Country in Education, and more particularly in Humanities (I) [Archives:2004/763/Opinion]

By Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Education plays a preponderant role in our global world. It has however always been the basic instrument of progress as, as is very well known, knowledge is power. One must truly have great expectations from Education in the years ahead, and even the boldest hopes will truly be met in this regard! The reason is that the globalization of the world brings about the globalization of knowledge, creating therefore, serious problems to countries and educational establishments that seek to prevent the diffusion of selected knowledge. In this respect, the simple question 'why would countries and educational establishments want to prevent the diffusion of selected knowledge?' gets the immediate response that there have always been efforts to prevent the dissemination of knowledge that damages 'interests' built on a false or unjust basis. Ignorance is the mother of inaction, and this reality is always what illegitimate interests are based upon.
What is the change brought in by the factor of globalization? Well, this is two-fold; firstly, there are strong interests of academic establishments and countries which conflict. This means that they may use all sorts of means to damage the opposing interest, even the disclosure of a previously hidden part of knowledge. The second factor is the dynamics of globalization itself. Either the past secret has lost its importance because of other developments, or the country that did its best to keep that part of knowledge hidden, no longer has the power to conceal it.
Self-knowledge and proper understanding of one's own identity, characteristics, and past, was always of primordial importance. Nothing can be expected from countries and academia that disregard the study and the reassessment of their own past, or from political establishments that do not initiate themselves into the deep and permanent characteristics of their country's historical identity.
As far as the history of Yemen is concerned, the Periplus of the Red Sea is a valuable source of information – among many other similar sources – written in Ancient Greek by an Egyptian captain and merchant of Alexandria in the second half of the 1st CE. The text offers no less than 19 of its 66 paragraphs to the area of the then Yemenite states and of their colonies on the Eastern Coast of Africa. If we only count that the text starts with the description of the Red Sea coast of Egypt and goes down to the coast of today's Tanzania, only to go back and continue with the narration of details about the coast of Arabia, and – after Yemen – the Persian Gulf, the coast of Persia, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, finally ending with a brief account of the way to reach China through Indochina, we deduce that the significance of Yemen within the East – West trade and navigation must have been seminal.
One perhaps may contend that this was the anonymous author's interest or knowledge, but there is no point in this. The author knew all the details the then leading figures of the Trade between East and West, captains and merchants, knew; furthermore, his text was meant to be a sailor's and a merchant's guide! It should be accurate and objective. Otherwise, it would become obsolete very soon. What is even more fascinating with the Periplus of the Red Sea is the fact that it gives a historical frame of the trade between East and West, which lasted for about a millennium (approximately, since the end of the 1st Ptolemaic century down to the beginning of Islam). Of course, there were various turning points during this long period, namely the rise of Ptolemaic interest for trade and political relations with India, the end of Qatabani control, the end of Sabaean – Himyarite control, the rise of Sassanid Iran, and its involvement in the Horn of Africa area, the rise of Christian Axumite Abyssinia, the Eastern Roman – Axumite coalition against Iran, the temporary Abyssinian invasion of Yemen, the Persian occupation of Yemen and expulsion of the Axumite armies, etc. However, during all this period the major outlines given by the text of the Periplus of the Red Sea regarding the navigation and the trade in this vast area remain almost unchanged!

A. The Hadhramout state, 'the Frankincense-bearing Country' of 'Periplus'
1. Eleazos, king at Shabwa, the capital of the 'Libanotoforos Khora'
In previous features, we translated integrally and analyzed the excerpts of the text relating to the navigation throughout the eastern coast of the Red Sea, and through the Bab al Mandeb straits up to Aden. We focused on references to Mouza (al Mokha), Okelis, Diodorus' island (Perim), and Felix Arabia (Aden), an entire area that belonged to king Kharibael, who was ruling 'by law' the two peoples, namely the Sabaeans and the Himyarites. Today, we will visit another ancient Yemenite state, Hadhramout, which is called by the author by a purely narrative but a most attractive named, the Frankincense-bearing Country (in Greek: 'e Libanotoforos Khora'). The text covers three and a half paragraphs (27 to 30), and reads as follows:
“Immediately after Arabia Felix is located a long coast and a gulf for more than 2000 stades length. The Nomads and the Ichthyophagoi (Fish-eaters) inhabit these areas, gathered in small towns. Beyond the end of the gulf is located Kane, another coastal port of call, which belongs to the Frankincense-bearing country, where reigns Eleazos. Nearby lie two uninhabited islands, the island of the Birds, and Troullas, in a distance of 120 stades from Kane. Deep inland is located Saubatha, the capital of the kingdom, where resides the king. All the frankincense produced throughout the country is transported to Kane that serves as the main storehouse. There are many ways of transportation, either loaded on camels, or laden on small vessels made out of leather paraphernalia, or fraught on ships. Kane has strong contacts with the ports of call on the other side of the sea, with Barygaza, as well as with the harbours of Scythia, Omana and the neighboring Persia”.
In this text, we get valuable details about the area at the east of present day Aden. As it comes out, we realize that the kingdom of Kharibael, who joined Sabaeans and Himyarites under his scepter, was extended at the area of the modern Northern Yemenite state, encompassing in addition the area around Aden. As we are going to see later on, a similar land expansion towards the east was characterizing the neighboring state of Eleazos, the Frankincense-bearing country, i.e. the second Yemenite state of those days. That state comprised most of the surface of the 20th c. South Yemenite state (but not the area of Aden), and in addition the entire area of Dhofar, therefore including a large part of present day Oman in its territories.
Very interesting information is given through the sentence that Kane has strong contacts with the harbours of Omana (i.e. the eastern area of the present day Oman), Persia, and Scythia. By this name the author identifies the Scythian state that was formed after the collapse of the Hellenistic state of Bactria, at the area of today's Afghanistan and Pakistani Baluchistan, since the area of Gedrosia, i.e. the Iranian part of Baluchistan, belonged then to the 'Indo-Parthian' state, a small tributary state to the Arsacid Iran. The Periplus names Minnagar as capital of Scythia, and Barbarikon as main harbour and port of call, at the area of present day Karachi, not far from the estuary of Indus river, 'Sinthos' according to the author of the text. As far as Barygaza is concerned, the last port of call with which Kane had strong contacts, it is identified with Bharu Katzha of the Sanskrit texts, in the north of present day Mumbai, at the estuary of Narmada river that divides India into the North and the South (Dekkan). Barygaza/Mumbai belongs already to the Ariake, the Indo-European state of Manbanos, and with this state 'starts' India.
It is interesting to note here that the author refers again to Kane, when describing Barygaza (paragraph 57), in order to give insightful details about sailing straight from Kane to Barygaza and crossing the ocean, in order to save time and to avoid various coastal dangers.
However all these contacts signify the involvement of various kingdoms in the Yemenite Frankincense. Iran, the Indo-Parthian, the Scythian, the Indian states, the tiny Omana state were all interested in purchasing frankincense for their royal, sacerdotal and social use. It was not only Rome and Iran, the two big states, that were concerned in this regard, although we have reason to believe that the Roman acquaintance with the Oriental royal courts' formalities changed to such extent their customs and habitudes, that a very great Roman interest was expressed towards incense use.

2. Kane – Husn al Ghurab, the source of the frankincense trade network
Through the text we realize that the two main ports of call in the southern Yemenite coast, Felix Arabia (Aden) and Kane (Husn al Ghurab), belonged to two different kingdoms, but yet they were separated by a small buffer area, 2000 stades long that was inhabited by the Nomads and the Ichthyophagoi (Fish-eaters). Similar cases we meet several times in the text of the Periplus with references to Ichthyophagoi and Moschophagoi (lamb-eaters), as for instance in the coast of today's Egypt and Sudan, in the south of the last Egyptian port of call, Berenice, and in the north of the Egyptian Ptolemaic and Roman colony Ptolemais Theron (today's Suakin, 50 km in the south of Port Sudan). The terms are absolutely socio-anthropological and not ethnic – linguistic. It would be an aberration to consider that the Ichthyophagoi in the north of Ptolemais Theron – Suakin, and the Ichthyophagoi in the east of Arabia Felix – Aden, have any sort of interconnection or relationship.
The two islands referred to by the author, the island of the Birds, and Troullas correspond to the major two of the four islands at the west and at the east of present day Bir Ali, the city near Husn al Ghurab. At this point we should refer to an earlier publication of the Yemen Times (Issue 08 – Thursday 23rd February 1998, Vol VIII) under title 'Qana reveals its secrets', in which Ismail Al-Ghabiry gave insightful information about the recent French – Russian excavations and findings. What the author calls 'island of the Birds' corresponds perhaps to the Halaniya island.
Suddenly and unexpectedly we come across a high place of one of the most valuable commodities of the Antiquity, the Frankincense, at the very epicenter of the Incense Maritime Road, Kane. The importance of the place is counterweighted only by that of the capital, where Eleazos dwells. Saubatha is no other than modern times Shabwa, a major Hadhramout city. As the text states that the frankincense is transported to Kane via land or sea, we understand that we arrived at the very area of frankincense cultivation, the coast and part of the inland of Hadhramout. Certainly, within the text of the Periplus we have references to other ports of call where frankincense, myrrh or other types of incense were available in the market, but none is referred to in the way Kane is. The name of the country adds to this feeling as well. Although the adjective 'Adhramotites' existed in Ancient Greek, the author of the Periplus prefers to name Hadhramout after its main agricultural commodity, frankincense.
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