Crossing non-existing borders
Sasanian material culture in the Red Sea and South Arabia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23309006 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jerzy Oleksiak (0000-0002-9631-2097, Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, corresponding author), Emilia Smagur (0000-0003-0537-723X, Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw), Sarah Japp (0000-0003-1007-468X, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Rom), Davide Gorla (0009-0002-9687-9947, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), Serena Massa (0000-0001-6600-511X, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-38 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Azania Archaeological Research in Africa (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0067-270X • E-ISSN: 1945-5534 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0067270x.2026.2694205 |
| OpenAlex | W7170093938 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 40 |
The influential Periplus Maris Erythraei, a cornerstone of the modern Indo-Roman trade paradigm, omits the Persian Gulf from its description of the maritime route to India. The deeply rooted belief that no regular exchange occurred between the Roman coasts of the Red Sea and the Sasanian Empire is based on this premise. Consequently, scholars, especially pottery specialists, have rarely explored the mutual exchange of material culture between the two regions. This study seeks to collect all available data on Sasanian pottery and other categories of archaeological evidence indicating Sasanian influence in the Red Sea and thereby to reassess the old paradigm. Recent excavations at multiple sites in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, along with material evidence from other well-integrated mercantile sites in the Late Antique Red Sea region, have provided a sufficiently large sample size to rethink and revise the classical approach. This allows for a complete revision of the history of contact between the Red Sea and the Gulf between the fourth and early seventh centuries AD.
Antique · Archaeological evidence · Empire · Excavation · Mediterranean sea · Persian · Pottery · Sea coast · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Eurasian Exchange Networks
Siraf
The Early Islamic Pottery from the Monastery at al-Qusur
The Roman fine wares of ed‐Dur (Umm al‐Qaiwain, U.A.E.) and their distribution in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean
Matara
Maṭarā. — Deuxième, troisième et quatrième campagnes de fouilles
Le site et la ville de Shabwa
Preliminary Report on the 1994 Season of the Roman Aqaba Project
Late Antique Iran and the Arabs
Dibba
Rhodian amphora stamps found in Mleiha (Sharjah, UAE)
From ‘ovoid jars’ to ‘torpedo jars’
Greek and Roman coins from Eastern Arabia
New archaeological and epigraphical material from Qana (South Arabia)
Early Islamic Torpedo Jars from Siraf
Geochemical analysis of bitumen from West Asian torpedo jars from the c. 8th century Phanom-Surin shipwreck in Thailand
Sasanian and Arab-Sasanian Coins from Eastern Arabia
The Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite Settlement of NE Tigrai, Ethiopia
Fieldwork on the Red Sea Coast
Preliminary Report on the 1990-1991 Seasons of Fieldwork at 'Abu Sha'ar (Red Sea Coast)
Romano-Sasanian” Imitations from India
Kush
The Sasanian Relationship with South Arabia
Rome and the Indian Ocean Trade from Augustus to the Early Third Century CE
Sasanian Maritime Trade
The decline of eastern Arabia in the Sasanian period
Ship, Raft or Camelback? Early Hellenistic Ceramic Imports of the Eastern Mediterranean From the Ancient Caravan City of Thāj, Northeast Saudi Arabia
The Byzantine-Aksumite period shipwreck at Black Assarca Island, Eritrea
Adornment deposits
The Humeima Hoard
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and the Arab-Persian Gulf
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |