viewer would have required about a yard of room each, sug-
gesting that the ships were at least 24 yards long and perhaps
three times longer than broad. Apparently, Hatshepsut reac-
tivated Egypt’s Red Sea route to Punt, and this extraordinary
series of illustrations suggests that she invested heavily this
expedition.
Records from the reign of Hatshepsut’s successor, Th ut-
mose III (r. 1504–1450 b.c.e.), document the movements of
ships in an expedition to Syria-Palestine, and further re-
cords describe cedar acquired and goods stored at harbors
for Egyptian use. An Amarna tablet refers to a royal ship
moored at Tyre (modern-day Sūr), in southern Lebanon.
According to cuneiform texts, Egyptian products, notably
grain, were transported to Palestine and Anatolia in vessels,
but whether Egyptian or local ships were used is still obscure.
In the fi rst two years of Ramses II’s reign (1304–1237 b.c.e.),
Ramses had to conduct a military campaign against sea pi-
rates, known as Shirdana. Several Egyptian seagoing ships
participated in the war of Ramses III (r. 1198–1166 b.c.e.)
against the Sea Peoples, as is illustrated on the walls of his
temple at Medinet Habu.
In the Late Period (ca. 712–332 b.c.e.) as well as in Greco-
Roman times, the Egyptians apparently continued invest-
ment in seafaring, and they sometimes built special cargo
ships. For instance, they transported obelisks from Alexan-
dria to Rome, and textual evidence refers to a seagoing ship
built for Caligula (r. 37–41 c.e.). Unfortunately, ancient Egyp-
tian sources do not say much about the life of the sailors, the
length of the sailing season, the durability of ships, and their
costs. Nonetheless, these sources refer to numerous titles as-
sociated with seafaring occupations and activities, held by
ancient Egyptians and sometimes by foreigners, especially
Syrians, notably in the construction and operation of mari-
time ships. Among these titles were navigator, sailor, man at
the prow, man at the poop, manager of the crew, captain, and
commander of the ship. Th ese titles suggest that their hold-
ers had a suffi cient knowledge of navigational techniques re-
quired to make a voyage possible.
Th ese techniques, theoretically at least, developed over
years in the form of oral tradition, with no trace in any written
records. A few glimpses can be obtained from Egyptian tomb
paintings refl ecting these skills. To ancient Egyptians, navi-
gation apparently was an art rather than a science, and it was
based mainly on determining position and location. Th ey had
several methods for determining direction, among them the
winds. Th e ancient Egyptian language refl ects the Egyptians’
knowledge of the four winds, from north, east, south, and
west, and includes terms for favorable winds and headwinds
as well. A scene from an early Old Kingdom tomb shows a
ship commander teaching the crew how to steer the ship with
the wind. Th e Egyptians sometimes called upon various gods
associated with creation of these diff erent winds to aid in the
journey, notably Amun, who was believed to drive back the
adverse wind. In daytime a gnomon (the pointer of a sundial)
also could be used as a tool to indicate northerly directionin navigation, as shown on a ship model in an Egyptian mu-
seum, where it was mounted on the ship’s axis.
A scene from a tomb at Th ebes suggests that the Egyp-
tians were familiar with using birds in navigation. It shows a
Syrian fl eet moored at an Egyptian quay (a wharf built paral-
lel to the shoreline) and a bird fl ying toward the city. In the
ancient Near East, land birds that were unable to land on
water, such as ravens, crows, doves, and swallows, were car-
ried on board and released when the crew needed to know
how to reach the shore. Th is scene and a few others show that
river and seagoing ships had crow’s nests with lookouts, who
played a role in determining the direction of land lying be-
yond the horizon.THE MIDDLE EAST
BY EDWARD M. W. A. ROWLANDS
In ancient times the sailors from the Near East were famous
for their seafaring skills. Written evidence suggests that sail-
ors from Mesopotamia were able to navigate great distances,
but there is a lack of archaeological evidence available to sup-
port their navigation capabilities. Sailors established success-
ful sea routes by following the coastline. Th ey learned the
best times for sailing and discovered ways to counter harsh
weather conditions. Navigation was improved by the obser-
vation of the sun and stars; seafaring was further enhanced
with the addition of several rows of oars to increase speed.
Th ere was a great abundance of cedar trees in what is
now Lebanon. Th ese trees supplied the local inhabitants with
a valuable supply of wood, which was used in the construc-
tion of ships. Th e port of Byblos, close to modern-day Bei-
rut, is thought to have traded considerable amounts of wood
to Egypt (under the reign of the pharaoh Sahure) as early as
around 2487–2475 b.c.e. Th e availability of wood to the in-
habitants of Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre meant that they had the
resources to attempt seafaring very early in their histories. It
is from those locations that the Phoenician civilization, well
known for its highly developed seamanship, began.
It is diffi cult to go into great detail about Mesopotamian
seafaring owing to a lack of shipwrecks available for study
and the poor quality of the surviving representations of an-
cient ships in the area. Depictions of ships have been found
on seals and reliefs, but this evidence is inadequate to paint a
complete pic t u re of sea fa r i ng. Su mer ia n tex ts, however, do re-
fer to Mesopotamian trade with Magan (Oman or Egypt) and
Meluhha (a civilization in the Indus River valley or Africa) in
the Akkadian Period, the Th ird Dynasty of Ur, and the Isin-
Larsa Period. Th is activity spans a period from around 2350
b.c.e. to around 1800 b.c.e. It thus appears that from a very
early time in Mesopotamian history, seamen from this area
were able to navigate their way down the Persian Gulf to loca-
tions as distant as Africa and India, implying a considerable
degree of navigational skill.
In ancient sea travel following the coast was essential.
Staying near the coast made shelter, fresh food, and water954 seafaring and navigation: The Middle East0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i954 954 10/10/07 2:30:33 PM