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Early Indo-Arab Relations

Although positive evidence of any relation between India and West Asia or Egypt

during the period of antiquity is lacking but India’s commercial and cultural link

with the Arab world are known to have existed since the third millennium B.C.

According to ancient Egyptian inscriptions, Queen Hatshepsut of the New

Kingdom sent an expedition probably in 1495 B.C., is more likely to be India than

Somali land. But stories like invasion of India by the Assyrian Queen Semiramis (c.

810 B.C.) are hardly creditable.

A group of Indian military men known as Hittites and Mitannis established their

rule in northern Mesopotamia in the second Millennium B.C. Their princes bear

Aryan names, they worshipped Indian gods, Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and tught the

people of the region horse breeding and breaking.

The rise of Achaeminids in Persia (549 B.C.) brought India into extensive contact

with the outside world. The construction of the Nile canal, exploration of the

Indian Ocean from the Persian Gulf to the delta of the Indus and then to the apex

of the Red sea, all contributed to this.Dionysus was sent by Ptolemy Philadelpus to the Mauryan court, and left an

account of India. The Mauryan kings also sent ambassadors to the Egyptian court.

It is said also that the rulers of Syria has a good relation with the rulers of India.

Antiochus of Syria (206 B.C.) maintained a direct contact with India.

India’s commercial relations with the Arab world was established between the

merchants of the Kulli culture in southern Baluchistan and those of early dynastic

Sumer, probably soon after 2800 B.C. The Harppa civilization may haveestablished contact with the West about 2000 B.C. By the later historic times in

Mesopotamia Indian cotton was known under the name of Sindhu, and it passed

into Greek in the form of Sindon.

From very early times up to about the third century A.D., the Greeks and Romans

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dominated the commercial activities in the Arabian Sea, and the Arab merchants

played an important role in this trade. These Arabs were the main agents of trade

between India and Egypt. They supplied to Egypt precious stones, spices and the

incense, burnt at the altars of the ancient Egyptian Gods.

During the reign of King Solomon, voyages were made to Ophir once every three

years and the merchandise brought from there consisted of gold, silver, jewels,

wood, ivory, apes and peacocks. There were Indian merchant settlements on the

island of Socotra. King Ptolemy II of Egypt is said to have displayed in his

procession, Indian women, oxen and marble.

During the period between the decline of the Greco-Roman trade with India in

the third century A.D., and the rise of Islam in the seventh century A.D., a number

of important political changes took place. The decline of the Himyarite Kingdom

on the one hand and the growing interest of the Sasanians in the navigation of 

the Arabian Sea on the other, affected Arab trade relation with India, and caused

the transfer of the traffic between India and Egypt into the hands of Persia.

Thus in the century before the rise of Islam, the Persians were supreme in the

Arabian Sea trade. Their boats frequented the harbours of India. Sea-going shipsfrom India sailed as far as al-Madain up to the Tigris, and al- ‘Ubulla has been

termed as Farj al_hind, the marches of India. Among the most important ports of 

India at this time were Sindhu, Orrhota, Calliana, Sibor, ect.