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A Rise in Pilgrimage

St. Catherine's monastery at Mt. Sinai

All that changed in the late 4th century A.D., as a now Christian Roman society embraced the notion of holy pilgrimage. More and more of the devout ventured forth along the centuries-old, but still well-maintained network of roads and sea routes that criss-crossed the Roman World. Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Mt. Sinai were the primary goals for such travelers heading eastward, though there were many well-tended shrines, such as that of St. John in Ephesus, that could be visited along the way. Gaza became the entry point to Judaea for thousands of these pilgrims, and the ships which brought them would journey home with a valuable cargo of Palestinian wine that would sell well in many parts of the Empire, including Rome itself. Frankish Gaul was an important market, Gazan wine having found favor in the West for the Christian communion.