The Incense Route by Armie Shear

Goods

as4743 — 2025-09-17 14:38:38 UTC

Goods traded along the Incense Route frankincense and myrrh. Both frankincense and myrrh were derived from sun-dried tree sap. These were used as perfume or burned as incense, and they were also in demand in burial rituals to assist preserving. Frankincense and myrrh were traded from the Yemen and Oman in the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean. They were used in religious ceremonies, in cosmetics, and embalming, which is why they were highly valued.

Source:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1107/

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/86338/8-trade-routes-shaped-world-history

Ideas

as4743 — 2025-09-17 14:39:42 UTC

The Incense Route mainly traded ideas like religions, philosophies and artistic styles across ancient civilizations. New beliefs and cultural practices were brought as merchants and travelers moved between southern Arabia, the Levant, Egypt and the Roman Empire. Religions like Judaism expanded into Arabian cities through communities, while Christianity steadily reached the region from the Roman world, mainly through trading ports.

Benefits

as4743 — 2025-09-17 14:40:46 UTC

The Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians benefited from the Incense Route’s trade. They benefitted from the Incense Route for cosmetic, medicinal and religious purposes by selling frankincense and myrrh. The Romans used incense in fumigations for cult worship, and they burned incense which was a form of worship in ceremonies and rituals. Valuable incense was transported to the mediterranean which also benefitted the Nabataeans because they got control over the route, which caused them to gain significant wealth. This also enabled protection and shelter due to the control that they had over this route.

Source:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah30211#:~:text=It%20was%20primarily%20used%20in,the%20gods%20and%20fed%20them

Who was harmed by this trade?

as4743 — 2025-09-17 14:41:32 UTC

People who traveled through the incense route were harmed by this trade because there were several challenges faced like running out of water, natural disasters, and wars. Pliny the Elder said that it took 62 days to complete the full journey of the Incense Route which makes it very difficult to access all types of goods and services in order to stay healthy and survive. Since they were in the Negev Desert in southern Israel, they had a “modern irrigation system”.

Source:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1107/#:~:text=The%20Incense%20Route%20was%20a,Arabian%20Peninsula%20to%20the%20Mediterranean

Influenced and impacted

as4743 — 2025-09-17 14:42:03 UTC

The Roman empire influenced this trade significantly more than anyone else; they bought valuable resources such as myrrh and frankincense, at one point the Roman Emperor Nero had a year's harvest of frankincense burned at his Mistress’ funeral. The Egyptian and Greek empires also benefitted by the frankincense and myrrh because it was used to burn incense, as perfume in cosmetics, medicine, and embalming.

Source:

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1107/

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/86338/8-trade-routes-shaped-world-history