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Indo-Mediterranean

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From 1869 onwards, the Suez Canal (depicted above) has offered a direct Indo-Mediterranean maritime route, and has become the main intermediate trade corridor in the region.[1]

The Indo-Mediterranean is the region comprising the Mediterranean world, the Indian Ocean world, and their connecting regions in the vicinity of the Suez Canal.

History

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Main articles: Indian Ocean § History, and History of the Mediterranean region

Ancient era

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See also: Spice trade, Ancient Suez Canal, and Ancient Greece–Ancient India relations

From around 3000 BCE to 1000 CE, connectivity within Afro-Eurasia was centered upon the Indo-Mediterranean region;[2] William Dalrymple has argued that connectivity in Eurasia centered on this region, which he refers to as part of a "Golden Road", until 1200 CE and the rise of the Silk Road.[3] However, Southeast Asia was only loosely connected to the Indo-Mediterranean trade, primarily receiving a few Mediterranean objects through the filter of South Asia.[4]

Roman trade in the Indian subcontinent according to the Periplus Maris Erythraei 1st century CE

In the second half of the first century BCE, the Roman Empire emerged with a unified realm and control over the Mediterranean, allowing for more investment and wealth generation; this Pax Romana allowed Rome to become involved in the Indian Ocean trade.[5][6] Their 32 CE conquest of Egypt better positioned them to be involved in the region, with Indian ambassadors coming to Rome in increasing numbers as the Indo-Roman trade began to greatly expand in volume;[7][8] Greek merchants settled on the west coast of India to facilitate the trade,[9] with Romans celebrating the luxury products and wealth thusly acquired.[5][10] The Indo-Mediterranean also facilitated interactions between India and the Mesopotamians, Anatolians and Greeks in different time periods;[11] many actors were involved in facilitating trade throughout this region, including Egyptians, Nabateans and Palmyrenes.[12]

Some evidence is present to suggest that Indo-Mediterranean trade may have also involved a "northern route" through the Caspian Sea and Pontic–Caspian steppe.[13]

Medieval era

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See also: Greater Middle East and Canal of the Pharaohs § Greek, Roman and Islamic works
The expansion of the Caliphate in the Mediterranean region from 622 to 750 AD.
  Expansion under Muhammad, 622–632
  Expansion during the Rashidun Caliphate, 632–661
  Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750

The expansion of the first Arab Muslim empires from the 7th century onward, which conquered much of the Mediterranean, played a role in bridging the Indo-Mediterranean together.[14]

By the 14th century, buoyed by the emergence of overlapping trading networks from the western regions of Africa to the east coast, central sub-Saharan Africa became more involved in Indo-Mediterranean trade, with the Indo-Mediterranean generally going on to become more economically unified by the spread of Islam.[15]

Modern era

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See also: Portuguese maritime exploration
British imperial dominance was achieved by the 20th century in much of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.

Rising Western dominance and changes in communication technologies in the Indo-Mediterranean began to reshape dynamics in the region by the 19th century.[16]

The 1869 completion of the Suez Canal furthered European colonialism in Asia and Africa, as it enabled direct passage through the Indo-Mediterranean rather than by travelling around Africa.[17] Around that time, British planners contemplated building an Indo-Mediterranean railway to shore up lines of communication with British India in case the Suez Canal was blocked.[18][19]

Contemporary era

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The proposed India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor.

The United States went through a period of Cold War conflict with the Soviet Union before emerging as the dominant power in the Indo-Mediterranean, taking over from the British, starting with the 1956 Suez Crisis.[20] In recent years, the U.S. has had to compete with China in the Indian Ocean, and so it has furthered its ties with India.[21]

Italian foreign policy planners have recently been examining Italy's modern role in the "Enlarged Mediterranean", including its ties to the Indo-Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific.[22][23] They see the Red Sea as particularly important due its bridging role in the Indo-Mediterranean.[24]

A currently proposed initiative to handle trade in the Indo-Mediterranean is the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar affirmed the initiative in 2024, citing the historical importance and rising trade taking place in the region.[25] The Indo-Mediterranean Initiative (IMI)[26] was launched on the 16th of June 2024 at Ara Pacis under the leadership of Senator Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, former foreign Minister of Italy hosted[27] by the Indian Chamber of Commerce's Chief Representative for Italy, Vas Shenoy. The initiative aims to track IMEC, bring together decision makers, thinkers, policy experts in the IMEC countries to discuss the security, future and strategy of the Indo-Mediterranean.

The 21st melting of the Arctic is paving the way for new shipping routes between the Atlantic and the Pacific that are shorter than and may challenge the dominance of the conventional route through the Suez Canal.[28] Geopolitical events also affect the relevance of the Indo-Mediterranean; for example, from December 2023 to mid-February 2024, Houthi attacks caused a 90% drop in Red Sea container traffic.[29]

List of Indo-Mediterranean countries

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This is a list of countries that are part of the Indo-Mediterranean, since they lie along the Indian Ocean and/or the Mediterranean. Arranging from north to south, west to east in directional order.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Aubert, Jean-Jacques (2015-01-01), "2 Trajan's Canal: River Navigation from the Nile to the Red Sea?", Across the Ocean: Nine Essays on Indo-Mediterranean Trade, Brill, pp. 33–42, ISBN 978-90-04-28953-6, retrieved 2024-05-30
  2. ^ Burke, Edmund (2009). "Islam at the Center: Technological Complexes and the Roots of Modernity". Journal of World History. 20 (2): 186. ISSN 1045-6007. JSTOR 40542756.
  3. ^ Ghosh, Paramita (2024-03-12). "Building a new road". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
  4. ^ Hoppál, Krisztina; Bellina, Bérénice; Dussubieux, Laure (May 2024). "Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean World at the Turn of the First Millennium ce: Networks, Commodities and Cultural Reception". Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 34 (2): 291–314. doi:10.1017/S0959774323000264. hdl:10831/107793. ISSN 0959-7743.
  5. ^ a b Schörle, Katia (2015-01-01), "3 Pearls, Power, and Profit: Mercantile Networks and Economic Considerations of the Pearl Trade in the Roman Empire", Across the Ocean: Nine Essays on Indo-Mediterranean Trade, Brill, pp. 43–54, ISBN 978-90-04-28953-6, retrieved 2024-05-30
  6. ^ Pollard, Elizabeth Ann (2009). "Pliny's Natural History and the Flavian Templum Pacis: Botanical Imperialism in First-Century C. E. Rome". Journal of World History. 20 (3): 309–338. ISSN 1045-6007. JSTOR 40542802.
  7. ^ Slootjes, Daniëlle; Peachin, Michael, eds. (2016). Rome and the Worlds beyond its Frontiers. Brill. p. 167. hdl:20.500.12657/37958.
  8. ^ Sidebotham, Steven E. (January 2016). "A conference on Indo-Mediterranean commerce - Federico de Romanis and Marco Maiuro (eds.), Across the Ocean: Nine Essays on Indo-Mediterranean Trade (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition vol. 41; Brill, Leiden 2015). Pp. ix + 204, figs. 6, maps 7 including colour. ISBN 978-90-04-28919-2. EUR 99/$128". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 29: 915–919. doi:10.1017/S1047759400073001. ISSN 1047-7594.
  9. ^ Malekandathil, Pius (2010). Maritime India: Trade, Religion and Polity in the Indian Ocean. Primus Books. ISBN 978-93-80607-01-6.
  10. ^ Zarmakoupi, Mantha (2014). Designing for Luxury on the Bay of Naples: Villas and Landscapes (c. 100 BCE - 79 CE). OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-967838-9.
  11. ^ Dandekar, R.N. (1970). "Some Aspects of the Indo-Mediterranean Contacts". Diogenes. 18 (71): 18–38. doi:10.1177/039219217001807102. ISSN 0392-1921.
  12. ^ Simmons, Jeremy A. (November 2023). "Behind gold for pepper: The players and the game of Indo-Mediterranean trade". Journal of Global History. 18 (3): 343–364. doi:10.1017/S1740022823000165. ISSN 1740-0228.
  13. ^ Schneider, Pierre (2017). From India to the Black Sea : an overlooked trade route?.
  14. ^ Subhi Y. Labib (1969), "Capitalism in Medieval Islam", The Journal of Economic History 29 (1), p. 79–96 [80].
  15. ^ The Black Road – Trade and State-Building in Medieval Sub-Saharan Africa S R Luttrell
  16. ^ Ilbert, Robert (2002). Modernity and Culture from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, 1890--1920. Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/fawa11426.
  17. ^ "Behind the Enduring Relevance of the Suez Canal Is the Long Shadow of European Colonialism". The Wire. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  18. ^ Stratton, Morton B. (1944). "British Railways and Motor Roads in the Middle East--1918-1930". Economic Geography. 20 (2): 116–129. doi:10.2307/141053. JSTOR 141053.
  19. ^ Cameron, Verney Lovett (1880). Our Future Highway to India. Macmillan and Company.
  20. ^ "The 1956 Suez Crisis: Israel's geopolitical turning point". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2024-10-30. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  21. ^ Amin, Huma (2020-01-14). "United States Presence in Indian Ocean: Counter Strategy For China". Modern Diplomacy. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  22. ^ Coticchia, Fabrizio; Mazziotti di Celso, Matteo (2024-01-10). "Still on the same path? Italian foreign and defence policy in the Enlarged Mediterranean". Mediterranean Politics: 1–10. doi:10.1080/13629395.2023.2294252. ISSN 1362-9395.
  23. ^ Shenoy, Vas (2021-12-30). "Exploring Draghi's Italy and its relation with India". Decode39. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  24. ^ gateway (2023-08-17). "Connecting Italy's Mediterranean and India's Ocean". Gateway House. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  25. ^ "At CII Conclave, Jaishankar lays out vision for stronger India-Mediterranean ties". Hindustan Times.
  26. ^ "How the Indo-Mediterranean Initiative will strengthen India-Italy ties".
  27. ^ "India and Italy strengthen ties with Indo-Mediterranean initiative". WION. 2024-06-17. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  28. ^ "While the world tore its hair out over the Suez, Russia saw an opportunity". The Washington Post.
  29. ^ Rossi, Emanuele (2024-09-17). "Are Russia and China Being Opportunists and Backing the Houthis? | EBSCOhost". openurl.ebsco.com. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  30. ^ Kotarba-Morley, Anna M. (2015-07-03). "The Port of Berenike Troglodytica on the Red Sea: A Landscape-Based Approach to the Study of its Harbour and its Role in Indo-Mediterranean Trade". Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. 50 (3): 422–423. doi:10.1080/0067270X.2015.1092208. ISSN 0067-270X.

Further reading

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