IL MAR ROSSO NELLA SUA FASE TARDOANTICA TRA MEDITERRANEO ED ESTREMO ORIENTE. L’EREDITÀ DELLA POLITICA TRAIANEA

The Red Sea in its late ancient phase between the Mediterranean and the far East. The legacy of Trajan’s politics · This paper challenges the traditional view that the Roman control over the Red Sea – connecting to the Indian Ocean – became stronger and stronger throughout Late Antiquity. It has been generally assumed that Roman ports in the area met a steady decline during the Third Century Crisis, which prompted a less efficient harbour system that characterized the later phase of the Roman Red Sea (from the 4th century onwards). Examining the available evidence, this paper aims at changing this view, assessing that the later Roman Red Sea trade pattern did not descend from the crisis of the third century, but rather from the deeds of the emperor Trajan, very active in the East. This implies that we cannot read the later history of the Roman Red Sea only in terms of decadence, but as a consequence of Trajan’s far sighting choices.