Trade and travels to India

Further information: Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

Silk Road and Spice trade, ancient trade routes that linked India with the Old World; carried goods and
ideas between the ancient civilisations of the Old World and India. The land routes are red, and the water
routes are blue.

 The spice trade in Kerala attracted traders from all over the Old World to India. Early writings
and Stone Age carvings of Neolithic age obtained indicates that India's Southwest coastal
port Muziris, in Kerala, had established itself as a major spice trade centre from as early as
3,000 BCE, according to Sumerian records. Jewish traders from Judea arrived
in Kochi, Kerala, India as early as 562 BCE.[141]
 Thomas the Apostle sailed to India around the 1st century CE. He landed in Muziris in
Kerala, India and established Yezh (Seven) ara (half) palligal (churches) or Seven and a Half
Churches.
 Buddhism entered China through the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism in the 1st or 2nd
century CE. The interaction of cultures resulted in several Chinese travellers and monks to
enter India. Most notable were Faxian, Yijing, Song Yun and Xuanzang. These travellers
wrote detailed accounts of the Indian subcontinent, which includes the political and social
aspects of the region.[142]
 Hindu and Buddhist religious establishments of Southeast Asia came to be associated with
the economic activity and commerce as patrons entrust large funds which would later be
used to benefit the local economy by estate management, craftsmanship, promotion of
trading activities. Buddhism in particular, travelled alongside the maritime trade, promoting
coinage, art, and literacy.[143] Indian merchants involved in spice trade took Indian cuisine to
Southeast Asia, where spice mixtures and curries became popular with the native
inhabitants.[144]
 The Greco-Roman world followed by trading along the incense route and the Roman-India
routes.[145] During the 2nd century BCE Greek and Indian ships met to trade at Arabian ports
such as Aden.[146] During the first millennium, the sea routes to India were controlled by the
Indians and Ethiopians that became the maritime trading power of the Red Sea.
Kushan Empire