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Red Sea–Indian Ocean Trade Network in the 1050s
Between 1051 and 1060 CE, the Fatimid Caliphate controlled the northern Red Sea ports (such as Aydhab) and the Egypt–Yemen trade routes, linking Indi…
Timeline
- 1051–1054Aydhab · SudanIn the early 1050s, Aydhab was an important port for Muslim pilgrims traveling to the Hejaz and for Indian merchant ships entering the Red Sea. Caravans transshipped goods here, traveling overland or via the Nile to Cairo, forming an east–west trade axis linking the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.
- 1054–1057Cairo · EgyptDuring the mid-decade, the wholesale markets (sūq) of Cairo and Fustat gathered goods from India, Yemen, and East Africa. Fatimid fiscal authorities levied import duties (ʿushūr) and transit taxes, with part of the revenue used to maintain the court and mercenaries, showing trade's critical role in Egypt's finances in the 1050s.
- 1057–1060Yemen · YemenBy 1060, Yemen's ports and the Hejaz inland caravan routes remained the southern wing of the Red Sea trade network. Political changes in Yemen and occasional Bedouin raids affected shipping, but overall trade volume in the 1050s still sustained Fatimid exchanges with Indian Ocean ports, with spices and luxury goods continuing to flow into Egyptian and North African markets.
Sources
- The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3: c. 1050–c. 1600 — Roland Oliver (ed.) (1977)
- Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean — K. N. Chaudhuri (1985)