Uqair (Ogair)
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Uqair is an ancient fort of Islamic origin, located in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The fort sits about 50 miles northeast of the fertile oasis of Al-Hasa on the east coast of the Persian Gulf. At this ancient local are the remains of a large fort that now marks the site of the same name. The current structure that exists is of unknown orgin. It is not absolutely clear who built the fort that measures roughly 150 ft. (50 m.) on each side which consists of a stone rampart topped with mud brick. (The Persian Gulf in Antiquity, Vol. II, D.T. Potts, P. 56).
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[edit] Location
The location of pre-Christian Al-Hasa is of great importance and relevance to Uqair. Artesian wells once fed "a series of interconnected streams and lakes draining north eastward toward the Persian Gulf above al-Uqayr. Reports of the existence of this active ravine system can be traced back to the time of Pliny." (Persian Gulf in Antiquity, Vol. II, Potts, p. 29). Evidence of this effluent has a great bearing on the exploration of the fort at Uqair and the ancient city of Gerrha. A large source of fresh water near the Persian Gulf is reason enough to create a trading port located at Uqair and to facilitate the civilization that flourished at Al-Hasa. It is well documented that the Al-Hasa region and most notably Uqair were once considered to be strong candidates for the possible lost city of Gerrha, an emporium of trade and mercantile activity dated to at least 225 BC. Because of the lack of precise location of the city of Gerrha, it is important to give the distance and proximity of Uqair to several other locations in the region.
[edit] Other important surrounding locations
Gerrha was once believed to be at several locations. The notoriuos shifiting sands of the desert have made it difficult to locate the tradiing emporium well described in general history and archeological texts. Even though Uqair is the present location of what is believed to be an Islamic fort, it is important to note that the whole region twenty miles north of the current structure was also referred to as Uqair, or Gerrha, long before the fort was built. Dhahran, a Saudi Aramco compound, is 55 miles due north of the present fort of Uqair and Ras Tanurra, a Saudi Aramco oil exporting facility, is another thirty five miles beyond that. Across the shallow strait sixty miles to the northeast are the ancient burial mounds of what is now known to be the lost civilization of Dilmun. These burial mounds estimating more than 100,000 rest on the island of Bahrain (Arabic for the 'land of two seas', Looking for Dilmun, Geoffrey Bibby, P. 7). Bahrain, once referred to by ancient scholars as Tylos, is also home of a large Portuguese fort. The walled city of Thaj is eighty miles north of Uqair and just 20 miles inland from another ancient oasis of Qatif. Both of these sites have been dated to the Hellenistic period. The island of Tarut lies 40 miles to the east of the ancient port of Jubail, that once served Thaj and Qatif and is about thirty five miles north of Uqair.
[edit] Early Uqair/ancient reference to Gerrha
Trade and commerce of early civilizations in the Persian Gulf region was both the umbilical cord to surrounding cultures and the eventual physical link that has allowed scientists and researchers to literally piece together its murky history.
The center of almost all activity of greatest importance lay only three hundred miles north of Uqair at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Mesopotamia, a very fertile region north of this confluence in modern Iraq, was the beginning of the Sumerian civilization with the capital city being Ur. In 3500 BC the Sumerians were living and trading beyond Hormuz into the Indus River and the Red Sea. The Sumers were conquered by the Akkadians in 2340 BC and flourished in Mesopotamia to become united under Babylonia from 1792 to 1750 BC.
Within the same general timeline of these dominating civilizations there existed several other cultures and dynasties; the Ubaid (5000 BC), the Barbar, the Seluecid, and the Chaldaeans -- exiles of Babylonia who were among the central players of Gerrha and Uqair. In 200 BC a Greek grammarian named Agathrachides tutored under a Ptolemic prince who wrote a book on the Erythraean Sea (referred to as the Red Sea, the Mare Rubrum accepted as the Arabian Sea including even the Indian ocean).
This book was lost but passed down in diction to Artemidoros and quoted by the Greek geographer/historian Strabo who attributes his knowledge to the previous Eratosthenes... "from their trafficking, the Gerrhaeans have become the richest of all; and they have a vast equipment of both gold and silver articles, such as couches and tripods and bowls, together with drinking vessels and very costly houses; for doors and wall and ceilings are veriegated with ivory and gold and silver set with precious stones." (Frankincense and Myrrh, A Study of Arabian Incense Trade, Nigel Groom, p. 67).
[edit] Dilmun of the Sumerians
Gerrha was preceded by the well established and proven civilization of Dilmun (4000 - 2000 BC) that has been confirmed to be on the northern tip of Bahrain. It is during their zenith that they controlled the oceanic trading routes to the Indies and were the trading link to the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia (Area Handbook for the Persian Gulf States, 1st Edition, p. 11). To the Sumerians, Dilmun was the land of immortality and the god of Abzu - the second sea of fresh water that lay beneath the gulf and was believed to flow from the Tigris and Euphrates under the ground to present Bahrain - in the land called Enki. "Dilmun founded a maritime network unrivaled for its breadth by any other in the early days of man's world ... it was home of the Utunaphitism, who survived the flood, it was soapstone for figurines, alabaster for bowls, carnelian heads beads, cowries and pearls ... it was copper and lapis lazuli." (The Sumerian Connection, ARAMCO World, Jon Mandaville/Michael Grimsdale March/April 1980). Dilmun is the "Paradise Land, the original home of the gods, the archetypical Holy Land" that the hero Gilgamesh goes to in his epic journey, the "most important and universal of all Sumerian literary bequests to posterity." (Dilmun Discovered, Michael Rice, P. 7).
[edit] Alexander the Great
In accounts written by biographer Arrian, Alexander the Great mentioned a planned coastal exploration of 323 BC that included the Arabian Coast but did not mention Gerrha. A hundred years after Alexander, Eratosthenes tells of merchants from Gerrha carring their spices and incense overland to Mesopotamia. And later Strabo quotes Artimedoros; "by the incense trade ... the Gerrhaei have become the richest of all the tribes and possess great quantity of wrought articles in gold and silver." (Geoffrey Bibby, Looking for Dilmun, p. 317).
[edit] Wealth of Gerrha
Gerrha as described by Elder Pliny; "on the Arabian shore of the Gulf one comes to the island Ichara and then the Gulf of Capeus where we find the city of Gerrha, five miles in circumference, with towers built of square blocks of salt. Fifty miles from the east lying in the interior is the region of Attene and opposite to Gerrha is the island of Tylos." (Looking for Dilmun, Geoffrey Bibby, p. 318). The city of Gerrha played a central role in the interchange of commodities of certain regions of the Arabian Peninsula during the reign of the Seleucid King Antioch III, (223 - 187 BC). Most notable was the frankincense and myrrh of southwestern Arabia in Yemen and Hadramawt. The Gerrhaean also traded with East Africa and China through India. In their activity "they act as the warehouse for everything from Asia and Europe ... seem more propserous than the Sabaeans." (Frankincense and Myrrh, A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade, Nigel Groom. p. 71). Trade through Gerrha was heavy in the time of Antioch, the explorer Strabo wrote ; "the leading people of this time were the Gerrhaeans, and the Arab tribe whose capital lay on the mainland just opposite Bahrain made ... enormous incomes by trading the precious wares of Arabia and India to the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris, along the upper course of the rivers by ancient caravan routes to the coast of Syria and Phoenecia even as far as Delos and the Aegean Sea." (Looking for Dilmun, Geoffrey Bibby, p. 113). The lure of wealth generated in Gerrha by its inhabitants was too tempting for Antiochus to avoid. In 205 BC, he felt it necessary to make a large scale military demonstration against the Gerrhaeans with the object of securing himself a reasonable portion of their trade. (Looking for Dilmun, Geoffrey Bibby, p. 330). Antiochus was diverted from his goal of capturing the city when the "Gerrhaeans bought off his attack with 500 talents of silver, 1000 talents of frankincense and 200 talents of 'stacte' myrrh. (Frankincense and Myrrh, A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade, Nigel Groom, p. 195).
[edit] Geoffrey Bibby
Geoffrey Bibby, a Danish archeologist who excavated and claimed that the island of Bahrain was Dilmun, searched the island from 1954 - 1969 and included Uqair, across the straits, in his investigations. He visited Uqair on three separate journeys, in 1963 by air only, and in1965 and in 1968 by land. Bibby wrote; "Tylos we knew was Bahrain...Attene, was fifty miles inland, was normally believed to be the Hofuf oasis. On the coast, in the direct line between Hofuf and Bahrain, lay the village of Uqair, and beside it the ruins of a large walled town. It had seemed obvious to many modern theorists that Uqair must be Gerrha and the indentification seemed clinched by the fact that in the local dialect of the Arabic, the letter 'q' was pronounced as 'g.' Uqair is pronounced Ogair which is close enough to the Greek name to be convincing." (Looking for Dilmun, Geoffrey Bibby, p. 318). North of Uqair are immense salt flats (subkha) that Bibby viewed from the air. In his reconnaissance he ironically noticed that the "subkha was deeply rutted by the wheels of heavy traffic, for this is the main route to Qatar for the fruit and vegetable trucks from the Lebanon." In further observance, Bibby noticed "20 miles north of Uqair the area of former irrigation." (Looking for Dilmun, Geoffrey Bibby, p. 323).
[edit] Uqair the fort
In Bibby's quest for the city of Dilmun he managed three sondages (digs) at the city of Uqair. Of his investigation he detailed his search for pre-Islamic clues; "the ruined city of Uqair stretches more vastly on the ground than it appeared from the air. I followed ... the northern wall across the subkha toward the shore, the ruined tower - certainly a modern addition - marked the southwestern corner ... ahead of me the wall ended at a coastal tower, but like the wall, only a corse or so high ... and beyond the strait lay the mud brick houses and yellow fort of the present villages." (Looking for Dilmun, Geoffrey Bibby, p. 323). Bibby details the construction of the wall and deduces, "the wall was built of a coral like conglomerate called farush," which to Bibby "felt wrong. Because of the fluctuating level of sea water." He stated; "If anywhere there was a subkha today there should have been water even as recently as 2000 years ago, if that were true then this wall (at Uqair) could not be as old as the wall at Thaj." (Looking for Dilmun, Geoffrey Bibby, p. 324). The walls fo Thaj, another ruined city near Qatif, were built during the same period as Gerrha - the Greek period. But as Bibby concludes ... "in the cities of the Greek period on Bahrain and the temple of towns of the Seluecid on Failaka (an island off the coast of Kuwait once thought to be a Hellenistic foundry of coins) farush was never used. The walls there were made of quarried limestone." (Looking for Dilmun, Geofffrey Bibby, p. 324.) The fort as impressive as it is, is not the remains of Gerrha. The doorways and surrounding walls are of a too modern style achitecture to be dated as the Hellenistic Gerrha. Northwest of a-Uqayr, referred to as the salt mine site, or Gerrha, perhaps the most impressive features are the extensive remains of irrigation works and fields visible on aerial photographs of the area ... some of the structures may be dated to the Hellenistic period. (The Persian Gulf in Antiquity, D.T. Potts, p. 56/57). Bibby went to these irrigation channels to dig and search for artifiacts in 1968. He excavated what he labeled the "subkha fort and produced several sherds comparable to types known from Thaj and Hellenistic Bahrain. Indentical results were obtained in a sounding carried out in a different structure. This was the so called inland fort. It measured 150 ft. (49 m) by 156 ft. (52 m) and was constructed by large stone ashlars. The contention has sometimes been made that this was the site of ancient Gerrha, but there is no evidence to support this. (The Persian Gulf in Antiquity, D. T. Potts, p. 56/57). The site of the fort is not the same as the irrigation channels. Modern maps place Uqair at the harbor and shallow lagoon it was built next to. The lost cit of Gerrha according to Bibby "still awaits its discoverer." (Looking for Dilmun, Geoffrey Bibby, p. 325).
[edit] Modern Uqair
It is not impossible the fort at Uqair could be the result of the Portuguese domination of the Persian Gulf who first entered the region in 1506 under the expedition of Alfonso de Albequerque. His mission was to destroy Arab trade and establish Portuguese dominance. Their oppressive influence may have completely transformed the regional power structure but they left no religious and hardly any cultural imprint, except for their cannons and ruined garrisons. (From the Trucial States to the United Arab Emirates, Frauke Heard-Bay, p. 271). Before the Portuguese, "wealthy city states were developed around favorably situated harbors ... inhabited mostly by Arab tribes ... to dominate the entrepot trade between India, Arab countries and Europe, which passed through Mesopotamia and the Red Sea." (From the Trucial States to the United Arab Emirates, Frauke Heard-Bay, p. 271). The contrsuction of Portuguese forts was common. A large structure still stands on the island of Bahrain (1521 AD) in recognition of its importance as a favorable position to assert their power and control of the Persian Gulf by way of the Straits of Hormuz. (Dilmun Discovered, Michael Rice, p. 70). The Portuguese left the Gulf in 1648 after several revolts of Arab natives attempted to regain their harbors and trade. The confusion and growing interest of the Turks (who also built forts in the region) and Persians created a situation for the Portuguese which they could not control. (The Arabian Peninsula, George Allen, p. 94). Lastly, Uqair was an historic meeting place of major early Arabian political importance. In 1922, prominent politicians and leaders met to discuss and from new boundaries of the growing Arab state under Ibn Saud, the new revolutionary leader who was conquering the peninsula and attempting to unite it in modern times. His saga of raiding the capital city of Ryadh and Al-Hasa make for one for the most daring and courageous coup de'tats of the 20th century. In attendance at the Conference of Uqair in 1922, was Sir Percy Zachariah Cox of Great Britain, who was working with William Shakespear and Gertrude Bell, both of English interest. Representing the not yet established kingdom of Saudi Arabia was Ibn Saud himself. The purpose of the rendezvous was to harness and "guarantee the limits of Saudi expansion." (House of Saud, David Holden/Richard Johns, p. 79). It is reported that Ibn Saud's presence was "almost as much of a landmark in Saudi affairs as Ibn Saud's capture of Riyahd. The meeting of the delegates formed the eventual definition of the borders between northeastern Arabia with Kuwait and Iraq. Sir Percy Cox reportedly drew a line on the map from the head of the Gulf (in the east) to the TransJordan frontier (in the west). It gave Ibn Saud a large chunk of territory by Kuwait ... but transferred another large slice of Ibn Saud's territory into Iraqi hands. And to meet the needs of the bedouin tribes .. a neutral zone." (House of Saud, David Holden/Richard Johns, p 80).
[edit] Conclusion
The history of Uqair is multi-faceted. The irrigation channels north of Uqair could be the abandoned city of Gerrha. And it is alternatively possible the lost city lay beneath the subkha near the ruined Islamic city of Uqair. But Bibby's efforts to dig the channels and beneath the walls of Uqair proved fruitless in the search for Gerrha. (Looking for Dilmun, Georffrey Bibby, p. 372). It is the belief of the author of this article that the fort at Uqair is of Islamic origin and constructed by Arabs in defense and in anticipation of foreign attack, that eventually arrived in form of the Portuguese. Despite the lack of conclusively identifying its original builders, Uqair stands in quiet aura as a testimony to a mysterious and diverse cultural landscape that flourished in its proximity.
