Ancient Somalia, 70 C.E.

[Armchair Politician]

 

I've been trying to connect up the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea with historical sites and probable locations as described in the Periplus.

 

These are of course the Greek names for these towns, which are often quite different from the native ones. The use of "Berber" in the Periplus does not neccisarily connect with the well known modern usage of the word, for north African peoples.

[Armchair Politician]

The towns correspond on the map with:

Avalites: Zeila or nearby

Malao: Berbera or nearby

Mundus: By a circular bay near Karin, behind the little island in the center of the bay.

Mosyllum: Either Geilweite or Mait

Aromata: East of Damo, right on the tip of the horn of Africa.

Tabae: Somewhere on the Ras Hafun peninsula

Pano: A village located somwhere near Bandar Beyla

Opone: Somewhere close to Eyl.

 

Sarapion: A town beyond the "barren bluffs and beaches of Azania" (a reference to Mudug and Galgadud coasts) and a considerable distance from Opone. Likely this is the Sabaean town of Shingani.

 

Nicon: The next town down the coast, Baraawe was also originally a Sabaean trade post and is likely the town the greeks called Nicon.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Mr. Fadhikudirir and his maps. Good one, this one that is.

[Armchair Politician]

Thanks

As all the northern towns are located in stable states, perhaps it's time for Somalis to excavate these cities and discover the glories of their past? The incense trade was BIG business in the ancient world, and these towns were likely very rich and full of examples of ancient Somali culture, language and art.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Are you Soomaali, by the way? Your ways certainly do not sound a one. Just a curious question.

[Armchair Politician]

No, though I'd like to visit one day.

[Chimera]

James nice map but Assab is Avalites Saylac is too far away from Adulis to be indentified with Avalites and don't confuse ''claims'' with actual ''possession'' none of them were actual colonies of Sabeaens ex: the King of Pate claimed in the 16th century to controll the whole East African coast from Somalia to Mozambique in reality this never happened cause this would put him in direct conflict with the Monomopatan Empire and the Ajjuuraan Empire and that type of power projection is something Pate never had.

 

Your simply repeating what Chittick and co. did in 80's omitting the indiginous people only this time you replaced the Arabs and Persians with the Sabeaens(who most likely looked no different from their Ethiopian and Somali business partners see there descendents:Pic1Pic2)

 

Nikon and Serapion have been identified with Barawa and Mogadishu and Ras Hafun is Ancient Opone. About the excavation projects i personally rather have those artifacts remained burried untill a patriotic government rises i hate to see them getting caught up in the destruction like other objects before them

 

The Clash between Local and Western Heritage Theory and Practice: A Case Study from Somalia

 

The state of Somali cultural heritage can be summarized as one that has totally lacked protection and preservation measures in the past and present. During the colonial times and after independence, all excavated artifacts weremoved out of the country. Furthermore, a lack of interest for indigenous vies and ways of preserving the past, both astangible and intangible, was reflected by the displays of the ethnographic museums of Somalia. A contributing factor to this lack of discourse was the former Somali government’s total disregard of its people’s heritage. The collapse of this dictatorship government in 1991 and the civil war that followed promoted a still ongoing looting and destruction which still is totally neglected by the international community. However, from the perspective of heritage theory, I argue that the failure of the protection and preservation of Somali cultural heritage is mainly due to the clash between local and universal’ views and methods of its preservation. Heritage protection and preservation methodologies must be linked to the cultural context. I also argue that archaeological research should be part of post-conflict reconstruction strategy,and provide possibilities for reconciliation and local community development opportunities-Sada Mire

[Armchair Politician]

Hey nice post,

It's true heritage has held no value for many 20th century regimes. It's a real shame.

 

I think Avalites must be Zeila for two reasons. First of all, Avalites is described as the first "far side port", and the Gulf of Tadjoura is called the Gulf of Avalites. Avalites is also described after the narrator has already "passed through" the straight. All these facts would make no sense if Aseb was Avalites.

 

Also, Malao, identified with Berbera, is 800 Stadia away from Avalites, which is about 125 Km. This is just about right for Zeila but too far away for Aseb by a long shot.

[Armchair Politician]

Similarly, Opone is described as at least 800 Stadia away from the tip of the horn of Africa, and probably a lot more. Ras Hafun is only about 200-300 Stadia from the tip. There are two towns roughly evenly spaced before you get to Opone, Pano and the Promontory of Tabae.

 

While it is a certainty that Hafun is an ancient town, it has simply been misidentified in my opinion. It is the ancient town of Tabae, not Opone.

[Chimera]

Interesting but if Avalites is Saylac then the distance from Massawah(Adulis) to Saylac is alot more than 4000 stadia(distance between Adulis and Avalites), it makes more sense for Assab to be Avalites and Malao to be Saylac( and one does not have to take the Assab port literally as a 'starting point' when measuring)

 

 

Though Muhammad Megalommatis is extremly anti-Ethiopia he makes sense with his identification of Assab with Avalites

 

Avalites in the Periplus of the Red Sea

 

Text

 

7. From this place the Arabian Gulf trends toward the east and becomes narrowest just before the Gulf of Avalites. After about four thousand stadia, for those sailing eastward along the same coast, there are other Berber market-towns, known as the 'far-side' ports; lying at intervals one after the other, without harbors but having roadsteads where ships can anchor and lie in good weather. The first is called Avalites; to this place the voyage from Arabia to the far-side coast is the shortest. Here there is a small market-town called Avalites, which must be reached by boats and rafts. There are imported into this place, flint glass, assorted; juice of sour grapes from Diospolis; dressed cloth, assorted, made for the Berbers; wheat, wine, and a little tin. There are exported from the same place, and sometimes by the Berbers themselves crossing on rafts to Ocelis and Muza on the opposite shore, spices, a little ivory, tortoise-shell, and a very little myrrh, but better than the rest. And the Berbers who live in the place are very unruly.

 

Analysis

 

1. Where lies Avalites?

 

Based on this chapter's text, we are inclined to identify Avalites with Assab (at the southernmost end of the Eritrean coast, nearby the Djibouti borders) rather than Zeila (present Seylac at the borders of Somaliland with Djibouti). There are two reasons for this identification, first the distance mentioned in the text, and second the reference to Avalites as the narrowest point to cross the Red Sea to Yemen. Even if we agree that the ancient mariners sailed straightforward down to today's Seylac (without sailing around the Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti), the distance from Adulis (near today's Massawa) to Zeila is much more than 4000 or rather 4800 stadia, to put it correctly.

 

In this regard we should also take into consideration the reference in chapter 5 to another part of the Red Sea navigation:

 

"And about eight hundred stadia beyond there is another very deep bay, with a great mound of sand piled up at the right of the entrance; at the bottom of which the opsian stone is found, and this is the only place where it is produced".

 

The calculation mentioned in the aforementioned excerpt concerns the distance from Adulis to another bay further in the south for which the text offers us natural description but no name; we can identify this bay with the Ghela'elo bay before Tio in Eritrea. (For modern itinerary narration and pictures:

http://www.asmera.nl/eritrea2003/eritrea-2003-14.htm).

It is from this point that the author of the Periplus of the Red Sea calculates 4000 stadia further trip to Avalites in his chapter 7. The total distance (4800 stadia) information prohibits any identification of Zeyla/Seylac with Avalites.

[Armchair Politician]

4000 Stadia is roughly 600-800 kilometers, which would actually put Aseb too close to Adulis, and is about right for Zeila.

 

Also, being the closest port to Yemen does not neccisarily mean it is at the closest POINT to Yemen. That would be modern Obock anyways, not Aseb.

[Chimera]

Adulis(Massawah's) distance from Assab is roughly 600/700 km(Eritrea's M.L coastline is 1151 km) so it would fit perfectly with Assab or a place in Djibouti close to the Eritrean border but Saylac on the other hand is much further away from Adulis(Massawah)[around 1100/1200 km]

 

It wouldn't matter to me though since these are names of Emporiums from millenia's ago but this point of view makes sense.

[ElPunto]

Interesting thread. I've always wondered why there has been so little excavation in Northern Somalia given how important a trade route it had been for centuries. There just may be archealogical treasures waiting to uncovered.

[Chimera]

a small 40 km peninsula(Hafun) and a few well known ports from the Medieval era in the South and that was it, neither the Southern and Central interior that's littered with old stone towns from the Ajjuuraan Period or the coastal north littered with remains of Adal,Zand etc have been given any attention

 

treasures yes but not for ''Sale'' there suppossed to inspire the young ones not profit the myopic ones if the Laas Geel Rock paintings in the North or the Coral stone towns in the South were exportable they would have been gone..Aaaaalong time ago

[Chimera]

Map of the world based on the writings of Herodotus(5th c B.C)

 

Somalia was known as the Macrobian Kingdom

 

The World 150 AD

 

Mossyllon must have risen to prominance in the second century AD