Indian Ocean Trade Network

Name: Indian Ocean Trade Network
Start: 1161
End: 1170

Type Event Region Indian Ocean Time 1161–1170

In the 1160s, the Indian Ocean monsoon trade network linked East Africa, Arabia, the Persian Gulf, India, and Southeast Asia, with the Red Sea–Aden c…

Timeline

1161–1166Arabian Sea · Arabian SeaArab and Gujarati merchants used the monsoons to sail between Aden, Hormuz, and Calicut, trading spices, pearls, cotton, and African ivory, forming a transoceanic commercial chain.
1164–1170Aden–Cairo trade route · AdenThe port of Aden connected the Red Sea and Indian Ocean; goods transshipped via Egypt could enter the Mediterranean world. Fatimid political turmoil did not fully block the trade routes, and trade remained active before Nur al-Din's intervention in Egypt.

Sources

The Indian Ocean in World History — Edward A. Alpers (2014)