"Ancient Civilization of West Asia" Long-distance trade between Taima and northern Arabia in the first millennium BC

Source

" Arab World Studies" 2022 Issue 1

Executive Summary

Early Millennium BC, between Arabian Peninsula South and West Asia and North Africa The spice trade between other regions is increasingly prosperous, and the oasis city Taima, which is located on the trade route, has become one of the most important cities and trade centers in the northern Arabian Peninsula. It began to appear in Assyria , Babylon_ Among the unearthed documents in span6span and other places. During this period, the politics, religion, culture and material life of Thailand and Malaysia were deeply influenced by external influences. The regional influence of the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula, including Thailand and Malaysia, has also gradually increased due to its importance in trade. In the late 1st millennium BC, sea routes replaced land routes as the main mode of transportation, and long-distance trade activities in the northern Arabian Peninsula gradually declined, and Taima lost its important position as a result. However, according to the material remains found by archaeology, oasis agricultural production has always been the main livelihood of most residents in Thailand and Malaysia. Despite the decline of long-distance trade, Thailand has maintained its vitality within the northern region of the Arabian Peninsula to this day.

Keywords

Thailand-Malaysia; Arabian Peninsula; Ancient West Asia; long-distance trade; spice road

About the author

Chang Yangming, Institute of Oriental Studies, KU Leuven, Belgium, Class of 2020 PhD student

Text

Image source: Trip

Taymāʾ is located in the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula and southeast of what is now Tabuk Province, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.It is located in the center of an oasis of the same name, bounded by the Nefud Desert to the west, the Serrat Mountains to the east, and a seasonal salt marsh to the north. Through a number of long-distance trade routes, Thailand and Malaysia connected the central and southern Arabian Peninsula with the rest of West Asia and North Africa. With its unique freshwater resources and geographical advantages, Taima became one of the most important cities in northern Arabia in the first millennium BC, with a prominent position in agricultural production, regional politics and long-distance trade. These cross-regional exchanges are reflected not only in the handed down and unearthed documents, but also in the material remains found in archaeological excavations. The investigation and rediscovery of ancient sites in the Near East, including the city of Taima, in the modern West are crucial to understanding the ancient civilizations of West Asia, including ancient northern Arabia.

As early as the middle of the 19th century, Western explorers visited the northern region of Arabia, where Taima is located. In 1877, the British explorer Charles Doughty came to Taima, and the travel notes published thereafter are the earliest records of the Taima site in the West. After him, the French explorer Charles Huber and the German scholar Julius Euting have successively inspected the Taima site and made a more detailed description of the site. French archaeologists Antonin Jaussen and Raphaël Savignac also recorded the Taima site during their expedition to the Arabian Peninsula. In 1957, the British explorer H. Saint John Philby published his previous observations and records of the Taima site. However, the above description is only based on the investigation of the site, and the comprehensive scientific archaeological exploration of the Taima site began after the 1960s. In 1980, Canadian scholars Frederick Winnett and William Reed recorded the results of previous systematic surveys of various sites in the region in the book "North Arabian Antiquities". They not only discovered and sorted out a wealth of ancient inscriptions, but also recorded relevant information about the pottery and its shape and other material remains. Commissioned by the relevant departments of Saudi Arabia ,In the late 1970s, American archaeologists Garth Bawden and Christopher Edens carried out a comprehensive survey of ancient ruins in Saudi Arabia, including Taima. For more than 30 years, European, American and Saudi archaeology has At home or at the Taima site to carry out excavation activities. In 2004, the Saudi Arabian Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) and the Eastern Department of the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) launched a joint excavation operation at the Thai-Malaysian site to study ancient settlements and environmental changes in the Thai-Malay oasis area. The joint excavation project has continued to this day with fruitful results. In addition to a large number of newly unearthed materials, in the past 20 years, archaeologists from various countries have also discovered many inscription materials in Taima City and its surrounding areas. At the same time, Assyriology and Egypt The academic circles have expanded the scope of interpretation of Mesopotamia and the documents unearthed in Egypt, and found more records about the early history of the Arabian Peninsula. The new archaeological and historical materials correct the previous inaccuracies in the historical writing and interpretation of Taima, and enhance the academic understanding of the early history of the region. Combining the unearthed documents and the archaeological excavations of the Tai-Horse sites in recent years, this paper sorts out and analyzes the early urban development and political history of Tai-Horse, and discusses the commodities, trade routes and long-distance trade in the northern part of the ancient Arabian Peninsula.

1. From the beginning of the city to the Queen's State: Taima before the 6th century BC

Since the Neo Stone Age Late, limited by natural conditions, people in the arid regions of West Asia such as the northern Arabian Peninsula Unable to engage in settled farming activities, they generally adopt a mobile lifestyle. The Taima oasis is an exception, with abundant freshwater resources, it was settled by humans in the late 5th millennium BC. These residents make a living by farming, producing pottery themselves, and exchanging supplies with the surrounding nomadic groups. In the 5th millennium BC, the salt marsh in the northern part of the site was still a freshwater lake, which was very beneficial to agricultural development. Due to the aphasia of native written materials, we still do not know the social form of the early Tai-Ma region. But according to archaeological data, from the third millennium BC to the second millennium BC,The city of Taima has developed into a sizable settlement, and the earliest walls and defenses have been built. The emergence of organized and scaled construction activities and farmland water conservancy projects suggests a degree of social organization. The academic community has also made specific discoveries about the communication between Taima and the surrounding areas in the third millennium BC. Archaeologists have found the same type of copper weapons in the al-Shām area in the strata of this period. However, due to its remote location, limited population and territorial scope, Thailand and Malaysia have very limited influence compared with the great powers in West Asia at the same time. It was not until the first millennium BC that Taima appeared in the clay tablet records of the Mesopotamia, and documents written in the local language and characters of Taima also appeared at this time.

Inscriptions from Suḫu, a small country in the middle reaches of the Euphrates, in the Mesopotamia reveal the traces of the Tai horses in the mid-8th century BC. At that time, the Neo-Assyrian Empire (Neo-Assyrian Empire) in the north of the Mesopotamia was very strong, and the Babylonia (Babylonia) in the south was very economically and culturally dynamic. Although surrounded by big powers, local regimes such as Suhu can still maintain a high degree of independence through diplomatic games with big powers. Suhu itself also possessed a certain scale of military power, which was achieved by the ruler of Suhu, who called himself "Governor of the Land of Suhu and Mali" (LÚ.GAR KUR. su-ḫi u KUR. ma-ri ). This is evident in the records of:

I, Ninurta-kudurrī-uṣur, Governor of the Land of Suhu and Mali. Regarding (those) Taima and Sabah, their home country is far away, (their) messengers never came to me, (they) never came (to see) me, their caravan came to Martu Well (Martu) and the well of Haratu (Ḫalatu) near the water source, through which it entered the city of Sindanu (Ḫindānu). At noon (when I was) in the town of Kār-Apla-Adad, hearing reports about them, I (right away) tucked my chariot (horses). I cross the river at night,Arrive in Azlāyyānu town by noon the next day. I waited three days in Azlayanu town. On the third day they came, and I took 100 of them alive, captured 200 of their camels, and their cargo - blue-purple wool (fabric),...wool, iron, "Papardi Lu Shi" and other various products. I took rich loot from them and brought them back to Suhu.

In this inscription, the ruler of Suhu, Ninur Takuduri Usul, records the process of looting the caravans from Taima and Sabah with his army under his sphere of influence, which is a mud The earliest known mention of Taima in the board documents. Although the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III in the 9th century BC recorded in his own inscriptions that in the battle of Qarqar, one of the 12 allies in the enemy alliance "Jindi of Arabia" "Gindibu" sent 1,000 camels, but he did not specifically write down the identity and provenance of Gindibu. This inscription by Suhu specifically pointed out the role of Thailand and Malaysia as a long-distance trade transit point between the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula and the two river basins. After the caravan from Sabah arrived in Thailand and Malaysia, they went on the road together with local merchants to transport the goods. The goods are transported to the Mesopotamia, passing through the middle reaches of the Euphrates where the city of Sindanu is located. Soon after, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III strengthened his control over the surrounding area through military conquest, and Suhu lost his independence and paid tribute to Assyria. The northern part of the Arabian Peninsula was also conquered by the Assyrian Empire , becoming one of the many foreign nations that paid tribute to Assyria. This transformation is repeated several times in the inscriptions of Tiglath Pyleser III:

As for Samsi, Queen of Arabia - I am on Mount Sa-qu-ur-ri (KUR. Sa-qu-ur-ri ) killed her 9,400. I captured her 1,000 men, 30,000 camels, 20,000 bulls...5,000 packets of various spices...the shrine of her gods, the military equipment and personnel of her goddess, and her personal possessions. later,To save her life... She went to the desert that was dry all year round, like a female wild ass . I set her belongings, her tent and the soldiers in her camp on fire. Samsey was horrified by my mighty force. She came to Assyria with her camels and camels... to me, and I sent representatives... Maʾsa and Taima, Sabahans, Ḫayappa and Badanu ( Badanu and Ḫatte and Idibaʾilu, those on the frontiers of the western lands, those my ancestors had never heard of, those who were far from their motherland, heard of my name After being a hero, regard me as the master. They brought me gold, silver, male camels, female camels, and all kinds of spices as offerings, and kissed my feet.

In this inscription, Tiglath Pilesel III records his defeat of the Arab army led by the Arab queen Samsi. According to the inscription, although Samsi maintained her position in the "frontier of the western lands" after her defeat, she was required to pay tribute to Assyria. And Samsi does not directly rule many countries in the northern region of the Arabian Peninsula, but is more like the leader of a city-state-tribal alliance. As a member of the alliance led by Queen Samsi, Taima is displayed in the list of places that pay tribute to the king of Assyria, along with other places such as Massa and Hayappa. According to the historical deeds of Tiglath Pilser III, he did not intend to incorporate the northern Arabian Peninsula and the entire peninsula into the Assyrian territory, but hoped to deter the countries and nomadic tribes in the northern Arabian Peninsula. Strengthen your control over the newly conquered Syria area. The "representatives" (LÚ. qe-e-pu ) mentioned in the inscription are probably the officials responsible for overseeing Queen Samsi and northern Arabia. According to later historical materials, Taima paid tribute to the Neo-Assyrian Empire and trade between the two was very frequent. In the Nineveh (Nineveh) city wall built during the reign of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, there is a city gate called "The Nasu Muer and the Taima sent tribute of",The "Gate of the Desert".

In addition to the above-mentioned "Queen of Arabia" Samsi, there are also a number of female rulers using this name in the royal inscriptions and political letters of the Neo-Assyrian period, their names are Tyre Teʾelḫunu, Adiye, Zabibê, Tabūʾa, and Iatiʾe, from the time of Tiglathpileser III to Assyria During the reign of Ashurbanipal. According to the specific text dating and the mutual confirmation with the historical events such as the Arab conquests of the Assyrian emperors, it can be known that the reign of these "Arab queens" began no later than 738 BC and continued until BC Around 650. The inscription mentioning their names also mentions their deeds slightly. In terms of military affairs, in addition to Samsi, Ter el Hunu and Adiya also served as military commanders of the Arabs. On the economic front, Zabibe, Samsi and Tabua have all demonstrated their ability to control supplies and long-distance shipments from the Arabian Peninsula. In terms of religion, Ter el Hunu also seems to have a role to play. However, the information provided by these texts of Assyrian origin is very limited, and we cannot determine what the status and significance of these "queens" were to the indigenous peoples of the Arabian Peninsula, or even whether they were a continuous, the same ethnic group and ruler of the region. But in the Assyrian records, the Arab queen Tabua was held hostage at the court of Sennacherib. By using Tabua as a proton, the Assyrian rulers, on the one hand, deterred the Arabs, reducing the possibility of their rebellion, and on the other hand, by educating the future rulers of the Arabs, enabled them to be loyal to the Arabs. described. This experience of Tabuya also illustrates that the Neo-Assyrian Empire recognized the dominance of her and the political traditions she represented and their actual influence on the Arabs. Therefore, in the northern region of Arabia at that time, these female rulers played an important leadership role in both political governance and religious life, and it is very likely that Taima was also under their rule.

An important feature of the early history of Taima, beginning with the settlement of the Taima oasis in the third millennium BC, was its close connection with the surrounding area, which was closely related to its location as a transportation hub. Before the first millennium BC, this feature was mainly reflected in the diffusion of exotic objects and technologies as reflected in archaeological finds.During and after the Neo-Assyrian Empire, this characteristic manifested itself through documented long-distance trade, political interactions, and even warfare. Since the beginning of Tiglath Pilser III, Assyria has always tried to stabilize its influence in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula, including Taima, through military conquests or diplomatic activities. During the reign of Ashurbanipal, Assyria signed treaties with tribes in northern Arabia to maintain bilateral peaceful relations. Even so, the tribes in the northern Arabian Peninsula participated in the rebellion in Babylon by Ashurbanipal's younger brother, Šamaš‐šumu‐ukin, and were attacked by Ashurbanipal after their defeat. revenge. It can be argued that, until the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC, despite the Assyrian influence in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula in terms of culture and artistic style, the various attempts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire to appease the region were unsuccessful. Cities and tribes in the northern Arabian peninsula, such as Thailand, have always maintained their independence. This is reflected in an inscription by the ruler of the upper Euphrates city-state of Carchemish in the 8th century BC:

I, Yariris, ruler, influenced by the god Tarhunzas ), Kubaba, Karhuhas, and the beloved king of the sun. I - the gods made me strong and holy in Karhemish. I reinvigorated Kalhemish, I (rebuilt) my Lord's (temple) and... (I) in city script, in Tyre script, in Assyrian script, in Thama script, I know ten two languages. My Lord has brought before me the people of every nation who speak these languages, and made me understand every knowledge.

In this inscription, the ruler of Kalhemish showed himself as a "promised one" beloved by the gods by showing off his language abilities. He claims to be able to read 4 languages ​​and be proficient in 12 languages. The so-called "Thai-Ma script" in the text may include several other scripts in the northern Arabian Peninsula, and is a general term for the ancient northern Arabic script. The four scripts he lists, three except for the Luwian hieroglyphs used locally in Kalhemish, represent three places and three political forces that interacted frequently with Kalhemish at that time - Assyria , Phoenicia and the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula including Thailand.From the perspective of non- Assyrians , the northern region of the Arabian Peninsula represented by Assyria and Taima was two independent parties in the international environment at that time. The so-called "Thai-Ma script" is an alphabetic script, one of the ancient northern Arabic scripts. It has a total of 27 consonants and no vowels. The Taymanitic language it writes is one of the Oasis North Arabian dialects of the ancient North Arabian language in the Semitic branch of the Semitic language family of the Asian-African language family. , Dedanitic is very closely related. Most of the currently known inscriptions in the Thai-Malay language, except for the identity of the king, are difficult to date. They should be concentrated in the early and middle of the first millennium BC, especially from the Neo-Assyrian to Neo-Babylonian periods (9th to 6th centuries BC). ) as the main.

2. "Babylon in the Desert": Taima in the middle and late 1st millennium BC

After the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty replaced it and became the most powerful political and military force in West Asia. However, in the documents of the early and middle periods of the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty, no trace of the word "Taima" has been found so far. It was not until the reign of the last Neo-Babylonian king, Nabonidus (556-539 BC), that Taima and northern Arabia reappeared in the historical writings of the Mesopotamia. Nabonidus left Babylon in the third year of his accession to the throne and went to Arabia. Nabonid's political journey since his accession to the throne, including his conquest of Taima, is recorded in the monumental text of Eḫulḫul, the temple of the god Sîn in Harran. The process of the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula:

Then, I - he took me away from my city, Babylon, and for ten years I walked in Taima, Dadānu, Padakku, Hebu On the road between Ḫibrā, Yadīḫu, (then) all the way to Yatribu. I have not entered my city Babylon. ... at the command of the god Sin and the goddess of war Ištar - without whom there would be no enmity and peace, no war would take place,She put her hands on them (enemies), and (then) the kings of Egypt, Media (and) Arabia, and all the enemy kings sent (their messengers) before me to (establish) goodwill with Peace. The Arabs, they... weapons... Babylonia... looted and took their available possessions. However, following the word of Sin, the god Nergal destroyed their weapons, and they bowed at my feet.

In this inscription, Nabonid records his conquest of a vast area of ​​northern Arabia with the help of the gods Sin and Ishtar. During this period, Nabonidus entrusted the political and military affairs of Babylon to his son and successor Belshazzar ( Belshazzar ). In documents unearthed from Babylon and Uruk during this period, Belshazzar is found in many royal inscriptions and letters in the role normally played by a king. Nabonidus mentions in the remainder of the inscription that he lived in Taima for ten years without ever returning to Babylon. This passage is also recorded in Babylonian chronicle texts:

The king was stationed at Taima, the prince, his officials (and) his army at Akkad . The king did not come to Babylon in Nisanu. Nabû did not come to Babylon, and Bēl did not come out. The New Year's festival was not held. Offerings to the Babylonian and Borsippa gods were presented to the temples of Esagil and Ezida, as usual.

In Nabonidian chronicle documents, the above passages are repeated in records of the seventh, ninth, tenth, and eleventh years of Nabonid's reign. It can be seen from the text that the Babylonian scribe class, when referring to Nabonidus's absence, is reproachful that Nabonidus, as the king of Babylon, neglected his religious and ceremonial obligations in Babylon. Although in other inscriptions Nabonidus attributes his ten years of residence in Taima to the will of the god Sin, whom he devotes to, this does not bridge him with those whose piety is centered on Marduk The rift between the Babylonian priest and the social elite of the Babylonian religion.According to the "Nabonidus" ( Verse Account of Nabonidus ) written in the Achaemenid Persian period, Nabonidus destroyed the original buildings of the city of Taima, slaughtered the local aborigines, and rebuilt the city in Taima The new palace complex was built as the royal capital of Babylon. The academic community has doubts about the reliability of this document, and believes that it is suspected of stigmatizing Nabonid. Many of the currently known Thai-Ma language documents should have been written during the Nabonid period, which means that during the Nabonid period, there must have been a certain scale of native population in the Thai-Ma and its surrounding areas, so that the Thai-Ma language could be written. and passed down. However, the arrival of Nabonid clearly had a significant impact on the local Aboriginal people and their writing and living patterns. The vast majority of these known Taima inscriptions are rock carvings, and almost all of them have been found in the desert areas around Taima City, rather than inside the Taima ruins. This may be because, during Babylonian rule, Aramaic and Akkadian, spoken by Nabonid and his entourage, replaced Tamar as the main language used for records in the city. According to research by linguist Fokelien Kootstra from the Netherlands, compared with inscriptions written in other ancient North Arabian Oasis dialects, Taima shows more characteristics of the Northwest Semitic branch , which is likely to be related to the long-term contact between Thai and Aramaic. Among the Thai-Horse inscriptions, at least three reflect Nabonid's relationship with the local aborigines:

I am Mardan ( Mrdn ), servant of Nabonid, king of Babylon. I went with the Grand Master Kyt to a waterless wilderness in the Lʾq desert.

I am Anudes ( ʾnds ), servant of Nabonidus, king of Babylon.

I am Anudes, the ombudsman of Nabonidus, king of Babylon , guarded...

Unlike most other Thai-Malay inscriptions, these three inscriptions are not just names and simple The graffiti of the text also recorded his own identity and some events.The two inscription writers are supposed to be Taima people, who served locally as officials of the Babylonian king Nabonidus. In addition to this, many Thai-Malay inscriptions record the participation of the Thais in the war against the neighboring oasis city of Dedan ( Ddn ). Winnett and Reed believe that these inscriptions likely reflect Nabonid's experience in leading Taima local sergeants to attack other oasis cities while he lived in Taima:

Bahasir Kate ( Bhs ² rkt ) guarded for a month in the war against Dedan, for Salam ( Ṣlm ).

Manet ( Mntt ) guards during the war against Dedan.

Namer ( Nʿml ), son of Rabad ( Lbd ), Destroyer of Dedan... He slaughtered and made Kdwrt ( Kdwrt ) then he went... for a year.

In addition, there are as many as 13 Thai-Malay inscriptions known to mention "War on Dedan" and "Encampment at Dedan". Although none of them mention the ruler's name or exact year, at least the inscriptions suggest that the relationship between Taima and Dedan was very tense during this period. Shortly after Nabonidus returned to Babylon, the Neo-Babylonian dynasty fell to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula was immediately incorporated into the sphere of influence of the Persian Empire . This is confirmed in an inscription unearthed in Qabur al-Jundi, southwest of Taima. Both Shahr ( Gs ² m bn s ² hr ) and Abed ( ʿbd ) and Abed ( dn _ Dedan _ Dedan fḥt ) ),This title replaces the "King of Dedan" ( mlk Ddn ) in previous literature. It is therefore likely that during this period, Taima and other oases in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula were already under the jurisdiction of the Lihyans who were subject to the Achaemenid Persian Empire. It is also mentioned in the Cyrus Cylinder Inscription: "Those kings who lived in tents in Amurru, each of them brought great tribute to Šuanna. ) in the city, kiss my feet." "Kings living in tents" is a traditional name for the rulers of the northern Arabian Peninsula in the Mesopotamia.

The known historical materials of the Achaemenid Persian period involving Thai horses are relatively rare, the most famous of which is the "Tai Horse Stele" (AO 1505) now in the Louvre Museum of , which was a French expedition It was acquired by Hubert during his expedition to the Arabian Peninsula in 1880. The top of the stele is semicircular, with Aramaic inscriptions on the front and images of deities and priests worshipping on the sides. The inscription recounts the deities of Salam ( 22 Ṣlm zy Mḥrm ), Singala ( Šnglʾ ), and Ahram of Mehram in the Tai-Ma religious tradition in the first year of the reign of an unknown king. The approval of the god Shima ( ʾšymʾ ) included the Salam god of Hagam ( Ṣlm zy hgm ) into the religious worship of Taima. The newly built temple was priestly priest of Petosiriya's son Salam Shazb ( Ṣlmšzb br Pṭsry ), who received 16 palm trees and 5 palm trees each year from the fields and the king's property respectively. In Taima, the belief in the god Salam has a long history. At the latest in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the god Salam began to be worshipped and worshipped in Taima, and its god name frequently appeared in the inscriptions of the Taima language. . The upper part of the image of the stele shows a god in a robe, a conical headdress, a disc, and a spear, Salam of Hagam; arm worship scene,His name "Priest Salam Shezb" is engraved on the underside. This schema reflects the profound influence of Babylonian culture on the local religion of Thailand. The Aramaic language used in the inscription shows from the side that the Thai-Malay script no longer has an advantage in writing, even in the field of local religion and culture. In addition, the historical information that this stele can provide is relatively limited.

Although there are relatively few unearthed documents, archaeological excavations reveal that the city life of Taima was very dynamic during this period. In recent years, the archaeological field has provided a more vivid picture of life in the investigation of the Taima inhabitants in the second half of the 1st millennium BC. During this period, most of the residents of Taima still engaged in agricultural production in the oasis area as their main livelihood, and each family was also responsible for the processing and storage of the food crops obtained in addition to farming. Extensive food storage and agricultural production in household units meant that the inhabitants were financially independent from court or temple institutions. This pattern suggests that during this period, the family was the basic unit of settled society in the Taima oasis. This further shows that Taima has always been in a relatively marginal position under the rule of the empire and foreign countries, and the local administrative power does not have the ability to centrally manage economic production.

In the vast territory of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Taima from the late 6th century BC to around the 3rd century BC was part of the Lihyan kingdom. The ruler of the Lithian kingdom appointed local officials in Taima, and erected a number of monumental statues and steles in the temple. These Aramaic inscriptions unearthed in Taima have enhanced the academic community's understanding of the Lithian dynasty. understanding. During the Lithian Dynasty, the city of Dedan became the capital of the kingdom and a regional trade center. The scale of settlement in Taima was reduced, and the archaeological remains reflect that the influence of administrative power on people's production and life was still relatively limited. Around the 3rd century BC, the Lithian kingdom fell, and the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula experienced a brief power vacuum. In the 1st century BC, the Nabataean Kingdom rose to the north of Taima, and the Mineans from the south who engaged in long-distance trade via Dedan and Taima were replaced by the Nabataeans from the north, who In turn, it has become the most important intermediary player in commercial activities in the northern Arabian Peninsula. Nabataean merchants were active from southern Arabia to Jordan and ports on the Red Sea coast, and records of their commercial activities appear in the writings of classical Greek writers.During the Nabataean period, Taima was located on the southeastern edge of the political range of the kingdom. At present, archaeologists have only discovered a few inscription materials, and the information contained in these materials is very limited. In AD 106, the Romans controlled the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula and incorporated the Nabataean kingdom into the new Arabian province (Provincia Arabia). Taima City, as an oasis city in the southern Arabian province, became Rome Part of empire. Although the city of Taima was always inhabited during and after Roman, after the late millennium BC, with the rise of sea trade and a relatively fringe position within the empire, Taima gradually lost its former place. Influence.

3. The "Spice Road": Trade Routes and Commodities for Long-distance Trade in the Ancient Arabian Peninsula

Since the late 4th millennium BC, the Sumerians in the ancient Mesopotamia began to use spices, mainly using spices. In religious ceremonies and daily offerings. This tradition continued into the first millennium BC, and it is found in many places, as evidenced by the different styles of incense burners unearthed around the world during this period. The settlement of the oasis by nomadic and semi-nomadic groups since the late third millennium BC gave birth to the oasis-city civilization, including the Taima. Almost at the same time, the domestication of dromedary camels ( Camelus dromedarius ) enabled long-distance trade across vast deserts. A fully loaded dromedary can travel 40 kilometers a day, and they can travel up to 200 kilometers without water. This trait already satisfies the needs of caravans that travel between wells and oases. The demand for spices sparked a boom in caravan trade and the development of transportation networks between oasis cities along the way. This road network runs for thousands of miles, starting from Oman and Yemen in the southern Arabian Peninsula, through Thailand and Malaysia and other oasis cities in the northern Arabian Peninsula, to various regions in West Asia and North Africa, and then to the rest of the world through ports along the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The part of this network of trade routes on the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula is also known as the "Incense Route".It is named after the most important category of goods in circulation, frankincense and myrrh, which are produced in the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula.

From the second millennium BC, camel caravans became the most typical mode of transportation on this trade route. According to the Roman period writer Pliny the Elder, it took about 65 days to complete the route, with water stops along the way, where merchants and caravans could rest, buy supplies and sell goods . Taima is an important stopover point and the intersection of commercial roads. Combining evidence from unearthed documents, handed down documents and archaeological finds, the starting point of the currently known Spice Route is near Najran in the southern Arabian Peninsula. Frankincense and myrrh from all over Yemen and Oman in the southern Arabian Peninsula converge here and continue north. British philologist Michael CA Macdonald believes that, at least in the Nabataean period, there was a trade route from the Najran area, directly across the desert, to Dillemont (now near Bahrain) on the Persian Gulf coast. Gerrha in Dilmun. After the spices reach Gela, they are transported by sea to the south of the Mesopotamia. Apart from this branch, the main trunk of the Spice Route continues northward along the eastern flank of the mountains on the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula to Yatrib. In Yatrib, the spice road branched out and extended to the northeastern part of the present-day Ha'il province, leading to the southern part of the Mesopotamia. The main trunk of the Spice Route then continued northwards, via Hebra to Taima and Dedan, the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula conquered by the Nabonids mentioned above. Here again, the spice road splits in two: a route from Tayma to Babylon, Nabonid, via Dumah, and the longest route between the northern Arabian Peninsula and the Mesopotamia in the first millennium BC. An important trade route; the other continues north from Thama and Dedan to the Sham region and Egypt, from where goods are shipped by sea to Greece, Rome and other Mediterranean coastal regions. However, the "Spice Route" has not been set in stone for thousands of years. In order to evade the taxes and deductions imposed on the caravan by the rulers of the oasis cities, there are often multiple parallel lines, but in order to still be able to obtain supplies along the way and reach the destination as quickly as possible, these lines will not. Too far from the main line. In addition to frankincense and myrrh, the "Spice Road" is also an important passage for the exchange of living materials between the north and south of the Arabian Peninsula. Archaeological discoveries in recent years have proved that,These routes are also responsible for the transportation of many common commodities required for local production, such as metallic minerals, stones and agricultural products.

In archaeological research, long-distance trade is often seen as an aspect of cultural exchange, and although there may be traces of the goods exchanged themselves, the details of how trade works depend almost entirely on unearthed documents. In the records of the Suhu ruler Ninur Takuduri Ussour mentioned above, we can see the specific way in which trade between northern Arabia and the Mesopotamia operates. According to the inscription, Ninur Takuduri Ussur captured 100 people and 200 camels in the caravan, indicating that the caravan was more than 100 people from the Thai horse and Arabian peninsula in the north of the Arabian Peninsula. Sabah, in the south, brought more than 200 camels, that is, more than 200 camel carts. The Suhu people found their traces near the well, which shows that the trade routes near the Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula also use reliable drinking water sources as nodes. However, in the booty obtained by Ninur Takuduri Usul, there was no spice, only a large amount of wool, iron and stone, which means that the caravan probably encountered Suhu on the way back. robbery. The frankincense and myrrh they brought from the Arabian Peninsula have been traded into wool and woolen fabrics, the specialty of the Mesopotamia. Spices clearly feature prominently in the list of tributes to Assyria by the Queen of Arabia. From this, we can roughly understand the size of the caravans and the types of commodities used to exchange spices in the long-distance trade between Arabia and the Mesopotamia at that time, and this trade continued in this pattern for centuries. It can be considered that the period from the Neo-Assyrian Empire to the Nabataean Dynasty was a period of prosperous long-distance trade centered on the northern region of the Arabian Peninsula. In the late 1st millennium BC, the "Spice Road" turned from prosperity to decline, and the oasis cities in the northern Arabian Peninsula, such as Taima, prospered by long-distance trade, gradually eclipsed.

4. Conclusion

By the end of the first millennium BC, Thailand and the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula had become part of the vast territory of the Hellenistic and Roman Empires. The Mediterranean world, at the heart of the empire, saw a dramatic increase in the demand for eastern commodities, and as a result, maritime trade developed rapidly from ports along the Mediterranean coast, through Egypt, across the Red Sea to the southern Mesopotamia, Iran, and even India.Sailboats replaced camel caravans and became the main means of transportation for frankincense and myrrh from the southern Arabian Peninsula to enter the Eastern and Western worlds.

According to this article's interpretation of the unearthed documents in the local area of ​​Tai-Ma and the Mesopotamia and other places, it can be found that throughout the history of Tai-Ma, especially after entering the first millennium BC, the history of Tai-Ma and the long distance between the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula Trade is closely related. On the one hand, the history, religion, culture and material life of Thailand and Malaysia are also deeply influenced by the connected Mesopotamia, Syria and even Egypt. On the other hand, oasis cities in Thailand, Malaysia and northern Arabia have also become influential parties in the regional political environment because of their importance in trade. However, we cannot fully understand the nature of ancient Thai-Malaysian and northern Arabian civilizations by relying only on philological and historical investigations of unearthed and handed down documents. Jumping out of the unearthed documents, it can be found that the archaeological data provide a more realistic picture of life in Taima during this period. Although long-distance trade has brought fame and wealth to Thailand and Malaysia, the residents of Thailand and Malaysia have always used oasis agriculture as their main livelihood, and this feature has not changed significantly after the decline of the "Spice Road" until today. As one of the hubs of long-distance trade in the ancient Arabian Peninsula, the understanding of its early history has important reference value for us to understand the oasis civilization and long-distance trade in the ancient world.

(The opinions of this article are only the author's personal opinions, and do not represent the position of the SISU and this WeChat subscription account.)

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