The Chronology of Roman Trade in the Indian Ocean from Augustus to Early Third Century ce

Abstract

The archaeological and numismatic evidence for Roman trade in the Indian Ocean from the Augustan annexation of Egypt up to the early third centuryceshows that the most intense period of contact and exchange was in the late first centuryce. The arguments presented here challenge two major positions, which assert either a peak during the Julio-Claudian period or a continuing intensity of contact until at least the late second centuryce.