 The most prominent cities of the Old World from the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. | |
| Geographical range | Greater Somalia |
|---|---|
| Period | Classical Antiquity |
| Dates | c. 300BC–300AD |
| Preceded by | Macrobia |
| Followed by | Barbaria |
In antiquity, ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the region's commerce with the rest of the old world. Proto-Somali sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, items which were considered valuable luxuries by the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and Babylonians.[1][2] During the classical era, several ancient Somali city-states competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and Axumites for the wealthy Indo-Greco-Roman trade.[3][4]
- ^ Phoenicia pg 199
- ^ The Aromatherapy Book by Jeanne Rose and John Hulburd pg 94
- ^ Njoku, Raphael Chijioke (2013). The History of Somalia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 29–31. ISBN 978-0313378577.
- ^ Abdel Monem A. H. Sayed, Zahi A. Hawass, ed. (2003). Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century: Archaeology. American Univ in Cairo Press. pp. 432–433. ISBN 9774246748.