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Intl. J. Humanities (2011) Vol. 18 (2): (89-115) Trade and Cultural Contacts between Northern and Southern Persian Gulf during Parthians and Sasanians: A Study Based on Pottery from Qeshm Island Alireza Hojabri-Nobari 1, Alireza Khosrowzadeh 2, Seyed Mehdi Mousavi Kouhpar 3, Hamed Vahdatinasab 4 Received:21/9/2011 Accepted:3/1/2011 Abstract The first season of survey at Qeshm, carried out during the winter of 2006, resulted in the identification of nine sites from the Parthian and Sasanian periods. The surface pottery from these sites suggests their trade and cultural relations with contemporary sites in the southern Persian Gulf and other areas. For instance, the Parthian and Sasanian glazed types in Qeshm Island are closely related materials found from Khuzestan as well as northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf, including ed-Dur, Suhar, Kush, Failaka and Qalat Bahrain. Parthian painted ware reveals close similarities to monochrome and bichrome painted pottery of southeastern Iran, Oman coasts and the southern Persian Gulf, specifically ed-Dur, Suhar, Kush and Tel-i-Abrak. The so-called Indian Red Polished Ware is the other diagnostic type widespread in the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf from the middle Parthian up to the Downloaded from eijh.modares.ac.ir at 11:47 IRDT on Monday August 31st 2020 early Islamic period. The material was being widely produced in the Indian region (Gujarat) and Indus, and exported to different places around the Persian Gulf. The Coarse Black Ware ( ceramic noir epaise ) with decorative raised bands recorded in Qeshm compares with coarse-black material from the southern Persian Gulf, also occurring at sites such as ed-Dur and Abu Dhabi Islands. Plain, common Parthian and Sasanian pottery from Qeshm shows parallels with known materials of this period in the northern and southern Persian Gulf. Keywords: Trade; Pottery; Persian Gulf; Qeshm; Parthian; Sasanian 1. Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran. [email protected] 2 . PhD Student, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran 3. Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran 4. Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran 89 Trade and Cultural Contacts … Intl. J. Humanities (2011) Vol. 18 (2) Introduction including Kish, Hormuz, Khark and Oman. During February and March 2006, Qeshm, With reference to its strategic location near an island in the strategic Strait of Hormuz the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz and close (Fig.1), was partially surveyed by an to the northern and southern coasts, Qeshm expedition from Iranian Centre for probably played a considerably important Archaeological Research (ICAR). The role in creating trade and commercial ties island served as a main loop in the region's between northern and southern shores as trade networks during historical and Islamic well as with other areas. eras. The presence of numerous sites there The first season of field work at Qeshm with rich cultural material, demonstrate its yielded interesting results, including flourishing contacts with other areas identification of some sites probably dating including East and South Asia, attest to the back from the Iron Age to the later Islamic claim. Surveys and excavations on both period. The survey recorded four sites from northern and southern shores of the Persian the Parthian and five from Sasanian Gulf have identified several sites associated periods. The following sections summarize with its trade artery leading to the Indian the results accruing from an analysis of Ocean during the entire or part of the pottery collections from these sites at Parthian, Sasanian and Islamic periods. In Qeshm. northern region, Siraf, Suhar, Qalhat, ed- Dur, Kush and Mleiha are counted as the Aims and Methodology Downloaded from eijh.modares.ac.ir at 11:47 IRDT on Monday August 31st 2020 most important sites. All these have The archaeological survey of Qeshm Island produced good evidences from the was conducted with the general objective of historical and Islamic periods for maritime getting a better understanding on trade between different regions of the commercial/economic interactions between Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Further, different settlements of historic period on archaeological activities on the Persian the island with those nearby regions Gulf's islands suggest that the important including southern and northern coasts of trade centers were not simply limited to the the Persian Gulf. Current data of the coastal areas rather there existed similarly Persian Gulf islands are too meagre to be important centers at several islands analyzed for reconstructing the nature and 90 Hojabri-Nobari.A and others Intl. J. Humanities (2011) Vol. 18 (2) intensity of socio-economic contacts followed random sampling to collected a between human communities of both sides representative samples from the visited of the Persian Gulf, but thanks to increasing sites. To find the sites, in addition to direct archaeological fieldworks in the region observation, we benefited from local there are promising windows to going informants. We assigned a unique code to through such issues. The data gathered each site which included QS as during the first season of Qeshm Island abbreviation of Qeshm Island and a survey enhanced our insights into the number. problem of cultural contacts between southern and northern settlements of the Parthian and Sasanian Potteries in Persian Gulf as well as adjacent regions. Qeshm Generally, the aim of the survey was to As Haerinck noted (1983), during the look into possible answers to the following Parthian period, pottery was generally questions: 1. When the Qeshm Island was produced locally and that situation populated first and why? 2. How continued up to Sasanians thus individual Achaemenid, Parthian and Sassanid did Iranian regions have had their own pottery affect commerce and economy of the both style and characteristics. Qeshm falls in the sides of the Persian Gulf? 3. What are the southern zone of the Iranian cultural nature, distribution and size of historic divisions. In fact, the pottery assemblage settlements of Qeshm and what information from the island shares most of its Downloaded from eijh.modares.ac.ir at 11:47 IRDT on Monday August 31st 2020 they provide about the character and characteristics with material known from function of these settlements? 4. What role the southern Iran. The most important settlements at the Qeshm Island and archaeological works conducted in this Hormoz Strait coasts could play for inter zone includes excavations at Tepe Yahya. and intra-regional commercial contacts and On the southern Persian Gulf, which is developing trade networks during Parthian much extensively excavated, sites at UAE onward? and Oman fit into this zone. Excavations at Our methodology was intensive Suhar, ed-Dur, Kush and Mleiha are the coverage of the area through 1/25000 and most important works carried out in the 1/50000 scaled topographical maps. We zone. Apart from excavations, several 91 Trade and Cultural Contacts … Intl. J. Humanities (2011) Vol. 18 (2) survey programs covered the area including dated to the post-Parthian, i.e. Sasanian those directed by de Cardi and Potts. period (Sajjadi, 1991; Sajjadi, 1989). At Parthian and Sasanian forms in Qeshm Tepe Yahya, this type was present within pottery assemblage compare more Period I strata attributable to the Parthian characteristically to those from the above- and Sasanian periods (Lamberg-Karlovsky, mentioned sites. In general, Parthian and 1970). Sasanian pottery assemblage collected on The type was also recorded on Bushehr Qeshm may be classified into five types: coastal areas, where the examples (found at Painted Ware, Glazed Ware, Indian Red Rishahr) were orange in color and grit- Ware, Coarse Black and Red Ware, and tempered, with thick orange slip applied Plain Ware. over the surface. The black painted decorations occurred on both exterior and Painted Ware interior surfaces. Occasionally, the exterior The examples fall into distinct categories. and sometimes the interior surface of the The first is fine, grit-tempered material with sherds was polished (Whitehouse and red-yellow body and a thick, red slip. The Williamson 1973, Fig. 5A). In his survey at decorations tend to be geometrical designs Minab and southern Kerman, Williamson executed with black paint on the exterior recorded several sites containing examples surface. The type is also known as Orange of this pottery. Recent surveys at Rudân Ware with painted decorations or have produced considerable number of Downloaded from eijh.modares.ac.ir at 11:47 IRDT on Monday August 31st 2020 “Namord” Ware (Fig. 4). Sir Aurel Stein examples of this pottery at Tom-e Maroon was first to record this pottery type in Iran (Khosrowzadeh, 2006). The painted forms at sites in Kerman and Baluchistan such as from this site closely parallel those in Damb-e Kuh, Fanuj, Hezar Mardi, Tombe Qeshm assemblage. Namord and Darra-shör (Stein 1937: 175). The type likewise occurs at several sites In 1983, an archaeological team led by on the southern Gulf, such as al-Ghanam, Sajjadi surveyed Rudbâr valley in southern ed-Dur, Kush, Mlieha and Tel-I Abrak, Kerman recording this pottery at four sites, within deposits dating back to the Parthian namely Qala Khârg, Dugâri, Tombe and Sasanian periods (Fig. 2). The material Nomrad, and Si Tomb. The material was is reported from ed-Dur (Salles 1984; Fig. 92 Hojabri-Nobari.A and others Intl. J. Humanities (2011) Vol. 18 (2) 11, 15-18; Lecomte 1993; Fig. 12.1-4), the dated collections from other areas. The greatest pre-Islamic site on the southern type, however, resembles the monochrome Persian Gulf, and Mlieha (Boucharlat and and bichrome painted pottery described by Mouton 1993; Figs. 15.3-4), the greatest Haerinck and dated to 1st -3rd centuries AD site in the southern hinterland of the Gulf.

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