In the Indian Ocean trade, Banyan merchants are Indian merchants who are clearly distinguished from others by their Banyan clothing, their diet, and by the manner in which they conduct trade.[1]

A Hindoo Family, Banyan Cast (c1830)

History

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The Banyan people are mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, in the context of Indo-Roman trade relations,[2] in Egypt and Sokotra, Dahlak Island and Suakim, Massawa, Muscat, Zanzibar, the Gulf of Aden, Aydhab, Hadramut, Syria, Persia and Europe.[3] In Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname, it is mentioned that the language of the Rumelian Roma people from Gümülcine (Komotini) has Banyan roots.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Banians - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  2. ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1974). "The 'Banyan' or Indian Presence at Massawa, the Dahlak Islands and the Horn of Africa". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 12 (1): 185–212. JSTOR 44324706. Retrieved 30 May 2022 – via JSTOR.
  3. ^ Gabbasov, Sergey (January 2019). "Banyan Leaves: The Route from Maharajas to Pharaohs".
  4. ^ https://humstatic.uchicago.edu/slavic/archived/papers/Friedman-OldestBalkRmiw-BDankoff [dead link]