The Indo-Roman Pepper Trade and the Muziris Papyrus

Through an innovative analysis of a unique pair of second-century AD documents outlining a maritime loan agreement and the South Indian cargo list of a Roman Egyptian ship, this volume provides a vivid reconstruction of the distinctive features of Rome’s pepper trade. In the context of recent (or recently reconsidered) archaeological and literary evidence, this systematic and fresh interpretation of the Muziris papyrus reveals the logistical challenges, economic and fiscal concerns, and unusual business arrangements among Rome’s merchants, tax collectors, and imperial government, while at the same time shedding new light on comparable trading ventures during late antiquity, the Middle Ages, and early modernity.