Stefan Haertel
Title
Heaven Can Wait
Bahrain and Dilmun: How a myth came to be
By Stefan Härtel
All religions speak of paradise. Some say this is the place where you go after your death if you have been good. Others say this is the ultimate goal, the thing you must work for all your life. And some say that you will never go there at all. The Sumerian idea, for instance, was that this paradise, by the name of Dilmun, was a place exclusively for gods. Modern historians think they have identified this heavenly place to be an obscured memory of the Sumerian origin, and they also believe to have located this place on the island of Bahrain.
Bahrain is the largest island in a small archipeleagoe in the Persian Gulf just offshore the Arabian penninsula. It is nowadays mostly known for being a wealthy principality which exports oil and can afford small hobbies such as hosting motor racing. It is a desert island, and all thoughts about an ancient history here seem ridiculous. Antiquity in the Middle East was reduced to the fertile areas with their agricultural possibilities, their space for monumental cities and big battles. Arabia is just desert. No culture could ever arise, save survive in these sandy dunes.
As with all stereotypes, the corectness of this one is at best partially correct. The Arabian mainland has provided it's share of advanced civilizations, and so has the small island of Bahrain.
The Sumerian myth of Dilmun speaks of an island where there is no disease or death, no age or violence, and no pain or suffering. To understand this, one must picture life in Sumer. There was no Sumerian empire to speak of. Each Sumerian city was independent. Some cities were more powerful than others, and sometimes a city would fall to another; but there was no empire. Even if a city was controlled by another, it was not much more than dependence or strong influence. The other city still had vast rights of it's own.
This division into so many individual city-states automatically caused conflicts, whether they were territorial or economical disputes; war was, like in ancient Greece, part of every-day life.
The world of the 3d millenium BC naturally knew little healthcare, and so disease and suffer were normal. Life expectancy was short and therefore signs of old age appeared much earlier. Without the presence of a carefully worked-out code of laws in an early urban society, violence and crime were normal. Death was a present part of life. The people were naturally not very happy with this kind of life, and probably often wished themselves far away. Where to?
The knowledge of the origin of the Sumerians was all but common. But maybe, in the first few generations, the tales of the Sumerian pioneers who were fond of their old homes had been told and retold, and throughout the generations, they became obscured. By the time they were first written down, the original homeland of the Sumerians had become the residence of the gods, a paradise no man, living or dead, would ever see.
It seems believable that the Sumerians had, at least at some point, resided on the island of Bahrain. Their expertise in ship building suggests that they originally came to Mesopotamia by boat, via the Persian Gulf. Sumerian migration would present itself as a gradual process in a time in which Arabia might not yet have been a complete desert. Perhaps overpopulation, one of the most frequent causes of migration, forced them to leave their home involuntarily, and therefore they had such fond memories of it.
The Sumerians seemed to have had frequent contact with Bahrain. Much Sumerian pottery has been found on the island. It seems to have been a lively trade port. In fact, recent archaeological evidence implies that Bahrain may have been a link between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilization.
Being such an important marketplace, Bahrain became incredibly wealthy. It seems to have been an organized place, and the lack of agricultural dependence due to oversea trade seems to have promoted the notion of a place without worries. Bahrain also had no territorial or economical disputes, so there was constant peace. Last but not least, the island was far away from Mesopotamia, far out in the sea, which even in Sumerian times, people visited to dream of freedom. But as there was no chance for the ordinary Sumerian, whose life was filled with sweat and toil, to ever get and live there, it seemed to him to be a place reserved for the gods. By the time the myths were written down, people took it literally, and probably only the fewest could still identify Bahrain with this paradise, with Dilmun.
Consequently, Dilmun became a mythical place. Many Sumerian myths and epics mention it, and there is evidence that the Book of Genesis seems to have borrowed greatly from the descriptions given. In Genesis, the Garden of Eden* is surrounded by the four rivers of Phison, Gihon, Hiddekel and Euphrates, which have their spring in the river in Eden. These rivers surround the garden like an island. The spirit of Dilmun lives on until today.
But what happened to historical Dilmun, Bahrain? Where are the great trade harbours, all the wealth and riches? All the glorious cities and temples?
Until the end of the 2nd millenium BC, Bahrain continued to play an important role in oversea trade between Mesopotamia and India. But the disappearance of the Indus Valley Civilization and the end of the Copper Age had taken their toll. Bahrain had to switch from copper to spice trade. There is evidence of raids from Bedouin tribes. Also, Mesopotamia changed. By the time Mesopotamia had been unified by the Chaldaeans, and later the Persians, Bahrain seemed to have declined in it's power. There is very little evidence on the history of Bahrain from that time. The gradual change that had taken place in Mesopotamian religion and society may have caused the people to no longer crave for the paradise out in the sea; life became much more bearable with laws, peace, scientific progress and the ascent of urban society. Likewise, Dilmun could no longer profit from many different trade partners who would try to outbid each other.
India was no longer an exclusive trade partner; goods from all corners of the world reached Mesopotamia. Land travel between Mesopotamia and India became safer, and Dilmun lost it's trade monopoly. It was eventually annexed by the Sasanian Persian empire, and, although civilization continued to flourish, by the time the Islamic Arabs had conquered it, the glory of ancient Dilmun had been washed away by the sands of time.
Sources:
Uhlig, H.: Die Sumerer, Ein Volk am Anfang der Geschichte, Bergisch Gladbach, 1989
Cassin, E., Bottero, J., Vercoutter, J. (Publishers): Die Altorientalischen Reiche II, Das Ende des 2. Jahrtausends, Frankfurt Am Main, 1966/1997
http://www.bnmuseum.com/dilmun.htm
http://www2.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/dilmun0.htm
* On an interesting side note, "Eden" is the Sumerian word for "Wasteland" or "Desert". There was a translation mistake in Genesis, as the original text speaks of "The garden in Eden".
Bahrain and Dilmun: How a myth came to be
By Stefan Härtel
All religions speak of paradise. Some say this is the place where you go after your death if you have been good. Others say this is the ultimate goal, the thing you must work for all your life. And some say that you will never go there at all. The Sumerian idea, for instance, was that this paradise, by the name of Dilmun, was a place exclusively for gods. Modern historians think they have identified this heavenly place to be an obscured memory of the Sumerian origin, and they also believe to have located this place on the island of Bahrain.
Bahrain is the largest island in a small archipeleagoe in the Persian Gulf just offshore the Arabian penninsula. It is nowadays mostly known for being a wealthy principality which exports oil and can afford small hobbies such as hosting motor racing. It is a desert island, and all thoughts about an ancient history here seem ridiculous. Antiquity in the Middle East was reduced to the fertile areas with their agricultural possibilities, their space for monumental cities and big battles. Arabia is just desert. No culture could ever arise, save survive in these sandy dunes.
As with all stereotypes, the corectness of this one is at best partially correct. The Arabian mainland has provided it's share of advanced civilizations, and so has the small island of Bahrain.
The Sumerian myth of Dilmun speaks of an island where there is no disease or death, no age or violence, and no pain or suffering. To understand this, one must picture life in Sumer. There was no Sumerian empire to speak of. Each Sumerian city was independent. Some cities were more powerful than others, and sometimes a city would fall to another; but there was no empire. Even if a city was controlled by another, it was not much more than dependence or strong influence. The other city still had vast rights of it's own.
This division into so many individual city-states automatically caused conflicts, whether they were territorial or economical disputes; war was, like in ancient Greece, part of every-day life.
The world of the 3d millenium BC naturally knew little healthcare, and so disease and suffer were normal. Life expectancy was short and therefore signs of old age appeared much earlier. Without the presence of a carefully worked-out code of laws in an early urban society, violence and crime were normal. Death was a present part of life. The people were naturally not very happy with this kind of life, and probably often wished themselves far away. Where to?
The knowledge of the origin of the Sumerians was all but common. But maybe, in the first few generations, the tales of the Sumerian pioneers who were fond of their old homes had been told and retold, and throughout the generations, they became obscured. By the time they were first written down, the original homeland of the Sumerians had become the residence of the gods, a paradise no man, living or dead, would ever see.
It seems believable that the Sumerians had, at least at some point, resided on the island of Bahrain. Their expertise in ship building suggests that they originally came to Mesopotamia by boat, via the Persian Gulf. Sumerian migration would present itself as a gradual process in a time in which Arabia might not yet have been a complete desert. Perhaps overpopulation, one of the most frequent causes of migration, forced them to leave their home involuntarily, and therefore they had such fond memories of it.
The Sumerians seemed to have had frequent contact with Bahrain. Much Sumerian pottery has been found on the island. It seems to have been a lively trade port. In fact, recent archaeological evidence implies that Bahrain may have been a link between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley Civilization.
Being such an important marketplace, Bahrain became incredibly wealthy. It seems to have been an organized place, and the lack of agricultural dependence due to oversea trade seems to have promoted the notion of a place without worries. Bahrain also had no territorial or economical disputes, so there was constant peace. Last but not least, the island was far away from Mesopotamia, far out in the sea, which even in Sumerian times, people visited to dream of freedom. But as there was no chance for the ordinary Sumerian, whose life was filled with sweat and toil, to ever get and live there, it seemed to him to be a place reserved for the gods. By the time the myths were written down, people took it literally, and probably only the fewest could still identify Bahrain with this paradise, with Dilmun.
Consequently, Dilmun became a mythical place. Many Sumerian myths and epics mention it, and there is evidence that the Book of Genesis seems to have borrowed greatly from the descriptions given. In Genesis, the Garden of Eden* is surrounded by the four rivers of Phison, Gihon, Hiddekel and Euphrates, which have their spring in the river in Eden. These rivers surround the garden like an island. The spirit of Dilmun lives on until today.
But what happened to historical Dilmun, Bahrain? Where are the great trade harbours, all the wealth and riches? All the glorious cities and temples?
Until the end of the 2nd millenium BC, Bahrain continued to play an important role in oversea trade between Mesopotamia and India. But the disappearance of the Indus Valley Civilization and the end of the Copper Age had taken their toll. Bahrain had to switch from copper to spice trade. There is evidence of raids from Bedouin tribes. Also, Mesopotamia changed. By the time Mesopotamia had been unified by the Chaldaeans, and later the Persians, Bahrain seemed to have declined in it's power. There is very little evidence on the history of Bahrain from that time. The gradual change that had taken place in Mesopotamian religion and society may have caused the people to no longer crave for the paradise out in the sea; life became much more bearable with laws, peace, scientific progress and the ascent of urban society. Likewise, Dilmun could no longer profit from many different trade partners who would try to outbid each other.
India was no longer an exclusive trade partner; goods from all corners of the world reached Mesopotamia. Land travel between Mesopotamia and India became safer, and Dilmun lost it's trade monopoly. It was eventually annexed by the Sasanian Persian empire, and, although civilization continued to flourish, by the time the Islamic Arabs had conquered it, the glory of ancient Dilmun had been washed away by the sands of time.
Sources:
Uhlig, H.: Die Sumerer, Ein Volk am Anfang der Geschichte, Bergisch Gladbach, 1989
Cassin, E., Bottero, J., Vercoutter, J. (Publishers): Die Altorientalischen Reiche II, Das Ende des 2. Jahrtausends, Frankfurt Am Main, 1966/1997
http://www.bnmuseum.com/dilmun.htm
http://www2.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/dilmun0.htm
* On an interesting side note, "Eden" is the Sumerian word for "Wasteland" or "Desert". There was a translation mistake in Genesis, as the original text speaks of "The garden in Eden".
