Book contents
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Maps and Charts (in color plates)
- Illustrations (in color plates)
- Figures
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- Introduction: The Geography of the Indian Ocean and Its Navigation
- Part I The Ancient Routes of Trade and Cultural Exchanges and the First States (Sixth–Second Millennium bce)
- Part II The Birth of the Afro-Eurasian World-System (First Millennium bce – Sixth Century ce)
- Bibliography
- Index of Geographical names
- Name Index
- Subject Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
Prologue
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 October 2019
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- The Worlds of the Indian Ocean
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Maps and Charts (in color plates)
- Illustrations (in color plates)
- Figures
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- Introduction: The Geography of the Indian Ocean and Its Navigation
- Part I The Ancient Routes of Trade and Cultural Exchanges and the First States (Sixth–Second Millennium bce)
- Part II The Birth of the Afro-Eurasian World-System (First Millennium bce – Sixth Century ce)
- Bibliography
- Index of Geographical names
- Name Index
- Subject Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
Summary
Like the Mediterranean Sea, as described by the historian F. Braudel (1949), the Indian Ocean was traversed from the earliest times by men in quest of goods, new lands, or simply the great unknown. These journeys yielded wealth, knowledge, and power. At the same time, terrestrial routes linked far-flung regions of the Ancient World: these included the famed Silk Roads, but also routes between China and India via Burma, routes over the steppes, north–south routes, and more. Over the centuries, exchanges transformed the Ancient World into a unified and hierarchized area, in which the Indian Ocean occupied a central position.
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- Information
- The Worlds of the Indian OceanA Global History, pp. 1 - 8Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019