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{{short description|Ancient trade road that connected Mediterranean ports to India via Africa and Arabia}}
[[File:Mer rouge1b.jpg|thumb|right|Satellite view of the [[Red Sea]] and adjacent lands. The incense trade, connecting the Mediterranean world to the incense-producing lands, depended heavily on navigation along the Red Sea.]]

The '''incense trade route''' was an ancient network of major land and sea [[Trade route|trading routes]] linking the [[Mediterranean]] world with eastern and southern sources of [[incense]], [[spice]]s and other [[luxury goods]], stretching from Mediterranean ports across the [[Levant]] and [[Egypt]] through [[Northeast Africa]] and [[Arabia]] —through both the sea and the land along the [[Red Sea]]— to [[India]] and beyond. These routes collectively served as channels for the trading of goods such as [[Arabian]] [[frankincense]] and [[myrrh]];<ref name=UNESCO1/> Indian [[spice]]s, [[precious stones]], [[pearls]], [[ebony]], [[silk]] and fine [[textiles]];<ref name=Yemen1>{{cite web |title=Traders of the Gold and Incense Road |publisher= Embassy of the Republic of Yemen, Berlin |url= http://www.botschaft-jemen.de/Geschichte.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070908173824/http://www.botschaft-jemen.de/Geschichte.htm |archive-date=2007-09-08 }}</ref> and from the [[Horn of Africa]], rare woods, [[feathers]], animal skins, [[Somalia|Somali]] [[frankincense]], gold, and [[Indian Ocean slave trade|slaves]].<ref name=Yemen1/><ref>Ulric Killion, ''A Modern Chinese Journey to the West: Economic Globalisation And Dualism'', (Nova Science Publishers: 2006), p. 66</ref> The incense land trade from [[South Arabia]] to the Mediterranean flourished between roughly the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD.<ref name=UNESCO1>{{cite web |title=Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev |publisher= UNESCO |url= https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1107}}</ref>

==Early history==
[[File:Al-Ula_Old_Town_2021.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|200px|The [[Lihyanite]]-Arab old town of [[al-Ula]] in Saudi Arabia was part of the Incense trade route]]
[[File:Shivta ruins in the Negev.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|200px|Desert [[Nabataeans|Nabatean]]-Arab cities in the [[Naqab]], such as [[Subeita]], were linked to the Mediterranean end of the ancient [[incense]] and [[Spice route|spice trading]] routes.]]

The [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]] had traded in the [[Red Sea]], importing spices, gold and exotic wood from the "[[Land of Punt]]" and from Arabia.<ref name=Rawlinson1>Rawlinson 2001: 11–12</ref> Indian goods were brought in Arabian and Indian vessels to [[Aden]].<ref name=Rawlinson1/> Rawlinson identifies the long-debated "ships of [[Tarshish]]," as a [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyrian]] fleet equipped at [[Ezion-Geber]] that made several trading voyages to the east bringing back [[gold]], [[silver]], [[ivory]] and precious stones.<ref name=Rawlinson1/> These goods were transshipped at the port of [[Ophir]].<ref name=Rawlinson1/>

One historian said:<ref>{{cite book
| last = Ray
| first = Himanshu Prabha
| title = The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| year = 2003
| page = 31
| isbn = 0-521-01109-4}}</ref>

{{cquote|In the ancient period, it would seem that South Arabia and the [[Horn of Africa]] were the major suppliers of incense, while in modern times the commercial centre for the trade in gums has been Aden and [[Oman]]. Early ritual texts from Egypt show that incense was being brought to the upper [[Nile]] by land traders, but perhaps the most spectacular evidence of this trade is provided by the frescos dated to around 1500 BC on the walls of the temple at [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] commemorating the journey of a fleet that the Queen of Egypt had sent to the [[Land of Punt]].<ref>This refers to [[Hatshepsut]]'s expedition of 1515 BC.</ref> Five ships are depicted in these reliefs, piled high with treasure, and one of them shows thirty-one small incense trees in tubs being carried on board.}}

{{cquote|The ''[[Periplus Maris Erythraei]]'' and other [[Periplus|Greek texts]] refer to several coastal sites in [[Somalia]], [[Southern Arabia]] and [[India]] involved with trade in [[frankincense]], [[myrrh]], [[Cinnamomum aromaticum|cassia]], [[bdellium]] and a range of gum resins termed ''duaka'' and ''kankamon'' and ''mok rotu.''}}

==Land routes==
{{See also|Economy and trade of pre-Islamic Arabia}}
Among the most important [[Trade route|trading points]] of the incense trade route from the [[Persian Gulf]] to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] was [[Gerrha]] in the Persian Gulf, reported by the historian [[Strabo]] to have been founded by [[Babylonia]]n exiles as a [[Chaldea]]n colony.<ref name=Larsen1>Larsen 1983: 56</ref> Gerrha exercised influence over the incense trade routes across Arabia to the Mediterranean and controlled the [[aromatics]] trade to [[Babylon]] in the 1st century BC.<ref name=Larsen1/> Gerrha was one of the important entry ports for goods shipped from India.<ref name=Larsen1/>

Due to its prominent position in the incense trade, [[Yemen]] attracted settlers from the [[Fertile Crescent]].<ref name=Glasse1>Glasse 2001: 59</ref> The [[frankincense]] and [[myrrh]] trees were crucial to the economy of Yemen and were recognized as a source of wealth by its rulers.<ref name=Glasse1/> Recent exploration discovered an ancient trade route through eastern Yemen in the Mahra region.<ref>Wilford, ''Ruins in Yemeni Desert Mark Route of Frankincense Trade'', The New York Times, JAN. 28, 1997</ref>

[[File:Tilglath pileser iii.jpg|left|thumb|Tiglath-Pileser III attacked Gaza in order to control trade along the Incense Route.<ref name=Edwards1/>]]
[[Assyria]]n documents indicate that [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] advanced through [[Phoenicia]] to [[Gaza City|Gaza]].<ref name=Edwards1>Edwards 1969: 330</ref> Gaza was eventually sacked and the ruler of Gaza escaped to Egypt but later continued to act as a [[vassal]] administrator.<ref name=Edwards1/> The motive behind the attack was to gain control of the South Arabian incense trade which had prospered along the region.<ref name=Edwards1/>

[[I.E.S. Edwards]] connects the [[Syro-Ephraimite War]] to the desire of the [[Israelites]] and the [[Aramaeans]] to control the northern end of the Incense Route, which ran up from Southern Arabia and could be tapped by commanding [[Transjordan (region)|Transjordan]].<ref>Edwards 1969: 329</ref> Archaeological inscriptions also speak of booty retrieved from the land of the ''mu-u-na-a-a'', possibly ''Meunites'' mentioned in the [[Old Testament]].<ref name=Edwards1/> Some scholars identify this group as the [[Minaeans]] of South Arabia, who were involved with the incense trade and occupied the northern trading outposts of the Incense Route.<ref name=Edwards1/>

Aromatics from [[Dhofar]] and luxury goods from India brought wealth to the kingdoms of Arabia.<ref>Archibald 2001: 168</ref> The aromatics of Dhofar were shipped out from the [[Harbor|natural harbour]] of [[Khor Rori]] towards the western inhospitable South Arabian coast.<ref>Archibald 2001: 168–69</ref> The caravans carried these products north to [[Shabwa]] and from there on to the kingdoms of [[Qataban]], [[Saba']], [[Ma'in]], and Petra up to Gaza.<ref name=Archibald1>Archibald 2001: 169</ref> There is also evidence to support that products from the Dhofar region were traded with the Sumerian-Magan people of Dilmun and Qatar <ref>{{cite web |last1=Zarins |first1=Juris |title=The Archeology Fund |url=http://www.arabian-archaeology.com/aboutlinks.htm |website=The Archeology Fund |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-date=1 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801154135/http://www.arabian-archaeology.com/aboutlinks.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> as the [[Sumer|Sumerian]] people used some of these resins for medicinal purposes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Michie |first1=C. |title=Frankincense and Myrrh as remedies in children |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |year=1991 |volume=84 |issue=10 |pages=602–605 |publisher=Royal Society of Medicine |doi=10.1177/014107689108401011 |pmid=1744842 |pmc=1295557 }}</ref> The tolls levied by the owners of wells and other facilities added to the overall cost of these luxury goods.<ref name=Archibald1/>

==Greco-Roman bypassing of land routes==
[[File:Periplous of the Erythraean Sea.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Roman maritime trade routes with India according to the [[Periplus Maris Erythraei]], 1st century AD. The Romans bypassed the land route in favour of the faster and safer searoute.]]
The [[Nabateans]] built [[Petra]],<ref>''City Of Stone'' Documentary</ref> which stood halfway between the opening to the [[Gulf of Aqaba]] and the [[Dead Sea]] at a point where the Incense Route from Arabia to [[Damascus]] was crossed by the overland route from [[Petra]] to [[Gaza City|Gaza]].<ref name=Eckenstein1>Eckenstein 2005: 86</ref> This position gave the Nabateans a hold over the trade along the Incense Route.<ref name=Eckenstein1/> In order to control the Incense Route from the Nabateans a Greek military expedition was undertaken, without success, by [[Antigonus Cyclops]], one of [[Alexander of Macedonia]]'s generals.<ref name=Eckenstein1/> The Nabatean control over trade increased and spread to the West and the North.<ref name=Eckenstein1/>

The replacement of [[Greece]] by the [[Roman Empire]] as the administrator of the [[Mediterranean basin]] led to the resumption of direct trade with the east.<ref name=Lach1>Lach 1994: 13</ref> According to a historian, "The South Arabs in protest took to pirate attacks over the Roman ships in the [[Gulf of Aden]]. In response, the Romans destroyed [[Aden]] and favoured the Western Abyssinian coast of the Red Sea."<ref>{{cite book
| last = Kearney
| first = Milo
| title = The Indian Ocean in World History
| url = https://archive.org/details/indianoceanworld00kear
| url-access = limited
| publisher = Routledge
| year = 2003
| page = [https://archive.org/details/indianoceanworld00kear/page/n52 42]
| isbn = 0-415-31277-9
}}</ref> The monopoly of the Indian and Arab middlemen weakened with the development of monsoon trade by the Greeks through the discovery of the direct route to India ([[Hippalus]]), forcing the [[Parthia]]n and Arabian middlemen to adjust their prices so as to compete on the Roman market with the goods now being bought in by a direct sea route to India.<ref name=Lach1/> Indian ships sailed to Egypt as the maritime routes of Southern Asia were not under the control of a single power.<ref name=Lach1/>
[[File:MapHymiariteKingdom.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Areas around the Arabian peninsula according to the ''Periplus Maris Erythraei''.]]
According to one historian:<ref>{{cite book
| last = Fage
| first = John Donnelly
| author-link = John Donnelly Fage
| title = The Cambridge History of Africa
| url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory05fage
| url-access = registration
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| year = 1975
| page = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory05fage/page/164 164]
| isbn = 0-521-21592-7|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

{{cquote|The trade with Arabia and India in incense and spices became increasingly important, and Greeks for the first time began to trade directly with India. The discovery, or rediscovery, of the sea-route to India is attributed to a certain [[Eudoxus of Cyzicus|Eudoxos]], who was sent out for this purpose towards the end of the reign of [[Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II|Ptolemy Euergetes II]] (died 116 BC). Eudoxos made two voyages to India, and subsequently, having quarrelled with his Ptolemaic employers, perished in an unsuccessful attempt to open up an alternative sea route to India, free of Ptolemaic control, by sailing around Africa. The establishment of direct contacts between Egypt and India was probably made possible by a weakening of Arab power at this period, for the [[Sabaeans|Sabaean]] kingdom of South-western Arabia collapsed and was replaced by [[Himyarite Kingdom]] around 115 BC. Imports into Egypt of cinnamon and other eastern spices, such as pepper, increased substantially, though the Indian Ocean trade remained for the moment on quite a small scale, no more than twenty Egyptian ships venturing outside the Red Sea each year.
}}

An earlier commentator on the significance of the trade, in terms of the connectivity of civilisations on both sides of the Red Sea from the time of the [[Queen of Sheba]], was the British explorer [[Theodore Bent]]; it was Bent who identified the trading site of Moscha Limen in February 1895.<ref>J Theodore Bent: ‘Exploration of the Frankincense Country, Southern Arabia’. ''The Geographical Journal'', 1895, Vol. 6 (2) (Aug), pages 109-33; ‘The Land of Frankincense and Myrrh’. ''The Nineteenth Century'', 1895, Vol. 38 (224) (Oct), pages 595-613; ''Southern Arabia'' (London, 1900), pages 224, 234, 245, 252, 344, 380.</ref> [[Frankincense]] from [[Dhofar]] was collected at [[Khor Rori|Moscha Limen]]. It was shipped to [[Qana]] and taken overland to [[Shabwa]] and further North to [[Najran]], [[Mecca]], [[Medina]], [[Petra]] and to [[Gaza City|Gaza]] on the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. It was also shipped to [[Babylon]] and [[Palmyra]] via the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref>[http://www.mei.edu/sqcc/frankincense Middle East Institute, The Story of Frankincense, Washington]</ref>

The [[Roman trade with India]] kept increasing, and according to [[Strabo]] (II.5.12.):<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/2E1*.html Source]</ref>

{{cquote|At any rate, when [[Cornelius Gallus|Gallus]] was prefect of Egypt, I accompanied him and ascended the [[Nile]] as far as [[Aswan|Syene]] and the frontiers of [[Kingdom of Aksum|Ethiopia]], and I learned that as many as one hundred and twenty vessels were sailing from [[Myos Hormos]] to India, whereas formerly, under the [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Ptolemies]], only a very few ventured to undertake the voyage and to carry on traffic in Indian merchandise.
}}

==Decline==
According to a historian:<ref>{{cite book
| last = Young
| first = Gary Keith
| title = Rome's Eastern Trade: International Commerce and Imperial Policy, 31 BC–AD 305
| publisher = Routledge
| year = 2001
| page = 128
| isbn = 0-415-24219-3}}</ref>
{{cquote|The third century would thus appear to be a significant time in the history of the incense trade in Arabia. During [[Crisis of the Third Century|the political and economic crisis of that century]] the nature of the trade changed dramatically; prior to that time the incense route from South Arabia seems to have continued to function. Much of this trade seems to have been brought to a standstill by the poor economic conditions of the third century, however, when the economic situation improved again under the [[Tetrarchy]] many things had changed. By this time, the two main routes in use seem to have been the [[Wadi Sirhan]], now carrying trade which formerly would have passed through [[Palmyra]], and [[Aqaba|Aila]], receiving goods from India and Arabia which before had gone to the Egyptian Red Sea ports.
}}
[[File:Sassanid Empire 620-627.svg|thumb|right|[[Sassanian Empire]] in 602 to 629]]

At the end of the sixth century [[Isidore of Seville]] enumerated the aromatics still being imported into [[Visigothic Spain]].<ref>Isidore: "Aromatics are those perfumed odours sent to us by India, the Arabian regions and other places besides. And aromatics seem to derive their name either from their use on the altars of the gods, or because we see that they spread forth and mingle with the air" (''Libri differentiarum sive de proprietate sermonum'', quoted in Maguelonne Toussant-Samat, Anthea Bell, tr. ''The History of Food'', revised ed. 2009, p. 434); since sacrifice to the gods had been proscribed for more than two centuries, Isidore may simply have been repeating an old list.</ref> Of aromatic trees (''de arboris aromaticis'') Isidore listed in his encyclopedia [[myrrh]], [[Black pepper|pepper]], [[cinnamon]], ''amomum'' ([[cardamom]]?) and [[Cinnamomum aromaticum|cassia]]; of aromatic herbs (''de herbis aromaticis''), [[Spikenard|nard]], [[saffron]], cardamom, would have arrived through the trade routes, others were available in Spain: thyme, aloes, rose, violet, lily, [[gentian]], [[Artemisia (genus)|wormwood]], [[fennel]] and others.<ref>Toussaint-Samat 2009, p. 434</ref>

[[File:Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Egypt under the rule of the [[Rashidun]]. {{Legend|#a1584e|Muhammad, 622–632}} {{Legend|#ef9070|Patriarchal Caliphate, 632–661}} {{Legend|#fad07d|Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750}}|left]]Following the [[Persian-Roman wars|Persian–Roman Wars]] the areas under the Roman [[Byzantine Empire]] were captured by [[Khosrow I]] of the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] Sassanian Dynasty.<ref>Farrokh 2007: 252</ref> The Arabs, led by [['Amr ibn al-'As]], crossed into Egypt in late 639 or early 640.<ref name=Meri1>Meri 2006: 224</ref>

This advance marked the beginning of the [[Arab conquest of Egypt|Rashidun conquest of Egypt]]<ref name=Meri1/> and the fall of ports such as [[Alexandria]],<ref>Holl 2003: 9</ref> used to secure trade with India by the Greco-Roman world since the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]].<ref>Lindsay 2006: 101</ref>

Several centuries after the demise of the incense trade, [[coffee]] was responsible for bringing back Yemen to international commerce via the Red Sea port of [[Mocha, Yemen|al-Mocha]]. <ref>Colburn 2002: 14</ref>

Finally, the [[Ottoman Turks]] conquered [[Constantinople]] in the 15th century, marking the beginning of Turkish control over the most direct trade routes between Europe and Asia.<ref>[[Encyclopedia Americana|The Encyclopedia Americana]] 1989: 176</ref>

==World Heritage status==
===Oman section===
[[UNESCO]]'s [[World Heritage Committee]] meeting on November 27, 2000, in [[Cairns]], [[Australia]] attached [[World Heritage Site]] status to [[Frankincense Trail|The Frankincense Trail]] in [[Oman]].<ref>{{cite web| title = World Heritage Committee Inscribes 61 New Sites on World Heritage List |publisher= UNESCO |url= https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/184}}</ref> The official citation reads:<ref>{{cite web| title = Land of Frankincense| publisher = UNESCO| url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1010}}</ref>

{{cquote|The [[frankincense]] trees of Wadi Dawkah and the remains of the caravan oasis of Shisr/Wubar and the affiliated ports of [[Khor Rori]] and Al-Balid vividly illustrate the trade in [[frankincense]] that flourished in this region for many centuries, as one of the most important trading activities of the ancient and medieval world.
}}

===Israel (Naqab) section===
[[File:Avdat view to the Negev.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Ruins of [[Abdah]]]]

The World Heritage Committee, headed by Themba Wakashe, recorded [[Incense Route - Desert Cities in the Negev|Incense Route - Desert Cities in the Naqab]] on UNESCO's World Heritage List on July 15, 2005.<ref>{{cite web| title = Mostar, Macao and Biblical vestiges in Israel are among the 17 cultural sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List| publisher = UNESCO| url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/135}}</ref> The official citation reads:<ref name=UNESCO1/>

{{cquote|The four Nabatean towns of [[Elusa (Haluza)|Khalasa]], [[Kurnub]], [[Abdah]] and [[Subeita]], along with associated fortresses and agricultural landscapes in the [[Naqab|Negev Desert (Naqab Desert)]], are spread along routes linking them to the Mediterranean end of the Incense and Spice route. Together they reflect the hugely profitable trade in [[frankincense]] and [[myrrh]] from [[South Arabia]] to the Mediterranean, which flourished from the 3rd century B.C. until the 2nd century A.D. With the vestiges of their sophisticated irrigation systems, urban constructions, forts, and caravanserai they bear witness to the way in which the harsh desert was settled for trade and agriculture.
}}'''Nabatean stations in the Negev Desert in Israel'''

Nabataean or Roman Nabataean sites<ref>{{Cite web |last=Constantinoiu |first=Marina |date=2017-04-06 |title=Traveling the ancient Incense Route in the Negev |url=https://archive.israel21c.org/traveling-the-ancient-incense-route-in-the-negev/ |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=ISRAEL21c |language=en-US}}</ref> have been found at excavated at Moyat Awad (mistakenly called Moa of the 6th c. CE [[Madaba Map]]), Qatzra, Har Masa, Mezad Nekarot, Sha'ar Ramon (Khan Saharonim), Mezad Ma'ale Mahmal and Grafon.

[[Avdat]] continued to prosper as a major station along the Petra-Gaza road after the Roman annexation of Nabataea in 106 CE.
[[File:Nahal Katzra.jpg|alt=Nahal Qatzra, one of the main wadis on the Spice and Incense Routes in the Negev Desert, Israel.|thumb|Nahal Qatzra, one of the main wadis on the Spice and Incense Routes in the Negev Desert, Israel.]]
[[File:Secret Nabatean underground station.jpg|alt=A secret underground Nabatean hideout on the Spice and Incense Routes in the Negev Desert, Israel.|thumb|A secret underground Nabatean hideout on the Spice and Incense Routes in the Negev Desert, Israel.]]

==See also==
;Cities on the incense trade route
*[[Mada’in Salih]], today in Saudi Arabia
*[[al-Ula]], today in Saudi Arabia
*[[Rehovot-in-the-Negev|Khirbet Ruheibeh]], today in Israel
*Moa in Israel<ref>{{Cite web |last=yehuda_adm |date=2026-02-11 |title=Moa the Nabatean and the Queen of Sheba's Journey to King Solomon |url=https://historicalsitesinisrael.com/en/moa/ |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=Historical Sites in Israel |language=en-US}}</ref>
*Qatzra in Israel<ref>{{Cite web |last=Constantinoiu |first=Marina |date=2017-04-06 |title=Traveling the ancient Incense Route in the Negev |url=https://archive.israel21c.org/traveling-the-ancient-incense-route-in-the-negev/ |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=ISRAEL21c |language=en-US}}</ref>
*Mezad Nekarot in Israel<ref>{{Cite web |last=danny |date=2021-06-05 |title=Metsad Nekarot |url=https://dannythedigger.com/metsad-nekarot/ |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=Danny The Digger |language=en-US}}</ref>
*Khan Saharonim in Israel<ref>{{Cite web |title=Israel, Khan Saharonim |url=https://evenzur.com/khan-saharonim/ |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=RSE, Ronen Schmitz Even Zur |language=en-GB}}</ref>
*[[Metzad Mahmal]] in Israel
*Mt. Grafon in Israel<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-15 |title=Six milestone Stations Discovered in the Negev along the Petra-Gaza Incense Route {{!}} Roman Roads and Milestones in Judaea/Palaestina |url=https://milestones.kinneret.ac.il/en/six-milestone-stations-discovered-in-the-negev/ |access-date=2026-03-29 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
;Other
* [[Indian Ocean trade]]
* [[Indo-Mediterranean]]
* [[King's Highway (ancient)]]
* [[Way of the Patriarchs]]
* [[Via Maris]]
* [[Pre-Islamic Arab trade|Pre-Muslim Arab trade]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|33em}}
* {{cite book
| last = Rawlinson
| first = Hugh George
| title = Intercourse Between India and the Western World: From the Earliest Times of the Fall of Rome
| publisher = Asian Educational Services
| year = 2001
| isbn = 81-206-1549-2 }}
* {{cite book
| last = Larsen
| first = Curtis
| title = Life and Land Use on the Bahrain Islands: The Geoarcheology of an Ancient Society
| publisher = University of Chicago Press
| year = 1983
| isbn = 0-226-46906-9
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/lifelanduseon00curt
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Crone
| first = Patricia
|author-link = Patricia Crone
| title = Meccan Trade And The Rise Of Islam
| publisher = Gorgias Press LLC
| year = 2004
| isbn = 1-59333-102-9}}
* {{cite book
| last = Edwards
| first = i. e. s.
| author-link = I. E. S. Edwards
| title = The Cambridge Ancient History
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| year = 1969
| isbn = 0-521-22717-8|display-authors=etal}}
* {{cite book
| last = Glasse
| first = Cyril
| title = The New Encyclopedia of Islam
| publisher = Rowman Altamira
| year = 2001
| isbn = 0-7591-0190-6
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000glas
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Colburn
| first = Marta
| title = The Republic Of Yemen: Development Challenges in the 21st Century
| publisher = Progressio
| year = 2002
| isbn = 1-85287-249-7}}
* {{cite book
| last = Eckenstein
| first = Lina
| title = A History of Sinai
| publisher = Adamant Media Corporation
| year = 2005
| isbn = 0-543-95215-0
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Lach
| first = Donald Frederick
| title = Asia in the Making of Europe: The Century of Discovery. Book 1.
| publisher = University of Chicago Press
| year = 1994
| isbn = 0-226-46731-7
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Farrokh
| first = Kaveh
|author-link = Kaveh Farrokh
| title = Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War
| publisher = Osprey Publishing
| year = 2007
| isbn = 978-1-84603-108-3}}
* {{cite book
| last = Meri
| first = Josef W.
|author-link = Josef W. Meri
|author2=Jere L. Bacharach
| title = Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia
| publisher = Routledge
| year = 2006
| isbn = 0-415-96690-6}}
* {{cite book
| title = The Encyclopedia Americana (1989)
| publisher = Grolier
| isbn = 0-7172-0120-1| title-link = Encyclopedia Americana
| year = 1989
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Lindsay
| first = W S
| title = History of Merchant Shipping and Ancient Commerce
| publisher = Adamant Media Corporation
| year = 2006
| isbn = 0-543-94253-8}}
* {{cite book
| last = Holl
| first = Augustin F. C.
| title = Ethnoarchaeology of Shuwa-Arab Settlements
| publisher = Lexington Books
| year = 2003
| isbn = 0-7391-0407-1}}
* {{cite book
| last = Archibald
| first = Zofia
| title = Hellenistic Economies
| publisher = Routledge
| year = 2001
| isbn = 0-415-23466-2}}
* {{cite book
| last = O'Leary
| first = De Lacy
| author-link = De Lacy O'Leary
| title = Arabia Before Muhammad
| publisher = Routledge
| year = 2001
| isbn = 0-415-23188-4
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/BuddhistBirthStories
}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mfcf9 BBC Frankincense Trail Series]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120518083606/http://www.omanholiday.co.uk/FRANKINCENSE-Trail-by-Tony-Walsh-for-Abode-Magazine.pdf "Frankincense Trail in Salalah, Oman"]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/28/science/ruins-in-yemeni-desert-mark-route-of-frankincense-trade.html Wilford, "Ruins in Yemeni Desert Mark Route of Frankincense Trade", ''The New York Times'', Jan. 28, 1997]
* [http://www.mei.edu/sqcc/frankincense Middle East Institute, The Story of Frankincense, Washington]

{{Trade route 2}}
{{Ancient seafaring}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Former trade routes]]
[[Category:Nabataea]]
[[Category:Ancient Somalia]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Aksum]]
[[Category:Ancient roads and tracks]]
[[Category:History of the Red Sea]]
[[Category:Historic trails and roads in India]]
[[Category:History of South Arabia]]
[[Category:Land of Punt]]

Incense trade route - Revision history

DongXqz408 at 11:10, 29 March 2026