🤯 Did You Know (click to read)
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a 1st-century trade manual, specifically lists Adulis as a principal Red Sea port.
The port of Adulis functioned as Aksum’s maritime gateway from at least the 1st century CE. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes Adulis as a major trading hub linking Africa to India. Ivory, gold, tortoiseshell, and enslaved persons moved outward, while textiles and manufactured goods moved inward. Roman merchants used the monsoon wind system to reach the Red Sea annually. Control of Adulis meant control of customs revenue. The port allowed an inland capital to dominate maritime commerce. Its location near modern Eritrea positioned Aksum at a chokepoint of trade. Archaeological remains confirm imported ceramics and amphorae. The empire’s wealth flowed through a single coastal artery.
💥 Impact (click to read)
Revenue from Adulis financed military campaigns and monumental architecture. Maritime access insulated Aksum from total dependence on Nile routes. Participation in Indian Ocean trade diversified economic risk. The port created administrative structures for taxation and inspection. By managing customs duties, Aksum institutionalized global commerce. This economic infrastructure rivaled Mediterranean states. Trade geography became statecraft.
For sailors, Adulis was both opportunity and hazard, tied to seasonal winds. Local workers encountered foreign languages daily. Goods from distant civilizations appeared in market stalls. The irony is that an empire defined by highland fortresses relied on sea lanes. Coastal labor sustained inland power. Ordinary dockworkers unknowingly linked continents. Their daily tasks sustained imperial ambition.
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