The harbour(s) of Nagitu: Mesopotamian mooring places, Elamite garrisons and Aramean settlements
(2019) Iranica Antiqua — Vol. 54, n° 1, p. 59-82 (2019)
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- (en) Although Elam was one of the long-standing kingdoms along the Persian Gulf in antiquity, the evidence on the Elamite involvement in Persian Gulf trade is surprisingly limited. Since most of the Elamite regions (Susiana, Shushtar, Ram Hormuz, Behbahan) were connected through several navigable rivers with the Persian Gulf, Elamites must have profited from this prosperous geographical location. During the Neo-Elamite period (c. 1000-520 BC), the head of the Persian Gulf was the subject of continuous military confrontations between the Elamites and the Neo-Assyrian Empire, indicating its commercial importance. Since direct evidence for Neo-Elamite maritime trading network is absent, cuneiform records (Elamite, Akkadian) do give a glimpse on imported commodities and oversees routes, especially the Elam-Sealand connection. This article investigates the toponym(s) Nagitu. In the Neo-Assyrian sources, the Elamite coastal town is often attested with various postpositions: Nagitu-raqqi, Nagitu-di’bina or Nagitu-of-Elam (ša KUR.ELAM.MA.KI). After an examination of the etymology of the various Nagitu attestations, geographical indications are sought to help determine the locations of the different Nagitu toponyms. These indications are then compared with the landscape descriptions of the Classical authors and the early Arab geographers in order to draw a picture of the historical geography of the Nagitu triad.
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Gorris, E. (2019). The harbour(s) of Nagitu: Mesopotamian mooring places, Elamite garrisons and Aramean settlements. Iranica Antiqua, 54(1), 59-82. https://doi.org/10.2143/IA.54.0.3287446 (Original work published 2019)