Banyan merchants

Last updated
A Hindoo Family, Banyan Cast (c1830) FORBES(1834) A Hindoo Family, of the Banian Cast.jpg
A Hindoo Family, Banyan Cast (c1830)

In the Indian Ocean trade, Banyan merchants are Indian merchants who are clearly distinguished from others by their Banyan clothing, their diet, and by the manner in which they conduct trade. [1]

History

The Banyan people are mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, in the context of Indo-Roman trade relations, [2] in Egypt and Sokotra, Dahlak Island and Suakim, Massawa, Muscat, Zanzibar, the Gulf of Aden, Aydhab, Hadramut, Syria, Persia and Europe. [3] In Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname, it is mentioned that the language of the Rumelian Roma people from Gümülcine (Komotini) has Banyan roots. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massawa</span> Port city in Eritrea

Massawa or Mitsiwa is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for many centuries. Massawa has been ruled or occupied by a succession of polities during its history, including the Kingdom of Aksum, the Ethiopian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dahlak Archipelago</span> Island group in Red Sea

The Dahlak Archipelago is an Eritrean island group located in the Red Sea, measuring around 643 square km and lying roughly 58 kilometers east of Massawa, the regional capital city. Consisting of two larger and 124 smaller islands, the local pearl fisheries of the archipelago have been famous since Roman times, and still produce a substantial number of pearls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adulis</span> Ancient city and port in Red Sea

Adulis was an ancient city along the Red Sea in the Gulf of Zula, about 40 kilometers (25 mi) south of Massawa. Its ruins lie within the modern Eritrean city of Zula. It was the emporium considered part of the D’mt and the Kingdom of Aksum. It was close to Greece and the Byzantine Empire, with its luxury goods and trade routes. Its location can be included in the area known to the ancient Egyptians as the Land of Punt, perhaps coinciding with the locality of Wddt, recorded in the geographical list of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dahlak Kebir</span> Largest island in Dahlak Archipelago in Red Sea

Dahlak Kebir is the largest island of the Dahlak Archipelago. Situated in the Red Sea off of the coast of Eritrea, it was formerly called Dahlak Deset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dahalik language</span> Semitic language spoken in Eritrea

Dahalik is an endangered Afroasiatic language spoken exclusively in the Dahlak Archipelago in Eritrea. Its speech area is off the coast of Massawa, on three islands in the Dahlak Archipelago: Dahlak Kebir, Nora, and Dehil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandra dynasty</span> Ancient Indian dynasty of Bengal region

The Chandra dynasty was a Buddhist dynasty, originating from the South East Bengal region of Indian subcontinent, which ruled the Samatata area of Bengal, as well as Arakan. Later it was a neighbor to the Pala Empire to the north. Rulers of Chandra kingdom were adherents of Buddhism. The Kings of Chandra dynasty were identified as the kings of Vangaladesha in the Tirumulai inscription of Chola dynasty. The dynasty was founded around the 4th century AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habesh Eyalet</span> Administrative division of the Ottoman Empire from 1554 to 1872

Habesh Eyalet was an Ottoman eyalet. It was also known as the Eyalet of Jeddah and Habesh, as Jeddah was its chief town, and Habesh and Hejaz. It extended on the areas of coastal Hejaz and Northeast Africa of Eritrea that border the Red Sea basin. On the Northeast Africa littoral, the eyalet comprised Suakin and their hinterlands.

Articles related to Eritrea include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian Navy</span> Former naval military force of Ethiopia and Eritrea (1955–1996)

The Ethiopian Navy, known as the Imperial Ethiopian Navy until 1974, is a branch of the Ethiopian National Defense Force founded in 1955. It was disestablished in 1996 after the independence of Eritrea in 1991 left Ethiopia landlocked. In 2019, the Ethiopian Navy was re-established based in Bahir Dar, Amhara region, near Lake Tana.

The Eritrean Navy is a smaller branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces. It is responsible for the security of the entire coastline of Eritrea, more than 1,100 km, as well as the Eritrean territorial waters.

Dahlak Subregion is a subregion in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea. It is the administrative subregion that covers the islands of the Dahlak Archipelago. The capital lies at Jimhil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samatata</span> Ancient geopolitical division of Bengal

Samataṭa was an ancient geopolitical division of Bengal in the eastern Indian subcontinent. The Greco-Roman account of Sounagoura is linked to the kingdom of Samatata. Its territory corresponded to much of present-day eastern Bangladesh and parts of the Rakhine State of Myanmar. The area covers the trans-Meghna part of the Bengal delta. It was a center of Buddhist civilisation before the resurgence of Hinduism and Muslim conquest in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenians in Bangladesh</span> Ethnic group

The Armenians in Bangladesh were ethnic Armenians who lived in what is now called Bangladesh. Their numbers have gradually diminished and there are now no Armenians in the country.

ʿAydhab was an important medieval port on the west coast of the Red Sea. The abandoned site of the town is located in the Halaib Triangle, a territory disputed between Egypt and the Sudan.

Bāḍiʿ was a medieval African port on the Red Sea. It was the first port established by the Arabs in the Bilād al-Sūdān and flourished between about 600 and 1100. It was a merchant settlement conducting trade between its hinterland and Arabia. It does not appear to have fallen under the authority of any established state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultanate of Dahlak</span> Small medieval kingdom covering the Dahlak Archipelago in East Africa

The Sultanate of Dahlak was a small medieval kingdom covering the Dahlak Archipelago and parts of the Eritrean coast. First attested in 1093, it quickly profited from its strategic trading location, gaining heavily from being near to Yemen as well as Egypt and India. After the mid 13th century Dahlak lost its trade monopoly and subsequently started to decline. Both the Ethiopian empire and Yemen tried to enforce their authority over the sultanate. It was eventually annexed by the Ottomans in 1557, who made it part of the Habesh Eyalet.

The Kingdom of Jarin was an early medieval kingdom centered in Northeast Africa. According to Al-Yaqubi, it was one of six Beja kingdoms that existed in the region during the 9th century. The kingdom's territory was located between Gash-Barka and Massawa. The king of Jarin rule extended from Massawa on the Red Sea coast, to the frontier of Gash-Barka having borders with the Baqlin kingdom.It was one of the five Beja kingdoms noted by Al-Yaqubi.

Baishya Saha or Saha, though not considered Vaishya in the caste structure of Bengal, is a Bengali Hindu trading caste traditionally known to have the occupation of grocers, shopkeepers, dealers moneylenders, and farming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Bonetti</span> Italian admiral (1888–1961)

Mario Bonetti was an Italian admiral during World War II.

References

  1. "Banians - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  2. Pankhurst, Richard (1974). "The 'Banyan' or Indian Presence at Massawa, the Dahlak Islands and the Horn of Africa". Journal of Ethiopian Studies . 12 (1): 185–212. JSTOR   44324706 . Retrieved 30 May 2022 via JSTOR.
  3. Gabbasov, Sergey (January 2019). "Banyan Leaves: The Route from Maharajas to Pharaohs".
  4. https://humstatic.uchicago.edu/slavic/archived/papers/Friedman-OldestBalkRmiw-BDankoff [ dead link ]