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There are a number of sites scattered over Oman which
date back to this period. These include the Mikhailif
site and the Al Waset site in Batinah. Many smooth,
soapstone vessels have been discovered at these areas as
well as ornaments characteristic of the period, bronze
spearheads, arrowheads and knives.
Oman in the First Millenium BC
The most important site dating back to the first
millennium BC is located in Sohar. A settlement was
unearthed there in which were found constructions below
the buildings of the first century AD, indicating a
flourishing settlement. The artifacts discovered show
that Sohar was a significant trading centre at this
time. Merchant seals were found and a type of fine
terracotta earthenware, possibly imported from India.
Other forms of pottery included Chinese porcelain of a
type found in abundance in the first century of the
Islamic Age, confirming that trade with China was
flourishing then. This trade continued until the 14th
century AD.
The succession of strata at the site shows the gradual
decline of trade and the subsequent stagnation of the
city as a result of the overlordship of Hormuz passing
to Qalhat near Sur. Thus trade and its attendant
enterprise and tax revenue were relocated there.
The fortification of Sohar was raised by order of one of
the princes of Hormuz with the purpose of imposing a
trade blockade on the town, until it was severely
reduced and the inhabitants were forced to flee. After
the Portuguese had been expelled from the region, Sohar
saw a trade revival and an increase in its mercantile
exchanges in the Far East.
Frankincense brought the city of Dhofar in the south of
the Sultanate to worldwide prominence. Dhofar was the
prime source of this exotic commodity and also of gum.
Frankincense was in the forefront of commodities traded
in the past, particularly once it had caught the
attention of the early historians around 400 BC, such as
Herodotus, Pliny, Ptolemy, Strabo and Diodorus.
Field studies carried out in Dhofar indicate that
frankincense was transported by land and sea across the
world. The crop was collected for outward transport from
Ras Fartak port (Jebel Al Qamr) to Yemen and the rest of
Asia, via Aden port. The land route started to the west
of Dhofar and passed through the Nejd to the south of
the Arabian peninsula, then swinging north to Najran and
on to Gaza. However, the most significant route was that
which linked Dhofar with the east of the Arabian
peninsula and continued to Sumer, in Iraq.
Ptolemy I was the first geographer to draft a map of the
Dhofar district in which he identified the Salalah Plain
(Khwar Rawri) as the region where frankincense was
cultivated. He also highlighted an area which he named
Suq al Omaniyeen (the Omani Marketplace). Other studies
show that the Omanis controlled the principal districts
on the south coast of the Arabian Sea. Muslim historians
made reference to Ubar or Wabar, placing it in the
northern part of Dhofar. Nashwan bin Said Al-Homeiri
also referred to this place, but believed it to be in
the territory occupied by the Aad tribe (the eastern
part of Yemen). The historian Al-Tabai speaks of Ubar
without specifying its whereabouts in a reference to its
having been stricken with drought. At all events, there
are many references indicating that the Aad clan was
settled at Ubar. The Quran also records a tale of the
Aad who were destroyed and buried without their domicile
being known. Thus it can be concluded that Ubar was not
the name of a city, but of a substantial territory, the
precise location of which is a matter of debate between
historians and archaeologists.
From the earliest times, Dhofar was a habitat uniquely
suited to the cultivation of the frankincense bush,
although it appears that the use of frankincense as a
traded commodity did not occur before the Neolithic
Period, some 8000 years previous. During the Islamic
Era, frankincense trade traversed the routes of the
Neolithic Period which were constructed by the Arabs and
Romans. The frankincense route from Oman to Egypt
travelled by way of the Negev and Sinai. Thus, trade may
have occurred between the Arabian peninsula and Dhofar
during the Neolithic Period.
Certainly, South Arabia was once endowed with many
rivers and lakes and consequently, traversed by many
roads, in particular across the Rub al-Khali. The
evidence for this comes from vessels and implements
associated with the Neolithic Period which were found
along the length of the route and at various sites
throughout the Arabian peninsula. Further evidence came
in the form of paintings on rock faces in the west of
the peninsula and in Yemen. Finds along the route to
Sumer in Iraq were all characterised by the same feats
of decoration.
Oman did not confine its exports to raw frankincense, or
olibanum. By blending this with a form of tallow, it was
possible to process it into incense for religious rites.
Ivory and perfumes were also among Oman's exports during
the Neolithic Period. Investigative surveys stumbled on
a quantity of Sumerian tablets bearing the name bokhur
(incense) and records have described bokhur as
"extracted from the frankincense bush".
In conclusion, from approximately 5000 BC to around 1800
BC, Iraq's need for incense, as supplied by Dhofar,
grew. Some time around 2000 BC the region probably
witnessed a change of climate and the environment began
to experience drought and gradual desertification. This
happened around the time inhabitants began to
domesticate the camel for use in the overland caravan
route. Archaeological findings in the peninsula and in
Egypt prove that the land trade became an established
reality circa 1500 BC.
At all events, the locality known as Shasir was the Nejd/Dhofar
district's principal trade centre for the northern land
route which began at the start of the Neolithic Period
and which appears to have been associated with trade
between Dhofar and the north of the Arabian peninsula to
Sumer in the south of Iraq. It is possible that the
trade links between Dhofar and Sumer extended from the
earliest times to trade with Gaza and Ancient Egypt.
Shasir continued to thrive after the end of the Bronze
and Iron ages. Recent excavations have unearthed traces
of fine buildings, suggesting a well-populated place on
the trading activities of its citizens. During the
Middle Ages, many sources refer to their uncommon
enterprise in the export of incense, horses and gum. It
is likely that Shasir retained its trading prominence up
to the start of the 16th century, when its inhabitants
left and relocated in the surrounding regions.
Field surveys carried out in 1993 on the Salalah Plain
discovered a similarity in the buildings excavated,
particularly at the Ain Hamran site, with those of the
Shasir district, sharing many identical architectural
features. A large group of buildings at Balid in Salalah
were also found. These studies ascribe considerable
significance to this locality as a busy trading post
engaged in the export and import of goods, as evidenced
by the presence of a variety of coins and ceramic
vessels, dating to the 14th century AD. Archaeologists
also found parallel samples in Shasir, establishing that
a link existed between the region to the interior of
Dhofar and the coast right up to the 15th century.
From this brief outline, it can be seen that Oman was
home to a civilisation which went back in time
continuously to the pre-Islamic Age. Throughout the
Islamic age itself, Oman enjoyed a cultural expansion on
a par with the other Islamic lands, with which it
communicated through trade and navigation. |
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Oman From the Dawn of
Islam.....Read More |
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materials in this site is subject to the views and opinion of the
developers who cannot be held responsible towards any misconception
and misinterpretation.