More than a Mythological Place: Dilmun as a Site for Trade

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More than a Mythological Place: Dilmun as a Site for Trade

Yet, Dilmun was not merely a mythological place. The existence of Dilmun can be found in Sumerian and Babylonian cuneiform records.

One of the earliest known inscriptions mentioning Dilmun speaks of the tribute that they brought to Ur-Nanshe, the first king of the first dynasty of Lagash: “The ships of Dilmun from foreign lands, brought him (Ur-Nanshe) wood as a tribute (?).”

Another inscription from the reign of Sargon the Great boasts of Dilmun’s ships being anchored at Agade, “… the ships from Dilmun, he made tie up alongside the quay of Agade.” It was the ships of Dilmun, perhaps, that made long-distance trade between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley possible.

It has been noted that a number of Indus Valley seals have been discovered in several Mesopotamian sites, whilst ‘Persian Gulf’ circular seals (known from Dilmun) have been found in both the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia. This has been taken as evidence that trade occurred between the three civilizations.


The Dilmun Civilization: An Important Location for Ancient Mythology and Trade

 

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Dilmun (Telmun) was a civilization located in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Although this was quite an old civilization, it is much less famous than the four cradles of civilization of the Old World, i.e. Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilization, and the Yellow River Civilization.

Location of the Dilmun Civilization
Unlike these four ancient civilizations, which developed around river valleys, the Dilmun civilization was located on the island which is today the country of Bahrain. Due to its strategic position in the Gulf, the Dilmun civilization was able to develop as a trade center, and was in contact with two of the four cradles of civilization, namely Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilization.