Trade and cultural links between ancient India and Arabia date back to the third millennium BC. By 1000 AD, the trade relations between southern India and Arabia flourished and became the backbone of the Arabian economy. Arab traders held a monopoly over the spice trade between India and Europe until the rise of European imperialist empires. India was one of the first nations to establish ties with the Third Saudi State. During the 1930s, British India heavily funded Nejd through financial subsidies.