![Moyen_Orient_3mil_aC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Moyen_Orient_3mil_aC.svg)
Magan (also Makkan) was an ancient region in what is now modern day
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 t ...
and
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 ...
, it was referred to in
Sumerian
cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...
texts of around 2300 BC and existed until 550 BC as a source of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and
diorite
Diorite ( ) is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-sili ...
for
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
. There is also evidence to support the idea that the Magan people were actually Sumerian. As discussed by The Archeology Fund founded by
Juris Zarins, "The Sumerian cities of southern Mesopotamia were closely linked to the Gulf. Archaeologists and historians have linked sites in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar to the Sumerian geographical term of Dilmun. Oman, was most likely the Sumerian Magan".
Location
Modern
archaeological and
geological
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...
evidence places Magan in the area currently encompassed by 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 t ...
and
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 ...
.
In the past, historians had debated possible locations, including the region of
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
known as
Ma'in
The Minaean people were the inhabitants of the kingdom of Ma'in (Minaean language, Minaean: ''Maʿīn''; modern Arabic ''Maʿīn'') in modern-day Yemen, dating back to the 10th century BCE-150 BCE. It was located along the strip of desert cal ...
, in the south of
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south.
In ancient E ...
, in
Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
or the
Sudan, and others as part of today's
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 Turkmeni ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. Other Possible locations for the Magan include Bahrain, Qatar, and the geographical location known as Dilmun.
The latter location, specifically in the neighborhood of coastal
Baluchistan, has been suggested on account of the similarity between Baluchistan's historical name, "
Makran", and "Makkan", a variant of Magan.
History
![Model of Magan Boat0307pdf](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Model_of_Magan_Boat0307pdf.jpg)
The first
Sumerian mentions of a land of Magan (Sumerian ''Magan'', Akkadian ''Makkan'') are made during the
Umm al-Nar period (2600–2000 BCE), as well as references to 'the Lords of Magan'. Sumerian sources also point to '
Tilmun' (accepted today as being centered in modern
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 ...
) and
Meluhha
or ( sux, ) is the Sumerian language, Sumerian name of a prominent trading partner of Sumer during the Middle Bronze Age. Its identification remains an open question, but most scholars associate it with the Indus Valley civilisation.
Etymolo ...
(thought to refer to the
Indus Valley).
Akkadian campaigns against Magan took place in the twenty-third century BCE, again possibly explaining the need for fortifications, and both
Naram-Sin and Manishtusu, in particular, wrote of campaigning against '32 lords of Magan'.
![Gudea cylinder A (IX 19) Magan Meluha with transcription](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Gudea_cylinder_A_%28IX_19%29_Magan_Meluha_with_transcription.jpg)
Naram-Sin gave the Akkadian title ''Malek'' to the defeated ruler of Magan, a title which is cognate to the
Semitic, including Arabic word for king, ''malik''.
Magan was famed for its shipbuilding and its maritime capabilities: one Magan ship was capable of carrying around 20 tons of cargo, making each a formidable vessel. King Sargon of Agade (2371–2316 BCE) boasted that his ports were home to boats from Tilmun, Magan and Meluhha. His successor, Naram-Sin, not only conquered Magan, but honoured the Magan King Manium by naming the city of Manium-Ki in Mesopotamia after him. Trade between the Indus Valley and Sumer took place through Magan, although that trade appears to have been interrupted, as Ur-Nammu (2113–2096 BCE) laid claim to having 'brought back the ships of Magan'.
Commerce
Archaeological finds dating from this time show trade not only with the Indus Valley and Sumer, but also with Iran and
Bactria.
They have also revealed what is thought to be the oldest case on record of
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
myelitis, with the distinctive signs of the disease found in the skeleton of a woman from
Tell Abraq
Tell Abraq (Til Abrook) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Located on the border between Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates, the city was originally on the coastline of the Persian Gulf but changing sea levels have placed the re ...
, in modern
Umm Al Quwain
Umm Al Quwain is the capital and largest city of the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates.
The city is located on the peninsula of Khor Al Bidiyah, with the nearest major cities being Sharjah to the southwest and Ras Al Khaim ...
.
Trade was common between Magan and
Ur before the reigns of the
Gutian kings over Ur. After they were deposed,
Ur-Nammu
Ur-Nammu (or Ur-Namma, Ur-Engur, Ur-Gur, Sumerian: , ruled c. 2112 BC – 2094 BC middle chronology, or possibly c. 2048–2030 BC short chronology) founded the Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries ...
of Ur restored the roads and trade resumed between the two nations (c. 2100 BC).
Magan trade may have also been influenced by cities further south in Oman. The Shisr site, recognized as Wubar (Ubar) by UNESCO's "Land of Frankincense" is one such location that could have provided a large supply of resins of both frankincense and myrrh: major trade routes from southern Oman to Iraq go through long stretches of Magan-Sumer occupied land. The resins on these trades routes was also sought after for medicinal properties: the Sumerians and the Magan-Sumerian people would have needed a steady supply to continue to make medicines and southern Oman, specifically the Dhofar Region, could supply the resins in necessary quantities.
[{{cite journal , last1=Michie , first1=C. , title=Frankincense and myrrh as remedies in children , year=1991 , volume=84 , issue=10 , pages=602–605 , journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine , doi=10.1177/014107689108401011 , pmid=1744842 , pmc=1295557 ]
See also
*
Dilmun
Dilmun, or Telmun, ( Sumerian: , later 𒉌𒌇(𒆠), ni.tukki = DILMUNki; ar, دلمون) was an ancient East Semitic-speaking civilization in Eastern Arabia mentioned from the 3rd millennium BC onwards.
Based on contextual evidence, it was ...
*
Archaeology of the United Arab Emirates
The area currently known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (previously the Trucial States) was formerly populated by inhabitants of a number of coastal and inland settlements, with human remains pointing to a pattern of transmigration and settleme ...
*
Umm Al Nar
*
Archaeology of Oman
The present-day Sultanate of Oman lies in the south-eastern Arabian Peninsula. There are different definitions for Oman: traditional Oman includes the present-day United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), though its prehistoric remains differ in some respec ...
*
List of Ancient Settlements in the UAE
*
History of the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (the UAE or the Emirates) is a country in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula located on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf and the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Oman. The UAE consists of seven emirate ...
References
Sumer
History of the United Arab Emirates
History of Oman