With the rise of post-colonialism during the latter part of the twentieth century, more focus has been given to non-western perspectives (the so-called nativist turn). In the case of Indian Ocean trade during the early first millennium CE, the view that ‘Roman’ merchants and sailors were the near-exclusive movers of goods, who were also (indirectly) responsible for commercial developments within South Asia, has largely fallen into abeyance. Rightly, the agency of those in South Asia has been acknowledged. The present article goes beyond this basic premise and considers how we can assess evidence demonstrating the role played by sailors and merchants from South Asia. In particular, it is suggested these merchants and sailors played an important role in connecting the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal regions.

中文翻译：

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印度海外商人：公元第一个千年初期整合印度洋世界

随着二十世纪后半叶后殖民主义的兴起，非西方观点受到更多关注（所谓的本土主义转向）。就公元第一个千年初期的印度洋贸易而言，“罗马”商人和水手几乎是唯一的货物搬运者，他们也（间接）负责南亚地区商业发展的观点在很大程度上已经陷入了困境。暂缓。正确地，南亚国家的作用已得到承认。本文超越了这一基本前提，并考虑了我们如何评估证明南亚水手和商人所发挥作用的证据。特别是，这些商人和水手在连接阿拉伯海和孟加拉湾地区方面发挥了重要作用。