Area of specialization & research agenda

East-West Connections in Antiquity: the Ancient Mediterranean and the Eastern Worlds (Arabia; Horn of Africa; India; Ceylon; China; Indian Ocean), from the 6th century BC to the 6th century AD.

My research work focuses in particular on :

• aspects of East-West connections (exploration; navigation ; trade routes; political, diplomatic, cultural and commercial exchanges between the Mediterranean world and India, South Arabia, East Africa and beyond);

• Greek and Roman knowledge of the eastern and southern edges of the world (ethnography, geography, history, zoology, botany, etc.) ;

• cultural transfers and reinterpretations;

• global economic history of luxury; luxury products;

• the material dimension of the history of East-West connections ; material culture;

• proto-globalization (6th century BC - 6 century AD).