GASPARD & BALTHAZAR: THE DEPARTURE BY BOAT With the appearance of the star, Gaspard from India and Balthazar from Ethiopia used existing trade routes to travel to Judea. Ships from the port of Cranganore in India, from which the Wise Man Gaspard is said to have departed, maintained regular sea connections with the port of the Kingdom of Aksum (Ethiopia), from which King Bazen alias Balthazar the Wise Man reigned. The Romans brought silk, spices, and precious stones by sea from India through the port of Aksum. Ethiopia had direct maritime connections with Cadiz, also called Gades, as confirmed by the writings of the historians: Pliny the Elder (first century) and Coelius Antipater (first century). “A ship from Gades was wrecked in Ethiopia,” says the great navigator Eudoxos (first century). Maritime routes were privileged at that time. The Kingdom of Meroe, north of Ethiopia and south of Egypt, had difficult relations with Rome. On several occasions, Rome tried to invade Meroe without success. This made land connections more difficult.