Red Sea Spice Trade Route

Timeline

1. -100–641Red Sea coast · Red SeaIn the Roman and Byzantine periods, merchant ships carried Indian Ocean spices through Red Sea ports to the Nile Delta, forming a vital maritime corridor linking East and West.
2. 1250–1330Aden–Jeddah–Suez · Red SeaAfter the Mamluks controlled Egypt and Syria, they monopolized spice transshipment through chartered merchants and tariff systems; Aden and Jeddah became key nodes for Indian Ocean goods entering the Red Sea.
3. 1331–1340Red Sea–Cairo–Alexandria · Red SeaBetween 1331 and 1340, Venetian and Genoese merchants still purchased pepper and spices transshipped via the Red Sea at Alexandria; Mamluk political stability and an-Nasir Muhammad's fiscal policies made tariff revenue a major source of state income.
4. 1498–1500Indian Ocean · Indian OceanPortuguese fleets sailed around Africa's southern tip directly to India; European spice trade gradually bypassed the Red Sea–Egypt transshipment system, sharply reducing the commercial value of the traditional route.