This paper focuses on the information provided by various geographical works from the 1st century AD (the Periplus maris Erythraei and those written by Pomponius Mela and Pliny the Elder) on the ports of western and southern Arabia, with the hypothesis that each capital of the different kingdoms in those areas (that of Saba-Himyar and that of Hadramawt) maintained strict control over a main port. This was due to the political determination of the different rulers to establish strict control over long-distance trade, in order to more effectively administer taxes, tariffs and port fees in each of the ports designated or authorized for such purpose. Another factor of relevance consisted in the readjustments that took place in commercial practices and in the distribution network of the Indian Ocean-Red Sea region due to the novel Roman presence, evident after the annexation of Egypt.
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