Erythraean Sea

Erythraean Sea Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα
An eighteenth century map showing the Erythraean Sea off the Horn of Africa. Drawn by James Rennell (1799)
Erythraean Sea Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα
Location	Northwestern Indian Ocean
Coordinates	12°0′N 55°0′E / 12.000°N 55.000°E / 12.000; 55.000
Type	Sea
Basin countries	Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti

The Erythraean Sea (Greek: Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα, Erythrà Thálassa, lit. 'Red Sea') was a former maritime designation that always included the Gulf of Aden, and at times other seas between Arabia Felix and the Horn of Africa. Originally an ancient Greek geographical designation, the term was used throughout Europe until the 18th and 19th centuries. The area referred to by this name frequently extended beyond the Gulf of Aden—as in the famous 1st-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea—to designate all of the present-day Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean as a single maritime area.^[1]