Magan
Topic: Bronze Age Civilisations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, China · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 1 "Bricks, Beads and Bones"
Meaning
Magan is a land named in Mesopotamian texts of the third millennium BCE (3000–2000 BCE). It was probably the Oman peninsula, in the south-east of Arabia. Mesopotamians got copper from Magan. It was one of the three eastern trading partners of Mesopotamia.
Example
The cuneiform tablets of Sargon of Akkad (c. 2370 BCE) name Magan alongside Dilmun and Meluhha. Copper found in Mesopotamia contains tiny amounts of nickel. Copper from Oman has the same traces, which supports the idea that Magan was Oman.
Don't confuse with
- Dilmun: this was Bahrain, a trading island in the Gulf.
- Meluhha: this is generally identified with the Harappan region, which sent beads, ivory, timber and gold dust.