gems, ancient reference, archaeology, ancient trade, commerce

Review of Lionel Casson’s The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea has long held a unique status in the historiography of the East African coast, though G.W.B. Huntingford’s 1980 Hakluyt Society edition, the most recent full translation prior to Casson’s, received a mixed reception; Lionel Casson’s new edition notably improves upon this by including the Greek text of H. Frisk alongside a fresh translation that diverges meaningfully from its predecessors, reflecting significant advances in scholarship since the works of Huntingford and Gervase Mathew, particularly in regard to chronology—now firmly established thanks to references to the Nabataean king Malichus, almost certainly Malichus II (reigned c. AD 40–70), and corroborated by Paula Turner’s study of Roman coin imports into India, which demonstrates that silver hoards cease after c. AD 55, aligning with the Periplus’ mention of Roman coinage arriving at Barygaza.