Andamanasia (909 BCE – 819 CE) Early Iron and Antiquity — Bay of Bengal Hubs and Canoe Polities

Geographic and Environmental Context

Andamanasia encompasses:

• Andaman Islands (North, Middle, South Andaman) and Nicobar Islands.

• Aceh in northern Sumatra, with nearby islands (Simeulue, Nias, Batu, Mentawai).

• The Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

• The Preparis, Coco, and Little Coco Islands (off Myanmar).
  
  Anchors: North–South Andaman coasts and reefs, Nicobar Great Channel, Aceh’s Weh Island and Lhokseumawe–Banda Aceh corridor, Simeulue–Nias–Mentawai arc, Preparis/Coco islets, Cocos (Keeling) lagoon.

• Nicobars/Aceh/Nias emerged as regional canoe hubs; Andamans continued as forager stronghold.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Monsoon stable; cyclones episodic; reef/forest productivity high.

Societies & Political Developments

• Aceh/Nias/Mentawai: village confederacies; canoe chiefs coordinated trade.

• Nicobars: exchange hub for Bengal–Sri Lanka–SE Asia routes.

• Andamans: retained forager societies, resisting agricultural expansion.

• Cocos/Preparis: visited by seafarers, but uninhabited.

Economy & Trade

• Goods: resin, copra, turtles, shells, fish, coconut fiber, forest products; exchanged for iron tools, beads, pottery.

• Nicobars central to Bay trading lanes; Aceh tied to early Indian Ocean traffic.

Technology & Material Culture

• Iron tools, outrigger canoes, pottery; decorated cloth, barkcloth traditions; carved canoe prows and ancestor posts.

Belief & Symbolism

• Canoe cults: boats as sacred ancestors; feasts with ritual song/dance; ancestor veneration central.

• Burial: canoe or tree burials in some islands.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Resilience through mobility and trade: canoe confederacies redistributed resources after storms/droughts.

Transition

By 819 CE, Andamanasia was a canoe polity crossroads: forager Andamans persisted, while Nicobars/Aceh/Nias integrated into Bay-wide networks — ready to link into the early medieval Indian Ocean worlds.

Contacts established with the Hellenistic world during the reign of Ashoka's predecessors serve him well.

He sends diplomatic-cum-religious missions to the rulers of Syria, Macedon, and Epirus, who learn about India's religious traditions, especially Buddhism.

India's northwest retains many Persian cultural elements, which might explain Ashoka's rock inscriptions—such inscriptions are commonly associated with Persian rulers.

Ashoka's Greek and Aramaic inscriptions found in Kandahar in Afghanistan may also reveal his desire to maintain ties with people outside of India.

Buddhism is introduced to Sri Lanka in the third century BCE from India, where it had been established by Siddartha Gautama three centuries earlier.

The powerful Indian monarch, Asoka, nurtures the new comprehensive religio-philosophical system in the third century BCE.

Asoka's conversion to Buddhism marks one of the turning points in religious history because at this time, Buddhism is elevated from a minor sect to an official religion enjoying all the advantages of royal patronage.

Asoka's empire, which extends over most of India, supports one of the most vigorous missionary enterprises in history.

The Asokan missionary approach, in contrast to the theological exclusivity of Hindu Brahmanism, features preaching and carries the principles of the Buddha directly to the common people.

This proselytizing has even greater success in Sri Lanka than it has in India and can be said to be the island's first experiment in mass education.

Buddhism also has a great effect on the literary development of the island.

The Indo-Aryan dialect spoken by the early Sinhalese is comprehensible to missionaries from India and facilitates early attempts at translating the scriptures.

The Sinhalese literati study Pali, the language of the Buddhist scriptures, thus influencing the development of Sinhala as a literary language.

The connection between religion, culture, language, and education and their combined influence on national identity have been an age-old pervasive force for the Sinhalese Buddhists.

Devanampiya Tissa employs Asoka's strategy of merging the political state with Buddhism, supporting Buddhist institutions from the state's coffers, and locating temples close to the royal palace for greater control.

With such patronage, Buddhism is positioned to evolve as the highest ethical and philosophical expression of Sinhalese culture and civilization.

Buddhism appeals directly to the masses, leading to the growth of a collective Sinhalese cultural consciousness.

The Buddhist tradition of chronicling events has aided the verification of historical figures.

One of the most important of these figures is King Devanampiya Tissa (250-c. 207 BCE).

According to the Mahavamsa, Asoka's son and emissary to Sri Lanka, Mahinda, introduced the monarch to Buddhism.

Devanampiya Tissa becomes a powerful patron of Buddhism and establishes the monastery of Mahavihara, which becomes the historic center of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Subsequent events also contribute to Sri Lanka's prestige in the Buddhist world.

It is on the island, for example, that the oral teachings of the Buddha—the Tripitaka—are committed to writing for the first time.

The Middle East: 129–118 BCE

The Seleucid Collapse and Parthian Ascendancy

The period from 129 to 118 BCE signifies a crucial turning point in Middle Eastern history, characterized by the near-complete collapse of the Seleucid Empire and the definitive rise of Parthian power.

In 129 BCE, the Parthians decisively repel the last major Seleucid attempt at reconquest in a significant battle at Ecbatana, where Seleucid king Antiochus VII is killed. This crushing defeat effectively signals the end of Greco-Macedonian influence east of the Euphrates and severely weakens the already fragile Seleucid state. Following this loss, the Seleucid Empire shrinks dramatically, essentially reduced to a rump state consisting primarily of Antioch and its immediate surroundings.

The Seleucid realm plunges into internal chaos, with multiple claimants battling for control and neighboring states steadily encroaching upon its diminished borders. The return of former king Demetrius II from Parthian captivity only exacerbates the instability. During his second reign, Demetrius holds limited territory and is assassinated around four years later, highlighting the Empire's rapid decline into internal fragmentation.

This era also witnesses profound cultural exchanges between the Greco-Macedonian west and the Persian-influenced east. Greek thought and practices deeply permeate eastern regions, while Persian and Indian sciences, literature, and architectural influences gradually spread westward, leaving enduring legacies.

Significantly, Parthia's westward territorial expansion during these years sets the stage for inevitable conflicts with the rising power of Rome. The resulting Roman–Parthian rivalry will dominate geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East for several centuries.

Thus, the period from 129 to 118 BCE marks the decisive demise of Seleucid dominance, solidifies Parthian power, and initiates a lasting geopolitical rivalry between Parthia and Rome, profoundly reshaping the Middle East.

The Middle East: 105–94 BCE

Dura-Europos Under Parthian Rule

The period from 105 to 94 BCE sees significant developments under Parthian rule in Mesopotamia, particularly with their capture and renaming of the Seleucid city Europos, now called Dura. Originally founded by Seleucus I in 303 BCE, Europos occupied a strategic location at the crossroads of a vital east-west trade route and a north-south route along the Euphrates River. Initially designed according to the Hippodamian grid pattern, Europos had evolved by the second century BCE into a prominent urban center, featuring rectangular blocks systematically arranged around a central agora.

Under the Parthians, Dura-Europos thrives as an essential agricultural and trade hub, serving as a critical fortress on the Arsacid Empire’s frontier. The city’s strategic importance in controlling caravan routes fosters a cosmopolitan atmosphere, vividly demonstrated by multilingual inscriptions in languages including Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Hatrian, Palmyrenean, Middle Persian, and Safaitic Pahlavi.

Thus, the era from 105 to 94 BCE marks the rise of Dura-Europos as a significant Parthian center, emblematic of cultural diversity and economic vitality, enhancing Mesopotamia's role in regional trade networks and consolidating Parthian authority in the region.

The northern regions of Pakistan had come under the rule of the Sakas, who originated in Central Asia in the second century BCE.

They were soon driven eastward by Pahlavas (Parthians related to the Scythians), who in turn are displaced by the Kushans (also known as the Yuezhi, or Yueh-Chih, in Chinese chronicles).

Napata remains Meroë's religious center, but northern Kush eventually falls into disorder as it comes under pressure from the Blemmyes, predatory nomads from east of the Nile.

However, the Nile continues to give the region access to the Mediterranean world.

Additionally, Meroë maintains contact with Arab and Indian traders along the Red Sea coast and incorporates Hellenistic and Hindu cultural influences into its daily life.

Inconclusive evidence suggests that metallurgical technology may have been transmitted westward across the savanna belt to West Africa from Meroë's iron smelteries.