinese silk reached India across the Himalayas and via Tibet, then travelled to Persia and Rome through Indian and Yavana merchants. The author outlines the multiple routes: through Kashgar and Yarkand to Bactria; via Kabul through the Khyber Pass to Taxila and the Indus delta; and by sea along the east coast to Tamilakam’s Chola, Pandya and Chera ports. Political factors such as the Yavana (Indo‑Greek) rule in north‑west India fostered coinage and promoted trade, spreading Indian culture westward. The essay emphasises how trade allowed the spread of Buddhism and other Indian religious ideas to Persia, Syria, Greece and Rome. It mentions that Indian merchants in Alexandria were numerous enough to have women, hunting dogs and crows imported, hinting at a significant diaspora. In summary, the article depicts India’s trade as extensive and adaptive, shifting between routes in response to geopolitical conditions and playing a key role in global commerce during antiquity.
Conclusion
The author concludes that ancient India participated in a vast network of exchange linking the Mediterranean, West Asia, Central Asia, China and Southeast Asia. When overland routes were disrupted by political turmoil and nomadic incursions, maritime trade through the Red Sea and Indian Ocean flourished. Indian textiles, spices and luxury goods were coveted abroad, while India imported metals, wines and art objects. Trade facilitated not only economic but also cultural exchanges, carrying religious ideas across continents. Understanding this complex web of routes and interactions illuminates India’s pivotal role in early globalisation.