02538naa a2200229 i 4500 acta75726 20220518084029.0 220518s2008 hu o 0|| hun d SZTE Egyetemi Kiadványok Repozitórium hun hun eng Székely Melinda Újabb források a Római Birodalom és India közötti kereskedőkről [elektronikus dokumentum] / Székely Melinda JATEPress Szeged 2008 161-172 Bölcsészműhely Bölcsészműhely, 2007 There are few literary sources for traders between the Roman Empire and India. Papyrological, epigraphical, and juridical sources are available, but these sources are often equivocal. In the past decades several papyri, ostraca and inscriptions with records proving transit trade have surfaced in Egypt. In 1980 a papyrus was found in Alexandria, and it was published in Vienna 5 years later (1985). The papyrus proves that by the 2nd century A.D. the merchants of the Roman Empire had learnt the precise trade route from Alexandria to Coptos, from Coptos across the desert to a port on the Red Sea, and further on to India. According to the text, the long and dangerous route was planned cautiously. The papyrus records the lend-lease contract of a vessel, which reveals the existence and use of sophisticated legal transactions. The Red Sea trade was very profitable, therefore we should not suppose that wealthy Romans from the higher ranks of society had no interest in it. However, lex Claudia from 218 B.C. made it impossible for senators to own commercial vessels that could potentially carry more than 300 amphoras. This way aristocrats were theoretically banned from longdistance sea trade. Nevertheless, the letters of Cicero mention two senators whose commercial connections can be proved. Archaeological findings also support the involvement of senators in trade. On the basis of the sources we can conclude that the trade between India and the Roman Empire was arranged by individuals. Tax records, inscriptions, papyri and ostraca suggest that marine companies operated on the Red Sea. Inscriptions in Indian languages and scripts found in Egypt attest to the presence of Indian merchants in the Roman Empire. Bölcsészettudományok Történettudomány és régészet Kereskedelem - Római Birodalom-India - ókor http://acta.bibl.u-szeged.hu/75726/1/bolcseszmuhely_2007_161-172.pdf Dokumentum-elérés