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CHAPTER - IV INDIA AND IRAN - COMMERCIAL RELATIONS

India and Iran's commercial relations can be retracted to times

immemorial. commercial links preceded cultural and political links. In fact,

trade relations lated the formation of cultural bonds. The former goes back

to the third nnium B.C, the period of the Harappan civilization. The early

commerce was ween India and Babylonia, which included Persia via the

Persian Gulf. The rsian Gulf was the focus of perhaps the oldest trade

route, running from the mouth Indus to the Euphrates305. In the 6th Century

B.C., the Achaemenian dynasty sated a vast empire, which furthered Indo-

lranian trade.

Darius the Great (521-485 B.C.) appreciated the value of linking Iran

with a by Sea as well as by land, and organized some notable maritime

operations. commissioned a Greek mercenary Scylax to explore the Indus

river306 and instructed him to reach Egypt via India along the coastal way,

since the straight of Babl-ul-Mandab was never crossed307.

From the fourth century B.C., Indian trade became more developed.

Over trade from India to Iran passed through the north-western cities of the

Indian sub continent, mainly Taxila. Trade demands were no doubt

intensified during the of the Mauryan Empire, with its adjutant grandeur

and glory in India. The cost widely traversed highways of commerce 305 Cambridge, 1926, P. 1; A.V. William Jackson, "The Persian Dominance in Northern India down to the Time of ander's Invasion", in E.J. Rapson, (E\ed). Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, 1955, p. 294. 306 "Intercourse between India and the Western World: From the Earliest Time to the Fall of McCrindle, "Ancient India as described in Classical Literature", Westminster, 1901, p. 98. ariesVErlinden, "The Indian Ocean: The Ancient Period and the Middle Ages, in Sathish Chandra, (ed.). 307 Idian Ocean: Explorations in History, Commerce and Politics", New Delhi, 1987, p. 31.

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westwards from Tax//a were to Kabul Kandahar, from where routes

branched off in various directions. One of these connected Qandahar with

Persepotis and Susa (modern Shush city in Khuzistan convince), while

another, further south-west via the Persian Gulf and the Tigris to

celeucia.308

During the first century A.D., regular maritime commerce existed

between the persian Gulfand the mouth of the river Narmada on the west

coast of India. This is confirmed by the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea,

written in 5-60 A.D., which refers to large vessels which sailed from

Barygaza (Baruch) on the Gulf of Cambay laden with number of various

varieties309.

Elephants, "the tanks of the ancient world", were in demand from

India. imports from Iran included wine, dates, pearls and slaves. But the

real centuries of the Persian Gulf had to yet arrive. These were the days

of the Red Sea. For the Greto-Roman writers of the ancient period, the

Erythrean Sea was first of all the Red Sea and then the north-west of the

Indian Ocean310.

During the Sassanid period (225-651 A.D.), trade in the Erythrean

Sea was in the hands of the Iranians. The nodal paints of this trade were

Al Ubullah or Obollah the Persian Gulf. Barygaza in south Gujarat and Sri

Lanka, the 'Serendib' of the Arabs or 'Island of Rubies', where merchants

from the East and West got together. The sea routes for Indo-lranian trade

continued to be the traditional ones, i.e., from the west coast of India to the 308 Rornila Thapar, "A History of India", Vol. I, London, 1966, p. 107. 309 Chapters 35-36, English tr. and Notes by W.H.Schoff, New York, 1912. 310 Verlinden, p. 31.

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Persian Gulf and from there overland through Mesopotamia to the

Mediterranean coast. The other sea route was via the Red Sea and then

Egypt, to the Mediterranean. Ports such as Thana and Sopara on West

coast of India played an intrinsic role in this trade. It is interesting to note

the period third to sixth centuries A.D., the nomenclature 'Indian' applied

to groups such as the Abyssinians by Greco-Roman writes such as

Cosmos, lostrogius and Procopius311.

In Iran, the Parthians gave way to the Sassanid dynasty around 225

A.D. The assanid encouraged indigenous people and the first empror

Artaxerxes-in •5-241 A.D. founded several sea and river ports. Early in the

4th century the Arabs Bahrain and the adjoining coastal regions crossed

the Persian Gulf to raid the persian Empire (C.310). A few years later, the

Sassanid monarch Shapur II repaid visit, he not only retaliated in a fitting

manner, but settled Persian colonists there. lalter in the 4th century,

the'Latin historian Ammianus Marcellinus in describing the assanid realm

stated that there was much navigation in the Persian Gulf. Chinese

coronicles also confirm this Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien (405-411 A.D.)

referred to the crtsof Sri Lanks as the meeting points of Chinese and

Iranian merchants, Cosmos :so refers to Persian vessels entering the ports

of Sri Lanka, Iranians were the termediaries for the silk trade between

China and the West, both by the Central persian route and the sea route.

The very name of China as known to Cosmos was persian in from Viz,

'Tsnistan'. According to Procopius, emperor Justinian asked the

Abyssinians to buy silk from Indian merchants and sell it to the Romans, in

the 6th century in order to thwart the mercantile activities of the Persians in

311 GIB. Bury, "History of the Later Roman Empire", London, 1923; H.Hasan, "A History of Persian Navigation", .ondon, 1928. While Cosmos was a well-known geographer, Philostrogius wrote Church history and :!ocopius was the historian of the reign of emperor Justinian.

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this commodity. the Abyssinians were unable to comply since Persian

merchants present at the of Sri Lanka, where Indian ships put in, used to

purchase the entire cargo.

In the 6th century, Persian merchants reached the Malabar Coast of

India and conducted trade, especially in timber, with its principal port,

Muziris. Iranian merchants also reached Kalyan (near modern day

Mumbay) on the Konkan coast. Indian and Persian merchants met each

other, along with other mercantile groups, Socofra. These islands were

known in Sanskrit as "Dvipa Sukhatara", and had a equitation for

cosmopolitan markets and as an entrecote of trade.

Although in the early 7th century there was a Persian breakthrough in

maritime airs, they were driven back by the Arabs who occupied almost the

entire coast of Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf and the rEd Sea were no

longer rival routes to me or Constantinople, but became co-ordinate routes

to the nearer land of the liphate. As discussed in detail by G.F.Hourani,

Iranian commercial voyages went China under the Sassanid8. The Arabs

inherited this traffic, prospering despite eruptions. This sea route, from the

Persian Gulf to Canton, was the longest in regular use by mankind before

the European expansion in the 16th century, and it erits attention as a

remarkable achievement. This was made possible by the simultaneous

existence of large empires at both ends of the route. In China the dynasty

(618-907 A.D.) ruled a united empire. Knowledge of earlier Persian

voyages comes from Chinese sources, which refer to the ships of the Po-

sse. These peopie have been identified as Zroastrians, speaking Persian;

Arabic speaking slims of Iranian origin would be classified as Ta~Shih or

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Arabs312, Zoroastrians were known to the Arabs as Majus or Magians. The

first mention of Po-sse was the Chinese pilgrim Ching in 671 A.D. when he

embarked on a Po-sse ship at Canton and sailed south to Sumatra.

The Arab expansion which put an end to Sassanid influence was

not, as is largely believed, the work of the maritime tribes of the Arab

peninsula, but of the central and northern desert tribes10. Iran was

conquered by a land route and Islam remained a continental religion as

long as the Umayyad had their capital in Syria or camascus {661-749

A.D./70-158 A.H.),

The entire Islamic world from Spain to Al-Sindh was united under the

ayyad Caliphs (661-749 A.D./70-158 A.M.), and for over a century (750-

870 AD./159-279 A.H) under the Abbasids with the exception of Spain and

North Africa. Hie accession of the Abbasid dynasty to the Caliphate

brought a new impetus to the iea trade of the Persian Gulf, due to the

transfer of the capital from Damascus to aghdad on the Tigris River.

Attention was now naturally focused on the Indian 3eean, mainly through

Shatt-ul~Arab313 and the Persian Gulf. According to the Geographer AI-

Ya'qubi's Kitab-ul-Buldan, Baghdad was the meeting place for people

Isfahan and Khurasan. Basra now replaced the port of Al-Ubullah, and

emained the main port of the Persian Gulf for a period of ten centuries.

S/raf in Iran and Muscat in Oman also acquired more importance from the

time of the Abbasids.

312 G.f.Hourani, "Arab Seafaring in the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times", Princeton, 1951, p. 51. [H.Hasan, p. 89. 313

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The western terminals for the ships to China were Al Basra, Al

Ubullah and Siraf. Old Al Basra on its canal was a big commercial centre,

but large sea-going ships could not come up to it and had to continue to

dock at Al Ubullah. A! Basra was a new foundation of the Arabs, while Al

Ubullah was the old Apologus, which fisd been refounded by emperor

Ardeshir and had survived into a later period. References to Al Balazari,

Futuh-ul-Buldan as well as Al Tabari and Mas'udi confirm this was a port

for ships from India and China at the time of the Muslim Mjuest. Al Ubullah

was at the mouth of the canal on the Tigris, but entrance into canal was

dangerous to the presence of whirlpools. It also had extensive shipyards.

Three towers were constructed out at sea, to serve as lighthouses as well

as watch towers and signal stations for pirates from the Persian Gulf and

India. Arab geographer tbn-i-Rustah wrote that before Islam, seagoing

ships from paused to sail up the Tigris river11. Al Tabari gives the pre-

lslamic name of AI Ubillah as "Farj-ul-Hind" i.e., "the marches of India" so

close were the relations by Between this port and India. Al Tabari adds that

its Persian governor had to face conflict with piratical elements from India

at sea314.

In contrast to the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean at this time was a

region of see, with the exception of piratical activities. The pirates of Cutch

and Kathiawad India were notorious315, and Sri Lanka was one of their

lairs. With the coming of there was a tendency to make sea raids,

including the India coast, at places Thana and Daibul. Caliph Vmar,

however, restrained rash adventures at sea.316

314 315 'Tabari Annals, ed. M.J. de Geeje, Leyden, 1901. Philip Hetti, "History of arabs", London, 1940, p. 67. 316.Kitab-al-laqQl-A'laq-un-Nafisah, p. 98 ibibiotheca Geographorum Arabicorum, Vol. VII, Leyden, 1879.

179  

The difficulties of navigation in the headwaters of the Persian Gulf

contributed the growth of the Iranian port of S/raf, south of Shiraz. This port

was on a barren coastline and subsisted on supplies brought by sea. Its

existence was entirely due to its maritime commerce, but this was so

flourishing as to make S/raf the rival of Basara in commercial prosperity317.

Extensive information about this port can be obtained from the work of

.Buzurg-bin-Shahriyar, the Kitab 'Ajaib-ul-Hind or "The Wonders of India".

The book conains tales of India, above all, tales of the sea. It may be

considered as a berunner of the Sindbad stories in the aRabian Nights14.

Only a single copy of the survives in Istambul318. Siraf was a rich city, with

all houses of merchants and hip owners, extravagantly paneled in teak

imported from India319 It was a building port, utilizing Indian timber. Since

the author was a sea captain himself, has provided a list of captains, most

of whom were Iranian. This is expected as j was an Iranian and collected

most of his stories from the captains based at jf. Most of Buzurg's stories

(written in 960 A.D./369 A.M.) date from the first half10th century, although

a few are of as early a period as the 4th century.

Buzurg's contemporaries were Ibn-i-Khurdadbeh, Ibn-i-Hauqal and

Sulayrnan. he latter wrote the "Akhbar-ut-Sin was Al Hind" which has been

translated into French and edited by J.Sauvaget as "Relations de Chine et

317 Philip Hetti, "History of arabs", London, 1940, p. 67 318 H.Fawzi, "Hadis al Sindbad al Qadim", Cairo, 1943; Al Suli, "Kitab-u!-Awroq", ed. J. Heyworth-Dunne, London, 1934, mentions Sindbad stories in circulation in the tenth century in circulation in the tenth century A.D. 319 Richard Hall, "Empires of the Monsoon", London, 1996, p. 3.

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de india320 Paris, 1948, Sulaiman was a merchant who issued a collection

of reports from other merchants regarding the customs of the Indians and

the Chinese, and the sea route from Siraf ii Canton. From Siraf, 'China

ships' (Markab-ul-Sin and Safin-us-siniyah) set out for was then the longest

voyage known to mankind. Ships sailed southwards abngthe Indian coast

to Sri Lanka, and then eastwards to Sumatra, through the Malacca Straits,

then north into the China Sea. The round voyage took a year and a . The

vessels usually travelled in convoy, to avoid the numerouspirates off the it

coast of India.

The usual practice of ships, after sailing down the Persian Gulf, was

to choose one of two sea routes to India. They could call at the ports of

Suhar and Muscat on the coast of Oman and after taking on a sufficient

supply of water, sail straight across the Indian Ocean for Kulam Mali or

Quilon on the Malabar Coast. Malabar boasted of commercially active

ports like Calicut and Quilon and from century onwards, saw the

establishment of several outposts of Iranian as well as tab merchants.

The Malabar route is the one described by the Akbhar, it would naturally

be taken by ships on the long China voyage. Ships would also go via ports

r'Sindh, such as Daibal. Iranian Ships on the China voyage would pay a

toll charge fapprox 1000 dirhams at Kulam Mali, The return voyage was

also via Kulam Mali. According to the Akhbar, the voyage from Muscat to

KulamMali spanned a period of e month. At Siraf, the Nawakhid

(shipmasters) would sell their cargoes and purchase new commodities,

they would repair their hulls and prepare for the next yage, owners,

320 On the site of Siraf now there is only an Iranian fishing village. The city was shattered by an earthquake In :977 A.D./386 A.M. and fell into decline soon after. Pioneer excavations have been made by David White house.

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captains and crew would tell tales, true and untrue, about the wonders they

had seen.

The Abbasid Caliphs encouraged the fusion of Arab and Iranian

groups into one unity, speaking Arabic. From the 9th century onwards, in

Arab records of sea trade, mention of Iranians becomesmuch less. This

change, no doubt, came about gradually. There had always been Arabs

sailing from the Persian Gulf ports, but now their number was greatly

increased. Yet the Iranians left many traces in the maritime of the times,

Many words of Persian origin can be found in the nautical cabulary of the

medieval Arabs, such as:

Balanji: Cabin

Bandar : Port

Daftrar : Sailing instructions

Dunji: Ship's boat

Didban: look-out boy Khann tar point of the compass

Nakbuda (pi. INawakhid): Shipmaster

Rahmani: book of nautical instructions

Sanduq a type of sailing boat

The Arab geographers are of great significance in understanding

Indo-lranian commercial relations in the early medieval age. The 9th and 1-

th centuries were a period of Islamic geography and information on

commercial navigation in the Indian cean has been obtained from travelers

in the Persian Gulf. Apart from Buzurg and Sulayman, the other authors of

the period, Ibn-i-Rustah,lYaqubi, Ibn-i-Khurdadbeh, -i-Huqal, Al Maqdesi

as also the Iranian who wrote the Hodud-ul-'Alam or the Frontiers of the

world, all drew their information from the same area. The authors of 12th

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and 13th centuries, such as Al Edrist, Al mus'udi, Ibn-i-Sa'id. Yaqut, and

Feda have borrowed the essential information from the earlier authors, and

consequently provide scant information about their periods. To a large

extent, this true of Ibn Battuta in the 14th century arid the travelers by land

of the 15tn century, such as Ibn-i-Majed and Sulayman-al-Mahri. Thus gaps

are inevitable in !e available information.

The conquest of Amir Timur, who defeated the Turks near Ankara in

1402 kD,/811 A.M.321 included Iran and a large part of northern India,

created a single political authority whose write ran from the Black Sea to

the borders of China and the Gangetic plain in India; it promoted conditions

in which overland trade to China fourished. Samarqand, the Timurid capital

became an entrecote for the whole of Central Asia and Iran looked to its

market where traders flocked from distant countries including India.

The Spanish envoy Clavijo, who travelled across north Iran on way

to smarqand at the beginning of the 15th century observed Indian presence

in Sultaniyya residence of Prince Miranshah, the ruler of western Iran,

situated in the north-west of the country322. They brought with them all

kinds of spices. The spices were re-exported to the markets of .Syria323.

Heart, in the north-east corner of Iran, which had served as an

entrepot of coverland trade between the Golden Horde, Khwarzm and

India. Since the fourteenth century was another center for procuring Indian

commodities.

321 Kackson and Lockhart (eds.), "Cambridge History of Iran", Vol. VI, (hereafter cited as C.H.I,

Vol.I), Cambridge, 1986, p. 375. 322 C.H.I,Vol. VI, p. 414. 323 LeanAubin, "Etudes Safavides I", Journal of the Social and Economic of Orient (J.E.S.H.O),

January 1959,

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A division of his legacy followed the death of Timur, Iran remained in

the cossession of a son of Timur, who made Heart his capital and

Sultaniyya began decline. Even when Iran was divided between the Qara

quyunlus and Aqquyunlus, its trade, internal, external and transit, did not

suffer much324.

The political unification of such a vast landmass by Timur had

accelerated the growth of flourishing overland 'trade with Sultaniyya and

Heart in Iran and Samarqand in Central Asia served as nodal points. The

Indians did avail of this opportunity though the data at our disOposal do not

enable us either to quantify it or to identify the primary Indian groups

engaged in this trade.

The growth of overland trade did not eclipse the maritime trade

between the countries. Ormuz was an important link in its continuity. The

reason were both geography and economic.

There were areas in India whose access to Iran was primarily by the

Sea ;. This was true especially or Peninsular India.

The land-route from China to Iran was long and hazardous. Under

the Wans, Chinese ships had visited the Persian Gulf. In order to outflank

the Timurids and to ensure uninterrupted and unhindered access, the new

Chinese Emperor fang Lo in the first decade of the fifteenth century,

restarted sending ships to the Indian Ocean under the stewardship of

324 Hahib and Ray Choudhary (eds.) "The Cambridge Economic History of India", Vol. I, (C.E.H.I), New Delhi, ilS82, p. 138; Satish Chandra (ed.J, "The Indian Ocean Explorations in History, Commerce and Politics",

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Cheng Ho.325 The Chinese expeditions emphasized the unity of the Indian

Ocean trade zone and its intimate links with the port towns of south China.

The Chinese naval expeditions were abruptly withdrawn fl1434 A.D./843

A.H326, but the momentum imported to Indian Ocean trade did not It

revitalized the maritime trade of the Persian Gulf of which sea-borne trade i

India was a vital ingredient.

One reason why the Persian Gulf became preferred region for re-

export of tastern goods to European in companion to the Red Sea was the

economic crisis, engulfed Egypt from 1403-1404 A.D./812-13 A.H.

onwards. A small example ishow this. In 195 A.D./804 A.H. in Alexandria,

there were 14000 looms whereas r1434 A.D./843 A.H. there were only

800.

Also in the fifteenth century, Egypt was suffering from a shortage of

silver; copper currency had become the predominant mode of exchange.

The oriental merchants exporting spices and luxury goods destined for

Europe tried to bypass the Red Sea and chose the alternative Persian Gulf

route for their exports327.

In 1420 A.D./829 A.H. Shahab-ud-Din Ahmad I (1422-36 A.D./831-

845 A.H) :;came the ruler of Bijapur, Persian influence increased at Bidar

court and Indians locked to his kingdom328. In the reign of Sultan

Muhammad II (1463-82 A.D./872-891 IH.), Mahmud Gawan who had came

325 New Delhi, 1987, Ch.V, "The Chinese established the first contact with Ormuz during the fourth expedition' 326 Ibid. 117. 327 LBacharach, "Circassian Monetary Policy", J.E.S.H.O, Vol. XIV, Part Zl, pp. 32-47. 328 Dr.Sod/q Naqvi, "The Iran-Deccan Relations", Hyderabad, 1994, p. 9.

185  

from Gilan as a trader and had beenhonoured Qy the title of "Mlik-ul-Tujjar"

was made the Prime Minister. He extended the Boundaries of the kingdom

to Goa and this gave further fillip to Iranian traders to visit Sidar329. The war

against the Vijayanagara Empire necessitated the regular import of horses,

which expanded the trade with iran.

A factor which contributed to the intensification of Indo-Persian sea

trade in the fifteenth century was the emergence of the Vijayanagara

Empire in south India as a powerful rival to the Bahmanids, the Muslim

Sultanate which had risen over the remnants of the Tughluq rule.

Vijayanagara and the Bahmanids were locked in repeated wars for

the assertion of their over-lordship over the region. They needed horses

for perfecting war-machines. Burton Stein writes: "The importation of war-

horses, known from the time of Marco Polo in the late thirteenth century,

increased in volume during the vijayanagara period, and so did imported

cannon and hand guns"330. The horses were principally imported from

countries around the Persian Gulf and Iran was important component331.

Iran, through the port of Ormuz, was a major supplier of coorses to both

the warring factions.

Ships loaded with horses sailed to India. Many Iranians merchants

accompanied their cargo. It is important to note that merchants with a

single horse also arrive because its sale was sufficient to meet the

expenses of their trip. lie famous instance is of the Russian travelers Nikitin

329 Ibid.,pp. 12, 16, 17, 330 'Burton Stein, "Vijayanagara", Cambridge University press, Cambridge, n.d., p. 74. 331 Burton Stein, "Vijayanagara", Op. Cit.

186  

who arrived in India from with a single horse332. A little earlier, 'Abd-ur-

Razzaq who had sailed from Ornuz to India, paints a similar picture333.

There were several ports on the west coast of India where ships from

Ormuzl loaded with horses arrived and unloaded their cargo.

On the Canara coast, ships from Honavar regularly sailed for

Ormuzl. 'Abd-u-Razzag bordered a ship here and reached Ormuz after a

voyage of 65 days30, on the Malabar Coast, Cannur and Calicut were two

such points.334 The former primarily owed its prosperity to distributorship

of horses in the hinterland, especially the kingdom of Vijayanagara. The

importance attached to the import of horses by he Vijayanagara Empire

can be inferred from the fact that the importer was now to bring in other

commodities as well, and was permitted to buy local goods without paying

taxes335. Other imports from Ormuz were pearls, dates and salt336.

Another factor helped Ormuz to emerge as the principal link between

the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, In the second half of the

fifteenth century,

Mamluk Sultans of Egypt, especially Khusguadam (1461-67

A.D./870-76 A.M.) Qait beg (1468-96 A.D./87T-905 A.H.), forbid the supply

of pepper to Europeans several occasions337. The traders who had used

332 RH. Major, "India in the Fifteenth Century", New York, n.d., See chapters/'Narratives of the Journey of 'M-Er-Razzaq" and "The Travels of Athanasius Nikitin". 333 Major, "Narrative of the Journey of 'Abd-Er-Razzaq", p. 49, 334 David Whitehouse and Andrew Williamson, "Sassanian Martime Trade", Iran, p. 43. It is said that Bahram V ;tfl-3S A.D.) married an Indian Princess and received as dowry the port of Daibut in the Indus Delta, Together with the adjacent parts of Sind and Makran." Ibid. 335 Genevieve Bouchon, "Regent of the Sea", New Delh, GUP, 1998, p. 20, 336 Ibid., p.21 337 Sanjay Subrahmanyam, "The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama", Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1997, p.99 Cambridge, 1997, p. 99.

187  

the Red Sea route turned to the alernative Persian Gulf route and this

increased the importance of Ormuz as the cipal link of Europe's eastern

trade and several as a prime motive for the search an alternative route to

India, independent from the whims and caprices of the ilsamic rulers of

Egypt. Goods meant for the countries on eastern Mediterranean coast

were transshipped at Ormuz in smaller boats and sent to Basra or A!-

Ubulla338.

Calicut had emerged as an important entrepot of the Indian Ocean

trade. The Iranians brought horses and other commodities and carried

Indian and South-West Asian Spices and Chinese porcelain to their

homeland. When Vasco de Gama, the Portuguese admiral who opened

the Sea-route from Europe to India, arrived at Calicut in 1498 A.D./907

A.M.), he met a number of Iranian traders.

As the century advanced, the Indo-lranian trade developed. Moe

and more ports on the western littoral, on the Konkan and Kanara coasts

emerged, where coming from Ormuz and Persian Gulf disembarked their

cargoes. These were on the Konkan coast) and Bhatkal and Honavar (on

the Konkan Coast).

Bhatkal was annexed by their Vijayanagara Empire in 1480 A.D./889

A.M.)339. The Vijayanagara rulers converted it into their main port for

receiving shipments of horses from the Persian Gulf. Cannur suffered

because her prosperity had been cased on supplying horses to the

Vijayanagara Empire.

338 Cambridge economic History of India, Vol. 1, p. 146. 339 The Career and Legend of Vasco de Gama, p. 100.

188  

In the sea-borne trade from Iran to India, Ormuz occupied the key

position, per prosperity was mainly accounted for by her ability to distribute

Indian, South-East Asian and Chinese goods to the Iranian mainland as

well as to Iraq, from where part of commodities was sent to .the West

Asian countries like Syria located on the eastern Mediterranean coast and

the Ottoman Empire. Of course, commodities sent Iran were also taken to

the Ottoman Empire and to the Shores of Black Sea from where they were

sent to Europe340.

As a result, traders from different countries flocked to Ormuz.

Subrabmanyam notes, "Hormuz like Malaka and 'Aden, was organized in

terms of quarters, where different communities resided. These included the

Gujarat! Vaisyas, Iranian merchants, and also a substantial community of

Jewish traders in the fifteenth century"341

Qrmuz's economic prosperity was based on customs dues collected

at the rate 10% on goods brought to the island, A portion of it was sent to

the Iranian ruler as a token of recognition of his over-lordship. This was

also done to keep the Iranian Shah in good humour since the island was

dependent for fuel, fodder, food and ateron the mainland.

In the fifteenth century, Iran was her self-divided and disturbed.

After the of Ilkhan Abu Saidin 1336 A.D./745 A.H., Italian trade with Iran

340 Serjeant, "Portuguese off the South Arabian Coast", Oxford, 1963, p. 11. Serjeant writes, 'It (Ormuz) was ' The center of sea-borne traffic from India, and also the overland traffic from Aleppo via Mesopotamia and The Persian Gulf". Ibid. 341 The Career and Legend of Voso da Gama", pp. 102-103. :

189  

declined. As subrahmanyam notes: the Shahs of Hurmuz appear to have

run a semi-tributary semi-trade based state"342.

The Iranian rulers failed to impose their rule over Ormuz. This status

provided Qumuz with every opportunity to develop her economy.

Being bereft of all the essentials of life, Ormuz had to import every

item for the of daily life. The merchants were encouraged to bring to the

island essential commodities and had to pay light duties on imports. The

traders enjoyed big clout and the ruler had to respect the advice of the

council of local merchants343.

The Indian traders were in a position to supply a variety of goods.

They brought food stuffs especially rice344 and spices, which were then

distributed to the mainland and Basra in Iraq, from where a part of them

was transmitted to the ottoman Empire, the Eastern Mediterranean

Seaboard and Europe. The Indians also sold cotton textiles, which were in

great demand throughout the region.

Ships sailing from India to the Persian Gulf also carried logs of

woods since bar was not available in the region, Beams of teak wood

from the forests on the lifelabar coast were especially valued for they

useful in the construction of houses and building of boats345.

342 Ibid.,p. 103. 343 Serjeant, p. 11. 344 Bouchon, p. 20. The Cannanur merchants shipped ordinary rice to Ormuz. 345 C.E.H.I., Vol. I, p. 147.

190  

The Indians brought back to their country horses, pearls and gold

and silver, items were also brought by the Iranian and other foreign

merchants.

The volume of trade was so large that no merchant was consciously

excluded either by the Indians or the Iranians. In the port of Calicut on the

Malabar Coast in ia, traders from 'Bahrain, Baghdad, Kazirun and Shiraz

could be found'346. may also be mentioned that sometimes the Maldive

islands served as points of 'change between Indians and Iranians. For the

latter it was a convenient halting place way to South-East Asia. For

Indians, Maldives Island were a major source the supply of cowries and

tortoise shell. Hence, Indians regularly sailed to these sands, the Indian

rulers on the Malabar Coast politically dominated it. On the aldives, the

Indians and Iranians would exchange their goods. Sometimes, Brians

bound for the Malabar Coast of India would prefer to travel via the Maldive

lsands.

Some of the major foreign travelers who passed through Ormuz on

way to Mia during fifteenth century testified to the strong Indian presence

on the island.

Nocolo Conti, the Italian who sailed from Basra to Ormuz between 1420

and A.D./829 and 834 A.H.347 and who was in the Orient including India for

almost decades before returning to Venice in 1444 A.D./853 A.H., arrived

at the Gujarat part of Cambay on board a Iranian ship from Ormuz after a

346 "The Career and Legend of Voso da Gatno", p.103. 347 "India in the Fifteenth Century, "The Travels of Noco/o Conti", p. 5.

191  

journey about one month348, In 1440 A.D./849 A.H., he found Calicut "a

very noble emporium of the Persians"349.

'Abd-ur-Razzaq, an envoy sent in 1441 A.D./850 A.H. by Shahrukh,

the limurfcf ruler of Iran to Vijayanagara, travelled via Ormuz. Seeing its

commercial srosperity he rioted 'Ormuz, has not its equal on the surface of

the globe'350. He wd among the merchant community, Indians from

'Bengal', 'the countries of Malabar', the ports of Bijayanagar' and

'Gudzarat'. Among Indians there were certainly Hindus as he says,

'Persons of all religions, and even idolaters, are found in that number in

this city, and no injustice is permitted towards any person whatever'351.

The ship had several merchants who carried their goods including

horses for n Calicut.352 N Vijayanagara he found several 'inhabitants of

established353l They had access to the king. 354

Nikitin travelled with merchants from Ormuz who carried horses and

arrived at via Gujarat and Cambay in 1469 A.D./878 A.H.355 He speaks of

a number of ssan/s at Bidar where they served in administration as well as

in the army 356 'M-ur-Razzaq he speaks of the commercial prosperity of

Ormuz. He noted muz is a vast emporium of all the world; you found

there people and goods'.

348 C.H.l.,VolVl, p.376. 349 India in the Fifteenth Century, "The Journey of 'Abd-Er-Razzaq", p. 5 350 India in the Fifteenth Century, "The Journey of 'Abd-Er-Razzaq", p. 5 351 Ibid p 7 352 Ibid p.18 353 Ibid p.39 354 Ibid pp.39,41 355 India in the Fifteenth Century, Travel of Nikitin”, p.8 356 Ibid .p. 14

192  

The Russian traveler mentions Dabul, another seaport which was

ruled by Muslim and which imported horses for supplying to the kingdom of

Gulbarga .357

Towards the end of the fifteenth century, Santo Stefano proceeded

from Bombay with goods on behalf of a merchant of Damescuss to

Ormuz358. He Bribed the Americans resid359ing on the island as '... the

merchants that travel Brout of India into Iran or out of Iran into India, for the

more part do all arrive in 'island'55.

Petro de Covilha, who preceded Vasco da Gama and was

the first Portuguese to reach India via the Red Sea route went back from

India to Ormuz .360

The distinct impression is that the maritime trade of Iran with India

"in particular, and the east in general, reached a high level of activity in the

last decade the fifteenth century in both variety and volume"361.

This observation is buttressed by descriptions left by European

visitors to nwzin the first decade of the sixteenth century. Vartema, the

Italian who came to tin 1506 A.D./915 A.M. called it "the noble city of

Ormuz362.

357 Ibid p. 20 358 Ibidi Journey of Hieronimo Disanto Stefano” p.9 359 360 Ibid. p.378 361 Ibid p.123 362 John winter Jones (tr), The Itinerary of Ludivco Di Varthema of Bologna from 1502 to 1502 New Delhi

193  

In Iran, Vartema made friends with an Iranian merchant, who

remained with throughout his travels in India and beyond363. He found in

Calicut merchants lOrmtvzand Iran364.

He found rice being shipped to iran from the port of Mangalore, just

north of manore (Cannur). 365 The port sent fifty to sixty ships annually

with cargoes of Cannanore received horses from Iran, which were sent to

the kingdom of pyanagara366. According to him, 200 ships came to India

every year63.

The Portuguese traveler Barbosa followed Vartema. The former

spent all his

the western coast of India and was therefore in a very good position to

assess describe the relative importance-of different port in the Indian

Ocean. He noted, in this is city (Ormuz) are many merchants of substance

and many very great ships. It as right good harbor where many sorts of

goods are handled which came hither from many lands, and from here

they barter them with many parts of India". He then on to list the goods

brought to Ormuz from India.

Spices, textiles and rice headed the list. Among spices he mentions

pepper, doves, ginger, cardamoms, eagle-wood, sandalwood, brasilwood,

myrobolands, winds, saffron, etc., other imported goods included indigo,

wax, iron, sugar, rice a great store)', cocoanuts, 'a great abundance of

precious stones', porcelain and denzoin. In this list, some items such as

363 1397 p.11 364 Ibid p.61 365 Ibid p. 50 366 Ibid p.51

194  

cloves, precious stones and porcelain had seen imported into India from

South-East Asia.

About textiles brought from India, Barbosa says, "They have also

great plenty iCombaya, Chaul and Dabul clothes, and from Benga/a they

bring many Simbafte, ihich are a sort of very thin cotton cloth, greatly

prized among them and highly valued for turbans and shirts for which they

use them".

Barbosa confirms his predecessors about commodities imported into

India Iran. Horses constituted the most valuable item of Iranian export.

Most of them rare meant for the Vijayanagara Empire. Ships, which carried

horses, were also baded with 'abundance of dates, raisins, salt and

sulphur, as well as coarse seed fearls in which Moors of Narsingha take

great delight'367.

In short, the overwhelming evidence points to a steady and

flourishing maritime trade between India and Iran in the fifteenth century,

which was mutually beneficial. Since the Indian goods brought to Iran were

re-exported to the neighbouring Arabian countries, to states located on the

eastern and northern coasts the Mediterranean Sea and the Ottoman

Empire, traders of many other aiionalities such as Syrians, Armedians,

Ottomans, Italians, etc., also participated

The coming of the Portuguese in 1498 A.D./907 A.H. in the Indian

Ocean had profound effect on Indo-lranian maritime trade. They failed to

stop ships playing between India and the Red Sea. As a result, they could

not prevent supplies of spices going to Egypt and from thence to Europe. 367 ''The Career and Legend of Vasco do Gama",p. 184.

195  

As a partial recompense to his failure, the Portuguese sought to control

India's maritime trade with the Persian Gulf. 368

.

The Portuguese ships mounted attacks on Asian shipping between

Red Sea, Persian Gulf and India369. Their superior firepower enabled them

to pillage burn and sink these ships. An era of indiscriminate warfare

began. The Portuguese established their hold over Ormuz. Their

domination over Indo-lranian maritime trade began.

The Portutuese could keep a tab over the trade of luxury goods

(from Iran, Far East and China), which entered Europe via the eastern

Mediterranean coast, although, in this century Venetian merchants began

to prefer the markets of Egypt 370

In 1515 A.D./924 A.H. Albuquerque captured Ormuz. He reduced

the local ruler Turan Shah to a state of vassalage67. He established

diplomatic relationship with Shaft Isma'il in 1514 A.D./923 A.H. and

ensured the Portuguese interests were protected and well-served.

By this time Krishnadeva Raya, the ruler of Jayanagara,

conscious of the Portuguese might and their role in hindering or helping

the supplies of horses from the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf

entered into an alliance with the European371. This further fortified the

Portuguese position the western coast of India and enhanced their role in

Indo-lranian maritime trade. The sixteenth century saw the emergence of

new patterns of trade in the area. "The Portuguese promised to exclusively

368 Ibid., pp. 229-30. 369 Tracy (ed), "The Rise of Merchant Empires", Cambridge, 1990, pp. 24, 26. TheCareer and Legend of Vasco da Gomo", p. 287. 370 Sanjay Subramanyam (ed), “Sinners and Saints, The succossors of Vaso da Gama” New Delhi, 1998. 371 Ibid 20-23

196  

supply Vijayanagara with horses for their part, Vijayanagara would supply

Goa (the Portuguese headquarters in the East) via their ports of Anko/a

and Honavar, with other goods such as saltpeter, iron and textiles"372.

In the early 15th century, the Chinese admiral Chen Ho brought fleets

toOrmuz and 'Aden'. According to Arab geographers, the port of 'Aden was

notable for its spice trade. Ibn Batuta noted the presence of vessels from

the Indian ports of campbay, Thana, Quilon, Calicut, Manga/ore, Honavar

and Goa and also the Settlement of Indian merchants at 'Aden'.

Iranian merchants were settled along the west coast of India, as

evident from be accounts of 'abd-ur-Razzaq and the Russian visitor

Afanas/ Nikitin. Many Iranians were employed in the Deccan. Nikitin also

noted this Iranian presence by asserting that "the rulers and the nobles in

the land of India are all Khurasanians". Within confirmed Ibn Battuta's

report on the vast trade in horses between Iran and India sea,

commenting particularly on this activity at the port of Daibul in S/ndha. The

Venetian Wcolo di Conti supported the evidence of widespread

involvement in the maritime trade with India in the 15th century. He referred

to Calicut as being a emporium of the Iranians.373

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the port of Cambay in Gujarat

held a preeminent commercial position in India. According to Ibn Bathuta, it

was the finest city Sultanate374. Many Iranian merchants were settled at

Cambay and engaged in areas trade. Their mansion and mosques were

constructed in the Iranian style. order to create favourable conditions for

trade, the Delhi Sultan entrusted the ministration of Cambay to leading 372 Ibid., p.26 373 Battua, Travels Tr H. Gibb Vol III, Cambridge 1971, pp.730, 733 374 Ibid

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merchant. The first merchant to be entrusted ' in the government of Camby

was Mallk-ur-Taujjar Parviz from Kaz/rin, Iran375. other celebrated

merchant of Cambay at this time was Shahab-ud-Din-i-zirun376.

Indo- Iran overland trade routes: Maritime trade between India and Iran is better documented than

overland which is inadequately described and poorly understood by

contemporary winters. There was also the interchangeably of sea and

land routes73. The main and route was the long established silk route,

linking West Asia and Uzbek 'an with China. It is significant that the trade

routes remained almost the same constantly in use throughout the entire

period under discussion. In spite of relentless three decades of warfare

at the end of the 14th century, activity along these land routes continued

unabated. Iran was described serial by many European travelers. At the

beginning of the 15th century, on the prosperity of cities like Tabriz and

Su/tan/yya377. According to the months of June, July and August,

numerous merchants from India carrying a variety of spices came to

Sultaniyya, whose importance was partly to the fact that it was the

headquarter and the military camp of the ruler of stern Iran, Prince

Miranshah. This instance indicates that the purchasing power royal camp

was powerful economic factor. This factor applied to the Mongol, Tmurid

and Turkmen periods and later in Safavid times.378

Heraf played an important role in the Timurid trading pattern. In the

14th Century it became the main center of the north-east and south-west

trade. Due to the gradual fragmentation of the Timurid legacy, the

375 Ibid 48 376 Caj Tr. Le Strnage pp 156-7. 377 Bottuta, Travels” Tr H. Gibbi Vol III. Cambridge, 1971, pp. 730-733, 378 Ibidi

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increasing isolationism of the chinese behind the Great Wall, and the rising

power of the Uzbeks, the full flow of trade through western Iran and

Central Asia from east to West began to lesson. But trade with India

strongly persisted379. This was perhaps because of the long-landing

tradition of overland Indo-lran trade. Ibn Battuta's well-known and detailed

description of facets of this trade deserves mention. He has recorded the

extensive land trade in horses, which were exported to India in droves,

each approximating six thousand. An individual trader had one or two

hundred horses, waten mainly to Muitan in Sindh. These were the horses,s

taken valued for their length and length of peace"380. Ibn Battuta also noted

that silk fabric such as yamkhab were manufactured at Nishabur and

exported to India. Venetian emmissaries have left interesting descriptions

of the state of trade in the 15th century, ice Ca/w/o's time, Sultaniyya had

declined in importance, Tabriz having taken its ice as the capital. It was an

outlet for silk manufactured from Yazcf and exported India. Kashan was

also known for its silk manufacture. There was a large import spice in the

Turkmen period. Isfahan and Shiraz at this time possessed large and

assmopolitan assemblies of merchants.

Generally the route pattern did not have that much evolution in

Safavid sriod. The most important transportation means were camel,

horse, and mule and the first place, all caravans were dependant upon

pastures, food, and most fplantly, water of different regions.

There was no wheeled transportation means. Political turbulences

made the routes insecure. Practically, trade was carried out through sea

than land, but on the hole geographical situations influenced the choice of

379 P. 48 380 Tr. Le Strnage pp 156-7

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routes. Moreover, seasonal changes and monsoon winds affected sailing.

Basically, the ships heading from India ports to iran started from November

to May and only insignificant local sailings here done from June to

October. A journey from Surat to 'Abbas port in a European ship carrying

300 tons of loads took around one month. Small Surat made ships with 10

tons took around the same time and Arab made ships navigated Indian

Ocean to the east of Africa or turned around Indian Ocean and sailed up to

the eastern coasts of India.

As soon as items and materials arrived in 'Abbas port, they were

sent to one section or towards the north through Jiroft, Bam, Kerman,

Yazd, and Ardakan, and are they were dispatched to the eastern border

route in parallel with Kavir Desert to fates, Birjand, Farah, Qandahar, and

then to India, or toward the east through route to Sistan and Hirmand

Valley up to Qandahar, but this route was dangerous and insecure due to

the attacks of Baluchs. There were to routes in gandahar one of which

stretched to central Asia through Ghazni and Kabul and ither one was

stretched to the east up to Moltan and Lahore. The northern route fetched

to Isfahan crossing the cities like Lar, Jahrom, Khafreh, Shiraz, Zarghan,

been, Oujan, Aspas, Deh (village) Gherdu, Yazdkhast, and Qomsheh.

Other routes connecting 'Abbas port to Shiraz through Darab, Fasa, and

connection from biraz to Isfahan was through Sivand, Deh Beidogh, and

Abadeh prior connection the main route in Yazdkhast. One route was

stretched to the north, i.e., it started in ZLengeh port and connected to the

main road in Lar through the roads of ard, Bastak, and Namirl. In smaller

ports of Rig port and Rey Shahr port the rutes were separated near

Boraz/an, and the route of Shiraz crossed through Dalaki, Kazrun, and

Dashteh (plain) Arzhan. According to the climate changes these rutes were

affected and excruciating heat of day time was tolerable at night time, the

200  

degree of coldness was so high that made travelling impossible. In April

28 A.D./1037 A.H. one of the English representatives called Robert Laftus

writes: stayed in Deh (village) Gherdu for six days till the road was opened

for the caravan beause crossing through heavy snow was impossibility" but

his messenger dies on the way. If they took a wrong path there were

many dangers lurking and the lands were delusive. In 1676 A.D./1085

A.H. John Fryer was troubled in his trip and it was time when "in addition to

heat and sand in day time, wind carried plague and asshopper... climbing

was very difficult and water was stagnant... water ... heavy my and terrible"

and on the whole "one of limbo".381 Although places and lodges ire

bearable in burgs, through experience Fryer found out that there were

always aravanserais on the main routes. All through 17th century safety of

the roads were aceptable and there were road-guards in charge of

travellers' safety and protection ir materials. During this period remarkable

buildins were made, and officials and merchants started to construct

caravanserai, bridges, cisterns, baths, and markets, addition to the routes

of India and central Asia which crossed through Farah and

Qandahar, there was another route from Farah to Heart and from

there to Mashhad. The routes leading to Mashhad crossed through Ba/kh,

Samarqand, Bukhara, and Khiva and Marv, There was another route in

Mashahd on the old silk road crossing wishabour, Sabzevar, Damghan,

Semnan, Tehran (which was not that much important compared to

ancient Ray), and Saveh, Here the route was divided. One stretched to

the south through Qom and Kashan, and from Kashan it was stretched of

Isfahan, and from the south it was stretched to costal areas through Shiraz

or from 5 southeastern point it was stretched to Kerman and Bam through

Naeen, Wakan, and Yazd and from there it was either stretched to the 381 Gyer, Vol II, pp 172-3, 185

201  

south or to the east through India. The other route was stretched to the

west through Hamadan and there it divided into two directions. The

northern route was stretched up to Aleppo Plough Sanandaj, Muse/,

Mard/'n, and Arfa, and the western route was stretched up Baghdad, and it

was divided there. One led to Muse/ from the north in parallel to fa (Tigris)

and the other one was stretched up to desert and Aleppa in parallel to

Euphrates. The main third route crossed Saveh and led toQazv/n from

thenorthwest, from Qazvn it was led to Rasht, Caspian Sea, and Ardab//

and from the north it led to Shamakhi and Darband or to Tabriz through

Su/tan/yeh and M/yameh, Tabriz was,.one of the main industrial centres

and it was connected to all regions, here, one route led to Yerevan along

with a route stretched to northward to Tiblisi and Georgia and Armenia,

and then to Turkey and reached its first important ', Arzerum. From there

it was stretched up to Trabozan coasts and through tetolia to Istanbul,

Borse, or Smyrna in Eje. Another route of Tab/'z crossed Khol, D/arbakr,

and Arfa and from there it was connected to the main route of

Some aspects of merchant activities in Indo-lran trade: Thus we see that was an extensive and well organized system of

trading between India and Iran. A network of intrepid merchants operated

on both sides, there was a close connection of traders residing on both

sides of the Persian Gulf. Among the various merchant groups were the

Rahdanya and the Afghan mlndhas, who due to their specialized

knowledge and trade operations were able to play a predominant role in

Indo-lran trade at some stages and in certain regions.

The establishment of the trade of the Rahdaniya can be traced to

ancient mes. It was within the commercial framework of the western part of

the Indian ocean, ie., the ancient Erythrean Sean, that this Jewish trading

202  

system was established. As learnt from the Kitab-u!~Moluk va! Mamalik of

Ibn-i-Khurdadbeh in the mid-9th century, these Jewish merchants used to

leave from the central part of ranee, and were the only ones who formed a

commercial contact between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean382.

In fact, they used to undertake vast Journeys all the way to China. Their

nomenclature was derived from the Persian Rah Dan i.e., 'those familiar

with routes'. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Jewish trade in the Indian

Ocean became largely restricted to the routes between India and gypt, as

indicated by the Cairo Geniza documents.

Indo-lran trade had to pass through the three north-western passes

of the Indian subcontinent, viz., the So/an; the Sanghar and the Gumal.

These dangerous and seasonal383 routes were dominated by the Afghans.

From early times, the Bo/an pass was used by merchants and served as a

passageway that linked Sindh with the eastern Iran plateau384. The

Sanghar Pass provided the shortest and most direct avan route between

Multan and Qandahar. The latter place was most important emporium of

the eastern Iranian plateau and the former of south Punjab. Arab writers

referred to Indian caravans for Iran assembling at Multan. Several Afghan

tribes, among whom the Luharnis were the most important, were

collectively known as Powindahs. Babur in his Memoirs refers to the

Luharnis as a significant group of merchants. They were active in this

trade since the 10th century, and possessed a rituual monopoly of transport

animals.. Thus protectionism was an intrinsic part of their mercantile

practice. Their agreements were variants of commenda contracts.

382 Vekubdemb o, 36 383 Like Sea routes 384 Jean Francois Jarrige and Richard Meadow, “The Antecedents of Civilisation in the Indus Valley” in Scientific American, 1980, pp.122-33

203  

The Afghan Powindahs were a classic example of mediatory trade in

Central Asia andIndo-lran-trade385. According toKhazanov, they were able

to do this since their caravan routes coincided with their pastoral

migrations. As non-sedentary merchants, they were a link between major

urban areas. Overland trade had continued to flow, from the ancient period

onwards, through the two predominantly Afghan cities, Kabul and

Qandahar. Merchants from Khurasan and other places in Iran frequented

these two centres. A large segment of emigre traders from India to were

Multanis. During the Sultanate period (1206-1526 A.D./615-935 A.H)

Multan was a major entrepot due to its strategic position and also its

importance as a textile manufacturing centre of the Sindh and Punjab area.

Multanis are first mentioned as important merchants by the

Sultanate historian wd-Dan Baranl, writing in the 14th century386. Multani

merchants were both Hindu !KJ Muslim, andlater settled downin large

numbers in Isfahan.

Summing up As stated earlier, regular overland trade between India and Iran was

also a feature of the trade relation between the two countries. The

conquest of Timur, by creatfng a single political authority over a vast

landmass stretching between the bleack Sea and the Gangetic plain of

India, further stimulated it.

Among major items sent from India were cotton textiles, indigo dyes,

saffron, spices of different varieties, medicinal herbs, etc. Indian imports

385 Dale p.62 386 See:Irfan Hobib's Discussion of Baranl's text in 'non-agricultural production and Urban Economy',

204  

consisted of rorses, asafetida, dried fruits, etc., besides all these, India was

a major source of supply of slaves to Iran387.

Amir Timur had carried one-lac Hindu slaves. Indian slaves

purchased at low lees in the markets of Delhi were sold in Gazni,

Khurasan and Bukhara388.

Indo~lranian trade, both by the overland and sea routes survived

political and chnological changes. The latter only affected the volume,

variety and frequency of Thus, merchants of different religious

denominations, including Muslims, JewsHindus acted within a framework

of mutual interests to further Indo-lran commercial relations. It was within

the context of common gain that both the two commercially significant

regions interacted and gave rise to a common culture, spanning the

ancient age to medieval time.

387 Cambridge economic History of India, Vol. h, p. 85. Shadab Bonu, "lndia;s Overland Slave-Trade in the Medieval Period", Proceedings, Indian History Congress, 58th Session, 1997, p. 315. 388 Ibid p. 316.