Islamic Archaeology in the Comoros: The Swahili and the Rock Crystal Trade with the Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates

IF 0.7 0 ARCHAEOLOGY Journal of Islamic Archaeology Pub Date : 2019-07-29 DOI:10.1558/jia.39521
S. Pradines
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引用次数: 2

Abstract

Dembeni was one of the largest and richest archaeological sites in East Africa during the early Islamic period. At its height, between the 9th and the 12th centuries, there was a period of intense trading activity, initially with the Abbasids in the Persian Gulf, and then with the Fatimid Caliphate in the Red Sea. Dembeni has yielded archaeological finds indicating an unprecedented degree of wealth for the time, including a large amount of early Chinese and Persian ceramics, as well as glassware from all over the Islamic world. This accumulation of goods did not happen by chance, and since the first excavations at Dembeni archaeologists have sought the origin of the site’s wealth. Recent excavations at Dembeni suggest that the prosperity of the site was linked to the lucrative rock crystal trade, which accounts for the ubiquity of imported goods. Of Malagasy origin, the rock crystal was exported to Mayotte, where Muslim tradesmen exchanged ceramics, fabric, beads, and glass for the precious rock crystal, with only the highest-quality pieces being exported to Baghdad and Cairo. Evidence points to Dembeni as a major distribution centre for the Malagasy rock crystal in the Indian Ocean.
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科摩罗的伊斯兰考古:斯瓦希里人和与阿巴斯和法蒂玛哈里发的水晶贸易
登贝尼是伊斯兰早期东非最大、最丰富的考古遗址之一。在其鼎盛时期,在9世纪至12世纪之间,有一段时期的贸易活动非常激烈,最初与波斯湾的阿巴斯王朝进行贸易,然后与红海的法蒂玛哈里发进行贸易。Dembeni的考古发现表明了当时前所未有的财富,包括大量早期的中国和波斯陶瓷,以及来自伊斯兰世界各地的玻璃器皿。这种货物的积累并非偶然,自登贝尼首次发掘以来,考古学家一直在寻找该遗址财富的来源。最近在Dembeni的挖掘表明,该遗址的繁荣与利润丰厚的水晶贸易有关,这也是进口商品普遍存在的原因。这种原产于马达加斯加的水晶被出口到马约特,在那里,穆斯林商人用陶瓷、织物、珠子和玻璃交换珍贵的水晶,只有最高质量的水晶出口到巴格达和开罗。有证据表明,登贝尼是马达加斯加岩石晶体在印度洋的主要分布中心。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.70
自引率
0.00%
发文量
9
期刊介绍: The Journal of Islamic Archaeology is the only journal today devoted to the field of Islamic archaeology on a global scale. In the context of this journal, “Islamic archaeology” refers neither to a specific time period, nor to a particular geographical region, as Islam is global and the center of the “Islamic world” has shifted many times over the centuries. Likewise, it is not defined by a single methodology or theoretical construct (for example; it is not the “Islamic” equivalent of “Biblical archaeology”, with an emphasis on the study of places and peoples mentioned in religious texts). The term refers to the archaeological study of Islamic societies, polities, and communities, wherever they are found. It may be considered a type of “historical” archaeology, in which the study of historically (textually) known societies can be studied through a combination of “texts and tell”.
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