Matthew Adam Cobb
Biographic Data
| ID | 3447733 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Matthew Adam Cobb |
| GIVEN NAMES | Matthew Adam |
| FAMILY NAME | Cobb |
| SIGNATURE | COBB M A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Wales Trinity Saint David |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 24 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The Hill and Forest Products of the Tamiḻakam: Communication and Exchange Between Southern India and the Roman World
Kim, Hyun Jin, Samuel N.C. Lieu and Raoul McLaughlin. 2021. Rome and China: Points of Contact . London: Routledge; 978-0-36768-412-9 paperback £39.99
This is a review of Rome and China: Points of Contact by Hyun Jin Kim, Samual N.C. Lieu and Raoul McLaughlin published in 2021 by Routledge
Spices in the Ancient World
The movement and consumption of spices and aromatics have been a feature of human history for many millennia. They have been found in contexts as diverse as early Iron Age Phoenician flasks, containing traces of cinnamon, to black peppercorns inserted into Rameses II’s nose cavity, as part of the mummification process. Traditionally, these plant products have been viewed as the preserve of the elite, at least in the Mediterranean world and parts …
Connecting the ancient Afro-Eurasian world
This introductory article sets out the global historical approach adopted by the articles in this special issue, focusing on the circulations of goods, peoples, and ideas in ancient Afro-Eurasia (300 BCE-700 CE). Special attention is given to the overland Silk Road and Indo-Pacific networks of maritime exchange. Our aims are to apply globalization thinking to a wider (macro) frame than has arguably been done in existing ancient world studies, to …
Indian merchants abroad: Integrating the Indian ocean world during the early first millennium CE
With the rise of post-colonialism during the latter part of the twentieth century, more focus has been given to non-western perspectives (the so-called nativist turn). In the case of Indian Ocean trade during the early first millennium CE, the view that ‘Roman’ merchants and sailors were the near-exclusive movers of goods, who were also (indirectly) responsible for commercial developments within South Asia, has largely fallen into abeyance. Right…
Networked spaces: The spatiality of networks in the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean
The 34 articles published in this volume form the proceedings of the 9th Red Sea conference held at Lyon in July 2019, whose core topic was the “spatiality of networks in the Red Sea”, including the western Indian Ocean. In the networked space that the Erythra Thalassa never ceased to be, stable factors such as landscape, climate, and wind patterns have been constantly entangled with more dynamic elements, such as human activity. The contributors…
Formen des Ganzen
Vielfältige (Be-)Deutungen und vielgestaltige, komplexe Formen. Das »Ganze« könnte kaum diverser sein - und damit von größter Aktualität. Die politischen Krisen der Gegenwart (Klimawandel, Migration, Pandemie) verlangen nach globalen und ganzheitlichen Lösungen, während Ganzheit aufgrund der Totalitarismuserfahrungen des 20. Jahrhunderts zugleich eine in Verruf geratene Kategorie ist. Dieser Spannung haben sich die Geisteswissenschaften seit eini…
Globalization and Transculturality from Antiquity to the Pre-Modern World
Rome’s Trade Balance with India
Imports
Exports
The Peak of Roman Trade in the Indian Ocean
Trade Routes and Merchant Diasporas
The Ptolemies and the Erythra Thalassa
Conclusion
Organisation and Finance
The Roman State and the Indian Ocean Trade
From the Ptolemies to Augustus
In 30 bce, the triumvir Octavian (Augustus from 27 bce) annexed Egypt and ushered in a politically unified Mediterranean world, as well as inaugurating a ‘Roman phase’ of participation in the Indian Ocean trade. This transition raises a number of questions about the extent of continuity and change between the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Did this political transition usher not only a quantitative change in terms of the scale of the trade but also…
The Indian Ocean Trade in Antiquity: Political, Cultural and Economic Impacts
Rome and the Indian Ocean Trade from Augustus to the Early Third Century CE
In Rome and the Indian Ocean Trade from Augustus to the Early Third Century CE Matthew Adam Cobb examines the development of commercial exchange between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean worlds from the Roman annexation of Egypt (30 BCE) up to the early third century CE. Among the issues considered are the identities of those involved, how they organised and financed themselves, the challenges they faced (scheduling, logistics, security, sai…
Black Pepper Consumption in the Roman Empire
During the Roman Imperial period huge quantities of black pepper arrived into the Empire from southern India and were employed in a range of contexts, from the culinary and medicinal, to the religious. This article seeks to examine the popularity of black pepper in the Roman Empire and test the theory that its consumption was not simply restricted to elite circles, but reached a wider spectrum of the population. In particular, price and wage data…
Balancing the Trade: Roman Cargo Shipments to I ndia
There has been a continuing debate about the extent to which the R oman E mpire suffered an economic imbalance in its trade with India (and more broadly the E ast), that is to say whether in volume or value the R oman E mpire imported more than it exported. This imbalance is often thought to be manifested in the export of R oman gold and silver to I ndia and the connected notion that other goods from the R oman E mpire were seen as merely items o…
The Chronology of Roman Trade in the Indian Ocean from Augustus to Early Third Century ce
The archaeological and numismatic evidence for Roman trade in the Indian Ocean from the Augustan annexation of Egypt up to the early third century ce shows that the most intense period of contact and exchange was in the late first century ce . The arguments presented here challenge two major positions, which assert either a peak during the Julio-Claudian period or a continuing intensity of contact until at least the late second century ce
Rome and the Indian Ocean Trade from Augustus to the Early Third Century CE
In Rome and the Indian Ocean Trade from Augustus to the Early Third Century CE Matthew Adam Cobb examines the development of commercial exchange between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean worlds from the Roman annexation of Egypt (30 BCE) up to the early third century CE. Among the issues considered are the identities of those involved, how they organised and financed themselves, the challenges they faced (scheduling, logistics, security, sai…
The Chronology of Roman Trade in the Indian Ocean from Augustus to Early Third Century ce
The archaeological and numismatic evidence for Roman trade in the Indian Ocean from the Augustan annexation of Egypt up to the early third century ce shows that the most intense period of contact and exchange was in the late first century ce . The arguments presented here challenge two major positions, which assert either a peak during the Julio-Claudian period or a continuing intensity of contact until at least the late second century ce
Connecting the ancient Afro-Eurasian world
This introductory article sets out the global historical approach adopted by the articles in this special issue, focusing on the circulations of goods, peoples, and ideas in ancient Afro-Eurasia (300 BCE-700 CE). Special attention is given to the overland Silk Road and Indo-Pacific networks of maritime exchange. Our aims are to apply globalization thinking to a wider (macro) frame than has arguably been done in existing ancient world studies, to …
Indian merchants abroad: Integrating the Indian ocean world during the early first millennium CE
With the rise of post-colonialism during the latter part of the twentieth century, more focus has been given to non-western perspectives (the so-called nativist turn). In the case of Indian Ocean trade during the early first millennium CE, the view that ‘Roman’ merchants and sailors were the near-exclusive movers of goods, who were also (indirectly) responsible for commercial developments within South Asia, has largely fallen into abeyance. Right…
Black Pepper Consumption in the Roman Empire
During the Roman Imperial period huge quantities of black pepper arrived into the Empire from southern India and were employed in a range of contexts, from the culinary and medicinal, to the religious. This article seeks to examine the popularity of black pepper in the Roman Empire and test the theory that its consumption was not simply restricted to elite circles, but reached a wider spectrum of the population. In particular, price and wage data…
Balancing the Trade: Roman Cargo Shipments to I ndia
There has been a continuing debate about the extent to which the R oman E mpire suffered an economic imbalance in its trade with India (and more broadly the E ast), that is to say whether in volume or value the R oman E mpire imported more than it exported. This imbalance is often thought to be manifested in the export of R oman gold and silver to I ndia and the connected notion that other goods from the R oman E mpire were seen as merely items o…
Balancing the Trade: Roman Cargo Shipments to I ndia
There has been a continuing debate about the extent to which the R oman E mpire suffered an economic imbalance in its trade with India (and more broadly the E ast), that is to say whether in volume or value the R oman E mpire imported more than it exported. This imbalance is often thought to be manifested in the export of R oman gold and silver to I ndia and the connected notion that other goods from the R oman E mpire were seen as merely items o…
The Chronology of Roman Trade in the Indian Ocean from Augustus to Early Third Century ce
The archaeological and numismatic evidence for Roman trade in the Indian Ocean from the Augustan annexation of Egypt up to the early third century ce shows that the most intense period of contact and exchange was in the late first century ce . The arguments presented here challenge two major positions, which assert either a peak during the Julio-Claudian period or a continuing intensity of contact until at least the late second century ce
Rome’s Trade Balance with India
Imports
Exports
The Peak of Roman Trade in the Indian Ocean
Trade Routes and Merchant Diasporas
The Ptolemies and the Erythra Thalassa
Conclusion
Organisation and Finance
The Roman State and the Indian Ocean Trade
From the Ptolemies to Augustus
In 30 bce, the triumvir Octavian (Augustus from 27 bce) annexed Egypt and ushered in a politically unified Mediterranean world, as well as inaugurating a ‘Roman phase’ of participation in the Indian Ocean trade. This transition raises a number of questions about the extent of continuity and change between the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Did this political transition usher not only a quantitative change in terms of the scale of the trade but also…
The Indian Ocean Trade in Antiquity: Political, Cultural and Economic Impacts
Rome and the Indian Ocean Trade from Augustus to the Early Third Century CE
In Rome and the Indian Ocean Trade from Augustus to the Early Third Century CE Matthew Adam Cobb examines the development of commercial exchange between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean worlds from the Roman annexation of Egypt (30 BCE) up to the early third century CE. Among the issues considered are the identities of those involved, how they organised and financed themselves, the challenges they faced (scheduling, logistics, security, sai…
Black Pepper Consumption in the Roman Empire
During the Roman Imperial period huge quantities of black pepper arrived into the Empire from southern India and were employed in a range of contexts, from the culinary and medicinal, to the religious. This article seeks to examine the popularity of black pepper in the Roman Empire and test the theory that its consumption was not simply restricted to elite circles, but reached a wider spectrum of the population. In particular, price and wage data…
Globalization and Transculturality from Antiquity to the Pre-Modern World
Networked spaces: The spatiality of networks in the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean
The 34 articles published in this volume form the proceedings of the 9th Red Sea conference held at Lyon in July 2019, whose core topic was the “spatiality of networks in the Red Sea”, including the western Indian Ocean. In the networked space that the Erythra Thalassa never ceased to be, stable factors such as landscape, climate, and wind patterns have been constantly entangled with more dynamic elements, such as human activity. The contributors…
Formen des Ganzen
Vielfältige (Be-)Deutungen und vielgestaltige, komplexe Formen. Das »Ganze« könnte kaum diverser sein - und damit von größter Aktualität. Die politischen Krisen der Gegenwart (Klimawandel, Migration, Pandemie) verlangen nach globalen und ganzheitlichen Lösungen, während Ganzheit aufgrund der Totalitarismuserfahrungen des 20. Jahrhunderts zugleich eine in Verruf geratene Kategorie ist. Dieser Spannung haben sich die Geisteswissenschaften seit eini…
Connecting the ancient Afro-Eurasian world
This introductory article sets out the global historical approach adopted by the articles in this special issue, focusing on the circulations of goods, peoples, and ideas in ancient Afro-Eurasia (300 BCE-700 CE). Special attention is given to the overland Silk Road and Indo-Pacific networks of maritime exchange. Our aims are to apply globalization thinking to a wider (macro) frame than has arguably been done in existing ancient world studies, to …
Indian merchants abroad: Integrating the Indian ocean world during the early first millennium CE
With the rise of post-colonialism during the latter part of the twentieth century, more focus has been given to non-western perspectives (the so-called nativist turn). In the case of Indian Ocean trade during the early first millennium CE, the view that ‘Roman’ merchants and sailors were the near-exclusive movers of goods, who were also (indirectly) responsible for commercial developments within South Asia, has largely fallen into abeyance. Right…
Kim, Hyun Jin, Samuel N.C. Lieu and Raoul McLaughlin. 2021. Rome and China: Points of Contact . London: Routledge; 978-0-36768-412-9 paperback £39.99
This is a review of Rome and China: Points of Contact by Hyun Jin Kim, Samual N.C. Lieu and Raoul McLaughlin published in 2021 by Routledge
Spices in the Ancient World
The movement and consumption of spices and aromatics have been a feature of human history for many millennia. They have been found in contexts as diverse as early Iron Age Phoenician flasks, containing traces of cinnamon, to black peppercorns inserted into Rameses II’s nose cavity, as part of the mummification process. Traditionally, these plant products have been viewed as the preserve of the elite, at least in the Mediterranean world and parts …
The Hill and Forest Products of the Tamiḻakam: Communication and Exchange Between Southern India and the Roman World
History (14 works) · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories (10 works) · Ancient history (9 works) · History (9 works) · Geography (8 works) · Economics (7 works) · Geology (6 works) · Indian ocean (6 works) · Oceanography (6 works) · Political science (6 works)