Emir of Zayla
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On the Red Sea/Indian Ocean, coastal cities and towns rose due to heavy maritime trade with civilizations in the Middle East, India, Egypt and eventually the Romans. Iβll start at when Horners started trading with the Romans.
When the Romans conquered Egypt, they used the ancient trade routes utilized by the Ptolemies to trade with the civilizations bordering the Red Sea and to access goods from the Indian Ocean, this started up the Indo-Roman trade.
As Somalis were situated at a location where the Red Sea & the Indian Ocean meet & Horners had a long coast in both seas, they were basically the unofficial middle men of the Indo-Roman trade and they got wealthy off the back & forth trade between the West & the East. Common commodities like Myrrh were valued highly to the polytheistic Romans, a single pound was worth a fortune.
βPliny records that in Rome a single pound of Somali myrrh was priced at 16 silver denarii, more than a labourer earned in two weeks. African cassia (cinnamon) could sell for up to 50 denarii a pound and Somali cinnamon fetched even greater prices in the Roman market for use as a potent perfume ingredient.β
Source - The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean: The Ancient World Economy and the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia and India by Raoul McLaughlin page 122
(Below is an archeologistβs small excavation of the ruins of Opone showing found stone structures with walled courtyard houses going back 2,100 years old. According the same archaeologists, only 0.025% of Opone has only been excavated.)
Highland Ethiopian cities like Adulis and Massawa were great trade centers for materials like ivory, hides, slaves, and exotic animals like war elephants which were sent to Ptolemaic Egypt for their wars in the Middle East & eastern Mediterranean. This style of war was also used by the later Axumites when they invaded Southern Arabia.
When the Romans conquered Egypt, they used the ancient trade routes utilized by the Ptolemies to trade with the civilizations bordering the Red Sea and to access goods from the Indian Ocean, this started up the Indo-Roman trade.
As Somalis were situated at a location where the Red Sea & the Indian Ocean meet & Horners had a long coast in both seas, they were basically the unofficial middle men of the Indo-Roman trade and they got wealthy off the back & forth trade between the West & the East. Common commodities like Myrrh were valued highly to the polytheistic Romans, a single pound was worth a fortune.
βPliny records that in Rome a single pound of Somali myrrh was priced at 16 silver denarii, more than a labourer earned in two weeks. African cassia (cinnamon) could sell for up to 50 denarii a pound and Somali cinnamon fetched even greater prices in the Roman market for use as a potent perfume ingredient.β
Source - The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean: The Ancient World Economy and the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia and India by Raoul McLaughlin page 122
(Below is an archeologistβs small excavation of the ruins of Opone showing found stone structures with walled courtyard houses going back 2,100 years old. According the same archaeologists, only 0.025% of Opone has only been excavated.)
Highland Ethiopian cities like Adulis and Massawa were great trade centers for materials like ivory, hides, slaves, and exotic animals like war elephants which were sent to Ptolemaic Egypt for their wars in the Middle East & eastern Mediterranean. This style of war was also used by the later Axumites when they invaded Southern Arabia.
