Magan (civilization)
Magan (also Majan[1]) was an ancient region in what is now modern day Oman and United Arab Emirates. It was referred to in Sumerian cuneiform texts of around 2300 BCE and existed until 550 BCE as a source of copper and diorite for Mesopotamia. 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".[2]
Location[edit]
Modern archaeological and geological evidence places Magan in the area currently encompassed by Oman and the United Arab Emirates.[3][4]
In the past, historians had debated possible locations, including the region of Yemen known as Ma'in,[5] in the south of Upper Egypt, in Nubia or the Sudan, and others as part of today's Iran and Pakistan. Other Possible locations for the Magan include Bahrain, Qatar, and the geographical location known as Dilmun.[2] 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.[6]
Commerce[edit]
Archaeological finds dating from this time show trade not only with the Indus Valley and Sumer, but also with Iran and Bactria.[12] They have also revealed what is thought to be the oldest case on record of poliomyelitis, with the distinctive signs of the disease found in the skeleton of a woman from Tell Abraq, in modern Umm Al Quwain.[12]
Trade was common between Magan and Ur before the reigns of the Gutian kings over Ur. After they were deposed, Ur-Nammu of Ur restored the roads and trade resumed between the two nations (c. 2100 BC).[13]
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.[14][15] 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.[16]