Meluhha

History glossary

Topic: Harappan (Sindhu-Sarasvati) Civilisation · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 4 "Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Bricks, Beads and Bones"

Meaning

Meluhha is the name that Mesopotamian cuneiform texts (writing pressed into clay with wedge-shaped marks) use for a distant land of traders and seafarers. Historians identify it with the Harappan (Indus) region. It matters because it is one of the few written records of the Harappans by outsiders. The Harappans' own script is still undeciphered, so Mesopotamian texts and archaeological finds together are our main evidence for Harappan overseas trade.

Explanation

Background: why Mesopotamia wrote about Meluhha

  • Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq) had rich farmland but few metals, precious stones or good timber.
  • Mesopotamian scribes recorded trade with three lands to the east in the Persian Gulf region:
  • Dilmun, probably Bahrain
  • Magan, probably Oman

  • Meluhha, the Harappan region

  • These records are 3rd-millennium BCE cuneiform tablets. Some come from the time of Sargon of Akkad.

  • Meluhha is the Akkadian name for the Indus region. Akkadian was the language of Mesopotamia in Sargon's time.

What came from Meluhha

  • Goods named in the texts:
  • carnelian (a red semi-precious stone, used by Harappans for beads)
  • lapis lazuli (a deep-blue precious stone)
  • copper
  • gold

  • different kinds of wood

  • The haja-bird: a Mesopotamian myth mentions the haja-bird of Meluhha. Many scholars identify it with the peacock.

  • Probable two-way trade [2]:
  • Mesopotamia may have sent bitumen (a natural tar found there) [2].
  • In return it may have received Harappan cotton textiles and chickens. Both were native to the Indus region but not to Mesopotamia [2].

"Land of seafarers": the sea route

  • The texts describe Meluhha as a "land of seafarers".
  • Boats and ships carved on Harappan seals support this.
  • Goods probably travelled along the coast and across the Persian Gulf, stopping at Magan and Dilmun on the way.

How the trade changed over time

  • c. 2600 BCE: archaeological finds suggest the trade began in the Early Dynastic Period [2].
  • c. 2350–1794 BCE: written references to Meluhhan trade cover the Akkadian, Ur III and Isin-Larsa periods [2].
  • Akkadian period: Meluhhan ships sailed directly to Mesopotamian ports [2].
  • Isin-Larsa period (later): Dilmun became the entrepôt, a middle port where goods were unloaded and passed on [2].
  • Ships from Meluhha no longer went all the way to Mesopotamia.

  • Traders at Dilmun handled the exchange instead.

  • Result: the trade was organised, and it changed over time.

Time, place and evidence

  • Period: the 3rd millennium BCE, in the Mature Harappan phase (c. 2600–1900 BCE). Written references date to c. 2350–1794 BCE [2].
  • Ruler named: Sargon of Akkad. Tablets from his time mention ships from Meluhha, Magan and Dilmun.
  • Region: the Indus–Sarasvati region (Meluhha), linked by sea through the Persian Gulf to Oman (Magan), Bahrain (Dilmun) and Mesopotamia.
  • How we know: written evidence
  • Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets naming Meluhha and its goods.
  • The myth of the haja-bird.

  • Sumerian texts show Dilmun as a trading centre from the late 4th millennium BCE onward [2].

  • How we know: archaeological evidence

  • Ships and boats on Harappan seals.
  • Harappan carnelian beads found at Susa (Iran).
  • Seals from the Persian Gulf with Harappan motifs.
  • Dilmun's weights followed the Harappan standard.
  • A Mesopotamian cylinder seal with a humped-bull motif. This shows contact in the other direction too.
  • The Magan (Oman) link:
    • Omani copper ore and Harappan copper objects both contain traces of nickel, which points to a common source.
    • A Harappan jar coated with black clay and an ivory comb were found at Omani sites.
    • Lothal imported copper ingots from Magan [2].

Don't confuse with

  • Dilmun: this is Bahrain, not the Indus region. It was the middle port, especially in the Isin-Larsa period. Its weights copied the Harappan standard.
  • Magan: this is Oman. It was mainly a copper source, linked to Harappan copper through nickel traces. Meluhha is the land that sent carnelian, lapis lazuli, gold and wood.
  • Mesopotamia / Akkad: this is the land that wrote about Meluhha. "Meluhha" is an Akkadian word for the Harappan region. It is not a Harappan name for themselves, because the Harappan script is undeciphered.
  • Susa: this is a site in Iran where Harappan carnelian beads were found. It is evidence of Harappan trade, not a name for the Harappan land.

Prelims Hooks

  • Meluhha means the Indus/Harappan region. Dilmun means Bahrain. Magan means Oman. All three come from Mesopotamian texts.
  • "Meluhha" is the Akkadian name for the Indus region, roughly meaning "land of seafarers".
  • Goods from Meluhha in the texts: carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold and wood. Its haja-bird is identified with the peacock.
  • Tablets from the time of Sargon of Akkad mention trade with Meluhha.
  • Order of the trade: direct Meluhha–Mesopotamia voyages (Akkadian period) came first. Dilmun as the middle port (Isin-Larsa period) came later [2].
  • Trap: copper came to Harappan sites like Lothal from Magan (Oman), not from Dilmun [2].

Mains Points

  • Rare cross-checked Bronze Age history: Mesopotamian texts about Meluhha match archaeological finds (seals with ships, carnelian at Susa, Dilmun's weights, nickel-traced copper from Oman). Together they give strong proof of Harappan sea trade.
  • A trade system that changed: the move from direct voyages (Akkadian period) to trade through Dilmun (Isin-Larsa period) shows a planned, long-distance trade network that changed over time [2]. Standard weights and seal impressions made this trade possible.
  • Limits of the evidence: we know Meluhha mainly through outsiders' records. The Harappan script is undeciphered, so we do not know what the Harappans called their own land or how they saw this trade. Any answer on Harappan society should mention this limit.

Related concepts

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Sources

  1. 1Class 9, Ch 4 "Early Humans and Beginning of Civilisation"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Bricks, Beads and Bones" (primary)
  2. 2Indus civilization — Craft, Technology, Artifactsbritannica.com · tier 3