Avalites (also spelled Abalitês, from Ancient Greek: ΑὐαλίτηςorἈβαλίτης) was an ancient port city in present-day Somalia. It corresponds with what later became the city of Zeila.[1][2][3]
According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Avalites was located on the Far-Side market south of Adulis, stood near the entrance of the Red Sea, where the Gulf narrowed at the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb.[4][5] The port city has been identified with modern day Zeila.[6]
Avalites exported spices, some ivory and a little myrrh, but the Periplus claims, better products could be obtained elsewhere. Some of these exports were transported on small crafts navigated by local people of the area and was shipped to Arabian port cities on the other side of the Red Sea.[7][8][9]
The Somali coast was an important part of the global incense trade, alongside Southeast Asia, South Asia, and southern Arabia on the Red Sea. Incense was widely used in the Mediterranean region and all of Europe, used for religious and everyday purposes. This made incense a noteworthy commodity in the Indian Ocean trade.[10]
