Episode Details

This doctoral dissertation by Timothy Power provides a comprehensive historical and archaeological assessment of the Red Sea region during the transition from Late Antiquity to the early Islamic era (AD 500–1000). The research challenges traditional academic focuses on the "India trade" by highlighting the significance of local economies, including mining and the slave trade, in shaping regional development. It details the geopolitical shifts from Byzantine and Persian hegemony to the rise of the Caliphate, noting how the decline of Roman ports gave way to new Islamic urban centres. Power argues that the eventual fragmentation of the Caliphate fostered independent dynasties whose economic investments led to a "bourgeois revolution" and a commercial revival. Ultimately, the source serves as a synthetic data set intended to inform future fieldwork and bridge the gap between Classical and Islamic studies.