Ближний Восток и его соседи

g 98 h Magda El-Nowieemy The Red Sea and the Luxury of the Roman Women: A Literary Study Abstract : Arabia and the Red Sea continued to occupy a position of commercial leadership in the Roman Empire, and the Romans showed much interest in them. The Romans put high value on Eastern products that became fashionable at the time. Fragrances, perfumes, precious stones, pearls, and silk clothes represented extravagant luxury that came from the East either via the Red Sea or by overland routes in Arabia alongside the Red Sea. The Romans directed much funds to those luxury products coming from the East. So, the Red Sea as a channel for trade between Rome and the East was connected with the luxury of the Roman women. The Red Sea, I believe, also needs to be seen under another light, the light of Roman poetry. The Roman poets, especially of the Augustan Age, over and again redefined the Eastern products in several contexts, usually connected with the luxury of the Roman women. My aim in this paper is to illuminate the way the Roman poets of the Augustan Age treated this topic in the context of their literary perspectives. Among so many testimonies, some of the most telling examples are selected and analyzed in this study, especially those written by key figures of Roman love elegy. I traced those selected examples to see how they functioned and how they were motivated by various Roman concerns. Keywords : The Red Sea, Arabia, Eastern trade, luxury products, Ancient Rome, Roman women, Augustan Age, Roman poetry, Roman love elegy.