Crossings and contacts across the Bay of Bengal: a connected history of ports in early South and Southeast Asia

Abstract

The eastern Indian Ocean could be viewed as a world of flows and connections. This paper focuses on three ports of the eastern sea-board of India and their interactions with ports in Srilanka and in Peninsular Thailand in the early–medieval period (c.600 CE–1300 CE). These ports are Samandar (Chittagong), Vishakhapattinam and Nagapattinam. These were nodes of mercantile organization and hubs through which connections were fostered. Among the three ports, Samandar in Chittagong gains primacy in our discussion with its strong hinterland and extensive foreland. Port towns were often a unique site of cultural exchange that challenged boundaries. Put differently they formed a point of convergence of different types of people and thus were open to a rich array of exchanges both mercantile and cultural. This paper attempts to explore some of these exchanges.