Egypt, North-Eastern Africa and the Near East in the Early Bronze Age: Geopolitics and Exchanges
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2177-4218.v13i1p9-36Keywords:
Caravan, Ebla, Egypt, merchant, Nubia, routes, state, tradeAbstract
Egypt was part of dense network of exchanges that linked North-Eastern Africa with Eurasia and the northern Indian Ocean during the Early Bronze Age. The pharaonic monarchy has been traditionally considered the main promoter of such contacts because of the volume of its demand and its capacity to organize costly expeditions sent to neighbour territories in search of exotic and valuable goods. However, recent research also reveals the importance of modest items traded and the participation of private, non-institutional actors. This may explain why commercial activities not only did not decrease in the period that followed the crisis of the monarchy around 2160 BC but, on the contrary, flourish and boosted urban size increase and the intervention of foreign powers as allies and commercial partners.
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