The ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the region’s commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Somali sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, all of which were valuable luxuries to the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and Babylonians.[102][103] In the classical era, several flourishing Somali city-states such as Opone, Mosylon, Cape Guardafui, and Malao competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and Axumites for the rich IndoβGreco-Roman trade.
