South Asia had a long history of trade with the west. By the mid 1st millennium BC, the Persian Empire was trading both overland into the north and from the Persian Gulf to India's west coast. After Alexander conquered the Persian Empire, his successors expanded these trade links.
One major import to South Asia from the west was incense used in worship; this came from Arabia, and it is clear that both Arab and Indian traders plied the sealanes to the Arabian coast where a number of caravan routes led off towards centres in the north such as Palmyra.
From here it was a short journey to Alexandria, hub of Hellenistic trade, where Indian merchants are known to have resided. From the 1st century BC western merchants began to use a more direct route (probably already known to Indians and Arabs) to western India, making use of the monsoon winds. Sailing manuals, like 'The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea', gave helpful advice to Roman and Greek mariners following these routes.
Finds particularly from south Indian sites include Roman gold coins, Greek and Roman wine amphorae, coral and glass. Coral, incense and glass were also shipped on to China, which produced silk, valued both in South Asia and the west.
South-East Asian and Indian spices, Indian precious stones, fine cloth and slaves were also important exports to the west, and no doubt less visible perishable materials, such as food, were also traded.
