Barbaria.” Here were a string of ports where no central government had
control. Apparently it was the only area in the western arc where tramping
was common. It was also a place where rafts and small craft were much in
evidence. Far-Side ports offered ivory and shell but also limited quantities of
high-quality myrrh, frankincense and other aromatics, a few“better quality”
slaves, and large quantities of cassia. The inhabitants imported mostly staples
on a somewhat lower scale than at Adulis, including foodstuffs from India
such as rice, ghee (clarified butter), and sesame oil along with wine and
unripe olives from the Mediterranean.
Below the Promontory of Spices, Strabo’s source can provide no informa-
tion. However, thePeriplus, written a century later, has much to say about
the shores of East Africa, a land Mediterranean sailors knew as Azania. This
was smooth sailing across waters not known for their treacherous conditions
or dangerous storms. It was generally safe for craft of all sizes, which meant
that small-scale merchants with modest working capital could participate by
renting space on what were oftenflimsy craft, a very different situation than
existed on the route to India. The roadsteads and ports that were frequented
were not documented, and probably many of them both on the Somali and
Azania coasts were little more than seasonal encampments for ships awaiting
the change in winds. The major exception was Rhapta (“Sewn,”named after
the local boats), which is thought to have been near modern Dar es-Salaam
in Tanzania although a recent suggestion puts it farther south at Dondo in
Mozambique. Despite the lack of archaeological remains, Rhapta must have
been a substantial settlement. Claudius Ptolemy rates it as the“metropolis of
Barbaria”but puts it“a short distance from the sea.”He provides no details
of the trade down the coast. Fortunately, thePeriplusdoes, reporting that
“great quantities”of ivory, horn, and shell were available in Rhapta, prob-
ably at bargain prices. And Rhapta was likely a nexus on the Cinnamon
Road from Southeast Asia via Madagascar. Rhapta took manufactured goods,
including tools, weapons, and glass, and foodstuffs such as grain and wine.
Despite its attractive qualities, the East African coast remained a back-
water in the Indian Ocean trade. The coast of East Africa did not serve as an
easy avenue for tapping into the wealth of the continent’s interior; in pene-
trating inland, the best routes were far to the south, starting at the Zambezi
Valley. The Zambezi led to interior gold deposits that would become a
major export centuries later, but at the time of the Periplus gold did not
trickle down to coastal areas. Consequently, stops along the coast could offer
little more than what was available in their immediate hinterlands. Some
archaeological evidence may indicate the existence at this time of an African
seafaring culture, referred to as the Tana Tradition, with connections into the
interior, but this remains speculative. Ships did not venture south of Rhapta,
which remained terra incognita as far as the Periplus was concerned although
in Claudius Ptolemy there is some indication that geographical knowledge,
presumably obtained from trading voyages, went as far as Madagascar.
Following thePeriplus 103