Incense Route
The incense route from southern Arabia to the Mediterranean is one of the oldest trade routes in the world. It was used to transport the incense from its country of origin, Dhofar, in today's Oman, via Yemen , Asir and the Hejaz to the Mediterranean port of Gaza and Damascus . Important trading stations on the caravan route were Shabwa , Sanaa , Medina and Petra .
Importance of incense
The dried resin of the frankincense tree ( Boswellia sacra ) develops an aromatic, fragrant smoke when it burns up ( smoking ) . It has long been used as a disinfectant and anti-inflammatory incense in medicine . As a remedy , it is still very popular in non-European medicine and naturopathy .
In addition, incense was and is used for religious cult activities, for example in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. In the temples of almost all religions of the ancient world , it was considered a particularly valuable offering.
Beginnings and heyday
The opening up of the Weihrauchstrasse was not made until the domestication of the dromedary in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Allows. With the use of the dromedaries as pack animals, the dependence of the caravans on the watering holes in the desert decreased.
In addition to incense, spices and precious stones from India and Southeast Asia ( India trade ) also reached Palestine and Syria via the caravan route . At Petra, north of the Gulf of Aqaba , the Frankincense Route split into a northern branch ending in Gaza and an eastern branch leading to Damascus . According to reports by ancient authors, camel caravans took 100 days to travel the 3,400 km route between Dhofar and Gaza.
The Incense Route was probably established in the 10th century BC. First used. However, there was an upturn in trade only after the formation of the South Arabian kingdoms of Saba , Qataban , Hadramaut and Ma'in in the 8th century BC. The high demand for incense in ritual acts in the Mediterranean region has led to it since the 5th century BC. BC to a bloom of the route as well as the cities and empires that it linked. At the turn of the century, the Roman Empire alone is said to have consumed 1,500 tons of the estimated annual production of 2,500 to 3,000 tons of frankincense. The Romans therefore called the area of origin of the precious raw material Arabia Felix - happy Arabia.
Decline
Shortly before, however, the incense route began to slowly decline. The Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt had in the 1st century BC Open up the sea route through the Red Sea . This enabled them to enter the incense trade and avoid the high tariffs and taxes that were levied on the land route. Not only did the old caravan route lose its meaning. The ancient Arab kingdoms also gradually lost their economic basis. This led to the rise of the Himyars in Yemen in the 3rd century . They are now increasingly relying on agriculture in the climatically more favorable mountain region and on the control of sea trade.
The triumphant advance of Islam from the 7th century onwards meant another serious setback for the trade route. Frankincense continued to be used in Islamic medicine, but not in the religious sphere of mosques .
Ancient places on Frankincense Route
- Nabataean cities Avdat , Elusa , Mamshit and Shivta in the Negev in today's Israel, together with four fortresses and two caravanserais added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005 under the name Frankincense Route - desert cities in the Negev .
- Petra in present-day Jordan, one of the most important trading hubs on the Frankincense Route (junction of six caravan routes).
- Tayma oasis in what is now Saudi Arabia.
- Medina in what is now Saudi Arabia
- Sanaa in what is now Yemen
- The port cities of Khor Rori and Al-Baleed and the trading city of Shisr in today's Oman, together with the incense park of Wadi Dawkah, part of the Land of Frankincense cultural heritage site, which was included in the World Heritage List in 2000 .
literature
- Heinrich L. Kaster: The incense route. Trade routes in the ancient Orient. Umschau-Verl., Frankfurt am Main 1986. ISBN 3-524-69062-9
- Joachim Willeitner: Yemen. Hirmer, Munich 2002. ISBN 3-7774-8230-7
- Frank Rainer Scheck: The Weihrauchstrasse. From Arabia to Rome - On the trail of ancient world cultures. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1995. ISBN 3-404-64157-4
Web links
- Oase Tayma - Interview with Ricardo Eichmann ( Memento from March 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 175 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Incense Route - Desert Cities in the Negev. Retrieved September 11, 2017 .
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Land of Frankincense. Retrieved September 11, 2017 .