Explain and assess the relations between Greece and/or Rome with the Indian Ocean.

2. Explain and assess the relations between Greece and/or Rome with the Indian Ocean.

Initially, there were few Greeks who traveled via the Erythraean Sea. In the Indian Ocean, the presence of Greeks became evident around 250 BC under the leadership of Ptolemy II. There existed an enmity between Ptolemy II and Antiochus. Following these developments, there was a great need for war elephants, which Ptolemy II captured from different African countries such as Sudan. Afterward, the captured elephants are transported to Egypt, where they were trained. The successors of Ptolemy II carried on with activities that he started, such as training of elephants. However, elephants were not used widely after a few years as they became inefficient. The Ptolemaic reign played some pivotal roles in enhancing trading activities as it had promoted sea trade. The trading activities gained momentum, and experienced tremendous growth after the route to India was identified by Eudoxus. Therefore, it facilitated trading activities between India and Greek. Other than trading routes, monsoon winds also assisted Greeks to prosper in sea trade.

Around 60BC, there was significant growth in trade, which was evidenced by the increased number of Greek ships. These ships did not only sail to India but also other places such as Saudi Arabia. In the third century, Rome Empire experienced some big problems since it was defeated. These activities impacted on trading activities in the Indian Ocean. As trading activities increased, there was also a significant increase number of piracy activities in the Ocean, which were published in books. However, there is less information regarding piracy; therefore, it became difficult for Greeks to quantify damages that resulted from piracy and hijacking.

After Alexander the Great, the Seleucid Empire became the main route that Greeks used to carry out their trading activities with India. This route existed for a very long period in history. This route was expensive, and also it took long before for a ship to reach its destination; therefore, it was only convenient for valuable items. There was a significant growth of Seleucid’s trading activities, thus bringing about monopolization. This affected trading activities as Seleucid’s increased prices of useful things. There existed rivalry between Seleucid’s and the Ptolemaic dynasty. However, as explained early on, the Ptolemaic dynamic was interested much on the sea route to India.

The Romans took part in the trading of spices and silks. However, in the 3^rd century, these trading activities declined. Civil wars that were experienced in Rome contributed vastly to the decline of sea trading activities. It is believed that the decline in trading activities affected the Indian economy, thus hindering developments in the country. The drop did not take long as trading started to increase in the late 4^th century. The increase of trading activities was due to the arrival of Arabs who conquered Romans and restricted them from accessing the Indian Ocean.

The trading activities between India and Romans started in the reign of Augustus. Augustus conquered Egypt which made it possible for Rome to take control of trading activities. These trading activities were enhanced by monsoon winds. The roman merchants were aware of the existence of other religions such as Hinduism; therefore, they tried to promote Christianity in India. The Romans improved trade ports that were developed by the Ptolemaic dynasty, thus enhancing trading activities. The Romans eliminated paying of taxes by merchant traders, which existed before they came into control. According to Strabo, the coming of Romans increased trading activities as compared to Ptolemy’s reign. Berenice is one of the significant ports that was used by Romans.

3. What role did Islam play in the communities of the Indian Ocean and their relations with each other?

The rise of Islam in the Indian Ocean played some pivotal roles. In the late 15^th century, there were tremendous changes in the Indian Ocean. In this period of significant changes, coastal routes are one of the things that remained unchanged. It is essential to discuss other people and activities that were taking place in the Indian Ocean while explaining the role that was played by Islam. The Islamic religion controlled trade activities in a few centuries as a large population became Islam. The Islamic faith was centralized; therefore, it was easy to control and manage activities that were taking place in the Indian Ocean. The traveling scholars influenced the growth of the Islamic religion in the Indian Ocean. The success of Islam can be attributed to its tolerance of other people’s traditions; therefore, a large population accepted it, which contributed vastly to its growth.

The Islamic people’s lifestyle was guided by the Quran; therefore, they developed a positive attitude towards the sea because the sea and ship belong to God, as stated in the Holy Book. The Islamic faith enjoyed the Indian Ocean environment because it was a place that facilitated the movement of people from one place to the other. The dhow was a Persian word that was used to refer to crafts that facilitated trade activities in the Ocean. These ships existed before the arrival of Islam. However, Ibn Jubayr, who was a great scientist in those days, said that teak was widely used since this type of craft was very strong. These boats lacked metals, which elicited a mixed reaction from many people, such as European observers who commented negatively about them. John Mandeville explained that magnetic islands were the main reason why these boats were not made of nails. Some other possible reasons could be environmental conditions in the Indian Ocean, such as sandy shores, and the presence of reefs influenced the development of flexible dhows. Campbell said that Lateen sails were developed by Arabs in Persia and given to western sailors just as a gift. He further claimed although there was a great evolution, sails were still ineffective.

Apart from the facilitate improvement of dhows, Islam also played a pivotal role in ensuring that safety measures are taken while traveling in the Indian Ocean. For instance, in the 15^th century, Ibn Majib had the responsibility of ensuring that ships were in the right conditions before sailing. Other than the maintenance of vessels, he was also responsible for solving conflicts between passengers, therefore enhancing hassle-free relationships. There was a signed agreement before the ship left so that the safety of passengers is ensured. Additionally, Ibn Majib was also responsible for advising the captain to make better decisions and the importance of observance of general cleanness.

Last but not least, he also ensured that the ship had carried the required number of passengers to avoid overloading. In the early 16^th century, pardesi Muslims built larger vessels that were capable of carrying loads amounting to 250 tonnes. These ships were built during the period when Muslims experienced great prosperity in their trading activities. Other than Muslims, the Chinese also constructed large and powerful ships that sailed in Malabar and other places. Ibn Majib happened to travel in one of the large Chinese vessels, and he commented that those ships were indeed powerful since they managed to carry about 1000 passengers.

Furthermore, Islam also came up with efficient and effective ways that were used to determine latitude. The Chinese people used a compass to find different places; however, it was ineffective and used only in a limited area. The empirical methods were developed by Ibn Majib and are still used today in many parts of the world. Moreover, Islam also contributed vastly towards the development of maps; for instance, the Korean Kangnido Map of 1402.

4. Why Ming China did not attempt to colonize the entire Indian Ocean?

            Although Ming China was a mighty dynasty, it did not colonize the entire Indian Ocean due to several reasons. First and foremost, Emperor Hongwu tried to make sure that he has created an independent society meaning that it would not depend on the resources of other communities such as soldiers. The main aim of colonizing other cities was to obtain cheap labor and resources; therefore independence nature of Ming China limited it from colonizing more societies. The Great Ming was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644. The Yuan dynasty existed before the Ming dynasty. Some of the reasons for the fall of the Yuan dynasty include over taxation and disasters such as flooding. These factors led to a great rebellion from peasants and influenced fighting in the country.

The total population of this dynasty was approximately 170million people. In this period, an emperor called Hongwu It is believed that his army was more than one million troops. Other than troops, he also made an effort to ensure that there are excellent infrastructures in China. The Emperor also made some laws and policies that affected expeditions to be carried out by China; for instance, he burned maritime trade. However, these laws did not completely restrict trading activities in China. In the year 1380, there was a plan to overthrow Emperor Hongwu by his Chancellor. However, he knew that plan and decided to do away with that office. The princes were required to adhere to a set of instructions, which were referred to as HuangMing Zuxun. However, this set of instructions did not last for long. The Haijin laws that were formed and implemented played a vital role in increasing piracy activities, therefore lowering taxes that were collected. In the early 16^th century, there a high inflation in China, paper money that was used within the dynasty lost its value. However, the situation changed drastically as trading activities between China and European countries such as Portuguese increased. The growing population of European countries provided the market for Chinese products, hence earning foreign exchange that improved the economic situation within the dynasty. The period of economic growth did not last long as there were other problems such as epidemics and less crop production that affected the economy directly. These factors led to the collapse of the Ming dynasty.

Also, Ming China faced numerous attacks from the Mongols, therefore limiting it from colonizing the whole Ocean. Following these developments its soldiers were instructed to secure its internal resources rather than focusing on colonization of other regions. The troops concentrated on ensuring that borders were secured from any form of attack. Other than Mongols, there were also other attacks from Asian people. Furthermore, in the 15^th century, Ming China got tired of exploring different parts of the Ocean. They left other European countries to continue with exploration. Like China, Japan was also prepared to explore the Ocean, but it got tired too.

Moreover, partially destruction of Ming capital was believed to be as a result of expeditions and therefore regarded as a bad omen. Ming China had started exploring other parts of the Ocean before the fire incident. The exploration that took place around 1405 consisted of about 250 ships. This exploration took place under the leadership and control of Zheng He. The expedition involved many areas in the Indian Ocean, such as the Persian Gulf, Malabar Coast, and South Asia. The fire incident happened shortly after Zheng He returned to China. This event was regarded as bad omen since expeditions were very expensive and a lot of money was spent on the same. Following these developments, the Yongle Emperor came up with a decree that stopped explorations in the Ocean. However, the expedition started again during the time of the fifth Emperor. In that expectation, Zheng He died, which affected expedition henceforth, thereby Ming Court reduced its involvement in expeditions.

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