Pre-Islamic Arab trade

Pre-Islamic Arab trade refers to the land- and sea-trade networks used by pre-Islamic Arab nations and traders. Some regions are also known as the incense trade route. Trade has been documented as early as the beginning of the second millennium BCE.

Antiquity

A text from the era of Sargon of Akkad (r. c. 2334-2284 BCE) mentions a shipping industry in Magan, in present-day Oman.[1] Excavations in the cities of Ur and Kish and in Bahrain and other locations along the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula have unearthed goods of Indian origin (including seals). Both indicate that the network of maritime trade was regular, bustling, and well-known as early as 3000 BC. They suggest that Bahrain and other sites along the Persian Gulf were popular docks which would welcome ships arriving from Iraq on their way to and from India.[2]

Africa

According to the 2nd-century BCE Greek historian Agatharchides, "It does not appear that there exists a people richer than the Sabaeans and the people of Gerrha who were agents of everything which fell under the name of shipping between Asia and Europe. They made Ptolemaic Syria rich and made Phoenician trade profitable in addition to hundreds of other things."[3] He described them as fierce warriors and skilled seafarers, who sailed large ships to supply their colonies.[4] The Palmyrene Empire built a shipyard in Characene, which facilitated the transport of goods through the Euphrates ports of Dura-Europos and Sura (the present-day village of Al-Hamam, east of the al-Thawra Dam in Syria). Some of the Palmyrenes who owned and sailed ships on the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean were attested by Chinese sailors who visited the region in 97 CE and mentioned the Characene port of Charax Spasinu.[5] Characene surpassed Gerrha in the perfume trade.[6] Despite the lack of direct control by the Nabataean Kingdom in the Persian Gulf, it was reachable by land (where goods would be loaded onto ships). Nabataean writings and manufactured goods (including typical Nabataean white dyes) have been discovered in the village of Thaj near the Persian Gulf, along the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula near Bahrain and as far as the ports of Yemen and Oman. They have also been found in archeological sites along the Incense Route, such as Qaryat al-Faw. Nabataean pottery has been uncovered in India; Nabataean inscriptions are scattered throughout the Mediterranean region, from Tunisia to Rhodes, Kos, Delos, Miletus in the Aegean Sea and in Pozzuoli and Rome.[7]

The Sabaeans had a long history of seafaring and commerce. A Sabaean presence in Africa was noted in antiquity with the founding of the kingdom of Dʿmt in Ethiopia in the 8th century BCE. The 1st-century CE historian Periplus of the Erythraean Sea described how the Arabs controlled the coast of "Ezana" (the East African coast north of Somalia). The Quran mentions trade with Sheba: "And We placed between them and the cities which We had blessed [many] visible cities. And We determined between them the [distances of] journey, [saying], "Travel between them by night or day in safety."[8] The Old Testament Book of Ezekiel reads, "Dedan traded in saddle blankets with you. Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers; they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats. ‘The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your merchandise they exchanged the finest of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold."[9] The Chinese explorer Faxian, who passed through Sri Lanka in 414 CE, reported that Saebaean merchants and Arabs from Oman and Hadhramaut lived in ornate homes in settlements on the island and traded in timber.[10] The Lakhmids also traded with Chinese ships which sailed along the Euphrates past the village of al-Hirah.[11] In the northern Lakhmid kingdom (present-day Al Anbar Governorate flows the 'Isā River, which connects the Tigris and the Euphrates.[12] To reach the Persian Gulf from al-Hirah, the Lakhmids traveled in smaller boats to the port in al-Ubulla (where there were sea ships bound for India and China). They would then depart for China via Bahrain and Aden.[13]

Jahiliyyah markets

Name	Location	Operation	Description	Clientele
Dumat al-Jandal	Near al-Jawf (northern Arabian Peninsula)	1-15 Rabi' al-awwal	Commercial and amenity market, with trade by tossing stones	Iraq, Syria and the Arabian Peninsula
Hajar	Bahrain	Rabi' al-Thani	Dates, dry goods, ambergris, musk	Traders from neighboring provinces
Al-Mushaqqar	Bahrain	Jumada al-awwal	General market in which sales were made with gestures and nonverbal utterances, the roads to which were not safe	Arabs and foreigners, particularly Persians
Oman	Yemeni seacoast	Jumada al-Thani (and from the 15th to the end of Ramadan)	Ambergris, metals, fruits	Varied, including Arabs from the tribe of Azd
Hubasha	Bareq, Tihamah	Early Rajab	Secondary market shared by Yemen, Tihamah and the Hejaz, which operated until 812 CE	Varied
Sohar	Oman coast	Rajab	Commercial market, protected during the holy month	Varied
Dibba	Persian Gulf	End of Rajab to the 10th of Sha'ban	Mixed market, in which Arab products were sold by bargaining	India, Sindh, China, Arabs
Al-Shahrah or Shahar Mahrah	Southern coast, between Aden and Oman	15th of Sha'ban	Camels, ambergris, dairy products, cloth, rope and hides. Goods sold with stone-balanced scales.	Merchants
Aden	South of the Bab-el-Mandeb	From 1–10 Ramadan	Perfume, collyrium, pearls; safe access	Arabs, Persians and Romans
San'a	Yemeni capital	15–30 Ramadan	Cotton, saffron, dyes, Galia Moschata and collyrium, sold by touching hands	Arab, Ethiopian and Persian merchants
Hadhramaut	Between Oman and Yemen	15–30 Dhu al-Qidah	Limited size	Varied
Okaz	The lands of the tribe of Hawazin, in the Hejaz near Ta'if	1–20 Dhu al-Qidah	The best-known Arab market, which contributed to the standardisation of Arabic dialects	Varied throughout the Arabian Peninsula
Majannah	The lands of the tribe of Banu Kinanah in Tihamah, near Mecca	20–30 Dhu al-Qidah	Smaller than Okaz, protected by its position and during the holy months	Similar to Okaz, plus Arabs and pilgrims on Hajj and Umrah
Dhu Majaz	Near Mount Arafat	1–8 Dhu al-Hijjah	General market, inhabited until Youm al-Tarwiyah	Arab merchants and pilgrims
Natat Khaybar	North of Medina	After the pilgrimage season	Commercial market	Jewish clientele
Hajr al-Yamama	Western Bahrain and southern Iraq	10–30 Muharram	General market protected during the holy months	Arabs
Dayr Ayyub	North of Bosra (he Levant)	After the pilgrimage season	Roman-controlled commercial market	Meeting place for Arab and Roman merchants
Bosra market	Southern Levant (Hauran)	After the pilgrimage season, 30-40 nights usually between Muharram and Rabi' al-Awwal	Commercial market including Indian and Ethiopian products, noted for swords and wines	Arab merchants
Adhra'at (Daraa)	Hauran	After the pilgrimage season and the Bosra market	Noted for wine	Arab merchants
Al-Hirah Market	North of Kufa	Unknown	Noted for hides, perfume, collyrium, jewelry, horses and goods from other Arab markets and those of neighboring countries. Safety provided by the Lakhmid kings.	Arabs and Persians
Al-Mirbad	Outskirts of Basra	Perennial	Similar to Okaz: a general, commercial, residential and literary centre until the Abbasid era	Arab traders, poets and intellectuals

The Qur'an mentions the winter and summer journeys which the tribe of Quraysh would make, since Mecca was on the Incense Road. Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, the great-grandfather of Muhammad, was a distinguished merchant whose trading post was in Gaza (where he died and was buried). He founded the "'īlāf," (solidarity), a series of commercial agreements between him, the tribe of Quraysh and the other factions with whom they traded. His tomb is in the Sayed al-Hashim Mosque.

Islamic sources also mention Muhammad's mercantile career in the Levant, beginning with a trip to the region with his uncle Abu Talib. In Bosra, the Nestorian priest Bahira foretold Muhammad's life. He later employed Khadija bint Khuwaylid, the woman who became his wife. According to Christian sources from 660 and 692 CE,[14] "Mohammad would go to [the] lands of Palestine, Arabia, Syria, and Phoenicia to trade." [15] Bosra has the Mosque of the Blessing of the Camel (which was blessed by Muhammad's camel in the caravan of his uncle, Abu Talib) and the Monastery of Bahira. Bosra is a Nabatean city, which became the capital after Petra. After the fall of the Nabatean Kingdom, the Romans made Bosra the capital of the Province of Arabia. A fourth-century Byzantine source notes the concentration of Arab commerce in Bosra.[16]

Maritime trade

Arab naval trade was contested by the Greeks, who tried to challenge Arab control of maritime trade between India and Egypt during the early Middle Ages. Arab trade persisted during the period, and Greek naval trade dwindled.[17] There were a number of harbors on the Arabian Peninsula, some of which remain in operation. The most important harbors in the eastern Arabian Peninsula were Al-Ubulla, Gerrha and Sohar (Oman). The most important southern harbors were Mocha, Qanī (now Bi'r `Ali, Yemen), Aden, and Muska (Samharam).[18] The most important western ports included al-Sha'ibah, Aylah (Aqaba) and Luwikat Kuma (al-Hawra'). A sea route used by Arabs to reach the Indian subcontinent ran from "The Euphrates of Maysan" to Debal on the Indus River.[19] They would also sail from al-Ubulla, passing Oman and on to India.[20] Those who traveled from the harbors of Yemen, such as the Qanī and "Muza" of Gerrha, would sail directly to India without needing to stop and resupply.[21]

Land trade

Land trade extended as far as the Caucasus Mountains. The road began in the city of Qanī in Hadhramaut, and branched into two paths 160 miles (260 km) apart. The first path led east, along Wadī Mayfa'a to Shabwa; the second led from Qanī to Wadī Hajar and passed through Wadī Armah, the water source for Shabwa. From Shabwa, the road turned towards Aden and led to Najran.[22] The road continued northeast from Najdan to Wadī Al-Dawasir, passing the villages of al-Faw and al-Aflaj (where it branched in two directions). The first led east to the Persian Gulf, and the other led north to the Levant.[23]

References

1. S. H. Langon, The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. I, p. 415. F. Thureau-Dangin, Die sumerischen und akkadischen koenigsinschriftten, bd. I, s. 66, 72, 76, 78, 104, 106, 134, 164, 166. H. R. Hall, The Ancient History of the Near East (London, 1947), p. 190. "Ancient Iraq", p. 142.
2. C. J. Gadd, "Seals of Ancient Indian Style Found at Ur", pba, xviii, pp. 191-210. M. Wheeler.
3. George Fadlo Hourani and John Carswell, Arab seafaring in the Indian Ocean in ancient and early medieval times.
4. علي محمد فهمي، ص362
5. Hill (2009), pp. 5, 23, 240-242.
6. Nicola Bonacasa, "Alessandria e il mondo ellenistico-romano". Atti del 2° Congressom, p.28.
7. Suzanne Richard, Near Eastern Archaeology: a Reader, p.437.
8. Saba (surah):18.
9. Ezekiel 27:20-22.
10. Aramco World, volume 51, number 6, November/December 2000.
11. "At this time (early fifth century) the Euphrates was navigable as high as Hira, a city lying southwest of ancient Babylon ... and the ships of India and China were constantly to be seen moored before the houses of the town." Henry Yule, Cathy and Way Thither. London: John Murray (1926) rev. ed., Vol. I, LXXVI I.
12. "نهر صرصر". Paulys-Wissoma, 64 Halbband, 1950, 1725.
13. البكري, معجم ما استعجم, ج2, ص478
14. R. W. Thomson (with contributions from J. Howard-Johnson and T. Greenwood), The Armenian History Attributed To Sebeos Part - I: Translation and Notes, 1999, Translated Texts For Historians - Volume 31, Liverpool University Press, pp. 95-96. Other translations are also in P. Crone and M. Cook, Hagarism: The Making Of The Islamic World (1977). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 6-7; R. G. Hoyland, Seeing Islam As Others Saw It: A Survey And Evaluation Of Christian, Jewish And Zoroastrian Writings On Early Islam (1997), op. cit., p. 129; idem., "Sebeos, The Jews And The Rise Of Islam" in R. L. Nettler (ed.), Medieval And Modern Perspectives On Muslim-Jewish Relations (1995), Harwood Academic Publishers in cooperation with the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, p. 89.
15. A. Palmer (with contributions from S. P. Brock and R. G. Hoyland), The Seventh Century In The West-Syrian Chronicles Including Two Seventh-Century Syriac Apocalyptic Texts (1993), p. 39, pp. 37-40.
16. Byzantine trade, 4th-12th centuries, p. 248; Expositio, 38: Delude iam de dextris iterum Syriae supra inuenies Arabiam.
17. The Cambridge History of Africa (1975); Fage 1975: 164
18. E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, vol. 9: T. W. Arnold. p. 1188.
19. Manichaeism, Michel Tardieu, Malcolm DeBevoise, p. 21.
20. The Indian historical review, Vol. 32, Indian Council of Historical Research.
21. Boats of the World: From the Stone Age to Medieval Times, Seán McGrail, p. 80.
22. Bowen 1958: 35-42; Groom 1981: 165-188.
23. الأنصاري1975:76 Brice 1984: 178.