Islamic Archaeology in the Comoros
The Swahili and the Rock Crystal Trade with the Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.39521Keywords:
Rock crystal, Swahili, Abbasid, Fatimid, Comoros, Indian OceanAbstract
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.
References
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----- 1996. Shanga: The Archaeology of a Muslim trading community on the coast of East Africa. London: British Institute in Eastern Africa.
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Juma, A. 2004. “Unguja Ukuu on Zanzibar: an archaeological study of early urbanism.” Studies in Global Archaeology 3: 198.
Kennet, D. 2004. Sasanian and Islamic Pottery from Ras al-Khaimah. British Archaelogical Reports International Series S1248 Oxford: British Archaeological Reports.
Kervran, M. 1974. “Les niveaux islamiques du secteur du Tépé de l’Apadana. III. Les objets en verre, en pierre et en métal.” Cahiers de la DAFI 14: 221–241.
----- 2004. “Archaeological research at Suhar 1980–1986.” Journal of Oman Studies 13: 263–381.
Khawam, R. 1985. Les Aventures de Sindbad le Marin, Phébus. Paris.
Kirkman, J. 1954. The Arab City of Gedi: Excavations at the Great Mosque, Architecture and Finds. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kröger, J. 1995. Nishapur Glass of the Early Islamic period. New-York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Kus, S. and H. Wright. 1976. “Notes préliminaires sur une reconnaissance archéologique de l’?le de Mayotte (Archipel des Comores).” Asie du Sud-Est et le Monde Insulindien 7(2–3): 123–135.
Lacroix, A. . 1923. Minéralogie de Madagascar Vols. 1-3. Paris: Société d’Editions Maritimes et Coloniales.
Le Maguer, S. 2013. “The Soft stone from Kadhima: Evidence for trade connections and domestic activities.” In Kadhima. Koweit in the Early Centuries of Islam, edited by D. Kennet, 51–54. National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters of the State of Kuwait in cooperation with Durham University.
Liebner, H. 2014. “The Siren of Cirebon. A Tenth-Century Trading Vessel Lost in the Java Sea.” Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Leed.
Makariou, S. 1999. “Le cristal de roche dans l’Islam.” Actes du colloque Cornaline et pierres précieuses. Paris: Musée du Louvre.
Moncelon, J. 1995. La Da’wa fatimide au Yémen.” dans Chroniques Yéménites 3: 26-37.
Nanji, R. 2011. Mariners and Merchants: A Study of the Ceramics from Sanjan (Gujarat). British Archaelogical Reports International Series 2231. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Pauly, M. 2010. “Développement de l’architecture domestique en pierre à Mayotte, XIII-XVIIe siècles.” In Archéologie, histoire et anthropologie des mondes insulaires. Mélanges en l’honneur du professeur Claude Allibert, edited by Radimilahy and Rajaonarimananan, 603–631. Paris: INALCO, Karthala.
----- 2014a. “La diffusion de l’Islam à Mayotte à l’époque médiévale.” Taarifa, Revue des Archives départementales de Mayotte 4: 63–89.
----- 2014b. Acoua antsiraka boira, la nécropole aux perles. Mamoudzou: Patrimoine caché.
Planhol, X. 2000. L’Islam et la mer. La mosquée et le matelot VIIe-XXe siècle. Paris: Perrin.
Pradines, S. 2002. “La bipartition des cités swahili: l’exemple de Gedi (Kenya).” In Southern Africa and the Swahili World, Studies in the African Past 2: 66–75.
----- 2004 . “Fortifications et urbanisation en Afrique orientale.” Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology 58: 374.
----- 2009. “L’?le de Sanjé ya Kati (Kilwa, Tanzanie). Un mythe Shir?zi bien reel.” Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa 44(1): 49–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/00671990902795814
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Published
2019-09-18
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Pradines, S. (2019). Islamic Archaeology in the Comoros: The Swahili and the Rock Crystal Trade with the Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates. Journal of Islamic Archaeology, 6(1), 109-135. https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.39521
