Long-distance trade in Somalia, 1st-19th centuries AD

For over two millennia, the shores of Somalia have been the scenario of intense long-distance interactions that reached as far away as India and China. The resources of the region and its strategic geographic location—a crossroads between Africa, Asia and Europe—explain its prominent role in the Indian Ocean trade. Somalia was intensely integrated in the network, but at the same time developed original forms of trade. From early on, the northern regions (Somaliland and Puntland) and the south (the Benadir coast) followed divergent trajectories, with the Benadir developing a strong urban tradition, while on the northern coast trade remained associated with open seasonal fairs. At the same time, some elements were common to both regions and persisted through time, including local protectors (abbaan), trading diasporas (from Arabia, Iran and India), caravans, and nomadic communities. Drawing on historical and archaeological research, this chapter examines the evolution of long-distance relations in the Somali territories from the time of the Indo-Roman trade to the onset of colonialism in the late nineteenth century.

Horn of Africa. Indian Ocean. Commercial networks. Trading diasporas. Ports of trade. Indo-Roman trade. Islam.