Dilmun
Topic: Bronze Age Civilisations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, China · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 4 "Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Bricks, Beads and Bones"
Meaning
Dilmun is a land named in Mesopotamian texts. It is identified as today's Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf. It was a trading stop between Mesopotamia and the Harappan (Sindhu–Sarasvatī) region. It shows that Bronze Age civilisations were linked by sea trade.
Example
The cuneiform tablets of Sargon of Akkad (c. 2370 BCE) record trade with three eastern lands: Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha. In the Persian Gulf region, round seals with Harappan designs have been found. Some local weights followed the Harappan standard.
Don't confuse with
- Magan: this was probably the Oman peninsula, and Mesopotamians got copper from it. Dilmun was Bahrain.
- Meluhha: this is generally identified with the Harappan civilisation itself.