Incense Route
caravan route · 700 BC–199 AD
The caravan road carrying frankincense and myrrh from southern Arabia north to the Mediterranean, run by the kingdoms of Saba, Qataban and Hadramawt and later by the Nabataeans of Petra. It declined as Roman shipping took the trade to the Red Sea.
View Incense Route on the map →
At a glance
- Goods
- frankincense, myrrh, spices, textiles
- Carried by
- land
- Hubs
- Shabwa → Marib → Hegra → Petra → Gaza
Recorded boundaries
| Period | Control | Confidence | Evidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 700 BC–301 BC | — | low confidence | no observation date recorded | Trading through Shabwa, Marib and Gaza. |
| 300 BC–101 BC | — | low confidence | no observation date recorded | Trading through Shabwa, Marib, Petra and Gaza. |
| 100 BC–199 AD | — | low confidence | no observation date recorded | Trading through Shabwa, Marib, Hegra, Petra and Gaza. |
Each row is a snapshot the source recorded, not a continuous history. The period between two observations is an inference this atlas shows rather than hides.
Sources
- Nigel Groom, Frankincense and Myrrh: A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade, (1981)