The Indo-Roman Pepper Trade and the Muziris Papyrus

Federico De Romanis is Associate Professor in Roman History at the Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" in Rome, Italy. He received his doctorate in historical sciences from the Università della Repubblica di S. Marino in 1992 and has taught at the Università di Catania and at the Università della Tuscia, as well as holding fellowships at the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Storici in Naples (1987-8) and at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University (2012-3). His previous publications include Cassia, cinnamomo, ossidiana: Uomini e merci tra Oceano Indiano e Mediterraneo (L'Erma Di Bretschneider, 1996).

In sum, this is an impressive scholarly effort that greatly enhances our under-standing of intercontinental trade in antiquity and (proto-)globalisation. It will be the standard reference on Indo-Roman trade for years to come. Moreover, due to its multidisciplinary approach it will be an indispensable work for all students of the longue durée history of the Indian Ocean trade, whether they deal with Arab, Persian, Indian or Portuguese trade of the Medieval and Early Modern periods.

• Frontmatter List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations 0: Introduction 0.1. Synopsis P. Vindob. G 40822: Text and Translation Part I. Contextualizing the Muziris Papyrus 1: Bridging Disconnected Seas 1.1. Challenges 1.2. The Northern Passages 1.3. The Southern Passages 1.4. Multifaceted Complementarity 2: Riding the Monsoons 2.1. Direct Sea Routes 2.2. Multi-Stage Sea Routes 2.3. Heading for India 2.4. The Pleiades in the Middle of the Yard 3: Pepper Lands 3.1. Kottanarike, the Southern Pepper-Producing Land 3.2. Male, the Northern Pepper-Producing Land 3.3. Early Modern Quantitative Dimensions 3.4. Ancient Prices 4: South Indian Perspectives 4.1. Gatherers 4.2. Traders 4.3. Kings 4.4. The Pepper Pendulum 5: Supporting Sources 5.1. Strabo: The Customs Duties on Indian Commodities 5.2. The Periplus: The Ships and Cargoes of the South India Trade 5.3. Pliny: The Schedule of the Commercial Enterprises to South India 5.4. Ptolemy: The Evolution of the South Indian Context Part II. Let Him Look to his Bond: A Loan Contract for Muziris (P. Vindob. G 40822 Recto) 6: Deadline and Whereabouts 6.1. A Debated Contract 6.2. Time and Maritime Loans 6.3. The Deadline for Repayment of the Muziris Loan Contracts 6.4. In the Beginning Was the Loan Contract 7: Selling and Repaying 7.1. Repaying a Maritime Loan in Fourth-Century BC Athens 7.2. Under the Lender's Power and Seal 7.3. Earnings and Benefit of Assumption 7.4. Outstanding Loans 8: Loan and Logistics 8.1. What the Loan Was All About 8.2. Prudent Loans for Maritime Trade 8.3. Caravans from Berenice 8.4. The Coptos Ships 8.5. Late Medieval Comparanda Part III. The Muziris Cargo of a Roman Indiaman (P. Vindob. G 40822 Verso) 9: Three Minor Cargoes and How They Were Assessed 9.1. Three Quarters of an Indiaman's Cargo 9.2. Gangetic Nard 9.3. Schidai 9.4. Straightforward and Circuitous Evaluations 9.5. Cargoes, Quarters, and the Arabarchs' Additional Shares 10: The Other Cargoes 10.1. Col. ii, ll. 14-30: An Overview 10.2. Pepper: Col. ii, ll. 20-30 (and ll. 1-3) 10.3. Tortoise Shell (?) and Malabathron: Col. ii, ll. 14-19 11: Contrasts 11.1. Ancient and Early Modern Pepper Carriers 11.2. Another Pepper Trade 11.3. Conspicuous Absences 11.4. Indian and African Tusks Part IV. The Red Sea Tax and the Muziris Papyrus 12: Maris Rubri Vectigal 12.1. Payments in Kind and Payments in Money 12.2. Double Customs Duties on Different Tax Bases 12.3. Rates 12.4. Fiscal Values 12.5. Weight Standards 13: Dramatis Personae 13.1. Arabarchs, Paralemptai, and Grammateis 13.2. A Lender/Customs Collector 13.3. A Borrower/Ship Owner 13.4. The Imperial Administration 14: Epilogue Appendices 1. Exchanging Coins at Barygaza 2. Axum and Silis in the Kephalaia: Trade and Powers in the Late Antique Indian Ocean Endmatter References Index