The
Incense trade route or the
Incense Road of Antiquity (see also the
spice trade) comprised a network of major ancient land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with Eastern and Southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the
Levant and
Egypt through Northeastern Africa and
Arabia to
India and beyond. The incense land trade from South Arabia to the
Mediterranean flourished between roughly the 7th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. The Incense Route served as a channel for trading of goods such as
Arabian frankincense and
myrrh;
Indian spices,
precious stones,
pearls,
ebony,
silk and fine
textiles; and the
Horn of African rare woods,
feathers, animal skins and gold.