BYZANTINE MARITIME TRADE IN SOUTHERN JORDAN: THE EVIDENCE FROM PORT OF AILA ('AQABA)

Abstract

Eusebius of Caesarea, in (Onomasticon) said that: "Ailath (Aila) is situated at the extremity of Palestine between the southern desert and the Red Sea where cargo was transported by ship from both Egypt and India".

There is no doubt that port of Aila- 'Aqaba was important for the sea trade during the Byzantine Period and ancient times. Aila acquired signifificance in the Byzantine Empire commerce and seafaring according to the information derived from the Byzantine historians, documents and pilgrim’s archaeological excavations.

This paper focuses on Byzantine Maritime Trade in port of Aila during the period between the fourth and seventh centuries A.D, its importance in the flflourishing of trade of southern Jordan, and its relations with other major trade centers such as Gaza, Alexandria and Ethiopia.

It appears that port of Aila played a major role in the economy of Byzantine Empire and international trade as attested in the accounts of historians, pilgrims who visited the area during this period, and archaeological excavations which revealed that Aila was at least a transit point and perhaps even a production site for fifish sauce or related products in the Byzantine period.