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History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

[Solomon]

Underwater excavations at Dor Beach. Credit: University of Haifa

A boat that plied the coast of the Holy Land 1,300 years ago carrying fish, carobs and olives is helping researchers better understand a little-known period in the region's history ? suggesting that a long tradition of sea trade was not disrupted by the arrival of new rulers from the Arabian desert.

The boat, discovered in a coastal lagoon near the northern city of Haifa, dates from the early 8th century, not long after the rise of Islam and the Arab conquest of the Middle East.

Marine archaeologists who released new findings this week said the boat ? the only one from this period discovered in the Mediterranean ? could help scholars understand how the arrival of Arabs changed life and trading patterns in the Holy Land.

The boat, the archaeologists think, sailed up and down the coast with a crew of four or five, fishing and stopping to trade at ports along the way. On one of its journeys, it went down in shallow water for reasons unknown.

This 45-foot-long (14-meter) craft was first discovered by researchers from Haifa University's Institute for Maritime Studies and Texas A&M University 10 years ago, in a lagoon that is home to some 25 other sunken craft dating as far back as 2,000 years ago. Serious investigation of the craft began last year, and scholars are only now releasing their findings.

Much of the still-submerged ship is uniquely intact, with the stump of a mast still visible. On board, the archaeologists found 30 clay pots originating in Egypt and containing the remains of fish. They also found ropes, a wooden spoon and well-preserved 1,300-year-old olives and carobs.

Yaacov Kahanov, the Haifa University scholar leading the excavation, said the find was important both because of the boat's rare state of preservation and because the craft dates from a period about which historians know little.

Kahanov said the find also showed there was a settlement, previously unknown, in the early Arab period on the beach near where the boat was found. "The sailors brought the boat into the lagoon deliberately, to meet someone, to sell or buy, meaning there was some kind of port nearby," Kahanov said.

More important, the boat could help to paint a picture of economic life in the Holy Land under Arab rule. Hailing from the desert, the new rulers had no seagoing tradition, and scholars are divided on whether trading patterns that existed before they arrived were preserved afterwards.

According to Joseph Drori, an expert on the Islamic period at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, the boat could offer an indication that sea trade continued uninterrupted.

"If the age of the boat is right, then this is a very important find," Drori said.

When the boat went down in the lagoon, the Holy Land was an administrative backwater ruled from Damascus by the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty, who had just built the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. The Muslim population was still small, and most people were Christian, Jewish and Hellenist. The sailors were unlikely to have been Arabs, Drori said.

"The Arabs came with no knowledge of the sea, and drafted craftsmen, sailors and shipbuilders from the local population," Drori said.

[Diving Doc]

Solomon,
I really have to take exception to these statements. They seem to ignore the fact that there had been a thriving and extensive Arab Maritime Commerce for many hundreds of years. There were Arabs of the desert and Arabs of the sea.

The Arabs came with no knowledge of the sea, and drafted craftsmen, sailors and shipbuilders from the local population," Drori said.

More important, the boat could help to paint a picture of economic life in the Holy Land under Arab rule. Hailing from the desert, the new rulers had no seagoing tradition, and scholars are divided on whether trading patterns that existed before they arrived were preserved afterwards.

The Arabs were outstanding sailors, navigators, and boat builders from very early times.
Arab seagoing commerce has a very old history and well documented.

Ahmad ibn Majid, Master Navigator and Pilot of Vasco de Gama.

Ahmad ibn Majid spoke of the Arab conquest of the Indian Ocean. He mentioned the triad of sailors who had pointed the prows of their ships out of the Persian Gulf in the tenth century and helped to blaze the shoreline route to the Indus River: Muhammad ibn Shad-han, Layth ibn Kahlan and Sahl ibn Aban. He referred to bold sea captains who had braved the Indian Ocean along the shortest path to Calicut in Hindustan and then turned author to recount their experiences in writing: Al-Maqdisi, Al-Marwazi?and Ahmad ibn Majid. In these writers apprentices of the trade studied everything from star patterns over the Indian Ocean to dockside conditions at Calicut.

On one occasion Ibn Majid remarked: "Did you know that we sail beyond Ceylon to China? I myself have made the trip many times, and perhaps I may without immodesty note that I have written a couple of books about it. But our longest tradition of distant voyages links us with the land of the tiger and the elephant."

Early in their history, the Arabs living on the littoral of the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea had learned that they could make a profit by hazarding their lives on the deep waters beyond their shores. Seafaring families grew rich from transoceanic commerce. Splendid emporiums arose wherever trading ships came to dock?Aden, Zanzibar, Madagascar. Conversely, the seaports of the Malabar Coast, principally Calicut, became affluent from bartering with their Arab visitors.

The dhow was usually constructed of coconut wood or teak, the hardest and most durable timber, the dhow was entirely seaworthy amid the comparatively mild waves of the Indian Ocean. Its light bulk allowed it to travel with speed so that it could scud out of the path of threatening weather. Its triangular lateen sail was adapted to catch the slightest breeze and lend the ship maneuverability in treacherous coastal waters.

The planks of the dhow were stitched rather than nailed, because nails were not common in Arabia. Islamic shipwrights ingeniously fastened the planks to one another, and to the keel and ribs, with twisted cord. They caulked the hull with a heavy coat of mixed whale oil and pitch and rendered the vessel sufficiently watertight to keep the hold dry. Even perishable goods could be transported safely.

In addition, the Arabs knew how to get full value out of their ships. They were true scientists of the sea, experienced in navigation, meteorology and geography, adept at taking advantage of good sailing conditions on a regular seasonal schedule. Their dhows were not usually subjected to the oceanic battering that so often damaged the ships of less skillful navigators, those, for instance, who did not realize when the monsoon was about to change. The worth of the dhow is proved by its longevity. Old in de Gama's time, it has lasted into our own.

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196206/arabs.and.the.sea.htm

Doc

[Solomon]

Doc,

You say: Arab seagoing commerce has a very old history and well documented.

Can you reference this in regards the Mediterranean Sea?

Solomon

[Diving Doc]

Solomon,

The earliest Arab incursion into the Med started in the mid Seventh Century.
By the ninth century AD the island of Sicily was captured by the Aghlabids of al Qayrawan. The Aghlabid Dynasty was later overrun by that of the Fatimid family, which founded the Al-Mehdiya, near Tunis in AD 909.

From Sicily, Arab rule extended its reach to Malta and Gozo, in the year 869.

Amongst other things, the result of Malta?s Arab occupation included the setting up and fortification of Medina, Malta?s old capital. (?Medina? in Arabic signifies a ?city,? as is "Madinatu-n-Nabi", or "City of the Prophet", the legendary city which Muhammad settled in and later to become known simply as the Medina.)

Above all else, Arab influence in Malta extended to the Maltese language (which today contains some striking similarities) and to agriculture, with the introduction of dry-stone walls (more commonly, and somewhat disparagingly, known as 'rubble' walls), irrigation and the introduction to Malta of the Carob and the Olive tree.

The Islamic Empire spread westwards from the Middle East, right across North Africa (from Arabia to Morocco) and across the straits of Gibraltar to the Iberian Peninsula. The ?new? religion then spread eastwards, from Asia Minor right up to South East Asia.

From a Census compiled in the year 990, it appears that out of Malta's 16,767 inhabitants 13,161 were declared to be Moslems with only 3,606 being Christian. On the island of Gozo, however, it appears that out of a population of 4,544 there were 2,733 Christians and only 1,811 Moslems.

Strangely, Islam appears to have replaced Christianity during this time, but there aren?t any ancient Mosques or similar places of Muslim worship in Malta dating from this period. This is even stranger, since Arabs continued to live in Malta even after their reign ended around the year 1,090. Count Roger of Hauteville (who brought Norman rule to the Maltese Islands) allowed the Arab settlers to live and prosper following his victory.

http://www.my-malta.com//history/Events_1.html#ArabConquest

Yaacov Kahanov, the Haifa University scholar leading the excavation, said the find was important both because of the boat's rare state of preservation and because the craft dates from a period about which historians know little.
{And because there is some doubt as to the age there is also doubt as to it's significance with regards the statement made}

Kahanov said the find also showed there was a settlement, previously unknown, in the early Arab period on the beach near where the boat was found. "The sailors brought the boat into the lagoon deliberately, to meet someone, to sell or buy, meaning there was some kind of port nearby," Kahanov said. {And this is determined how?}

This Kahanov doesn't know his history very well it would seem. The Arabs were making their presence in the area 1300 plus years ago. I'd also like to know how he could even make the statement quoted above. What proof does he have? Who told him? Those sailors have been dead 1200 years. The vessel could have ended up there for numerous reasons like: They had a leak they had to fix, or their sails needed mending, or they were seeking shelter from bad weather, things like that. From looking at the remains of the wreck I'd hazard a guess that it isn't as old as stated. The construction doesn't seem to fit the period mentioned but I could be wrong. I'll check further.

Doc

[Solomon]

During the ninth century AD the island of Sicily was captured by the Aghlabids of al Qayrawan. The Aghlabid Dynasty was later overrun by that of the Fatimid family, which founded the Al-Mehdiya, near Tunis in AD 909.

From Sicily, Arab rule extended its reach to Malta and Gozo, in the year 869.

Doc

Thanks, Doc, you made the point very nicely:

The boat, discovered in a coastal lagoon near the northern city of Haifa, dates from the early 8th century, not long after the rise of Islam and the Arab conquest of the Middle East.

All your dates are after.

I know Malta rather well, having conducted digs there, in Medina too; my father is interred in Malta, also.

Solomon

[Diving Doc]

Solomon,

The Arab incursions into the Med started in the Mid 600's or the Seventh Century.
If the food stuffs have really been identified as being 1200 years old, which I doubt, Then it's the Einth Century, right? The Arabs brought the Carob and Olive to Malta and other places. They also conquered Sicily. You have Olives and Carob in the cargo, seems like a small leap of faith, doesn't it? As I stated, from viewing the remains of the vessel, I don't believe the dates are right. I expect we shall see if I am right or wrong in the future.

By 650, the Arabs were making their way through Libya and Tunisia, and San Cataldo Church, Palermo, designed by Arab architects in Islamic style.what remained of the once-prosperous city of Carthage was destroyed in 698. The Byzantines had already lost these areas, but they retained control of Sicily --despite numerous raids by Arab pirates-- until 827. In that year, Euphemius, a Byzantine admiral and resident governor of Sicily who found himself at odds with the Emperor, offered the governorship of the island to Ziyadat Allah, the Aghlabid Emir of Al Qayrawan (in Tunisia) in exchange for his support. This fiasco resulted in the landing of over ten thousand Arab and Berber troops at Mazara in the western part of Sicily. Euphemius was soon killed and Sicily's Arab period had begun.

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art168.htm

The Arab conquest, 634-36

The followers of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, embarked on a movement to establish their religious and civil control throughout the eastern Mediterranean from their base in the Arabian Peninsula. Their determination to conquer other lands resulted both from economic necessity and from religious beliefs.

Calling for a jihad (holy war) against non-Muslims, Muhammad's successor, Caliph Abu Bakr (632-34), brought Islam to the area surrounding Lebanon. Dividing his forces into three groups, he ordered one to move in the direction of Palestine, one toward Damascus, and one toward the Jordan River. The army under General Khalid ibn al-Walid defeated the Byzantine forces under Emperor Heraclius in 636 at the Battle of Yarmuk in northwestern Jordan.

The Umayyads, 660-750

After the Battle of Yarmuk, Caliph Umar appointed the Arab Muawiyah, founder of the Umayyad dynasty, as governor of Syria, an area that included present-day Lebanon. Muawiyah garrisoned troops on the Lebanese coast and had the Lebanese shipbuilders help him construct a navy to resist any potential Byzantine attack. He also stopped raids by the Marada, a powerful people who had settled in the Lebanese mountains and who were used by the Byzantine rulers to prevent any Arab invasion that would threaten the Byzantine Empire. Concerned with consolidating his authority in Arabia and Iraq, Muawiyah negotiated an agreement in 667 with Constantine IV, the Byzantine emperor, whereby he agreed to pay Constantine an annual tribute in return for the cessation of Marada incursions. During this period some of the Arab tribes settled in the Lebanese and Syrian coastal areas.

The Abbasids, 750-1258

The Abbasids, founded by the Arab Abul Abbas, replaced the Umayyads in early 750. They treated Lebanon and Syria as conquered countries, and their harshness led to several revolts, including an abortive rebellion of Lebanese mountaineers in 759. By the end of the tenth century, the amir of Tyre proclaimed his independence from the Abbasids and coined money in his own name. However, his rule was terminated by the Fatimids of Egypt, an independent Arab Muslim dynasty.

I believe there is no doubt that this area was under Arab rule in the Seventh Century. I'd hazard another guess that the vessel might have been built of cedar in what is now Lebanon. We will see what story the wood tells.

Cheers,
Doc

[Solomon]

Doc,

Then it's the Ninth Century, right?

No:

The boat, discovered in a coastal lagoon near the northern city of Haifa, dates from the early 8th century, not long after the rise of Islam and the Arab conquest of the Middle East.

The period you described in your last post was the 7th century - The Arab conquest, 634-36 - within a century from the period attributed to the boat.
The first specific criticism you made was that:

They seem to ignore the fact that there had been a thriving and extensive Arab Maritime Commerce for many hundreds of years.

Your reference to the Arab invasions of the 7th century does nothing to support your criticism, much less your earlier references:

1. During the ninth century AD the island of Sicily was captured by the Aghlabids of al Qayrawan.
This is in the century after that of the boat, as is your next:

2. Arab rule extended its reach to Malta and Gozo, in the year 869.

Your last posts makes another unsubstantiated attack on the credibility of the archaeologists:

If the food stuffs have really been identified as being 1200 years old, which I doubt...

Can you reference this?

Solomon

[Diving Doc]

Solomon,

"If the age of the boat is right, then this is a very important find," Drori said. {So there is a
question as to the vessel's period after ten years of study.}

The Arabs were very much in evidence in the Med in the mid 600's. My error, the Seventh Century and the Boat may be from the Eighth/Ninth. As I posted the Arabs had set themselves up very early in Tyre, their jumping off place for raiding and commerce.

Calling for a jihad (holy war) against non-Muslims, Muhammad's successor, Caliph Abu Bakr (632-34), brought Islam to the area surrounding Lebanon. Dividing his forces into three groups, he ordered one to move in the direction of Palestine, one toward Damascus, and one toward the Jordan River. The army under General Khalid ibn al-Walid defeated the Byzantine forces under Emperor Heraclius in 636 at the Battle of Yarmuk in northwestern Jordan.

The Umayyads, 660-750

After the Battle of Yarmuk, Caliph Umar appointed the Arab Muawiyah, founder of the Umayyad dynasty, as governor of Syria, an area that included present-day Lebanon. Muawiyah garrisoned troops on the Lebanese coast and had the Lebanese shipbuilders help him construct a navy to resist any potential Byzantine attack. He also stopped raids by the Marada, a powerful people who had settled in the Lebanese mountains and who were used by the Byzantine rulers to prevent any Arab invasion that would threaten the Byzantine Empire. Concerned with consolidating his authority in Arabia and Iraq, Muawiyah negotiated an agreement in 667 with Constantine IV, the Byzantine emperor, whereby he agreed to pay Constantine an annual tribute in return for the cessation of Marada incursions. During this period some of the Arab tribes settled in the Lebanese and Syrian coastal areas.

This person says that the Arabs didn't know about the sea and boats. They made an amphibious assault with 10,000 men? I'd say they knew how to conduct seaborne operations, wouldn't you? The statement made dismisses the Arabs as not knowing anything but the desert at this time and I believe they had the knowledge before the conquests in the Mediterranean.. "More important, the boat could help to paint a picture of economic life in the Holy Land under Arab rule. Hailing from the desert, the new rulers had no seagoing tradition, and scholars are divided on whether trading patterns that existed before they arrived were preserved afterwards. This is assuming that the vessel can be conclusively dated. The man's conclusions as to how the boat came to be there are unsupported except by his own assumption. There are any number of reasons as to how the boat got there. My guess is that this might be a coaster that might have been built at Tyre or thereabouts. Drori says that there is still a question as to the boats age so there is the question that fails to support the conclusions drawn.

As far as I know the dating on foodstuffs leaves a really large margin of error. Exactly why I suspect that only the wood of the hull may possibly give a plus or minus 100 year dating. "According to Joseph Drori, an expert on the Islamic period at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, the boat could offer an indication that sea trade continued uninterrupted. {How So?}

NOW From Texas A&M

http://ina.tamu.edu/tantura.htm
In 1996, we returned to study an Early Ninth-Century A.D. shipwreck. This hull is remarkable both in dating to a century from which there are no other documented Mediterranean shipwrecks, as well as for having a previously unrecorded hull shape. The hull is remarkably long and narrow, and the uniform continuity of the hull breadth tentatively suggests a long narrow vessel. This combination of angles, breadths and lack of longitudinal strengthening has not been recorded previously on any medieval Mediterranean shipwreck, leading noted hull reconstructor J. R. Steffy to suggest that this arrangement may indicate medieval galley (oared ship) construction, which also has not been documented till now.

Stratigraphy - the subsequent layering of archaeological artifacts - is rare in nautical archaeology. In Tantura Lagoon, however, we repeatedly found stratified artifacts . Undoubtedly, the most remarkable occurrence of this phenomenon was our discovery that the Tantura B hull had come to rest upon another, Roman period, shipwreck! This latter hull appears to be a small portion of an enormous sea-going vessel.
Roundel from Tantura B with Kufic(early Arabic) inscription: "God has the purest judgement." (slide# M453)



Unless I am mistaken this is the vessel under discussion and Texas A&M says Ninth Century and Drori isn't sure of the date but says the Early Eighth Century.

When the Arabs extended their influence into the Med in the Seventh Century they employed vessels of local design and material. I believe because of the widely differing opinions regarding the age of this vessel any of the posted conclusions must be considered opinions. There is a great big IF in the mix. I doubt that it is possible to say who was operating this vessel. It would not be correct to rule out Arab commerce at this point but I am not maintaining that it is the case. In my view these statements should have been presented as opinions. Is there archival reference as to this being a trading port at the time this vessel sank? Do we know the age of the vessel?

I find the statement as to how the boat came to be there unsupported as there was no evidence given to support the statement. In view of the large number of vessel wrecked in the same location over hundreds of years I would suspect storms sinking the vessels at anchor, just a guess. It could have been a refuge or a place to take on water, or a small trading port but at what time?

For the record, Yaacov Kahanov is listed as working on this wreck.

Doc

[Diving Doc]

Solomon,
let me try and put it in a nutshell. The Arabs had a very old and distinguished history in maritime commerce, even before Islam. I didn't put it in order, my apologies. The Arabs started exerting their influence in Mediterranean  in the mid 600's,
the Seventh Century, and continued to do so for many hundreds of years.

This wreck is located on top of an older Roman wreck. Contamination of the site is possible. Artifacts from one could be intermingled with the other. I am a member of NAS and had read of this wreck long ago and had to go back and verify. There is no agreement on the age of the younger wreck but I maintain that no objective conclusions can be drawn until the physical evidence is proven. By that I mean the inference that this wreck  has anything to do with determining the normal trading situation following the Arab domination of this region.There is also no proof at this time regarding the nationality or age of the vessel. One way or the other it would not be objective to rule out that this was an Arab vessel. I am not saying that it is. I also maintain that it is no more than conjecture to state that this vessel came to this place to engage in trade and then sank. It could have ended up here for a variety of reasons. Opinions are just that and statements of fact must be supported by evidence. On several key points I find the statements made regarding this wreck and its significance unsupported. With regard to the dating of the food submerged in the sea Carbon 14 dating cannot be relied on. The margin for error is to great for a concise reading. If there was another method used I am not aware of it.
http://kecirohomeschool.com/carbondating.htm
http://www.et.byu.edu/~adw45/Carbon%20Dating.htm

For our members this one small snippet on Early Arab navigation, before Islam:

The strategic location of Qatar on the Arabian Gulf was the main reason for the seasonal migration of Arab tribes from the Arabian Peninsula and particularly from the Nejd desert. When the ancient Mediterranean flourished with many civilizations, the Arabian Gulf area, with its strategic location, found commercial prosperity. The several fishing centres and pearl trading such as Al Zubara, Al Bida Al Khor and  Al Wakra. Due to the concentration of trade in the Red Sea area during the Roman era, the Gulf suffered from a commercial decline, but from the Third Century AD the area regained its important trading position.
http://www.arab.net/qatar/qr_earlyhistory.htm

 Joseph Drori, is an expert on the Islamic period at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv, "The Arabs came with no knowledge of the sea..................".
I disagree. The Arabs of the desert were well acquainted with maritime commerce and the navigation of the sea long before the coming of Islam.
Doc