The territory currently known as the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
was home to three distinct Iron Age periods. Iron Age I spanned 1,200–1,000 BCE, Iron Age II from 1,000–600 BCE, and Iron Age III from 600–300 BCE. This period of human development in the region was followed by the Mleiha or Late Pre-Islamic era, from 300 BCE onwards through to the Islamic era which commenced with the culmination of the 7th century
Ridda Wars.
To some degree the term 'Iron Age' is misapplied, as little evidence exists for any indigenous iron-work outside the finds at
Muweilah, themselves thought to be imports, and even the extensive evidence of smelting throughout the Iron Age found at
Saruq Al Hadid
Saruq Al Hadid ( ar, ساروق الحديد ) is an archaeological site in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and stands as one of the most important and enigmatic historical sites in the country. Findings from the site are displayed in a museum ...
is dominated by copper and tin production.
Finds from the important site of
Tell Abraq have been crucial in the division of the three Iron Age periods in the UAE.
P. Hellyer, New finds at Tell Abraq. Tribulus (Journal of the Emirates Natural History Group), vol. 2, no.1, pp.15-17, 1992
Iron Age I
The Iron Age I period in the UAE immediately followed the
Wadi Suq culture, Wadi Suq period, which ran from 2,000-1,300 BCE. The Wadi Suq people not only domesticated
camels, but there is evidence they also planted crops of wheat, barley and dates.
A gradual shift away from coastal to inland settlements took place through the period.
The majority of finds dated to the Iron Age I period are centered around
Shimal, Tell Abraq and
Al Hamriyah on the West coast and
Kalba to the East. Despite growing inland development, the Iron Age I diet still contained a large amount of fish and shellfish.
Gazelle
A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...
,
oryx
''Oryx'' is a genus consisting of four large antelope species called oryxes. Their pelage is pale with contrasting dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight. The exception is the scimitar oryx, which ...
and domesticated animals (sheep, goats and cattle) also formed part of the Iron Age I diet, supplemented by the emerging widespread cultivation of wheat and barley.
Iron Age I ceramics reflect a continuity from the Wadi Suq period and are coarse, often large in scale. Another link to the Wadi Suq period was revealed when analysis of a bivalve shell dated to the Iron Age I period showed it had contained
atacamite, a copper-based pigment used as eye make-up. Similar shells were found in a Wadi Suq burial in
Sha'am,
in Northern
Ras Al Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, A ...
.
Iron Age II
Extensive evidence of Iron Age II settlement has been found throughout the UAE, particularly at Muweilah,
Thuqeibah,
Bidaa bint Saud, as well as
Rumailah and
Qattara
The Qattara Depression ( ar, منخفض القطارة, Munḫafaḍ al-Qaṭṭārah) is a depression in northwestern Egypt, specifically in the Matruh Governorate. The depression is part of the Western Desert of Egypt.
The Qattara Depressi ...
in Al Ain.
The development of increasingly complex irrigation ditches and waterways, ''falaj'' (plural ''aflaj'') took place during this time and finds at Bidaa bint Saud and Thuqeibah date back to the Iron Age II period
– pre-dating finds of ''
qanat
A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same acro ...
'' waterways in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...
. Early finds of ''aflaj'', particularly those around the desert city of
Al Ain, have been cited as the earliest evidence of the construction of these waterways. It is thought nearby Bidaa bint Saud became an important site during the Iron Age, both as a caravan stop and as a settled community of farmers that used the ''falaj'' irrigation system there.
Two of these irrigation passages have been partly excavated at Bidaa bint Saud, with a number of sections remaining in reasonable condition. In one of the excavations, a number of sandstone-lined shaft holes were discovered, as well as a stepped underground access point and a large open cistern. Evidence of formerly irrigated land has also been found at the site.
Rumailah, today part of Al Ain, was a major Iron Age II settlement dated from around 1,100–500 BCE.
Finds at Rumailah include distinctive pottery adorned with
snake patterns, similar to finds at
Qusais,
Masafi and the major Iron and Bronze Ages; metallurgical production centre at
Saruq Al Hadid
Saruq Al Hadid ( ar, ساروق الحديد ) is an archaeological site in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and stands as one of the most important and enigmatic historical sites in the country. Findings from the site are displayed in a museum ...
, as well as
chlorite vessels decorated with turtles alternating with trees, similar to finds from
Qidfa' in Fujairah,
Qusais in Dubai and
Al-Hajar in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
.
A number of Iron Age swords and axe-heads, as well as distinctive seal moulds, were also recovered from the site. A number of bronze arrowheads were also found at the site. The Iron Age buildings found at Rumailah are typical of those found in the region, at Iron Age I and II sites such as Al Thuqeibah and
Muweilah, with a number of row dwellings, although lacking the perimeter walls found at Thuqeibah.
A columned hall at Rumailah provides a further link to Muweilah, while a number of pyramidal seals found there echo with similar objects discovered at Bidaa bint Saud.
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was de ...
artefacts found at Muweilah puts the settlement's original date of establishment at between 850 and 800 BC and it enjoyed a brief heyday before being destroyed in a fire around 600 BC.
Constructed in the main from interlocked mud bricks and mud/stone brick walls, the walled settlement itself surrounds a large walled enclosure with seven buildings, thought to have provided living quarters as well as an administrative centre. This central building contained at least twenty columns and has been a rich trove for archaeologists, with extensive finds of painted and spouted vessels, iron weapons and hundreds of bronze pieces. Enabled by the
domestication of the camel in the region, thought to have taken place around 1,000 BC, Muweilah's trade included the manufacture of copper goods, with "extensive casting spillage from the manufacture of copper items found throughout the site".
Muweilah is relatively unique in its early and extensive adoption of iron goods, thought to have been imported from Iran. Hundreds of grinding stones indicate the consumption of both barley and wheat. Although now some 15 km inland today, it is thought that in its heyday, Muweilah would have been located on a ''khor'' or creek.
The Iron Age II period also saw the construction of fortifications, with a number of towers and other buildings offering protection to ''aflaj'' and the crops they watered. Hili 14 in Al Ain, Madhab Fort and Awhala Fort in
Fujairah as well as
Jebel Buhais near
Madam in
Sharjah
Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area.
Sharjah is the capital ...
and
Rafaq
Rafaq is the name of a settlement in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in the Wadi Qor. It was visited in 2008 by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ( ar, محمد بن راشد آل مكت ...
in the
Wadi Qor in
Ras Al Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, A ...
are all fortifications dating to this time.
Iron age ''aflaj''
Recent finds of pottery in Thuqeibah and
Madam have further linked the development of early a''flaj'' (plural for ''falaj'', the word used to denote waterways of this type in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
) water systems there to an Iron Age II date, further substantiating the attribution of the innovation of these water systems to a southeastern Arabian origin based on the extensive archaeological work of Dr Wasim Takriti around the area of Al Ain.
The 2002 publication of a paper by Tikriti, ''The south-east Arabian origin of the falaj system'', provided the first counterpoint to the long-accepted narrative, that the Qanat originated in Persia and was identified as such by accounts of the campaigns of the
Assyrian King,
Sargon
Sargon (Akkadian: ''Šar-ru-gi'', later ''Šarru-kīn'', meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the name of three kings in ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes adopted in modern times as both a given name and a surname.
Mesopotamian ...
II, in 714 BCE. Tikriti cites this and also accounts by the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
second and third century historian
Polybius
Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail.
Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
as being the basis for academic attribution of the technology to Persia. He notes academics such as JC Wilkinson (1977) adopting an Iranian origin for the technology under the influence of Sargon's annals and Polybius, but points out at least seven Iron Age ''aflaj'' recently discovered in the
Al Ain area of the UAE have been reliably carbon dated back to the beginning of the first millennium BCE. Additional to finds of Iron Age ''aflaj'' in Al Ain, Tikrit pointed to excavations in
Al Madam,
Sharjah
Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area.
Sharjah is the capital ...
, by the French archaeological team working there, as well as by a German team working in Maysar, in
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
. Tikriti is at pains to point out that, despite long-standing efforts since the 19th century to excavate qanat systems in Iran, no evidence has been found for any such qanat there dated earlier than the 5th century BCE. He concludes that the technology originated in South East Arabia and was likely taken to Persia, likely by the
Sasanian conquest of the Oman peninsular.
Others have followed Tikriti's lead. In 2016, Rémy Boucharlat in his paper ''Qanāt and Falaj: Polycentric and Multi-Period Innovations Iran and the United Arab Emirates as Case Studie''s, asserted that the attribution of the technology to Iranians in the early first millennium BCE is a position that cannot longer be maintained,
and that the carbon dating of ''aflaj'' in Oman and the UAE to the ninth century BCE by Cleuziou and evidence for such an early date provided by Tikriti are definitive.
Additionally, Boucharlat maintains that no known Iranian qanat can be dated to the pre-Islamic period.
Iron Age III
Evidence of Iron Age III occupation in the Emirates can be found at Tell Abraq, Shimal, Rumailah, Hili and Thuqeibah. Finds draw a strong cultural link with the
Archaemenid Iranians and point to the area being the satrapy of Maka. Iron Age short swords from Qusais, Jebel Buhais and Rumailah mirror images of 'natives of Maka' found on the throne of
Darius II at
Persepolis
, native_name_lang =
, alternate_name =
, image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg
, image_size =
, alt =
, caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.
, map =
, map_type ...
, while ceramics found dating back to the Iron Age III period mirror those found in a number of Iranian sites of the era.
Post Iron Age
The period from 300–0 BCE has been dubbed both the Mleiha and the Late Pre-Islamic period, and follows on from the dissolution of
Darius III
Darius III ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; c. 380 – 330 BC) was the last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC.
Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Dar ...
's empire. Although the era has been called Hellenistic,
Alexander the Great's conquests went no further than Persia and he left Arabia untouched. However, Macedonian coinage unearthed at
Ed-Dur dates back to Alexander the Great.
Contemporary Greek manuscripts have given the exports from Ed-Dur as 'pearls, purple dye, clothing, wine, gold and slaves, and a great quantity of dates'.
The most complete evidence of human settlement and community from this time is at Mleiha, where a thriving agrarian community benefited from the protection of a mudbrick fort. It was here, and during this period, that the most complete evidence of iron usage has been found, including nails, long swords and arrowheads as well as evidence of slag from smelting.
See also
*
Archaeology of the United Arab Emirates
*
History of the United Arab Emirates
*
List of Ancient Settlements in the UAE
References
{{Reflist
History of the United Arab Emirates
History of the United Arab Emirates by topic
History of the United Arab Emirates by period
Iron Age Asia