Emir of Zayla
𝕹𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 𝖔𝖋 𝕻𝖔𝖊𝖙𝖘
The Horn & Arabia were active middle men in the ancient Indo-Roman trade much like the Persians were for the Far East & Rome.
Rome was one of the major (if not the largest) importers of myrrh, frankincense and cinnamon, which saw multiple regions across the Indian Ocean flourish as a result.
For example:
“Somalia produced large quantities of high-value products that were prized throughout the Roman Empire. Pliny records that in Rome a single pound of Somali myrrh was priced at 16 silver denarii, more than a labourer earned in two weeks.
African cassia could sell for up to 50 denarii a pound and Somali cinnamon fetched even greater prices in the Roman market for use as a potent perfume ingredient. “
Source - The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean: The Ancient World Economy and the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia and India by Raoul McLaughlin page 122
Ancient Opone, Somalia
The impact of Rome’s collapse on regions far beyond its imperial borders remains an under researched part of the past but if you look at the histories of the Horn of Africa, Southern Arabia and India there is a very clear decline that coincides with the period that is post-collapse of the Western Roman Empire and these regions do not recover their earlier prosperity until the 9th to 12 centuries AD.
While the Byzantine Empire was still a major power for centuries to come, its conversion to Christianity made it a different kind of animal from the Pantheon centric Roman Empire of the classical period, which was obsessed with incense for religious purposes, royal treasure deposits and cosmetics.
Post-Roman Empire collapse:
The incense trade slowly died out and it would not reach the same kind of international demand until the period that ushered in the Age of Discovery, almost a thousand years later.
The Axumites with the loss of South Arabia, looked more and more inwards, and over time lost their seafaring tradition. A continuation of the incense trade most likely would have prevented that and ancient ports like Adulis would have been maintained.
The declining South Arabian cultures like Saba and Himyar, no longer enjoying the profits of the Indian Ocean trade, experienced a language shift from the increasingly more dominant North Arabians.
The Somali Barbaroi city states with the collapse of their most important trade partner, experienced a significant decline in commercial demand for incense and eventually adapted by exporting other commodities like textiles, horses, exotic animals, gold, etc to supply the foreign regions now part of the Islamic Caliphate. As a result of these trade activities ancient cities eventually morphed into Islamic cities like Zeila and Mogadishu.
If you have more examples of the massive impact that the RE’s collapse had, post them below.
Rome was one of the major (if not the largest) importers of myrrh, frankincense and cinnamon, which saw multiple regions across the Indian Ocean flourish as a result.
For example:
“Somalia produced large quantities of high-value products that were prized throughout the Roman Empire. Pliny records that in Rome a single pound of Somali myrrh was priced at 16 silver denarii, more than a labourer earned in two weeks.
African cassia could sell for up to 50 denarii a pound and Somali cinnamon fetched even greater prices in the Roman market for use as a potent perfume ingredient. “
Source - The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean: The Ancient World Economy and the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia and India by Raoul McLaughlin page 122
Ancient Opone, Somalia
The impact of Rome’s collapse on regions far beyond its imperial borders remains an under researched part of the past but if you look at the histories of the Horn of Africa, Southern Arabia and India there is a very clear decline that coincides with the period that is post-collapse of the Western Roman Empire and these regions do not recover their earlier prosperity until the 9th to 12 centuries AD.
While the Byzantine Empire was still a major power for centuries to come, its conversion to Christianity made it a different kind of animal from the Pantheon centric Roman Empire of the classical period, which was obsessed with incense for religious purposes, royal treasure deposits and cosmetics.
Post-Roman Empire collapse:
The incense trade slowly died out and it would not reach the same kind of international demand until the period that ushered in the Age of Discovery, almost a thousand years later. The Axumites with the loss of South Arabia, looked more and more inwards, and over time lost their seafaring tradition. A continuation of the incense trade most likely would have prevented that and ancient ports like Adulis would have been maintained. The declining South Arabian cultures like Saba and Himyar, no longer enjoying the profits of the Indian Ocean trade, experienced a language shift from the increasingly more dominant North Arabians. The Somali Barbaroi city states with the collapse of their most important trade partner, experienced a significant decline in commercial demand for incense and eventually adapted by exporting other commodities like textiles, horses, exotic animals, gold, etc to supply the foreign regions now part of the Islamic Caliphate. As a result of these trade activities ancient cities eventually morphed into Islamic cities like Zeila and Mogadishu.If you have more examples of the massive impact that the RE’s collapse had, post them below.
