Economy, Trade & Statecraft
Monsoon sailing before 'Hippalus'
before 1st c. BCEIndian and Arab marinersIndian Ocean tradePan-Indian / unspecified
100 BCE
Use of seasonal monsoon winds for direct open-sea crossings.
- Dated
- 100 BCE–0 CE
- As scholars put it
- before 1st c. BCE
- Originator
- Indian and Arab mariners
- Source text
- Indian Ocean trade
- Region
- Pan-Indian / unspecified
- Discipline
- Economy, Trade & Statecraft
- Evidence
- Plausible precursor
- Confidence
- Medium
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Greek tradition credited the sailor Hippalus.
Fair to say
Indian and Arab sailors almost certainly knew the winds earlier; firm proof is limited.
Path to modern innovation
Basis of Indian Ocean trade.
Builds on
1,000 BCEReferences
- 1Casson, Periplus commentary
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-331 on GitHub.