Ancient Ships: The Ships of Antiquity
Ancient Ships in art history: The navy of King Solomon and Isreal
One particular area of interest, which
is central to the story of Solomon, was the fact that he was credited
with having employed a large Naval force in the conduct of his trade.
In addition to having a navy Solomon is credited with being a shrewd
diplomat with alliances to the kingdoms of Sheba, Egypt, and
Phoenicia all of which were known to have had extensive
seafaring capabilities at this time in ancient history. The
Queen of Sheba alone was credited with having over 400 seafaring
ships for conducting trade.
Jewish history credits Solomon with having been
successful in diplomacy and trade with the majority of his neighbors.
A prime example of this diplomacy was mentioned in 1
Kings Chapter 5. Which relates his alliance
with the ruler of Tyre, which was the chief seaport of the Phoenicians
at that time. It was these key alliances in trade, diplomacy and
the ability to keep the peace that lead to the apparent success
of his administration. Other trading alliances credited to Solomon
were with, Chittim, Ophir and Tarshish. Add to this list a
list of countries from which Solomon took wives and he can truly
be said to have been be a figure of international reputation.
Israel was located at the crossroads
of the Levant. The historic records from other contemporary cultures
before and leading up to the time of Solomon show this geographic
region to have been a very volatile area and was usually governed
as a vassal state of one of the more prominent powers in the Region.
It is apparent from these records that the region had fallen into
political turmoil after the onset of invasions
by the Sea Peoples against Egypt in 1250 BCE. The early invasions
exploits
of Merneptah 1224-1210 BCE against the Sea Peoples are
recorded as relief murals at Karnak. The later invasions of the
sea peoples that were repulsed during the rule of Rameses III and
are recorded at Mendinet Habu in graphic detail.
Egypt's influence, political
and military dominance was not asserted again until the Palestinian
campaign of Shishak 1 following the reign of Solomon in 941 BCE.
This was the same historic time frame in which the Hebrews Colonized
the Levant according to the Biblical account. See Timelines
and Events
The concept that Solomon had and maintained a naval
force is key to understanding the success of his administration.
Without understanding the extent to which sea trade effected the
economy of the Eastern Mediterranean nations it would be difficult
to understand much at all about the foreign policy and diplomacy
of Israel during this historic time frame.
One of the most interesting stories that suggests
the extent of travel and trade that occurred in the prehistoric
era is the Milesian
Myth of the Irish. This myth is considered to be legend and
falls outside of the classification of history but the story line
intimates the extent to which travel, trade and colonization may
have occurred in the ancient world. One account of this story
attributes Milesius to be the brother in law of Solomon. This would
be the case if both were married to the daughters of the same Egyptian
Pharaoh, considering each had Egyptian wives.
By the Melisian Myth account travel and trade
occurred between the British Isles, the Spanish Coast, the Mediterranean
Island Nations, the Coastal cities located in region of the Black
Sea, and the eastern Mediterranean coastal cities including the
Egyptian Delta as early as 1700BCE. The Irish Milesians are
not to be confused with the Miletian Greeks from Lydia. It is tempting
to indulge in conjecture that although we do no have a reliable
written record to verify this extensive travel did indeed occur.
It is speculated that navigation was accomplished
not in the open ocean but primarily by short hops along and within
view of coastlines. For merchant ships powered by sail a daily
sailing effort would have covered from 50 to 75 miles under good
conditions. Travel and extended trade may have been more prevalent
than previous conservative estimates suggest. The best archeology
confirming some of the extent of travel and trading patterns are
the Uluburun
Bronze Age Shipwreck and shipwreck at Cape
Gelidonya on the Turkish coast. Both cargos suggest trading
patterns that covered a wide territory including parts of Africa
and the Middle East.
Written records verify trading patterns of the
Egyptians included travel through the Red Sea to sub-Saharan Africa
as far a Somalia, along the western coast as early 2450BCE. The
fact that trade was conducted south makes it easy to speculate that
similar length journeys would have been made into Mediterranean
basin. The most adventuresome of estimates suggest that the Negroid
features found on sculptures in Messo-America are due to the fact
Africans did indeed arrive by sea in the western hemisphere as early
as 1700BCE.
Considering the fact that the history of the Levant
indicates that it was generally void of strong civil government
from the time of the Exodus until the time of Solomon, the ability
of his administration to maintain the peace, conduct adequate diplomacy
for trade and to guarantee the safety of his kingdom was nothing
less than a formidable task.
Archeological clues along the coastal Levant
strongly suggest that the city states of coastal Levant were for
many centuries trading outposts of the Cypro/Minoan and Mycenaean
cultures.
Solomon according to Biblical accounts had
good relations with Hiram the Phoenician ruler of Tyre (the foremost
seafaring nation in the Eastern Mediterranean) to the extent that
this foreign king assisted Solomon in the creation of a naval force.
This piqued my curiosity as to the likely appearance and structure
of the naval forces of Solomon and to find out what seafaring technologies
were available at the time to put a naval force to sea.
Hatshepsut's Naval Vessels from the 15th Century BCE
Solomon's Naval capability may have been modeled after this type
of ship
This web folder is an
overview of the iconography of ships, naval technologies and developments
in antiquity leading up to and encompassing the time of Solomon
Circa 1000BCE. The ships and boating illustrated here are my findings
from the Internet. This material will be incorporated into
a larger work called "Discovering the Historic Solomon" which will
highlight the various crafts and technologies in the Eastern Mediterranean
region, where they were developed and how they may have been applied
in the Levant by the early Hebrew Culture. This web folder constitutes
an overview of the Iconography of the ship from the earliest recorded
history and a display of the modern models and illustrations of
ancient ships.
As a result of creating the Ships of Antiquity
I have concluded that probably no other technology in the history
of man has been more important to the spread of civilization, culture
and trade in the world than that of the seafaring ship.
2nd Chronicles Chapter 9
Time slot 1000 BCE
The Bible which is consedered by
many to be the primary record of Jewish history clearly records
the relationships in ancient history that Solomon's Kingdom had
with the seafaring nations of the Eastern Mediterranean. Phoenicia,
Sheba, Chittim, Tyre, Tarshish, Ophir and Egypt were all sea faring
nations and/or trading partners of Israel. The entire chapter nine
of 2nd Chronicles is a record of Solomon's political
alliances for trade. Determining the exact location of and
realm of influence of the individual trading partners during Solomon's
time is a matter of conjecture and additional scholarship.
Tarshish is taken to the coastal
area of Spain near current day Seville and Cartegena. The Tarshish
realm of influence would have included the islands of Corsica, Sardinia,
Sicily and Malta.
It it interesting to note that Irish
folklore tells a story of ancient history specifically the Melisian
myth, indicating trade occurred between Spain, the Coastal cities
of the Black Sea, the coastal Levant, the Egyptian Delta
and the British Isles. In my research I have looked for the
indicators that this in fact did occur. I have found strong similarities
in Iconography between Minoan artifacts, artifacts found in
Peloponnesian and Irish burial tombs and mounds from the same chronological
periods.
Egyptian Naval Vessel of 1250 BCE
The Bible clearly indicates the Princes of Tyre
to be wealthy merchants controlling the sea trading routes in the
Eastern Mediterranean, including, Tarsus, Byblos, Tyre, Sidon and
until the time of Solomon El-dor, which is credited with becoming
the primary sea port of Israel in the Eastern Mediterranean during
the reign of King Solomon.
Phoenicia prospered as a trading nation until
the time of the Assyrian conquests. At this time it is recorded
in the book of Isaiah that the Phoenicians fled in their boats to
settle elsewhere. History shows us they fled to the Geographical
area of Tunisia in Northern Africa and established Carthage
as their Primary Trading post.
 The
Biblical reference to Isreal and King Solomon trading with the country
of Ophir remains a little more shrouded in Mystery. There are indicators
in the Bible as to its possible location if you read the clues.
It is mentioned that the Voyages going to Ophir left the Ports cities
in the gulf of Aquaba and didn't return with their trade items until
taking a round trip that lasted three years. The bible also indicates
that these journeys were a joint venture of Solomon and Hiram of
Tyre. This story indicates that Phoenicia was already in trade with
Ophir before Solomon struck his alliance with Hiram.
Sheba located on the southern Arabian Peninsula
and its Realm of Influence including the Horn of Africa. Sheba based
on its location would have controlled the eastern and southern trade
routes through the Red Sea. The Saba Kingdom happened to control
Trade routes South of the Gulf of Aquaba both overland and with
ports on the Red Sea. Therefore Saba would have controlled
access to the eastern African coast, the Arabian Gulf, and India.
The Bible clearly indicates the Princes
of Tyre to be wealthy merchants controlling the sea trading routes
in the Eastern Mediterranean Including, Tarsus, Byblos, Tyre, Sidon
and until the time of Solomon El-dor, which is credited with being
Israel's primary sea port on the Mediterranean. This idea is supported
by the riches of art history from the region.
Phoenicia prospered as a trading nation until
the time of the Assyrian conquests. At this time it is recorded
in the book of Isaiah that the Phoenicians fled in their boats to
settle elsewhere. History shows us they went to Northern Africa
and established Carthage as their Primary Trading port.
The other indicator as to Ophir's location are
the descriptions of contents of the cargo's coming from Ophir. Scriptures
indicate that these cargos contained ivory, apes, peacocks, algum
trees and spices. This description of the cargos point to India
as being Ophir particularly the Peacocks. The other indicator that
Ophir may in fact be India is the fact that the journeys to and
from Ophir were said to take as long as three years which indicates
a very long distance travel route. Travel in open seas covering
of distances of this kind were generally done during favorable weather
conditions. The traders would have traveled during the season's
that best assured their safety at sea and gave them favorable winds
for their primary direction of travel.
Below are a few excerpts from the Bible.
2nd Chronicles
8:17 Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, on the
seashore in the land of Edom.
8:18 And Hiram sent him by his servants ships, and servants
that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants
of Solomon to Ophir, and fetched thence four hundred and fifty
talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.
"Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships
of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and
gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor."
Isaiah 60:9 - NIV
For further reading on the trade relationships
of Solomon read 2nd Chronicles Chapter 9.
Solomon would have had access and knowledge of
the seafaring technologies of the Phoenicians and Egyptians
and most likely used this knowledge and his political alliances
to build ships in each in these classes.
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