Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Totally Explained

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The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (Periplus Maris Erythraei) is a Greek periplus, describing navigation and trading opportunities from Roman Egyptian ports like Berenice along the coast of the Red Sea, and others along Northeast Africa and India. The text has been ascribed to different dates between the 1st and 3rd century AD, but a mid first century date is now the most commonly accepted. Although the author is unknown, it's clearly a firsthand description by someone familiar with the area, and is nearly unique in providing accurate insights into what the ancient world knew about the lands around the Indian Ocean.
Although the "Erythraean Sea" is generally held to be the ancient term for the Red Sea, to the Greeks it included the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.

Overview

The work consists of 66 chapters, most of them about the length of a long paragraph in English. For instance, the short Chapter 9 reads in its entirety: ť "From Malao (Berbera) it's two courses to the mart of Moundou, where ships anchor more safely by an island lying very close to the land. The imports to this are as aforesaid [Chapter8 mentions iron, gold, silver, drinking cups, etc], and from it likewise are exported the same goods [Chapter8 mentions myrrh, douaka, makeir, and slaves], and fragrant gum called mokrotou. The inhabitants who trade here are more peaceful."

In many cases the description of places is sufficiently accurate to identify their present locations; for others there's considerable debate. For instance, a "Rhapta" is mentioned as the farthest market down the African coast of "Azania", but there at least five locations matching the description, ranging from Tanga south to the Rufiji River delta. The description of the Indian coast mentions the Ganges River clearly, yet after that's somewhat garbled, describing China as a "great inland city Thina" that's a source of raw silk.
Another interesting feature of the Periplus is that some of the words describing trade goods are seen nowhere else in ancient literature, and so we can only guess as to what they might mean. The Periplus also describes how Hippalus first discovered the direct route from the Red Sea to southern India.
The text derives from a Byzantine 10th century manuscript in minuscule hand, contained in the collections of the University Library of Heidelberg (CPG 398: 40v-54v) and a copy of it dating from the 14th or 15th century in the British Museum (B.M. Add 19391 9r-12r). In the 10th century manuscript the text is attributed to Arrian, probably for no deeper reason than that the manuscript was adjacent to the Periplus Pontus Euxini written by him. The Periplus was first published in a modern edition by Sigismund Gelenius in 1553.

Opone (Somalia)

Ras Hafun in northern Somalia is believed to be the location of the ancient trade center of Opone. Ancient Egyptian, Roman and Persian Gulf pottery has been recovered from the site by an archaeological team from the University of Michigan. Opone is in the thirteenth entry of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which in part states:
Phoenicia, Egypt, Greece, Persia, Yemen, Nabataea, Azania, the Roman Empire and elsewhere, as it possessed a strategic location along the coastal route from Azania to the Red Sea. Merchants from as far afield as Indonesia and Malaysia passed through Opone, trading spices, silks and other goods, before departing south for Azania or north to Yemen or Egypt on the trade routes that spanned the length of the Indian Ocean's rim. As early as 50 AD, Opone was well known as a center for the cinnamon trade, along with the trading of cloves and other spices, ivory, exotic animal skins and incense.

Malao (Somalia)

The ancient port city of Malao, situated in present-day Berbera in northwestern Somalia, is also mentioned in the Periplus:
Aksum (Ethiopia) Aksum is mentioned in the Periplus as an important market place for ivory, which was exported throughout the ancient world:

According to the Periplus, the ruler of Aksum in the 1st century AD was Zoscales, who, besides ruling in Aksum also held under his sway two habours on the Red Sea: Adulis (near Massawa) and Avalites (Assab). He is also said to have been familiar with Greek literature:
Himyarite kingdom and Saba (Arabia) Ships from Himyar regularly traveled the East African coast. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the trading empire of Himyar and Saba, regrouped under a single ruler Charibael (Karab Il Watar Yuhan'em II), who is said to have been on friendly terms with Rome:
Frankincense kingdom The Frankincense kingdom is described further east along the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula, with the harbour of Cana (South Arabic "Qana", modern Bir Ali). The ruler of this kingdom is named Eleazus, or Eleazar, thought to correspond to king Iliazz Yalit I:
Barigaza (India) Trade with the Indian harbour of Barigaza is described extensively in the Periplus. Nahapana, ruler of the Indo-Scythian Western Satraps is mentioned under the name Nambanus, as ruler of the area around Barigaza:

Under the Western Satraps, Barigaza was one of the main centers of Roman trade with India. The Periplus describes the many goods exchanged:
Ujjain, the capital of the Western Satraps:
Muziris (India) Muziris is a lost port city in south India, which was a major center of trade, pepper and other spices, metal work and semiprecious stones, with the Roman Empire.
   The widely accepted theory states it to be the Musiri, upstream river Kaveri, near the ancient capital of Cheras, Karur in Tamil Nadu. Roman coins and amphorae are found in abundance alongwith Chera-Roman collaborative mint. Also noteworthy are the Beryls and other semi-precious stones and metal work in the region as described by Periplus. Salem steel, antimony and lead in Egypt also confirms this to be an even more ancient port. The distance between Musiri and the sea is around 500 stadia as Periplus accounts.
   The second, controversial theory states from the hoards of coins and shards of amphorae found in the town of Pattanam, elicited recent archeological interest as a probable location of this mythical port city. Today this place is called Kodungalloor.
   According to the Periplus, numerous Greek seamen managed an intense trade with Muziris:

Remains of the Indo-Greek kingdom

The Periplus describes numerous Greek buildings and fortifications in Barigaza, although mistakenly attributing them to Alexander the Great, who never went this far south. If true, this account would relate to the remains of the southern expansion of the Indo-Greeks into Gujerat:

The Periplus further testifies to the circulation of Indo-Greek coinage in the region:
The Greek city of Alexandria Bucephalous on the Jhelum river is mentionned in the Periplus, as well as in the Roman Peutinger Table:
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