SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... Shadow States: The Archaeology of Power in the Marshes of Southern Mesopotamia A Dissertation Presented by Abdulameer Al-Dafar to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (Archaeology) Stony Brook University December 2015 Copyright by Abdulameer al-Dafar 2015 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Abdulameer Al-Dafar We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Elizabeth C. Stone Professor, Department of Anthropology Elisabeth Hildebrand Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology Paul Zimansky Professor, Department of History Jason Alik Ur Professor, Department of Anthropology Harvard University This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Charles Taber Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation Shadow States: The Archaeology of Power in the Marshes of Southern Mesopotamia by Abdulameer Al-Dafar Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology (Archaeology) Stony Brook University 2015 Ancient states and early complex societies emerged in areas where urban settlements had the resources to house large populations and where economic and political centers and institutions could be established to run the society. By contrast, marshes, isolated deserts, extreme mountain peaks and thick forests served as refuges for those who wanted to escape from the state. Moreover, taking these examples into consideration, scholars seem to share the assumption that it is unexpected to find urban centers and central political organizations of isolated refuge areas in the ancient world. iii This dissertation examines the hypothesis that under certain historical and environmental circumstances, the marshes of southern Iraq, which are normally considered places of refuge, could become centers of political power and develop a political organization independent of that associated with irrigated areas. The focus of this dissertation will be on the archaeological evidence for an example of political independence in the marshes during the first Sealand dynasty (1739 -1340 BCE). Specifically, the objective is to understand how the archaeological record reflects the existence of this dynasty, and helps explain its success in these exceptional conditions. The data will also help us to understand the archaeology of the Sealand during this time of political centralization in the southern Mesopotamian marshes. To date, all information concerning this dynasty has been based on textual sources unsupported by archaeological data. From 2003 to 2009, I conducted surveys in both the alluvial plain and also the marshes of southern Iraq. The data I collected during that time will test the hypothesis that the people of Mesopotamia’s ancient marshes exploited specific political and economic circumstances, through the use of their unique environmental setting, to create their own independent political structure, the first Sealand Dynasty. It will further test the idea that this dynasty took on the shape of a shadow state that confronted the primary state in Babylon. iv To the souls of my parents who tought me the first letter My uncle, Hajj Salih, who established a school in our village in Hawr al-Ḥammmar My cousin, Abdulmahdi, who provided me the first school-dress and backpack My wife, Batool, and the two wonderful boys, Hayder and Uruk To the soul of Dr. Donny George Youkhanna v Table of Contents LIST OF MAPS…………………………………………………………..…………………..xiii LIST OF FIGURES………….………………………………………………………..……..xiv LIST OF TABLES……………….…………………………………………………….……xvi LIST OF APPENDICES…………………………….…………….……………………….xvi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……………………..……………………………………….…..xvii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1. The hypothesis……………………………….…………………...…………………………1 1.2. Questions and objectives……………………………………………………………………4 1.3. Methods of Investigation……………………………………………………………………7 1.3.1. Previous and recent surveys and excavations……………………………………7 1.3.2. Ethnographic evidence …………………………………………………………..8 1.3.3. Ethnohistorical records …………………………………………………………..9 1.3.4. Remote sensing imagery…………………………………….…………………..10 vi CHATER TWO: HUMAN ADAPTATIONS TO MARSH ENVIRONMENTS IN MODERN ETHNOGRAPHY 2.1. The use of ethnographic data…………………………………………………………..11 2.2. Criteria for forming ethnographic analogies…………………….………………….…12 2.3. Potential ethnographic sources……………………………………………...…………15 2.3.1. Sundarbans, Bangladesh, Asia…………………………………………………16 2.3.2. The Nile Delta……………………………………..…………………………..16 2.3.3. Lake Chalco, Valley of Mexico…………………………………….………….17 2.3.4. Southern Iraqi marshes today………………………………….….…………..18 2.4. A detailed consideration of strengths and weaknesses of modern Iraqi marshes as an analogical source 2.4.1. The environment………………………………….………………..……………19 2.4.2. Human populations: Genetics, language, religion, and ethnicity……………….21 2.5. The physical geography and environments of the contemporary marshes………………25 2.5.1. Climate………………………………………………………………………….27 2.5.2. Major marsh areas in southern Iraq…………………………………………….28 2.5.3. Environmental Habitats within the Marshes…………………………………...29 2.5.3.1. The seasonal marshes…………………………………………………………..30 2.5.3.2. The permanent marshes………………………………………………………..32 2.6. Economic resources in the marshes……………………………………………………….35 vii 2.6.1. Bovine husbandry……………………………………………………….……..36 2.6.1.1. Cattle…………………………………………………………….……..36 2.6.1.2. Water-buffalo…………………………………………………….…….37 2.6.2. Sheep and goat……………………………………………………………….…..39 2.6.3. Pigs…………………………………………………………………….…………41 2.6.4. Grains: rice , wheat, barley, and other grains………………..………..………….44 2.6.5. Date Palms and other fruit trees………………………………………….………46 2.6.5.1. Uses of a date palm and its products………………………………..…48 2.6.5.2. Cultivation of date palms…………………………….…………..……50 2.6.6. Waterfowl………………………………………………….……………….51 2.6.7. Fish…………………………………………………………………..................52 2.6.8. Reed and papyrus……………………………………………………………….53 2.6.8.1. The uses of reed…………………………………………….…………..54 2.6.8.2. Construction of reed structures…………………………….…………..54 2.6.8.2.1 The social fabric……………………………………………57 2.6.9. Commerce and transportation……………………………………….…….……59 2.7. Land management: Natural and artificial islands and platforms…………………………60 2.7.1. Land used for dwellings……………………………………………………..….61 2.7.1.1. Al-khaiṭ……………………………………………………………….…61 2.7.1.2. Chibasha………………………………………………………………..66 2.7.1.3. Datcha………………………………………………………………….67 viii 2.7.1.4. Ishan………………………………………………….………….……..67 2.7.2. Lands for cultivation……………………………………………………………68 2.7.2.1. al-Jand and al-Harid……………………………………………………69 2.7.2.2. al-Alwa…………………………………..………………………….…..69 2.7.2.2.1. A comparative case from Mexico…………………………….70 2.7.2.3. al-Shaṭi…………………………………………..……………….…….71 2.7.2.4. al-Chiffa and al-Tifuf………………………………………….…….....71 2.7.2.5. al-Tar , al-Ramla, al-Shalha, and al-Ḥemada……….………………72 2.8. Ethnographic models of settlement patterns…………………………………….………73 2.8.1. Pattern one: a linear pattern (beads on a string).…………………………….73 2.8.2. Pattern two: a radial pattern.…………………………...…………………..75 CHAPTER THREE: ETHNOHISTORICAL DATA FROM THE MARSHES OF SOUTHERN IRAQ DURING THE MEDIEVAL AGES 3.1 Introduction…………………………….……………………………………………….80 3.2 The geography of al- Baṭiḥa…………………………………………………….………81 3.3 The political history of the Shahinid Principality…………………………….…………86 3.4 General descriptions of economy and production of al-Baṭiḥa during the Shahinid Principality…………………..………………………………………………..………….81 3.4.1. Canal systems of al- Bāṭiḥa…………………………………….…………….96 3.4.1.1. Diqla, the Tigris in the Abbasid period………………………………99 ix 3.4.1.2. Maysān, the eastern canal……………………………………………100 3.4.1.3. Jāfar and Sāsi, the western canal……………………………………..100 3.4.1.4. al-Gharrāf…………………………………………………………….100 3.4.2. Controlling internal trade and transportation routes………………………….102 3.4.3. The settlement system of the Shahinid Principality……………….………….104 3.4.3.1. Major sites in al-Bȃṭiḥa during the Shahinid Principality…………...104 3.5. Models of settlement patterns in the marshes based on ethnographic and ethnohistorical data……………………………………………………………..114 3.5.1. The settlement system outside of the marshes………………………………...114 3.5.2. Settlement system within the marshes during times of dependence……..116 3.5.3. The settlement system in the marshes during times of independence…...116 CHAPTER 4: THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND SETTLEMENTS SYSTEM OF THE FIRST SEALAND DYNASTY 4.1. Introduction………………………………………………………..……………………..119 4.2. The settlement and canal systems before the first Sealand dynasty ……..……….……..123 4.3. The definition of the Sealand…………………………………………………………….125 4.4. A brief review of the political history and the governmental structures in the Sealand…125 4.5. The location of the Sealand and the major cities in the south based on textual data…….127 x 4.6. The settlement system and the archaeological landscape during the first Sealand dynasty………………………………………………………….……………………….136 4.6.1. Identifying the extensions and boundaries of the settlement of the first Sealand dynasty ……………………………………………………..…………………..……..136 4.6.1.1. The northern extension of the first Sealand dynasty ………….…….136 4.6.1.2. The southern extension of the first Sealand dynasty…………..……138