The ancient city of Sarapion is believed to have been the predecessor state of Mogadishu. It is mentioned in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'', a Greek travel document dating from the first century AD, as one of a series of commercial ports on the Somali littoral. According to the ''Periplus'', maritime trade already connected peoples in the Mogadishu area with other communities along the Indian Ocean.