![[Kingdom_of_Aksum_Map.png]] In addition to the routes across Central Asia that Kushan protected and taxed, goods from South and East Asia also reached the Mediterranean, Europe, and Africa by sea. The waters immediately east of the Horn of Africa (modern Somalia) were known as the Erythraean Sea, and included the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea. The Red Sea and the Persian Gulf both allowed sailors to get very close to western populations, which is why places like Cairo and Baghdad would later be endpoints of the Silk Road for centuries. But beginning in the 1st century BCE, the kingdom of Aksum (or Axum) emerged during the decline of Ptolemaic Egypt and flourished as a trade center that linked Rome, India, Arabia, and sub-Saharan Africa. ![[Map_of_the_Periplus_of_the_Erythraean_Sea.jpg]] *Names, routes and locations of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea* Aksum exported ivory, gold and emeralds from Abyssinia, essential oils like frankincense and myrrh, slaves, and exotic African animals. Its imports included Roman wine, glassware, and metals; Indian spices and cotton textiles, Chinese silks, and Arabian horses. The [*Periplus of the Erythraean Sea*](_Periplus of the Erythraean Sea_), a Greek sailing guide written around 60 CE describes the Aksum port of Adulis (in modern Eritrea) as a "Great Emporium" where Aksumite merchants traded with "barbarians" from the interior. ----- Next: [[7.13 - Levantine Unrest]] Back: [[7.11 - Kushan]]