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Trade & Commerce in Ancient Greece
The ancient Mediterranean was a busy place with trading ships sailing in all directions to connect cities and cultures. The Greeks were so keen on the rewards of trade and commerce that they colonized large parts of the coastal Mediterranean...
Definition
Caesarea Maritima
Caesarea Maritima was a city built over 2,000 years ago (c. 22-10 BCE) on the coast of the Eastern Mediterranean. With Roman engineering and largesse, Herod the Great (r. 37-4 BCE) accomplished this feat by constructing a whole metropolis...
Image Gallery
Ships in the Ancient Mediterranean
The Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans all prospered in the ancient Mediterranean thanks to their mastery of the sea which allowed them to fish, trade, win naval battles and establish new cities far from their own coastal waters. In...
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Mediterranean Trade in the Late Bronze Age c. 1400-1200 BCE
A map illustrating the late Bronze Age trade in the eastern Mediterranean seaboard as a region of increasing connectivity between the key players Pharaonic Egypt in the south, the Hittite Empire, Mesopotamia, and the Levant to the east, and...
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The Western Mediterranean 264 BCE
Map of the western Mediterranean at the time of the First Punic War in 264 BCE.
Article
North Africa’s Place in the Mediterranean Economy of Late Antiquity
The Mediterranean Sea was the economic focal point of the Roman Empire. Rome's armies first established an empire across these waters beginning back in the times of the Roman Republic. In 200 CE, the Mediterranean was still the channel that...
Article
Pirates of the Mediterranean
The pirates of the ancient Mediterranean were not, for the most part, the outsiders who knew no country's allegiance and were the enemies of civilization as they are frequently depicted in novels and other media. They were often employed...
Article
Wine in the Ancient Mediterranean
Wine was the most popular manufactured drink in the ancient Mediterranean. With a rich mythology, everyday consumption, and important role in rituals wine would spread via the colonization process to regions all around the Mediterranean coastal...
Article
The Olive in the Ancient Mediterranean
Olives and olive oil were not only an important component of the ancient Mediterranean diet but also one of the most successful industries in antiquity. Cultivation of the olive spread with Phoenician and Greek colonization from Asia Minor...
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Bronze Age Mediterranean Invasions & Migrations
A map of the Late Bronze Age Mediterranean indicating the various invasions and migrations of the period.