Two: Ancient Ports: Ptolemais of Hunts & Adulis

3. Ptolemais Theron

It was not a port. It did not have a harbour. It was 4000 stadia east of Meroe. The exact location of the port like arrangement is still debated. There is no fixed conversion measure as to stadia and kilometres. Stadia varies between 150 to 210 metres. Meroe was a metropolis. The text places Meroe inland from the coastal area inhabited by Ichthyophagoi (fish eaters), Agriophagoi (wild animal eaters) and Moschophagoi (shoot eaters) all of them hunter-gatherers formed into tribal chiefdoms. It was the capital city of ancient chiefdom Kush also the Meroitic Kingdom. Meroe had excess to inland caravan route, and river trade by Nile. Merchandise might have reached through the mouth of the river to ships at safe anchorage. It is difficult to identify the exact location of Ptolemais Theron because of shifting coastline, and changing river mouth. 

Tortoise shells and small number of ivories were traded in the port. There is no mention of any other merchandise coming to Ptolemais Theron. It is inferred that it was a collection point for tortoise shell and ivory. 

4. Adulis

About 15 to 20 kilometres south of Ptolemais Theron lay an officially designated port, Adulis. It is identified as Modern day Zula. It is on the northern bank of River Alighede; and the river splits into two by an unnamed land mass and both of them open to Gulf of Zula.
This land mass might be "Oreine" mentioned in the text. It lies parallel to the coast. According to the text it was here the incoming vessels moor because of raids from mainland. Formerly they used to moor at the bay at Didoros island. The island is identified as Perim Island. I think all these identifications are only approximation based on present landscape. The actual Zula might be somewhere around. From Adulis to Koloe, the first trading centre for ivory. Besides Axumites the other connecting centre was Kyeneion. Then there was a group of islands called Alalaiou. It can be inferred that Adulis and connected places were existed on a tribal economy of hunter gatherers, and it thrived on money flow from Greek cities.






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