Minoan Crete
Bronze Age Crete developed far-reaching maritime contacts with Egypt, the Cyclades and the eastern Mediterranean.
Explore Minoan seafaringAncient seafarers
Ancient seafaring civilizations and maritime cultures
Long before modern ocean travel, societies around the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Pacific built ships, ports and route knowledge suited to their own environments. Some created maritime empires, others built trading networks, and others used the sea for migration, fishing and exchange without forming centralized kingdoms.
Mycenaean Greeks
Mycenaean palatial societies used maritime exchange to connect mainland Greece with the Aegean, Levant and wider Mediterranean.
Explore Mycenaean seafaringAncient Greeks
Greek communities founded coastal settlements and trading cities from the Black Sea to Iberia and North Africa.
Explore Greek sea travelCarthaginians
Carthage developed from Phoenician foundations into a major western Mediterranean commercial and naval power.
Explore Carthaginian seafaringLand of Punt and Egyptian Red Sea voyages
Egyptian expeditions reached Punt for incense, gold and other goods through the Red Sea, although Punt's exact location remains debated.
Explore Punt voyagesKalinga seafarers
Eastern Indian seafaring traditions connected ancient Kalinga and later Odisha with Sri Lanka and island Southeast Asia.
Explore Kalinga maritime historyIndus and Gujarat seafaring
Harappan coastal settlements participated in Arabian Sea trade linking northwestern South Asia with Oman and Mesopotamia.
Explore Indus maritime tradeDilmun
Ancient Bahrain and the Gulf region formed a key maritime intermediary between Mesopotamia, Oman and the Indus world.
Explore DilmunAksum and Adulis
The Aksumite kingdom used the Red Sea port of Adulis to participate in trade linking northeast Africa, Arabia and the wider Indian Ocean.
Explore Aksumite tradeAustronesian seafarers
Austronesian-speaking communities spread through island Southeast Asia and across the Pacific, eventually reaching Madagascar to the west.
Explore Austronesian voyaging