The earliest known exploration of the Red Sea was conducted
by Ancient Egyptians, as they attempted to establish commercial routes to Punt.
One such expedition took place around 2500 BC, and another around 1500 BC ( by
Hatshepsut ). Both involved long voyages down the Red Sea. The Biblical Book of
Exodus tells the story of the Israelites' miraculous crossing of a body of
water, which the Hebrew text calls Yam Suph. Yam Suph is traditionally
identified as the Red Sea. The account is part of the Israelite escape from
slavery in Egypt. Yam Suph can also been translated as Sea of Reeds.
In the 6th century BC, Darius the Great of Persia sent reconnaissance missions
to the Red Sea, improving and extending navigation by locating many hazardous
rocks and currents. A canal was built between the Nile and the northern end of
the Red Sea at Suez. In the late 4th century BC, Alexander the Great sent Greek
naval expeditions down the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Greek navigators
continued to explore and compile data on the Red Sea. Agatharchides collected
information about the sea in the 2nd century BC. The Periplus of the Erythraean
Sea ("Periplus of the Red Sea"), a Greek periplus written by an
unknown author around the 1st century AD, contain a detailed description of the
Red Sea's ports and sea routes.
The Periplus also describes how Hippalus first discovered
the direct route from the Red Sea to India.
Settlements and commercial centers in the vicinity of the Red Sea involved in
the spice trade, as described in
the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
The Red Sea was favored for Roman trade with India starting with the reign of
Augustus, when the Roman Empire gained control over the Mediterranean, Egypt,
and the northern Red Sea. The route had been used by previous states but grew
in the volume of traffic under the Romans. From Indian ports goods from China
were introduced to the Roman world. Contact between Rome and China depended on
the Red Sea, but the route was broken by the Aksumite Empire around the 3rd
century AD.
During the Middle Ages, the Red Sea was an important part of the Spice trade
route. In 1513, trying to secure that channel to Portugal, Afonso de
Albuquerque laid siege to Aden. but was forced to retreat. They cruised the
Red Sea inside the Bab al-Mandab, as the first European fleet to have sailed
these waters.
In 1798, France ordered General Bonaparte to invade Egypt and take control of
the Red Sea. Although he failed in his mission, the engineer Jean-Baptiste
Lepère, who took part in it, revitalised the plan for a canal which had been
envisaged during the reign of the Pharaohs. Several canals were built in
ancient times from the Nile to the Red Sea along or near the line of the
present Sweet Water Canal, but none lasted for long. The Suez Canal was opened
in November 1869. At the time, the British, French, and Italians shared the trading
posts. The posts were gradually dismantled following the First World War. After
the Second World War, the Americans and Soviets exerted their influence whilst
the volume of oil tanker traffic intensified. However, the Six Day War
culminated in the closure of the Suez Canal from 1967 to 1975. Today, in spite
of patrols by the major maritime fleets in the waters of the Red Sea, the Suez
Canal has never recovered its supremacy over the Cape route, which is believed
to be less vulnerable.
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