Alexandria
Egypt's Mediterranean gateway connected Nile transport, grain supply and overseas shipping.
Explore AlexandriaHistoric ports
Ports that connected maritime worlds
Ports joined ships to inland markets, rulers, warehouses, water supplies, repair work and merchant communities. These places let you follow the major networks of the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, South India, East Africa, Southeast Asia and maritime China.
Berenike
A Roman Red Sea port linking desert routes from the Nile with Arabian and Indian Ocean shipping.
Explore BerenikeCarthage
A major North African commercial and naval centre within the western Mediterranean.
Explore CarthageMuziris
A Malabar Coast trading centre associated with pepper and long-distance Red Sea commerce.
Explore MuzirisKorkai
A Pandya-region port associated with the Gulf of Mannar pearl fisheries and Tamil maritime trade.
Explore KorkaiNagapattinam
A Chola-period port with commercial, religious and diplomatic links across the Bay of Bengal.
Explore NagapattinamAdulis
The Red Sea port associated with Aksum linked northeast Africa with Arabia and Indian Ocean traffic.
Explore AdulisKilwa Kisiwani
A Swahili port connecting East African hinterlands with monsoon commerce across the western Indian Ocean.
Explore Kilwa KisiwaniAden
A strategic harbour near the southern entrance to the Red Sea and routes into the Arabian Sea.
Explore AdenSohar
An Omani port connecting Gulf traffic with India and wider Indian Ocean routes.
Explore SoharMalacca
An entrepôt beside the strait connecting the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea.
Explore MalaccaGuangzhou
A southern Chinese gateway connecting the Pearl River system with overseas commerce.
Explore GuangzhouQuanzhou
A major Fujian port with deep connections to Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean merchant networks.
Explore QuanzhouVenice
A lagoon-based maritime republic connecting the Adriatic with eastern Mediterranean commerce.
Explore VeniceFollow ports as journeys: open the historical voyage case studies or trace cargo through the trade-goods explorer.