How did Bronze Age trade work?

Bronze Age trade was a sophisticated multi-layered system that connected civilizations across thousands of miles. It operated on several levels simultaneously, from elite diplomatic exchange to everyday commercial transactions.

At the highest level, the great powers — Egypt, the Hittites, Babylon, Assyria, and Mitanni — exchanged luxury goods through royal gift-giving. The Amarna Letters reveal pharaohs writing to fellow kings requesting gold, chariots, and even royal brides. These exchanges were as much about diplomacy as economics — maintaining alliances and demonstrating status through the value and rarity of gifts.

Below this diplomatic layer, professional merchants organized long-distance trade in essential commodities. The most important were copper (from Cyprus, Oman, and Anatolia) and tin (from Afghanistan, possibly Cornwall, and Central Asia) — the two ingredients needed for bronze. Overland caravans used donkeys (and later camels) to transport goods along established routes with waypoints, warehouses, and local intermediaries.

Maritime trade expanded the system's reach enormously. Phoenician, Mycenaean, and Canaanite ships carried cargoes across the Mediterranean. The Uluburun shipwreck (c. 1300 BCE), discovered off Turkey, contained copper ingots, tin, glass, ebony, ivory, amber, and goods from Egypt, Canaan, Mycenae, Cyprus, and possibly Nubia — a remarkable cross-section of Bronze Age international commerce in a single vessel.

Payment methods varied: barter, weighed silver, and standardized ingots all served as media of exchange. Seals and written contracts provided security for transactions. The system's sophistication was remarkable — and its fragility became apparent when it collapsed around 1200 BCE.