Online Class: Red Sea and Indian Ocean Trade (4 weeks)

Red Sea and Indian Ocean Trade in the Roman and Late Antique Periods (1st century BCE–8th century CE)

Live class lectures and discussion every Monday on Zoom

Mondays, 5–7 pm, August 9–August 30. These will be recorded and available to watch later.

$196 (non-members), $157 (members), $78 (volunteers/docents/OI travel participants), $49 (UChicago, Lab, Charter students, faculty, and staff)

Instructor: Tasha Vorderstrasse, University and Continuing Education Program Coordinator

The Roman period in the ancient Near East and north Africa marked the beginning of intensive trade with the Indian Ocean, which can be traced through both archaeological and textual sources. Indian merchants and sailors visited Arabia, Egypt, and the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, while there are signs of trade in Roman goods to India, the Axumite empire in north Africa, and the east African coast. This class will look at the evidence for the trade in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea in Roman and Late Antique periods (1st century BCE–8th century CE), to examine the goods traded, the intensity of this trade, and how this changed through time. Particular attention will be paid to sites such as Berenike and Quseir al-Qadim in Egypt, Adulis in modern Eritrea, Ras al-Hafun in Somalia, Qana in Yemen, and Muziris in India.

View the syllabus online.