The Northern Ḥeǧâz/Appendix 11
APPENDIX XI
THE NORTHERN ḤEǦÂZ ACCORDING TO THE CLASSICAL AND ARABIC AUTHORS
THE COAST AND ISLANDS OF THE NORTHERN ḤEǦÂZ
According to Agatharchides, Periplus (Photius’ version [Müller, Vol. 1]), pp. 177—179, on leaving the Gulf of Heroöpolis, one arrives at Nessa, a place so called from the ducks which are found there in large numbers. Nessa is situated near a spur of land covered with a thick growth of forest, which extends directly to Petra and Palestine, whither the Gerrhaeans and Minaeans, as well as all the Arabs dwelling in the vicinity, convey incense. Farther on, the Laeanitic Gulf is reached, near which are situated numerous settlements of the Nabataean Arabs, who possess not only the coast but also many villages inland in a region well populated and incredibly rich in cattle. Beyond the Laeanitic Gulf follows the territory of the Bythemani. Extensive, level, and with an abundance of water, this region is low-lying and covered with grass, medic, and lotus clover, which attains the height of a man. Nothing else is cultivated there. In consequence, the country is full of wild camels, as well as of flocks of deer, gazelles, sheep, mules, and oxen. But this prosperous state of affairs has one disadvantage; the territory also attracts numerous lions, wolves, and panthers. From the coast near by a bay extends five hundred stades inland, and by it dwell the Batmizomaneis, who hunt land animals. Opposite the coast referred to there are three islands, the first dedicated to Isis, the second called Sukabya, the third Salydo. These islands are all uninhabited, but olives grow upon them, not like ours but of species peculiar to these regions. Behind the three islands, which are situated outside the bay, extends a long, stony coast belonging to the territory of the Thamudenoi Arabs. Along the coast navigation is very difficult, as it is more than a thousand stades in length and does not contain a single safe or easily accessible harbor nor any actual anchorages, protective bays, or islands such as mariners need for shelter.
Nessa is merely a descriptive noun denoting “duck island,” and Agatharchides does not give the proper name of this place. According to other accounts it would seem to be an island identical with the modern island of Tîrân or Târân. The name “Tîrân” also denotes some sort of sea bird, so that the name “Nessa” is analogous to Tîrân. Agatharchides’ spur of land extending close to this island is identical with the modern Râs al-Ḳaṣba, the last spur of the mountain range which encloses the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba to the east and extends to Petra, the Nabataean capital, and farther as far as Palestine. A dense forest covers this mountain range in the northern half to as far north as the southern end of the Dead Sea. The southern half of the range is bare, except that in the valleys there can be seen extensive groves of acacias of various kinds and here and there on the slopes other trees, so that even today it could be afforested. The Laeanitic Gulf, the present Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba, extends from the island of Nessa about one hundred and eighty kilometers to the north, and its average width is eighteen kilometers. Not much is left of the Nabataean villages once situated near it. Only the small palm groves on the coast, the valley dikes for irrigation, and the low garden walls inland show that peasants once worked there. The position of the territory of the Bythemani cannot be fixed precisely from the statements of Agatharchides. He would place it beyond the Laeanitic Gulf, and from all accounts it was close to the sea. It is probably identical with the lower part of the al-Abjaẓ valley known as al-ʻEfâl, or al-ʻEfâr. This is a lowland more than fifty kilometers long by twenty kilometers broad and bordered on the north and east by high mountains and straggling hills. It contains a sufficiency of water, and on the banks of the channels of the separate valleys, especially of al-ʻEfâl, there are spacious meadows covered with grass and various kinds of clover (nefel). It is not certain whether wild camels actually grazed there at one time. In the works of no writer using an independent source have I found any reference to wild camels in Arabia, and it cannot be believed that they existed in the territory of the Bythemani, surrounded as it was by Nabataean settlements. More probably they were herds of camels grazing freely but belonging to definite owners and guarded in the same way as cattle. The mules mentioned by Agatharchides might presuppose horses also, but there is no reference to them. By deer are perhaps meant white antelopes, which are to be seen in the region today also; whereas deer proper were and still are unknown. In these regions of Arabia lions are completely extinct. There are still many wolves and panthers. The bay five hundred stades (79 km.) long, which Agatharchides mentions, is identical with the strip of sea seventy-five kilometers long by fifteen kilometers broad, which is bordered on the east and north by the coast, on the south and west by the shallows, islands, and islets, and which extends from Târân eastward and terminates by Cape Mṣajbe Šarma.
The coast line of this bay, together with the oases of ʻAjnûna, Šarma, Terîm, and al-Mwêleḥ, and the adjacent eastern uplands, belonged to the Batmizomani tribe. Of the three islets mentioned, Salydo is perhaps identical with the islet of Ṣela’; Sukabya with Ǧobʻa, or, as it is also pronounced, Jobʻa; and the islet dedicated to Isis perhaps corresponds to Barḳân. The stony shore, stretching for a long distance and belonging to the Thamudenoi, extends to the southeast from Cape as-Sabḫa. It has very few bays, and there are only two places, one by the settlement of Ẓbe’ and the other south of al-ʻWejned, where ships can safely anchor.
According to Diodorus, Bibl. hist., III, 43 f., beyond the Cape (at the entrance to the Gulf of Heroöpolis) it is possible to reach the Laeanitic Gulf, near which are situated numerous villages of the so-called Nabataean Arabs. These folk dwell for some distance along the coast and in quite an extensive region inland, for they are unusually numerous and possess an incredible number of cattle. Farther on, there extends an irrigated plain, where wild grass, medic, and lotus clover grow to the height of a man by the springs which flow on all sides. The rich and extensive pastures feed not only innumerable herds of cattle of various kinds but also wild camels, deer, and gazelles. These animals attract lions, wolves, and panthers from the wilderness, and the shepherds protect their flocks from them day and night. A bay extends along these tracts of land and penetrates for nearly five hundred stades inland. It is enclosed by mighty cliffs, and the entrance to it is winding and difficult of access owing to the isolated rocks. This entrance is dominated by a rock projecting into the sea, so that it is often impossible to sail into the gulf or to leave it; for if the wind changes at high tide, the waves beat against the rocks and are everywhere broken against the projecting spur. The inhabitants of the neighboring territory are called Banizomeneis. They engage in hunting and eat the flesh of animals of the mainland. In this region there is a temple which is reverenced by all Arabs. Not far from the coast in question there are situated three islands with a number of harbors. The first island, now uninhabited, is said to be dedicated to Isis. On it can be traced the foundations of ancient stone buildings and columns with barbaric inscriptions. The other islands are also uninhabited, but on all of them olives different from our species are growing. Beyond them extends a precipitous shore, difficult of access and for nearly a thousand stades without a harbor, without an anchorage, and without an inlet where sailors could find shelter from danger. Along the shore rises a mountain with a rocky ridge which projects to a dizzy height and from which mighty boulders have been torn away. At the foot of the mountain are sharp rocks close together in the sea, and behind them yawn caves eaten away by the waves. These caves are connected with one another. As the sea is deep, the waves now penetrate into the caverns, now flow out of them again, causing a noise like thunder. Many waves beat against the huge rocky boulders, splashing upwards and producing an incredible amount of foam. Other waves penetrate into the rocky caverns and cause a terrible whirlpool which sucks everything into it, so that people who approach these places unawares are ready to die of fear. This coast belongs to the Thamudenoi Arabs.—
Diodorus does not mention either the island of Nessa or the Bythemani. The Banizomeneis are identical with the Batmizomaneis of Agatharchides, in whose text Banizomeneis (i. e. Bani Zomejn) should likewise be read. The entrance to the gulf of the Banizomeneis was probably between the island of Târân and Râs al-Ḳaṣba. The temple which is revered by all the Arabs and to which Diodorus refers is perhaps identical either with the sanctuary near Madian or Ṛwâfa, situated to the east of the gulf.
Artemidorus (Strabo, Geography, XVI, 4: 18) states that from the Gulf of Heroöpolis it is possible to reach the islet of Phokon, so called because of the large number of seals there. Not far from here projects a promontory extending toward Petra, the town of the Nabataean Arabs, and as far as the land of Palestine, whither (i. e. to Petra) the Minaeans and Gerrhaeans, as well as all the neighboring people, convey various perfumes. Then comes the Aelanitic Gulf, as well as the land of the Nabataeans, which is thickly populated and has plenty of pasturage. The Nabataeans dwell, however, also on the islands near by. Here they formerly lived in peace but subsequently took to attacking and robbing the vessels arriving from Egypt, using rafts for the purpose. But they were punished by a fleet which sailed up to their islands and ravaged them. There follows a plain covered with trees and irrigated with water, full of various grazing animals, including mules, and an abundance of wild camels, deer, and gazelles. Even lions, panthers, and wolves are numerous. Opposite this plain is situated the island called Dia. From there extends a long bay, for a distance of five hundred stades, surrounded by mountains and with a very difficult entrance. The surrounding population hunt land animals. Still farther on there are three islands, uninhabited but containing olives, not like those in our country but native ones which are called Ethiopian olives, the resinous sap of which is used medicinally. Then there extends a stony shore and beyond it, for a distance of nearly a thousand stades, an inhospitable coast with very rare harbors and anchorages.—
The seal island of Artemidorus is identical with the duck island of Agatharchides and thus in all probability with the modern island of Tîrân. Artemidorus calls the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba the Aelanitic, not the Laeanitic Gulf. Both names are accurate. Aelanites is the older name derived from the harbor of Ajla or Aela. Laeanites refers to the clan of the Leḥjân, to whom the whole of the surrounding district belonged from the fifth to the third century before Christ. As in the gulf itself there are no islands and the Nabataeans from the gulf could not, even on rafts, get near to the Egyptian ships which sailed from the Gulf of Heroöpolis, or Gulf of Suez, we must conclude that according to Artemidorus the Nabataeans inhabited the islands situated to the south and southeast of the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba. The island of Dia is perhaps identical with the island of Ṣenâfîr.
Strabo, op. cit., XVI, 4: 26, writes that in the Nabataean land various fruits flourish in addition to olives and that the inhabitants use sesame oil. The sheep have white wool and the oxen are big. Horses are lacking but are replaced by camels. The Nabataeans are clad only in a loin cloth without a lower garment and sandals.—
If there is a lack of horses in the Nabataean land then it can contain neither mules or hinnies. The herds of ἡμιόνες, which according to Agatharchides and Artemidorus (see above pp. 302 and 304) graze in the land of the Bythemani, should not, therefore, be translated mules or half-asses, but wild asses, of which there used to be large numbers in Arabia.
Pliny, Nat. hist., VI, 156, describes the “inner” gulf of the Red Sea, near which the Laeanitae settled and to which they gave their name. Their royal city was called Hagra. Near the gulf, he says, was situated the town of Laeana, or, as others say, Aelana, whence the gulf itself was called the Laeanitic by some writers, the Aelanitic by others. Thus Artemidorus calls it the Aelanitic, while Iuba calls it the Laeanitic.
Pliny, op. cit., V, 65, writes that one gulf of the Red Sea extending to Egypt is called the Heroöpolitic, the other the Aelanitic. The two towns of Aelana and Gaza near our sea (the Mediterranean) are 150,000 paces apart.
The Laeanitae are identical with the Leḥjân, and their main city Hagra must, as we have seen, be located at al-Ḥeǧr. The city situated on the gulf itself was not called Laeana but Aelana or Aela (Aila). From it Gaza is 220 kilometers, or nearly 150 Roman miles away. Both Agatharchides and Diodorus call the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba the Laeanitic, Pliny calls it both Laeanitic and Aelanitic, and Strabo only Aelanitic, from which we may infer that the Leḥjân in the second and first centuries before Christ had already made way for the Nabataeans and the older name of Aelanitic, derived from the harbor of Aela, had effaced the name Laeanitic. Pliny does not state that the Leḥjân were settled in his time in the town of Hagra (al-Ḥeǧr), which in the middle of the first century of our era belonged to the Nabataean kings. The sources from which Pliny derived his information correspond to the other historical records cited above, and it is not therefore necessary for us to assume that he confused the Laeanitic Bay in the Persian Gulf with the Aelanitic Gulf in the Red Sea, as was done by Ptolemy, who connects the trading center of al-Ḥaǧar, situated to the west of the al-Bahrejn islands not far from the modern town of al-Hufhûf, with the town of al-Ḥeǧr, four hundred kilometers southeast of Aela.
Ptolemy, Geography, VI, 7: 43, places the island of Ainu at long. 65° 45’, lat. 27° 20’ N., and, op. cit., VI, 7: 29, the settlement of Aina at long. 75° 40’, lat. 27° 20’ N. Thus, as he assigns the island of Ainu and the settlement of the same name the same geographical latitude but an entirely different longitude, I conclude that the latter has been badly recorded and that the two places are identical. If this is so, the island of Ainu must be located west of the southeastern corner of the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba (Aila) at the spot where the modern islet of Tîrân (or Târân) is situated. Ptolemy recorded its name as Ainu, which in Nabataean was probably pronounced Ḥâinu.
From the third and fourth centuries of our era we have no information about the northern part of the Red Sea and the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba. Malchus of Philadelphia (Müller), pp. 112 ff., was the first to explain that in the year 473 A. D. Peter, bishop of the Christian Arabs dwelling in tents and known as Saracens, came to Constantinople for the purpose of asking the Emperor Leo to grant the rank of a Roman phylarch to Amorkesos, chief of the clan of the Nokalians. The chief in question had pitched his tents originally in Persian territory; but, whether he enjoyed little esteem there or whether he preferred the Roman territory to the Persian, he migrated from Persian territory and encamped in Arabia near the Persian frontier, whence he was perpetually making raids, not against the Romans but against the Saracens. His influence became so extensive that he even obtained possession of an island which was a Roman dependency. From this island, called Iotabe, he drove away the toll gatherers, collected taxes for himself, and became particularly rich also by plundering other settlements in the vicinity. Finally he wished to become an ally of the Romans and phylarch of the Roman Saracens encamping in Arabia Petraea. He accordingly sent Peter, bishop of his tribe, to the Emperor Leo. The latter immediately summoned Amorkesos to Constantinople, although, according to the conditions of the peace treaty concluded with the Persians, no Saracen fugitive from the Persian territory was to be allowed to stay in the Roman Empire. Amorkesos, under the pretext that he wished to become a Christian, was received at Constantinople with great honors. He obtained valuable gifts, was appointed phylarch, and was allowed to retain not only the above-mentioned island but also numerous other settlements.
From the following account given by Procopius, the island of Iotabe is identical with the duck or seal island and hence also with the modern island of Tirân (or Târân). We do not know when a customhouse was established there. The actual territory of Amorkesos is likewise unknown to us, because Malchus does not state the name of any tribe but mentions only the Arab nomads by the then customary name of Saracens, which corresponds with the ancient Bene Ḳedem and the modern aš-Šerḳijje, or Bedouins. Before the year 473 A. D. Amorkesos was not a Christian, nor does Malchus say whether he ever became one. Peter was the bishop of some nomad Arab tribe subdued by Amorkesos. In the interior of Arabia the territories of al-Wudijân and al-Ḥeǧera were under the Persian jurisdiction, and it was from there, probably from al-Ḥeǧara, that Amorkesos migrated with his Nokalians. He originally encamped within Roman jurisdiction at the oasis of Dûmat al-Ǧandal, of which he obtained possession. From there he made raids upon the Saracens in Palestina Tertia (Arabia Petraea) and the territory bordering upon it to the south. When he had succeeded, by sailing out on rafts, in obtaining possession of the islet of Iotabe and other settlements in the vicinity, he held sway over the caravan route uniting Syria with southern Arabia and also over the islets and the coasts of the northern part of the Red Sea, in the harbors of which the vessels maintaining trade connections between Egypt, southern Arabia, and India had to seek shelter every evening. Nowhere is it stated that the island of Iotabe had a Roman garrison, and it seems that the only people living there were a few traders to whom the customs dues were farmed out and who gave receipts for them. A vessel which could not produce such an acknowledgment had to pay toll in the Roman harbors afresh.
The island of Iotabe did not remain long in the power of Amorkesos and his successors. As early as the year 490 A. D., explains Theophanes, Chronographia (Migne), p. 121, the Roman dux, after stubborn fighting, had conquered the island of Iotabe in the Red Sea, from which heavy tolls had once been levied for the Roman Emperor but had later been appropriated by the Scenitan Arabs. This island was then handed over to Roman traders to be administered by them, and they had to pay a fixed toll on goods imported from India.
Procopius, De bello persico, I, 19, also refers to the island of Iotabe. According to him the province of Palestine extends as far as the harbor city of Aila, situated at the extremity of a very narrow gulf of the Red Sea. Those sailing from Aila through this gulf have the Egyptian mountains on the right hand extending in a southerly direction, and on the left hand the desert stretching a great distance northward. The mainland can be observed on both sides, until the island of Iotabe is reached at a distance of about a thousand stades from Aila. The inhabitants of this island were Hebrews, previously independent but compelled at the time of the Emperor Justinian to accept the Roman yoke. Beyond Iotabe there is open sea, so that no mainland is visible on the right-hand side, and mariners are therefore obliged to keep to the left and to come to a halt every evening by the left-hand shore, as it is impossible to sail by night owing to the innumerable shallows. There are, however, numerous natural harbors, and anchorage can be obtained everywhere. From the borders of Palestine this shore belongs to the Saracens, who for a long time past have dwelt in an extensive palm oasis inland, where only date palms flourish. This oasis was presented by the chief, Abocharab, to the Emperor Justinian, who appointed him phylarch of Palestine. Abocharab protects this province from all hostile raids, for he is feared not only by his enemies but also, on account of his severity, by the barbarians who pay him allegiance. The palm oasis now belongs to the Emperor but only nominally, because it can only be reached after a ten days’ march through a territory devoid of people or water.—
Procopius does not state exactly the borders of the province of Palestine. A thousand stades (i. e. about 150 kilometers) from Aila, or the modern settlement of al-ʻAḳaba, brings us through the gulf to Iotabe; and this, according to the account given by Procopius, is situated at the very entrance to the Gulf of Aila, or the modern Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba. Iotabe, as we have already seen, was the third or fourth name by which this islet had been known. The statement made by Procopius, that it then belonged to free Hebrew traders, is interesting. They were perhaps the original toll gatherers, who as time progressed failed to deliver up the collected toll, until they were again compelled to do so during the reign of Justinian. The presence of Hebrews on this islet is not strange, for at that time there were larger or smaller Hebrew settlements in all the cities and in numerous villages in Arabia near by. They could not have been independent for long, as in the year 490 A. D. the administration of the islet by a Roman commander was renewed. It seems that Iotabe and the adjacent eastern islets still belonged to the province of Palestina Tertia. It is a pity that Procopius does not define the frontiers more carefully. According to him, Palestina Tertia then extended as far as the beginning of the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba, or as far as the northern frontier of Arabia called Felix. The Saracens camping on the coast acknowledged the supremacy of Abocharab, who ruled over the great palm oasis which he offered to the Emperor Justinian. It is exceedingly regrettable that Procopius does not give the name of this oasis. His statement that it can be reached by a ten days’ march does not help us to fix it more closely, because we do not know whether he means the march of camel caravans or riders on camels, and we do not know the starting point. If we admit the palm oasis is ten days’ march from the shore in the vicinity of the islet of Iotabe, to which Procopius has just referred, and that he means riders on camels, then ten days’ journey in a northeasterly direction at the rate of fifty kilometers a day will bring us to the great palm oasis of Dûmat al-Ǧandal (al-Ǧowf), which from Iotabe is reached by a road actually through territory devoid of people or water. The palm oasis of Dajdân, or the modern al-ʻEla’, is situated about 360 kilometers to the east of Iotabe; but this distance does not tally either with the speed of a camel rider or of a goods caravan. Ten days’ march of a trading caravan from the shore near the islet of Iotabe in an easterly direction leads to the oasis of Tebûk, 180 kilometers away; yet I do not think that we can identify Tebûk with the palm oasis referred to by Procopius, because the former was never large, and the authority exerted by its chief was never equal to that of the rulers of the oasis of al-Ǧowf, which commanded two or three important trade routes. Moreover, the oasis of Tebûk is situated comparatively close to the frontiers of the province of Palestine, so that connection with it was convenient and the stronger dux of that province could easily rule it.
The Arabic writers do not describe as carefully as the Greeks either the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba or the eastern shore of the Red Sea bordering upon it or the islets situated near it.
Jâḳût, Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), Vol. 4, p. 160, says that the island of Târân is dangerous to mariners proceeding from Ḳolzum to Ajla and that al-Ǧubejlât are situated not far from it.—These Ǧubejlât (little hills) perhaps denote the small islands projecting like hills above the surface of the sea to the east of Târân.
Al-Ḳazwîni, ʻAǧa’ib (Cairo, 1321 A. H.), Vol. 1, p. 179, remarks that the Beni Ǧaddân dwell upon the island of Târân, which is situated not far from Ajla and is about six miles long. The Beni Ǧaddân are engaged neither in agriculture nor in cattle breeding, have no fresh water, and live only on fish. For dwellings they make use of wrecked ships, and they beg bread and water from people who sometimes sail along the island. By this island there is a rocky spur of land, and near it a whirlpool. If a strong wind blows, it is divided in two by the spur and sweeps a vessel into one of two gulfs on opposite sides. When the wind blows out of these two gulfs, it causes a heavy sea to rise that drives a vessel into a whirlpool, from which it never escapes undamaged. This rocky spur is perhaps the modern Râs al-Ḳaṣba. The report given by al-Ḳazwîni recalls the statements of Diodorus, Bibl. hist., III, 43 (see above, pp. 303 and 304).
Al-Maḳrîzi, Mawâʻiẓ (Wiet), Vol. 1, p. 62, relates that in the Sea of Ḳolzum there are fifteen islands, of which four are inhabited.—As one of the inhabited islands is called an-Naʻmân, we see that his Sea of Ḳolzum denotes not only the Gulf of Suez but also the Red Sea, for the island of an-Naʻmân is situated at lat. 27° N. well to the south of the entrance of the Gulf of Suez.
CLASSICAL AUTHORITIES ON THE NORTHERN ḤEǦÂZ
Not many reports about the mainland of the Ḥeǧâz have been preserved to us in classical literature. The classical writers were unacquainted with the name Ḥeǧâz. They speak either of Arabia or Arabia Felix (Eudaimon).
According to Diodorus, op. cit., II, 48, Arabia extends between Syria and Egypt and is divided among numerous nations, differing one from the other. The eastern regions, consisting in part of a waterless desert, in which there is little fertile soil, are inhabited by the tribe of the Nabataeans. These people are engaged in robbery, ranging the surrounding neighborhood for plunder, and it is difficult to overcome them in war, because at suitable places in the waterless desert they have dug cisterns in such a way that no strangers can find them. These Arabs are very difficult to subdue and are still independent.—
Diodorus does not mean the whole of Arabia, but the Arabia later known as Petraea, to the east, south, and southwest of the Dead Sea on the borders between Syria and Egypt. According to him the Nabataeans owned the eastern strip of this Arabia, that is the mountains and plateaus connected with them east of the Dead Sea and east of the rift valley of al-ʻAraba. The cisterns which he mentions are the wells today known as mḳûr. These are usually dug out in the rocky soil to a depth of about four meters. They are pear-shaped and have a narrow neck which is generally covered by a large stone. The rain water from the surrounding rocky areas flows into this neck and falls through the cavities beneath the stone into the cistern. A stranger not properly acquainted with the region and with the habits of the natives will ride round such a rain well without noticing it. Fragments of dry plants and sand are apt to drift up against one side of the stone, so that it looks as if it has always been lying there.
Strabo, Geography, XVI, 4: 21, records that Arabia Eudaimon was first inhabited by the Nabataeans and Sabaeans, who often made raids into Syria before the latter region belonged to the Romans. Elsewhere (ibid., XVI, 4: 24) he asserts that the Nabataean realms extended many days’ march to the south of Leuke and bordered on the land of Aretas, who acknowledged the rule of his kinsman, the Nabataean king Obodas, or at least was allied with Obodas. Through this land of Aretas the Romans under Aelius Gallus marched for thirty days before they reached Sabaean territory.
All the Nabataeans did not dwell in Arabia Eudaimon, for their capital Petra was situated in Arabia Petraea, but the greater part of their territory was included in Arabia Eudaimon. As Strabo does not describe any contemporary events, it is possible that he obtained the reference to the Sabaean raids on Syria from old records dating from the time when the Sabaeans held sway over the whole caravan route and all the halting places established upon it.
Pliny, Nat. hist., V, 65, writes that beyond the Pelusiac arm of the Nile lies Arabia, extending to the Red Sea as well as to that rich land known as Beata (the Happy), from which various fragrances are conveyed. This country is barren, except at the spot where it touches the Syrian frontiers; it is renowned only for Mount Casius. It is named after the Catabanian, Esbonitan, and Scenitan Arabs. To these tribes are joined the Canchlean Arabs on the east and on the south the Cedreans, both of whom are neighbors of the Nabataeans.—
As usual with Pliny this passage is not clear. He means Arabia Petraea, which extended from Pelusium southward as far as the Red Sea and as far as Arabia Felix, or, as he calls it, Beata. The Catabani were never encamped in Arabia Petraea. The Esbonitae are perhaps the inhabitants of the environs of the town of Ḥesbân, which was situated in Arabia Petraea east of the northern extremity of the Dead Sea. The Scenitae include all the nomad Arabs dwelling in tents. Mount Casius rises east of Pelusium on the actual coast of the Mediterranean. The Cedrei are perhaps the ancient Ḳedar, who owned the Ḥawrân with its environs. On the south they border on the Nabataeans. According to Pliny we should locate the Canchlei to the southeast of the Kedar and northeast of the Nabataeans; accordingly, in Arabia Deserta.
Pliny, op. cit., VI, 157, deals with the tribes and towns of inland Arabia and writes that the ancients connected the Thimaneans with the Nabataeans. In his time there were the Taveni (var., Tabeni, Thabaeni), the Suelleni, the Araceni (var., Sarraceni, Anageni), the Arreni (var., Hareni), the town where all traders assemble, the Hemnatae, the Avalitae, the towns of Domata (var., Domatha, Domada) and Haegra, the Thamudaei, the town of Baclanaza (var., Badanatha), the Chariattaei (var., Cariatth, Cariati), the Toali (var., Achoali, Acalin), the town of Phodaca (var., Phoda, Fothca, Totaca), and the Minaei.—
The Thimaneans probably were the Biblical tribe of Têmân. Whether these Thiman of Pliny are identical with the Taveni is not altogether certain, but it is possible. The Taveni were the inhabitants of the town of Thoana (Ptolemy, Geography, V, 16: 4), which on the Peutinger Table, VIII, is transcribed as Thornia and corresponds precisely with the modern ruins of at-Twâne, situated where the Biblical tribe of Têmân dwelt (Gen., 36: 11).
Araceni is perhaps the common appellation of the Arab nomads, Saraceni, or the tribe of the Sarakenoi (Ptolemy, op. cit., VI, 7: 21), who (Stephen of Byzantium, Ethnica [Meineke], p. 556), were encamped in the region of Saraka (šerḳ), beyond and thus to the east of the territory of the Nabataeans, where the Bible mentions the Bene Ḳedem, or the nomads of the interior Arabian desert. Today they are known as aš-Šerḳijje, Bedouins.
The word Arreni is transcribed from Agreni, or Hagreni; these are the inhabitants of the town of Haegra, or Hegra, the modern al-Ḥeǧr, which forms an important halting place on the caravan route connecting southwestern Arabia with Syria and Egypt. At this point a branch of the ancient trade route leads off along the southern border of the sandy desert of Nefûd to the Persian Gulf and southern Babylonia. Pliny therefore is right in saying that all trade is concentrated at this town.
The town of Domata is the large oasis of Adumu (Dûma or Dûmat al-Ǧandal), situated over four hundred kilometers east of Petra, the Nabataean capital.
The Thamudaei are identical with the Tamudi, who were overcome by the Assyrian king Sargon II and with the Thamydenoi (Ptolemy, op. cit., VI, 7: 21). Their central sanctuary of Ṛwâfa was situated at the southwestern extremity of the territory of Ḥesma, where this territory becomes of volcanic formation. Uranius (Arabica [Müller, Vol. 4], p. 525) was likewise acquainted with Thamuda, which he assigned to the Nabataeans.
Ptolemy, op. cit., VI, 7: 4, 21, records the various tribes who dwelt partly on the coast and partly in the interior of the northern Ḥeǧâz. By the coast in the northern part were encamped the Thamyditai, in the southern, the Sidenoi; in the interior, near the mountains between Arabia Petraea, Arabia Deserta, and Arabia Felix, the Skenitai, and beyond them the Thaditai. To the south of the latter was the territory of the Sarakenoi and the Thamydenoi. To the west of Mount Zames were the nomadic Apataioi and Athritai, and near them the Maisaimeneis and Udenoi.—
In Ptolemy also Skenitai is the common appellation for the nomads and not the actual name of any particular tribe. The name Thaditai would seem to be Thamyditai, without the my, although it might also be an erroneous transcription of Thaiitai, the Ṭajj tribe. According to Ptolemy, these Thaditai were encamped between the aš-Šera’ range and the desert of Nefûd and, indeed, possibly also in the desert itself. If such is the case, we must locate the Sarakenoi in the northwestern half of the modern territory of Šammar, for according to Ptolemy the Sarakenoi and Thamydenoi were encamped to the south of the Thaditai. We know the camping place of the Thamydenoi from the middle of the second century of our era; that is, almost from the time of Ptolemy. Their center was Ḥesma’, and in this territory they built the temple of Ṛwâfa. If the Thamydenoi of Ptolemy are identical with the Thamudenon Ethnos of the inscription at Ṛwâfa, then they owned also the whole coast to the south, at least as far as lat. 27° N. The Thamyditai on the north are identical with them, and the Thaditai on the northeast paid them tribute or formed one of their clans. We must then locate the Sarakenoi to the east of the Thamudenoi in the desert of an-Nefûd; that is, in the territory of the former Ṭajj. But for the classical writers Sarakenoi was the common appellation for the Arab nomads, and down to the present day it denotes all the tribes camping in the interior of the Arabian desert, which is called šerḳ (Saraka). The Sarakenoi of Ptolemy, therefore, should not be taken as standing for any particular tribe but as a common appellation of the tribes camping in the actual Arabian desert to the east of the Nabataean realm.
According to Ptolemy, op. cit., VI, 7: 2 f., the settlements of Onne, Modiana or Moduna, Mount Hippos, the settlement of Hippos, and the settlement of Phoinikon, the palm settlement, are located on the coast of northern Arabia Felix, beyond the gulf of Aila.
Onne is identical with the modern al-Ḫrajbe, which was the harbor of the great oasis of Una or ʻAjn Una (ʻAjnûna). The Madana, or Moduna, of Ptolemy is situated to the southeast of Una, so that we should perhaps seek it in the small ruins not far to the east of the oasis of Terîm, which was perhaps called al-Modejne. It is also possible, however, that Modiana denotes the harbor of the town of Madian and that it was not situated to the south-southeast, but to the north or northwest of al-Ḫrajbe near the modern oasis of al-Ḳijâl. Mount Hippos is certainly identical with the mountain of aš-Šâr, which is shaped like a horse, and the settlement of Hippos with the ruins in the bay of Ǧibbe. The settlement of Phoinikon, the palm settlement, applies best to the mouth of the fertile and well irrigated Wâdi ad-Dâma.
Ptolemy, op. cit., VI, 7: 27 ff., records very many towns and settlements in that part of interior Arabia Felix today known as the Ḥeǧâz. That the names of these towns or settlements in many cases denote only the more important wells or camping places is evident from the character of the country.
The settlement of Aramaua is certainly the same as Mount Ârâm, or Iram of the Arabic authors, the modern Ramm, where there is an abundance of water.
I locate Ostama in the ruins of al-Ḳrajje, in the river basin of az-Zejte. The position of al-Ḳrajje does not tally with the position of Ptolemy’s Ostama, but very frequently the particulars he gives do not tally even when the identity is absolutely certain.
Thapaua perhaps is a distorted form of the ancient name of the oasis of Tebûk, which was probably Thabaucha or Thapaucha. From Tebûk (Thapaua) by way of al-Ḳrajje (Ostama) and Ramm (Aramaua) led the shortest and most convenient transport route from southern Arabia to Petra, the Nabataean capital.
Makna is the modern oasis of Maḳna on the coast of the Gulf of al-ʻAḳaba, although the particulars given by Ptolemy are not in accordance with the facts.
Agkale corresponds to the oasis of Ḥaḳl, likewise on the coast.
Madiama is the ancient settlement of Madian, enlarged by the Nabataeans and today known as al-Bedʻ. Ptolemy’s latitude and longitude also erroneously fix the position of this town in relation to Maḳna.
Achrua (var., Achrona) should, according to Ptolemy, be located to the east of al-Bedʻ. It is perhaps the modern settlement of al-Ḳena’, which is of no great size and is situated west of Mount Umm Ḫrejmân. This name can be traced to the ancient Achrona.
The word Obraka is the common appellation abraḳ, barḳa, denoting dark rocks half-covered with light-colored sand. If we can trust the particulars of its situation as they have been preserved by Ptolemy, we may locate his Obraka in some abraḳ in the al-Ḫunfa region, where the Bedouins were fond of encamping during the spring.
I regard Laba as being in the valley of Laʻbân, where the halting place of al-Aḫẓar is situated.
Thaima is the well-known oasis of Tejma.
The name Lugana, or Zugana (Ptolemy, Geography, VI, 7: 29) is interesting. It is certain that Ptolemy is recording two pronunciations of the initial sound, but in Arabic it is impossible to interchange l with z. It must therefore be inferred that the l was an incorrect transcription of a Greek d, which as ḏ and ḍ in Arabic is very similar to z and ẓ. The Greek Dugana, or Zugana, recalls the Arabic Ḍuḥkân, or, as it is now pronounced in the dialects, Ẓaḥakân and Ẓaḥačân, the oasis near the settlement of Ẓbe’. Ptolemy places Zugana in the interior of the country, as he does Makna, which, however, is actually likewise situated on the coast.
Gaisa, in the same latitude as Zugana, would seem to be the šeʻîb of Ammu-l-Ǧejš to the east of Ẓaḥakân.
Soaka is the modern oasis of aš-Šwâḳ between Ẓaḥakân and Ammu-l-Ǧejš.
Egra is the renowned city of al-Ḥeǧr. From the harbor settlement of Ẓaḥakân (Zugana) the transport route leads by way of Swâḳ (Soaka) and Ammu-l-Ǧejš (Gaisa) to al-Ḥeǧr (Egra).
Badais, ibid., VI, 7: 30, may with every justification be identified with the oasis of Bada’ to the south of Laba (Laʻbân).