Hellenistic / Parthian / Sassanian

(300 BCE-635 CE)

The Late Pre-Islamic Period

 Mleiha Period (Pre-Islamic A-B)

 300-0 BCE
 Al Dur Period (Pre-Islamic C)
 0-200 CE
 Sassanian Period
 240-635 CE
Key Sites

 Mleiha
 El Dur
 Kush
 Sir Bani Yas
 Khatt
 Suhar
The Iron Age (Perisan Period)
Mlieha Period
 Alexander the Great
conquers Persian
Empire ca. 300 BCE.
 Parthian Empire
ends Seleucid Greek
power 167 BCE.
 No foreign power in
the Oman Peninsula
• Roman Geographers:
• Pliny the Elder
• Ptolemy
Sasanian Period 240-635 CE
Mleiha

 Postholes indicate barastis / ‘arish houses

Mleiha

 Graves covered
by mud-brick
superstructure
Mlieha

 Inscribed block, Hasaitic

 “Gravestone and grave of Dhariyyat, servant of the
kings.”
 Hasaitic
Mleiha in the Al Dur
Period
Mleiha in the Al Dur Period

 Coin mold
 Head of Heracles
 “Abi’el, son/daughter of bgln/tmyln/tlmyl/tym. ”
Mleiha

 Pottery
 Local, continues from IA
 Imports from northeast Arabia, Bahrain, Greece,
Egypt, South Asia
 Early coinage, copied Athenian style
 Iron
 Nails, swords, arrowheads
Al Dur

 Large trading center

 Houses
 Graves
 Individual, collective
3rd C AD 3rd-4th C AD
 Forts
 Temple
Al Dur Temple

 Incense burner inscribed in Aramaic, SHMS

 Shrine to sun god?

 By Sassanian
Period,
occupation
contracts to
just around
Area F Fort
Imports

 Glazed Parthian ceramics

 Indian ceramics
 Roman glass
 Drinking sets
 Locally made for imported wine
Sasanian coins

 Tell Abraq (latest phase)

 Fujairah
 Ghallah (UAQ)
Religious Diversity in the
Late Pre-Islamic Period
 Shams Temple at Al Dur
 Camel/Horse Burials
 Al Dur, Jebel Al Emalah, Mleiha
 Zoroastrianism
 Nestorian Christianity
 Sir Bani Yas

Al Dur, Area F

Fire Altars? Al Dur

Sir Bani Yas Villa
Sir Bani Yas Monastery
Sir Bani Yas Church
 Ichthyophagi TAXON
Platycephalidae: Platycephalus sp.
Serranidae, indet.
Lethrinidae: Lethrinus nebulosus (Forsskål, 1775)
COMMON NAME
Flathead
Grouper
Spangled emperor
NISP
1
3
1
MNI
1
1
1
Weight (g)
0.09
0.66
0.15
Lethrinidae: Lethrinus sp. Emperor 4 2 0.41
Sparidae: Acanthopagrus sp. Seabream 1 1 0.94
Sparidae, indet. Seabream 16 2 2.05
Scombridae, indet. Tuna/Mackerel 1 1 0.14
TOTAL 27 9 4.44

TAXON COMMON NAME NISP MNI Weight (g)

Pristidae, indet. Sawfish 1 1 0.02 TAXON COMMON NAME NISP MNI Weight (g)
Dasyatidae, indet. Stingray 1 1 0.05 Ariidae: Arius sp. Sea catfish 1 1 3.37
Carcharhinidae: Carcharhinus sp. Requiem shark 130 11 4.01 Belonidae, indet. Needlefish 2 1 0.07
Chondrichthyes, indet. Shark/Ray/Skate 1119 20 38.20 Serranidae, indet. Grouper 2 1 0.27
Ariidae: Arius sp. Sea catfish 9 4 6.25 Lethrinidae: Lethrinus sp. Emperor 1 1 0.17
Belonidae, indet. Needlefish 16 5 0.87 Sparidae, indet. Seabream 4 1 0.27
Serranidae: Epinephelus coioides Orangespotted grouper 1 1 0.28 TOTAL 10 5 4.15
(Hamilton, 1822)
Serranidae: Epinephelus sp. Grouper 6 5 0.94
Serranidae, indet. Grouper 45 11 15.10
Carangidae: Scomberoides sp. Queenfish 1 1 1.12
Carangidae, indet. Jack/Trevally 11 5 0.56
Lethrinidae: Lethrinus lentjan Pinkeared emperor 25 18 1.96
(Lacepède, 1802)
Lethrinidae: Lethrinus sp. Emperor 63 24 5.87
Sparidae: Acanthopagrus sp. Seabream 3 3 1.57 TAXON COMMON NAME NISP MNI Weight (g)
Sparidae: Rhabdosargus sp. Haffara/Goldstriped seabream 64 21 4.19 Serranidae, indet. Grouper 29 7 6.86
Sparidae, indet. Seabream 86 19 4.34 Carangidae, indet. Jack/Trevally 2 1 0.12
Sphyraenidae: Sphyraena sp. Barracuda 3 2 0.11 Lethrinidae: Lethrinus sp. Emperor 2 2 0.47
Scaridae, indet. Parrotfish 4 2 0.55 Sparidae: Rhabdosargus sp. Haffara/Goldstriped seabream 5 1 0.22
Scombridae, indet. Tuna/Mackerel 11 7 6.57 Sparidae, indet. Seabream 28 3 3.39
Perciformes, indet. 52 0.91 TOTAL 66 14 11.06
(cf. Lethrinidae/Sparidae)

TOTAL 1651 161 93.47

The UAE from 300 BC to 635 AD

 Population decline from Period A-C to Sassanian

Period
 Contraction of settlement to area around large structures
(Forts)
 Vibrant mercantile contacts maintained
 Tribal movements?
 Camel burials (new cultures)
 5th-7th centuries (Late Sassanian), further population
decline (lowest ever?)
 Mlieha, Al Dur abandoned, Kush tower
Late Sassanian/Early Islamic tower at
Kush
 Small, simple
tower indicates
small
community
The Late Pre-Islamic Period

 Mleiha Period (Pre-Islamic A-B)

 300-0 BCE
 Al Dur Period (Pre-Islamic C)
 0-200 CE
 Sassanian Period
 240-635 CE
The lingua franca of the Al Dur
period
 Copper inscription in Aramaic