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 The Mechanics of the
pre-16th CenturyMaritime Silk Road
Horst H. Liebner
… a land-based concept …
… imagining travellers with
horses, camels, carts … Road
… and if they have to cross water,
there would be a bridge or a ford.
Blue will mark environmental factors, and
what man devised to deal with them.
Maritime
Road
There are no ‘roads’ …
There are no ‘roads’ …
… and nautical charts are
not overly concerned
with features on land.
 Siraf

Guangzhou

… such a voyage,
one-way, took at
least 2 years …

Direct contact by sea between the

Road
Persian Gulf and China, mainly
motored by the traders of Siraf,
began in the 6th century …
Green will note socio-economic and political issues …

… connecting two termini?


… and was rather dangerous!
Al-Hariri 1237: Maqamat (BnF Ar5847)
… such a voyage,
one-way, took at
least 2 years …
2nd half, 10th century – a Persian merchant-sailor:
‘Captain Abhara […] seven time made the
voyage to China. Before his time , no one
had ever accomplished this journey without
accident. To reach China and not perish on
the way, that, in itself, was regarded as a
considerable feat; but to come back again ,
safe and sound , was a thing unheard of; and
I have heard tell that no one else , except
only him, had made the two journeys,
coming and going, entirely without mishap.’
(Buzurg ibn Shahriyar, a.-R.-H. [L. M. Devic, P. Quennell; transls., eds.] 1928: The Book of the Marvels of India.)
… and was rather dangerous!

‘Pilot Chart’:
December …
Prevailing Winds
December - April
 2017-8

2015-6

Tracks of tropical storms, 1985-2005

… very very
dangerous.

Cyclones

15 November
‘Trade Winds’
- 1 May Prevailing Winds
December - May
Prevailing Winds
May - October
 Typhoon
Trade
June - Winds
November

Prevailing Winds
May - October
 … along India’s west coast, according to the 2018 edition of the US
Sailing Directions, India and the Bay of Bengal:
‘… any cargo operations worked from anchorages impossible during
the Summer Monsoon period (about May 15 through September 15).’
Percentage of
‘… operations at the anchorage are suspended during the Southwest
waves higher than
Monsoon period (May-September.)’
12 feet (3.6m)
‘ … port is normally closed during the Southwest Monsoon, usually
from the middle of May until the middle of September.’
‘… the port is closed to local sailing craft from the beginning of June
to the end of August.’

‘Gale Force Winds’:

Frequency of
reports of winds of
BFT 8 and above Prevailing Winds
July
 1st century – a Greek merchant-sailor describing the trade
between the Red Sea and India:
‘This whole voyage as above described , from Cana
and Eudaemon Arabia , they used to make in small
vessels, sailing close around the shores of the gulfs;
and Hippalus was the pilot who by observing the
‘Hippalus […] observing the
location of the ports and the conditions of the sea ,
location of the ports and the
first discovered how to lay his course straight across
the ocean . For at the same time when with us the
conditions of the sea , first
Etesian winds are blowing, on the shores of India
the wind sets in from the ocean , and this southwest
discovered how to lay his course
wind is called Hippalus, from the name of him
straight across the ocean .’
who first discovered the passage across. From that
time to the present day ships start, some direct from
Cana , and some from the Cape of Spices; and those
bound for Damirica throw the ship's head
considerably off the wind; while those bound for
Since when did
Barygaza and Scythia keep along shore not more
than three days and for the rest of the time hold
the same course straight out to sea .’ people know? …
(Schoff, W. H. 1912: The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea: Travel and Trade in the Indian Ocean by a Merchant
of the First Century. New York, Longmans, Green, and Co.)
 10 months
2 months 10 days
overland

8 months 8 months

1st century – the Han Shu:

‘ 自日南障塞、徐聞、合浦船行可五月，有都元國；又船
A Han delegation visits India: 行可四月，有邑盧沒國；又船行可二十餘日，有諶離國；
‘The trading ships of the barbarians
步行可十餘日，有夫甘都盧國。自夫甘都盧國船行可二月
餘，有黃支國，民俗略與珠劯相類。其州廣大，戶口多，
transfer [the Chinese] to their多異物，自武帝以來皆獻見。有譯長，屬黃門，與應募者
destination . It is a profitable 俱入海巿明珠、璧流離、奇石異物，齎黃金雜繒而往。所
business [for the barbarians], 至國皆稟食為耦，蠻夷賈船，轉送致之。亦利交易，剽殺
who Since when did
人。又苦逢風波溺死，不者數年來還。大珠至圍二寸以下。
also loot and kill . There are the
平帝元始中，王莽輔政，欲燿威德，厚遺黃支王，令遣使 people know? …
hazards of wind and wave […]獻生犀牛。自黃支船行可八月，到皮宗；船行可八月，到
and
日南、象林界云。黃支之南，有已程不國，漢之譯使自此
death by drowning.’ 還矣。’ (https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%BC%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D
(Translation, Wheatley, P. 1973 [1961]: The Golden Khersonese. Westport [Kuala Lumpur], pg 8f)
%B7028%E4%B8%8B.)
 If the wind , called Hippa-
lus, happens to be blowing,
it is possible to arrive in
forty days at the nearest
mart of India, Muziris.
Ocelis Pliny, Natural History. 6.26

Muziris

average speed 2kn 3kn

nautical miles days
Bab Al-Mandeb - SW-India 2000 42 28
Cape Comorin - Singapore 1800 38 25
Singapore - Guangzhou 1800 38 25
 … such a voyage,
one-way, took at
least 2 years …

…4impossible
months … to do theaspeed
without
average whole
stop2kn 3kn
nautical miles days
voyage in one season.
for victualing, rest, trade …42 28
Bab Al-Mandeb - SW-India 2000
Cape Cormorin - Singapore 1800 38 25
Singapore - Guangzhou 1800 38 25
Maritime
Road
 ‘[T]he ship trembled and
leapt up like a banner
whipped by the wind .
Sometimes it leapt towards
the sky and sometimes sank
into the ocean as if
thrown , […]. Then , as
though great drums were
being beaten in the four
directions, there came a
deafening noise; lightning
and thunder terrified my
trembling attendants.
Atisha's Journey to Suvarnadvipa , c.1015
Early 5th century, Faxian, a Chinese pilgrim: (Gurugana Dharmakaranama)
‘The great ocean spreads out, a boundless expanse . There is no
knowing east or west ; only by observing the sun , moon , and stars
was it possible to go forward . If the weather were dark and rainy, (the
ship) went as she was carried by the wind , without any definite
course . In the darkness of the night, only the great waves were to be
seen , breaking on one another, and emitting a brightness like that of
fire , with huge turtles and other monsters of the deep (all about). […]
The sea was deep and bottomless […]’
Faxian [James Legge, transl., ed.] 2010 [1886]: A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms. Adelaide
 ‘[T]he ship trembled and
Man is not an aquatic animal … and leapt up like a banner
whipped by the wind .
this person is truly miserable: Seasick? Sometimes it leapt towards
the sky and sometimes sank
into the ocean as if
thrown , […]. Then , as
though great drums were
being beaten in the four
directions, there came a
deafening noise; lightning
and thunder terrified my
trembling attendants.
Borobudur, 8/9th century Atisha's Journey to Suvarnadvipa , c.1015
Early 5th century, Faxian, a Chinese pilgrim: (Gurugana Dharmakaranama)
‘The great ocean spreads out, a boundless expanse . There is no
knowing east or west ; only by observing the sun , moon , and stars
was it possible to go forward . If the weather were dark and rainy, (the
ship) went as she was carried by the wind , without any definite
course . In the darkness of the night, only the great waves were to be
seen , breaking on one another, and emitting a brightness like that of
fire , with huge turtles and other monsters of the deep (all about). […]
The sea was deep and bottomless […]’
Faxian [James Legge, transl., ed.] 2010 [1886]: A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms. Adelaide
 ‘[T]he ship trembled and
Man is not an aquatic animal … and leapt up like a banner
whipped by the wind .
this person is truly miserable: Seasick? Sometimes it leapt towards
the sky and sometimes sank
into the ocean as if
thrown , […]. Then , as
though great drums were
being beaten in the four
directions, there came a
deafening noise; lightning
and thunder terrified my
trembling attendants.
Borobudur, 8/9th century Atisha's Journey to Suvarnadvipa , c.1015
Early 5th century, Faxian, a Chinese pilgrim: (Gurugana Dharmakaranama)
‘The great ocean spreads out, a boundless expanse . There is no
knowing east or west ; only by observing the sun , moon , and stars
was it possible to go forward . If the weather were dark and rainy, (the
ship) onlyas by
… went observing
she was carried by thethe sun
wind , moon
, without , and
any definite
stars was it possible to go forward …
course . In the darkness of the night, only the great waves were to be
seen , breaking on one another, and emitting a brightness like that of
fire , with huge turtles and other monsters of the deep (all about). […]
The sea was deep and bottomless […]’
Faxian [James Legge, transl., ed.] 2010 [1886]: A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms. Adelaide
 Finding your way on sea …

‘Horizon’

i l e s =
ti ca lm
-5 nau
~3 6 -9 km ht
~ of S i g
L in e ‘behind the
horizon’

… only by observing the sun , moon , and


stars was it possible to go forward …

Horst H. Liebner, BRKP-DKP

The stars over Makassar …

The rising times of stars change by 4

minutes each day, so any particular star
would rise at different times during the
year. For about half the time, the star
would rise during the daytime and thus be
blocked by the huge light of our Sun.
http://solar-center.stanford.edu/AO/sunrise.html

… 07
… September
07 March
2007,
2007,
22:00
22:00

… by observing the stars

 … by observing the stars …

Polaris, the ‘North Star’, as

seen in Mumbai, NW India

… on 15 March
September
2020,2020,
2246hrs
2246hrs
 … by observing the stars …

Polaris, the ‘North Star’,

as seen in Kochi, SW India

… on 15 March 2020, 2246hrs

 ‘observing the location of the ports
Finding your
and the conditions of the sea’
way on sea …
… with a kamal.

The Mariners’ Museum, 1998.39.7

Horizon

https://jewelofmuscat.tv/ships-logs/traditional-arab-navigation/
 Finding your way on sea …
… without Polaris: Not visible in
southern latitudes …

… around the equator, October - March

 Crux, the ‘Southern Finding your way on sea …
Cross’, and surrounding
stars as seen from … without Polaris: Not visible in
Makassar in the early
evening, end March southern latitudes …

S
Southern Horizon
 Finding your way on sea …
… at night, sailing East …

… ‘Starpath Navigation’.
… if you know
… extensively used by Pacific certain stars …
navigators …

[… and still a common practice of most sailors,

even if you have a compass: Following stars
low over the horizon that coincide with the
bearing of your course.]


Horst H. Liebner, BRKP-DKP
 Finding your way on sea …

But: It only works between

two known points …!

Horst H. Liebner, BRKP-DKP

 The Nanhan/Cirebon Wreck … from Śrīvijaya to Java?

130o

The position of the wreck

lies on a bearing between
Bangka Strait and …

© Horst H. Liebner, BRKP-DKP, 2009

“Around the hills of Grobogan was
found a considerable amount of
fragments of [imported] ceramics
of the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries.”
(Lombard, D. 2005: Nusa Jawa, Jakarta. II:15)
 +60°
Phad Alnath Aldebaran 8h Alnilam
Dubhe Algol Pollux Alpheratz
Almaak 7h
5h
4h
0h
1h
2h
3h
6h
22h
23h Alnitak
Dubhe Merak
Mizar Menkalinan
Jupiter
Hamal
Regulus Bellatrix Rigel Venus Murzim Diphda
Dubhe Alioth Procyon Sirius
Phad +50° Capella
Mirphak Castor
Mirach
+50° Alhena Betelgeuse

The stars on 25 December 969,

Merak
Mizar
Alioth Mintaka Saiph Wezen
Almaak
Algol Alnath Saturn
Aldebaran Alphard
Alnilam Diphda Adara
Merak
Alioth Phad Alkaid Menkalinan Pollux 5h
6h
9h
3h
4h
7h
8h
23h
1h
2h Alnitak Murzim
Mizar 0h Rigel Sirius
Merak
Alioth
Mizar Phad
Mirphak
Capella+40°
+40°
+40° JupiterHamal
Regulus
Mars Bellatrix
Procyon Aludra
Mizar Phad Castor Wezen
Alkaid

around the beginning of steady

Menkalinan Algol +30° Alnath Denebola Alhena Betelgeuse Saiph Diphda Adara Foma
Pollux Saturn
Aldebaran Mintaka
Alphard Murzim
Alkaid Capella +30° 6h
7h
10h
2h
3h
5h
4h
8h
9h
0h Alnilam
Alnitak Aludra
Hamal
Jupiter Regulus
1h Rigel Sirius
Alkaid Castor Mars Bellatrix
Procyon Wezen Fomalhaut
Menkalinan
Diphda Adara
+20°
+20°
+20°
Capella Alhena Betelgeuse Saiph

westerly winds, seen from the

Alnath
Pollux Denebola Mintaka Murzim Aludra Naos
Aldebaran
Saturn Alphard
Alnilam Fomalhaut
Menkalinan +10° 2h Alnitak Rigel Sirius
7h
8h
11h
4h
6h
9h
10h
1h
3h
5h
Castor Jupiter Regulus +10°
Bellatrix Wezen
Adara
Mars Procyon Diphda Naos
Alnath Denebola
Pollux Alhena Betelgeuse Saiph Murzim Aludra Alsuhail Suhail al Muhlif Ankaa

position of the vessel’s foundering.

Saturn 0°
Mintaka
0°
Arcturus Aldebaran 6h Alphard
Alnilam
Castor Jupiter Regulus
8h
9h
12h
7h
10h
11h
2h
4h
5h
3h Alnitak Rigel Sirius Wezen Adara Ankaa
Naos Suhail al Muhlif Alnair Aln
Mars Bellatrix
Procyon -10°
-10°
-10° Alsuhail
5°
5° Alnath Aludra 
Canopus Ca
Pollux
Alphecca (Gemma) Alhena
Denebola Betelgeuse Saiph Murzim Ankaa 
Mintaka 

A Starpath …
Castor Arcturus Aldebaran Alphard
Spica
Alnilam -20° Wezen Naos Suhail al Muhlif Canopus
Jupiter Regulus
13h
12h
3h
9h
10h
5h
6h
7h
8h
11h
4h Alnitak Rigel Sirius Adara Alsuhail Ankaa
Mars  Canopus Avior

130
Bellatrix
Procyon Aludra Turais
o
Alphecca
Pollux (Gemma) -30°
Castor DenebolaAlhena Saiph Murzim -30° Suhail al 
Muhlif Avior
Betelgeuse Naos
Arcturus Mintaka
Alphard
Spica Wezen
Adara Alsuhail  Canopus
Turais AchernarAch
Jupiter 10h
11h
14h
7h
8h
9h
12h Alnilam
13h Alnitak Sirius Avior Achernar
Regulus
4h
6h
5h Rigel
Aludra
-40°
-40°
Suhail alMuhlif Achernar
Pollux (Gemma)
Alphecca Mars Bellatrix   CanopusTurais
Procyon Naos Miaplacidus
Arcturus Denebola Alhena Saiph
Uranus Murzim Alsuhail GacruxAvior
-50°
-50° Achernar
Betelgeuse Mintaka Wezen Menkent
Adara -50°
2 Miaplacidus
Alphard
Spica Sirius Becrux
Turais
Acrux Achernar
14h
5h
11h
7h
8h
9h
10h
6h
Alnilam
13h Alnitak Rigel
12h
15h Aludra  Suhail

al Muhlif
Canopus
Avior
Regulus Gacrux -60°
-60° Miaplacidus
Mars Naos
Alsuhail  2
Procyon Acrux Miaplacidus
Turais
Becrux
Denebola Saiph MurzimWezen AdaraMenkent  Suhail al Muhlif Canopus
Agena
Uranus  Avior
 Gacrux -70°
-70°
-70°
Rasalhague Spica
Alphard Sirius
Dschubba Aludra 22
  Acrux
Rigel Miaplacidus
Kentaurus
Naos
13h
16h
14h
15h
12h
9h
10h
11h
6h
8h
Regulus 7h
Alsuhail Becrux
Turais
Mars Canopus
Agena
Avior

 Suhail al Muhlif -80°
-80°
-80°
Procyon MurzimAntares Menkent   Gacrux Miaplacidus
Adara
Wezen 22
Uranus
Sirius
130 o  Becrux Rigel

Turais
Agena
Avior
Acrux Kentaurus 17h
20h
22h
0h
23h
3h
19h
2h
21h
18h
1h
Sabik Dschubba Aludra Canopus
Spica
Alphard  NaosAlsuhail  Miaplacidus

14h
13h
17h
15h
16h
7h
9h
10h
11h
12h
8h  Suhail al Muhlif 2 2
  Gacrux AcruxKentaurus
Rigel
Menkent  Turais S
S
Adara Becrux
Agena Miaplacidus
Antares
Wezen Avior
Canopus 
Uranus Shaula Sargas 
E
E Aludra Naos
Alsuhail 22
AcruxKentaurus
Rigel
10h
16h
17h
12h
15h
20h
13h
14h
18h
19h
11h
Sabik Dschubba   Suhail  al Gacrux
Muhlif Miaplacidus

 Turais
Becrux
 Agena
Avior
11h
15h
16h
19h
9h
13h
14h
12h
17h
18h
10h
Menkent
Kaus Australis  2
2Acrux

Miaplacidus
Antares Rigel Kentaurus
Naos Sargas
Shaula GacruxTurais
 Alsuhail  Suhail  al MuhlifBecrux
Horst H. Liebner, BRKP-DKP  8h
16h
12h
10h
11h
15h
18h
14h
13h
17h9h

Long.:108.98°
Long.:108.98° Lat.:-5.25°
Lat.:-5.25° 26
25
25 Dec
Dec 969
969 AD
AD 5h
19h
1h
2h
20h0m
21h
22h
23h
0h
3h
4h 0m
0m0s0s
0s(U.T.7.5h)
(U.T.7.5h)
(U.T.7.5h) 135°
135°
 The ‘58 Bright
Navigation Stars’
At
Acamarleast
Achernar
four
Alioth
Alkaid
of the stars
Alphecca used
Arcturus
Alpheratz Atria
all Canopus
Capella
Dubhe
Elnath
over theAl Na'ir
Acrux world for navigational
Altair Aviar Deneb Eltanin
Adhara Alnilam Ankaa Bellatrix Denebola Enif
purposes
Aldebaran were visible
Alphard Antares around
BetelgeusetheDiphda Fomalhaut
proper bearing and time!
Gacrux Kochab Mirfak Rasalhague Schedar Vega
Gienah Markab Nunki Regulus Shaula Zuben'ubi
Hadar Menkar Peacock Rigel Sirius
Hamal Menkent Pollux Rigel Kent. Spica
Kaus Aust. Miaplacidus Procyon Sabik Suhail
 Chinese ships of the
… observing the stars. 11th century used
Hippalus, and the compasses.
anonymous author of the
Periplus of the Erythrean Sea
The ‘Barbarian’ sailors carrying
Chinese ambassadors
… probably had quite some ideas about that …
Captain Abhara, and Buzurg
Ibn Shahriyar, our reporter
Until well into Tang
times, most of
southern China and
neighbouring N- In 724CE ‘the Astronomer-Royal [of the Tang court]
Vietnam was ‘the Land was instructed to proceed to [Hanoi … . W]hile at sea
of the Bai Yue’, a non-
Chinese people. in the eight month , looking southwards, they observed
Green notes socio-economic the remarkably high altitude of Canopus. Below it
and political issues where numerous stars, […] but these had not then been
recorded , and their names were not known .’
(Needham, J., L. Wang and G.-D. Lu 1971: Civil Engineering and Nautics. Science and
Civilisation in China, Vol. 4.3. Cambridge; pg. 561.)
 Where did they sail to?

Zheng He’s voyages, 1405-1439 …

… possibly the epitome of
the ‘Maritime Silk Road’?
World Map, by the
Italian monk Fra
Mauro, ca. 1450
 Text 019:
1420 a ship, orçoncho
“Around
junk ,
from India crossed the Sea of
Circa hi ani del India towards the Island of Men
signor 1420 una naueand the Island of Women , off
ouer çoncho de india Cape Diab, between the Green
discorse per una |
trauersa per el mar deIslands and the shadows. It sailed
india a la uia de le for 40 days in a south-westerly
isole de hi homeni e
de le done de fuo|ra direction without ever finding
dal cabo de diab e tra anything other than wind and
le isole uerde e le
oscuritade a la uia de water. According to these people
ponente e de | garbin themselves, the ship went some
per 40 çornade non
trouando mai altro 2,000 miles ahead until - once
che aiere e aqua e favourable conditions came to an
p(er) suo arbitrio|
iscorse 2000 mia e end - it turned round and sailed
declinata la fortuna i
fece suo |5| retorno inback to Cape Diab in 70 days.”
çorni 70 fina al
Until thesopradito
end |of thecauo
diab 17thde
century, zunc, juncquo,
jonquo etc. designated jong, the largest of the
many types of Insular Southeast Asian ships.
[Manguin, Pierre-Yves 1993c. 'The Vanishing Jong: Insular Southeast Asian Fleets in Trade and War (Fifteenth
to Seventeenth Centuries)'. In: Reid, Anthony (ed.) Southeast Asia in the Early Modern Era. Ithaca: Cornell
University Press.]

White marks naval architecture

Fra Mauro, text 149:
“I have spoken with a person
worthy of trust, who says that heAnchora io ho p(ar)lato cu(m)
persona dig(n)a de fede che
sailed in an Indian ship caught afferma hauer scorso cu(m) una
in the fury of a tempest for 40 naue de i(n)dia | p(er) rabia de
fortuna de traversa p(er) zorni 40
days out in the Sea of India, fuora del mar d’i(n)dia oltra el
beyond the Cape of Soffala and cauo de soffala |15| e de le
i(n)sule uerde e q(u)i pur al
the Green Islands towards west- garbi(n) e al pone(n)te e p(er) lo
southwest; and according to the arbitrar de i suo astrologi i q(u)al
son | lor guida i scorse circa 2000
astrologers who act as their mia. Vnde certamente el se può
guides, they had advanced almostaffermar e cre|der cussì a questi
come a queli i qual uien hauer
2,000 miles.” scorso mia 4000. Dice | ancora
po(m)ponio mela nel terço libro
de la sua cosmographia | che uno
hauea nome eudoxo el
qualsca(m)pando athmin |20| Re
de alexandria. usì del colfo
arabico e nauegò quela | parte
austral. e uene fin a gades che al
streto de çi|bel terra | Adoncha
sença alguna dubitatio(n) se può
affermar | che questa p(ar)te
austral e de garbin sia nauigabile
e ch(e) |25| quel mar indiano sia
occeano e no(n) stagnon. e cusì |
affermano tuti queli che nauegano
quel mar | e che habitano quele
i(n)sule.
 Zheng He, 1405-1439

… a jong, an
Insular Southeast
Asian vessel …
1420
… ‘without ever finding
The southwestern anything other than
1487/8:
Bartholomeu Dias terminus of Asia’s wind and water.’
maritime connections?
 A letter by Affonso de Albuquerque to the
King of Portugal, Manuel I, 1 April 1512 …

… a ‘very accurate Javanese’ map,

showing the Cape of Good Hope …

… a copy of which was used by the Malay

pilot who guided De Abreu to Banda …

The Spice Islands, the

southeastern terminus
of these routes …

[Translation taken from Schwartzberg, Joseph E. 1995: 'Southeast Asian Nautical

Maps’; in: Harley, J. B. & Woodward, David (eds.) Cartography in the Traditional East
and South East Asian Societies. Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press, pg. 828]
 The Italian traveller Lodovico de Varthema, ca. 1505,
on a Malay jong sailing from Brunei to Java:

… ‘the captain of the said ship […]

had a chart’ and a compass …

… and used stars ‘opposite

[Varthema, Lodovico De [John W Jones, Transl.; George Percy Badger, Ed.] 1863. The Travels of Ludovico di
Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A.D. 1503 to 1508,
to the North Star’ …
London: Hakluyt Society; hlm. 249]
 Al-Idrisi’s World Map, 1154,
made for Roger II, a Norman king of Sicily
[Africa] Sofala

Waqwaq Waqwaq
h M alai Sarandip
Ĝezira Ĝaba Ĝezirah
Iberia Italy al-Rami
Al-Sin

India
Arabia China
Africa Al-Hind
 Al-Idrisi’s Gazetteer: Parts 7, 8 and 9 of Climate I

The people of Zabag trade
People of the Zabag (or Zanedj or Raneh) come hither [Sofala] for
iron, which they carry to the continent and islands of India where
they sell it for good money, because it is an object of big trade and it
The Zanj have no ships in which they can voyage, but boats
land in their country from Oman, as do others that are going
to Zabaj (or Djawaga). These foreigners sell their goods
there, and buy the produce of the country. The inhabitants of
Zabaj (or Djawaga) call at Zanj in both large and small ships

in East Africa.
has a huge market in India. For although there is good quality iron
in the islands and in the mines of that country, it does not equal the
(zawariq wa marakib kubar) and trade their merchandise
with them, as they understand each other's language.
iron of Sofala for its quality and its malleability. The Indians are Opposite the Zanj coast are the Zabaj (or Djawaga) islands;
masters in the arts of working it. They prepare and mix the they are numerous and vast; their inhabitants are very dark

Among the Zabag islands

substances so that through fusion one gets the soft steel normally
called: India steel. They have factories that make the best swords in
the world. This is how in iron Sind, Serenbid and Yemen rival
in color, and everything that is cultivated there, dorrha,
sorghum, sugar-cane and camphor trees, is black in color.
Among the number of the islands is Sribuza (Jazirat
is Sribuza.
among each other in quality through local circumstances, as well as
the art of manufacturing, the pouring of the steel, the smelting, and
Sharbua min az zanj) which is said to be 1,200 miles round;

The people of Zabag

the beauty of the polished surface. But nothing cuts better than this
iron from India. Everybody knows that and nobody can deny it.
Also people from Qumr (Madagascar) and
come
merchants of the land of the Mihraj (ruler of to Sofala to
collect raw iron for the
Sumatran empire of Sri Vijaya) are well
received (in Jabasta of Sofala) and carry on
production of Indian
trade there.
wootz steel.
‘Zabag’, ‘Zabaj’ etc. is an Arab ‘Sribuza’ is the Arab name for
designation for Sumatra and Java. Sri Vijaya, a maritime polity in
[E.g., Laffan, Michael 2004. 'From Zâbaj to Jâwa'. IIAS Newsletter, 35 (November), pg. 17.]
Sumatra and the Malacca Strait.
 12th Century?

A trade route so well established

that an Moroccan-Arab scholar
working in Sicily knew about it.

Sofala
 12th Century?

Seen from Africa,

Zanj [Africa]
‘the Isles of Waqwaq
Waqwaq Waqwaq are opposite China’
i
ezi ra h Mala
Ĝ Ĝaba Ĝezirah al-
Rami

Al-Sin

945CE, a thousand ships from

Waqwaq attack Qanbalu on
Pemba, Zanzibar Archipelago.

The Waqwaq people search

(Buzurg ibn Syahrir [G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville, transl.., ed.] 1981: The
for trade goods for China. Book of the Wonders of India. London.)
 10th Century?

Seen from Africa,

‘the Isles of Waqwaq
are opposite China’

Pemba The voyage takes

about a year
 10th Century?

945CE, a thousand ships from

Waqwaq attack Qanbalu on
Pemba, Zanzibar.
Anecdotal? … Bartholomeu Dias’ rounding of the Cape
The Waqwaq of Good
people Hope, 1488:
search
‘The account which Joao de Barros has transmitted
for tradeto us […] is fragmentary,
goods for China.and on some
points undoubtedly erroneous. [… N]o official report of the expedition has been
discovered; but there are a few incidental references to it, which enable us to amplify, and
in some measure to correct, the version put forward by the great Portuguese historian.’
(Ravenstein, E. G. 1900: "The Voyages of Diogo Cão and Bartholomeu Dias, 1482-88." The Geographical Journal 16(6): 625-655, pg.639. )
 Anecdotal?
The first mention of maritime
expeditions to East Africa by a “King of
Zābaǧ” is found in Al-Jāḥiẓ’s mid-9th
century Kitāb faḫr as-Sūdān 'ālā' l-bīḍān.
Ducatez, G. and J. 1983: “Al-Ǧāḥiẓ. Kitāb faḫr as-Sūdān 'ālā' l-bīḍān. Translation and
annotations”, Revue des Études Islamiques: 1-49; pgs. 43-4.
Jāḥiẓ and W. Preston 1981: The Book of the Glory of the Black Race: Kitab Fakhr As-Sudan
ʼAla Al-Bidan. Los Angeles.

945CE, a thousand ships from

Waqwaq attack Qanbalu on
Pemba, Zanzibar.
The Waqwaq people search
for trade goods for China.
 9th Century?

Since at least the 8th century

How could Buzurg know? CE, Persian sailors were
trading in East Africa …

945CE, a thousand ships from

Waqwaq attack Qanbalu on
Pemba, Zanzibar.
j n
Za

The Waqwaq people search

for trade goods for China.
 8th Century?

Since at least the 8th century

CE, Persian sailors were
trading in East Africa …
ia
an

The 1st century CE Periplus of the

Az

Erythraen Sea knows of places all the

way to the Zanzibar Archipelago …
 8th Century?

Linguistic and genetic data attests that

Insular Southeast Asian people by, at
the latest, the 5th century CE were
settling in Madagascar.
 16th Century?

‘[The people of Southeast

Asia] are well trained in the
Art of Navigation, and even
claim that they are the very
first sailors. […] And it is
true that they formerly
sailed to the Cape of Good
Hope and communicated
with Madagascar [so that
the local people] say that
they originate from [there].’
[Barros, João De, Couto, Diego De & [Pagliarini, Ed.] (1552-, 1615)
1777-1788. Decadas da Asia, Lisboa: Regia Officina Typografica; IV.III.I]
 1st Century?

Chr
yse
The ships that ‘cross over
to Chryse and the Ganges 1‘ 自日南障塞、徐聞、合浦船行可五月，有都元國；又船行可四月，
st
century – the Han Shu:

are called Kolandiophonta有邑盧沒國；又船行可二十餘日，有諶離國；步行可十餘日，有夫 甘都盧國。自夫甘都盧國船行可二月餘，有黃支國，民俗略與珠劯

and are the largest.’ Huntingford, G.相類。其州廣大，戶口多，多異物，自武帝以來皆獻見。有譯長，
屬黃門，與應募者俱入海巿明珠、璧流離、奇石異物，齎黃金雜繒
‘The
W. B. 1980 [1976]: The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. London
trading ships of the
而往。所至國皆稟食為耦，蠻夷賈船，轉送致之。亦利交易，剽殺
人。又苦逢風波溺死，不者數年來還。大珠至圍二寸以下。平帝元
barbarians transfer [the
始中，王莽輔政，欲燿威德，厚遺黃支王，令遣使獻生犀牛。自黃
支船行可八月，到皮宗；船行可八月，到日南、象林界云。黃支之
Chinese] to their
南，有已程不國，漢之譯使自此還矣。’
%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7028%E4%B8%8B.)
(https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%BC

destination .’ Translation, Wheatley, P. 1973 [1961]: The Golden

 Ships of the 1st Century?

Chinese source, 3rd century CE: ‘the kunlun

[people from Southeast Asia] call ships bo. The
biggest […] carry six to seven hundred men.’
9th century CE, referring to a 3rd century source:

Chr
Bo are ‘fast and carry 1000 people and well as

yse
merchandise.’
The ships that ‘cross over
[Christie, Anthony (1957): 'An Obscure Passage from the "Periplus: ΚΟΛΑΝΔΙΟϕΩΝΤΑ ΤΑ ΜΕΓΙΣΤΑ"', Bulletin of the School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London, 19 (2), pgs. 347, 348.]

to Chryse and the Ganges 1‘ 自日南障塞、徐聞、合浦船行可五月，有都元國；又船行可四月， st

century – the Han Shu:

are called Kolandiophonta有邑盧沒國；又船行可二十餘日，有諶離國；步行可十餘日，有夫 甘都盧國。自夫甘都盧國船行可二月餘，有黃支國，民俗略與珠劯

and are the largest.’ Huntingford, G.相類。其州廣大，戶口多，多異物，自武帝以來皆獻見。有譯長， 屬黃門，與應募者俱入海巿明珠、璧流離、奇石異物，齎黃金雜繒
W. B. 1980 [1976]: The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. London
‘The trading ships of the
而往。所至國皆稟食為耦，蠻夷賈船，轉送致之。亦利交易，剽殺
人。又苦逢風波溺死，不者數年來還。大珠至圍二寸以下。平帝元
barbarians transfer [the
始中，王莽輔政，欲燿威德，厚遺黃支王，令遣使獻生犀牛。自黃
支船行可八月，到皮宗；船行可八月，到日南、象林界云。黃支之
Chinese] to their
南，有已程不國，漢之譯使自此還矣。’
%A2%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7028%E4%B8%8B.)
(https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%BC

destination .’ Translation, Wheatley, P. 1973 [1961]: The Golden

 Ships of the early 1st millennium
Schlingloff, D. (1976). "Kalyāṇakārin's Adventures. The Identification
ofIndian
an AjantaMurals
Painting." Artibus Asiae 38(1): 5-28; pg.21.

2nd century CE

Ships of the Java Sea, 1598

Rouffaer, G.P. and Ijzerman, J. W. (eds.) 1915-1929: De
Eerste Schipvaart … . 's-Gravenhage.

6th century CE
 Ships of the 1st millennium

19th century
Borubudur, 1:53:bwh

8/9th century, Java Borubudur, 1:86

 Ships of the
How reliable are these representations? 1st millennium

Borubudur, 1:53:bwh

Borubudur, 1:86
Ships of the 1st millennium

‘Outrigger’
 Austronesian Migration
Taiwan
3.500 BCE

3.000 BCE

1.500 BCE
500 BCE

1.000 BCE 2.000 BCE

1.500 BCE
1.000 BCE
 Hawaii
500 CE
1.500 BCE

1.500 BCE
500 CE 1.000 500 CE
Madagascar BCE Easter
Island
800 CE
New Zealand
 … distribution of
Austronesian languages.
Hawaii

Madagascar Easter
… distribution of Island
outrigger craft.
New Zealand
 Hawaii

Madagascar Easter
Island

New Zealand
Liebner, H.H. 2016
 Outrigger Craft?

… man’s first truly

seaworthy vessel …

‘… are well trained in the Art of

Navigation, and even claim that
they are the very first sailors.’
[Barros, João De, Couto, Diego De & [Pagliarini, Ed.] (1552-, 1615) 1777-1788.
Decadas da Asia, Lisboa: Regia Officina Typografica; IV.III.I]
 Archaeology?
… the oldest remains of a South-,
Southeast, East-Asian ship?
Pontian, Pahang, Malaysia:
BP 293±60 Cal, 260-430CE

Gibson-Hill, C. A. 1952b: “Further Notes on

the Old Boat Found at Pontian in Southern
Photo courtesy of P.-Y. Manguin Pahang.” Journal of the Malayan Branch of
the Royal Asiatic Society, 25 (1)].
 Archaeology?
… the oldest remains of a South-,
Southeast, East-Asian ship?
rope stitchings Pontian, Pahang, Malaysia:
BP 293±60 Cal, 260-430CE
wooden
dowels
 Dowels? Stitched?

Tana Beru, Sulawesi, Plank s573, Nan-Han/Cirebon Wreck

Indonesia, 1988
An Insular Southeast Asian technology
 Dowels? Stitched?

https://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/2015/04/17/lighthouse-conservator-
consults-on-preservation-of-9th-century-vessel-in-thailand/

From the Staples, E. (2019). "Sewn-Plank Reconstructions of Oman:

Construction and Documentation." International Journal

inside of the
of Nautical Archaeology 48(2): 314-334.

hull only!

Both outside
and inside! Phanom-Surin wreck, Samut
Sakhon, Thailand: 9th century
 Stitched?
Sewn?

https://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/2015/04/17/lighthouse-conservator-
consults-on-preservation-of-9th-century-vessel-in-thailand/

Not
continous!

Continous!
Phanom-Surin wreck, Samut
Sakhon, Thailand: 9th century
Monden, O. 2000: Dhows. Aomori.

Sewn?
http://indigenousboats.blogspot.com/2012/04/planking-dhow-with-sewn-fastenings.html

Al-Hariri 1237: Maqamat (BnF Ar5847)

‘Arabian Sea Tradition’:

An Indian, Arab and
Persian technology
Monden, O. 2000: Dhows. Aomori.

… one of the oldest Sewn?

http://indigenousboats.blogspot.com/2012/04/planking-dhow-with-sewn-fastenings.html

techniques to connect planks.

Al-Hariri 1237: Maqamat (BnF Ar5847)

Zambratija Wreck, Istria, 12-10th century BCE

‘Arabian Sea Tradition’: Pomey, P. and G. Boetto (2019). "Ancient Mediterranean Sewn-Boat
Traditions." International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 48(1): 5-51.
An Indian, Arab and
Persian technology
Shaikh, Z. A., S. Tripati and V. Shinde
2012: "A Study of the Sewn-Plank Boats
of Goa, India." International Journal of
Nautical Archaeology 41(1): 148-157.
 Archaeology?

Nanhan/Cirebon wreck, 10th century

‘Indonesia’s oldest ship’:

Punjulharjo, NE-Java,
6/7th century Photos courtesy by Zainab Tahir
 Archaeology?
Sambirejo, Palembang,
Indonesia, 7/8th century

Chau Tau wreck, Vietnam, 7/8th century

Noriko, N. et al. 2017: "Nishimura

Lingga wreck, Riau, Indonesia, 12th century
Masanari’s Study of the Earliest Known
Shipwreck Found in Vietnam." Asian Review
of World Histories 5(2): 106-122.

Perhaps a dozen finds of

pre-15th century remains
Photo courtesy by P.-Y. Manguin

with such ‘holed lugs’ … http://epress.nus.edu.sg/sitereports/lingga/text/shiporigin/

 Punjulharjo, 6/7th century
Archaeology?

Pontian, 3-5th century

Nanhan/Cirebon wreck, 10th century

 The ‘Lashed-Lug’ technique:
A MAJOR CHARACTERISTIC OF WESTERN
AUSTRONESIAN BOATBUILDING!
Tana Beru, Ara: Bhs. Konjo tambugu
Bhs. Makassar
tambuku
Bhs. Bugis
tampuku
Rawas, Sumatera
tamuku
Bhs. Melayu
tembuku
Bacan
tambuku lashings
Philippines, 17th cent. tambuku
tamboko
 Tana Beru, Sulawesi, Indonesia, 2018
Sambirejo, Palembang,
Indonesia, 7/8th century

= two symmetrical
planks that can be
placed on starboard and
portside of the hull.
 Plank Pattern of the Nanhan/Cirebon Wreck, around 970

… designed around a … that defines the symmetry

centrepoint … of the construction!

Tattaq Tallu plank pattern, Lemo-Lemo, Sulawesi, Indonesia, 19/20th century

Plank tambugu
Connections

5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5

tambugu
For more details see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEeUn-Z1fV4 tambuku
Thwarts: Often retained
as reinforcement, ‘seats’
for rowers, … … A dugout …
Nooteboom, C. 1932: De Boomstamkano in
Indonesie. Leiden.

Lashings
 Adding a washstrake
dramatically increases
seaworthiness …
... ‘tambuku’.

Horridge, A. 2006: “The Austronesian Conquest of the Sea —

Upwind “, in P. Bellwood, J. Fox, and D. Tryon (eds.), The
Austronesians. Canberra, pg. 148.
 The ethnographic record …
Crossbeams /
Frames

Lashings

Tambuku
Lombok, Hornell 1920: 93

Buru, Hornell 1920: 60

Makassar, Haddon dan Hornell 1935: 11 Tobelo, Friederici 1912: 24 Manado, Hornell 1920: 80

Hawaii, Haddon dan Hornell 1935: 11

 … distribution of
Austronesian languages.
Hawaii
3.000 BCE 500 CE
A technological
2.000 BCE
1.500 BCE

tradition1.000of 500 CE
1.500 BCE
500 CE
Madagascar
… distribution of
3,000+ years.
BCE Easter
Island
outrigger craft.
New Zealand
 Chinese Ships?
• Built around bulwarks.
• Planks fastened with
metal nails and clamps.

Green, Jeremy (ed.) 1997: Maritime Archaeology in the People's Republic of China. Fremantle, W.A.:
Australian National Centre for Excellence in Maritime Archaeology, pgs. 28, 37
 Except for remains of Graeco-Egyptian
vessels in theChinese
Red Sea, I amShips?
not aware
of any other finds of wrecks and/or
fragments of• Built around
seagoing bulwarks.
ships clearly
dated into the• 1st millennium
Planks fastenedinwith
China,
India or metal nails and
the Arabian Sea.clamps.
• No definite proof for
Chinese-operated
overseas trade before
11/12th century.
Shipwrecks and ship-fragments, 1st
millennium
lashed-lug, stitched and
dowelled
lashed-lug, dowelled
Green, Jeremy (ed.) 1997: Maritime Archaeology in the People's Republic of China. Fremantle, W.A.:
Australian National Centre for Excellence in Maritime Archaeology, pgs. 28, 37
sewn
 Chinese Ships?
BuiltTransportation
•River around bulwarks.
• Planks fastened with
nails.
• No definite
River/Coastal proof for
Transportation
Chinese overseas trade
before 11/12th century.
Kimura, J. 2010: “Historical Development of Shipbuilding Technologies in East Asia”. In J. Kimura, Shipwreck Asia. Adelaide: 1-25.

Shipwrecks and ship-fragments, 1st

Nanhai 1 wreck: 12/13 century th
millennium
lashed-lug, stitched and
dowelled
lashed-lug, dowelled
sewn
 Chinese Ships?
Kimura, J. 2010

‘Flat-bottomed’: N-China

SEA and Indian Ocean

vessels: ‘V-shaped’

If build on a keel, “shallow draft, light”

Burningham, N.; J. Green 1997: “Description of the Quanzhou Ship”. J. Green.
Maritime Archaeology in the People's Republic of China, Fremantle, pgs. 32-48.

Central rudder
 … adopted … but not used in the
throughout the Chinese Ships?
Malay Archipelago
Indian Ocean by Kimura, J. 2010

the 12th ‘Flat-bottomed’

century

If build on a keel, “shallow draft, light”

Burningham, N.; J. Green 1997: “Description of the Quanzhou Ship”. J. Green.
Maritime Archaeology in the People's Republic of China, Fremantle, pgs. 32-48.

Central rudder
The Middle-Javanese Kidung Sunda:
‘Jong sasana, such as was
made in the land of the
Tartars and was copied [in
Java] since the war of King
Wijaya [with the Yuan-
Mongol invaders of 1293].’
Chinese Ships?
1st half, 2nd millennium:
the South China Sea Tradition.
Bulwarks, nails – plus dowels
and Southeast Asian timbers!

bu
lw
Shipwrecks andarship-fragments, 1st
k
millennium
lashed-lug, stitched and
dowelled
lashed-lug, dowelled
Green (ed.) 1997
sewn
 12th
Flecker, M. 2007: "The South-China-Sea Tradition:
cent. The Hybrid Hulls of South-East Asia." International

Chinese Ships?
Journal of Nautical Archaeology 36(1): 75-90.

To the best of my
13th
cent.
knowledge, there as yet are
no finds of shipwrecks that
13th
can clearly be associated
cent. with genuine Chinese
shipbuilding techniques in at
least the Malay Archipelago.
Shipwrecks and ship-fragments, 1st
half of the 2nd millennium
Unknown lashed-lug, stitched and
dowelled
lashed-lug, dowelled
sewn
nailed, bulwarks(, flat bottom)
 Not adopted in the eastern Malay
Archipelago and the Indian Ocean Chinese Ships?
Kimura, J. 2010

‘Flat-bottomed’

Central rudder
Batten-lug sails
… but used in the
S-China Sea and
Malaya
Ships of the Java Sea, 1598
Until well into the 16th
Rouffaer, G.P. and Ijzerman, J. W. (eds.) 1915-1929: De
Eerste Schipvaart … . 's-Gravenhage.

century: Jong, the largest

of the many types of Jong
Insular SEA ships Sasana?
Zheng He’s voyages, 1405-1439 …

Persian, Arab, Indian, Insular SE

Asian, before the 12th century …
… before Chinese influence on the
shipbuilding technology of the area …
The Cargo of the 10th century Nanhan/Cirebon wreck

… trade: Providing goods that are not

available at a certain destination
10 Century Commerce …
th

“There were hundreds, if not thousands,

of such ships plying the islands and
mainland ports of Southeast Asia in the
tenth century.”
(Gordon, Stewart 2009: When Asia was the World. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, pg. 58).
10 Century Commerce …
th

Nanhan/Cirebon vessel:
• 5-600,000 Chinese ceramics;
• heading for Central and
Eastern Java.
 Marketing Ceramics
Port Import Export
in Java?
Batavia 210,000
Cirebon 11,000 1,000 Knaap, G. J. 1996. Shallow Waters, Rising Tide:
Shipping and Trade in Java around 1775. Leiden,
pg.218ff: 'Approximate annual import and
Tegal 4,000 export … east of Batavia, 1774-77: bowls and
plates'.
Pekalongan 6,000 3,000

+20% unrecorded
Semarang 102,000
imports= ca.No
350,000 pcs / year.
data available:
Averaged numbers
Jepara 22,600
Importing
‘… Chinese
figures should beceramics
seen as an was
Juwana 29,000 under rather
indication strict control
than asbyanthe exact
Dutch
picture of East India
reality Company.
…’ (Knaap 1996:97).

Rembang 3,000
Gresik 51,000 23,000
Surabaya 9,000 7,000
 Marketing Ceramics
in Java?
+20% unrecorded imports = A demand of
ca. 350,000 pcs / year.
• … in the late 18th Century.
• … to be marketed to a population of approximately
3-5 Million people.
• It is generally assumed that pre19th-century
population numbers were rather stable.
Reid, A. 1988: Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce 1450-1680. Vol. 1: The Lands below the
Winds. New Haven, London
Ricklefs, M. C. 1986: "Some Statistical Evidence on Javanese Social, Economic and Demographic
History in the Later Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries." Modern Asian Studies 20(1): 1-32.
Christie, J. W. 1991: "States without Cities: Demographic Trends in Early Java." Indonesia 52: 23-40.
 Marketing Ceramics
Wrecksite Ceramic Cargo in Java?
The people of>500,000
Nan-Han/Cirebon 18 - th
Karawang 100,000
century Java were
Java Sea Wreck 100,000
predominately
Intan
Average
Muslim.
>20,000
180,000 “…hundreds, if not
thousands, of such ships”?
Pcs of Ceramics/Year based
Population on 18th century data Voyages / Year
2,000,000 175,000 1.0
3,000,000 262,500 1.5
4,000,000 350,000 1.9
5,000,000 437,500
2.4
Ceramics for ceremonial usage: Buddhism …

Nan-Han / Cirebon wreck

Ceramics for ceremonial usage: Hinduism …

India

Modern Bali
 Still sold in today’s Malaysia …

… reportedly produced
by kilns in Selangor.

Melaka

Nanhan/Cirebon wreck
 Wrecksite Ceramic Cargo
Nan-Han/Cirebon >500,000
Karawang 100,000
Java Sea Wreck 100,000
Intan >20,000
Average 180,000

Pcs of Ceramics/Year x2 for possible

Population
ceremonial usage Voyages / Year
based on 18th century
data
2,000,000 175,000 350,000 1.9
3,000,000 262,500 525,000 2.9
4,000,000 350,000 700,000 3.9
5,000,000 437,500 875,000
4.9
 Marketing Ceramics?
… tradition of extended
burials with ceramics as
grave goods in Eastern
Indonesia.
… a population of
approximately 1-3 Million
people.
Population of … Deaths / Year x5pcs Ceramics / Burial
1,000 40 200
1,000,000 40,000 200,000
2,000,000 80,000 400,000
3,000,000 120,000 600,000
 Marketing Ceramics?
… hundreds,Demand/Pcs/Year
Population Java + E-
if not Voyages/Year
Indonesia of …
thousands,
3,000,000 of such
550,000 3.06
ships plying the islands
4,000,000 733,333 4.07
5,000,000 916,667
and mainland ports
6,000,000 of
1,100,000
5.09
6.11
Southeast
7,000,000 Asia in the
1,283,333
7.13
8,000,000th 1,475,000
10 century? 8.19
Based on highest
Wrecksite Ceramic Cargo
computable numbers:
Nan-Han/Cirebon >500,000
Every grave in East
Karawang 100,000 Indonesia, inflated
Java Sea Wreck 100,000 population and demand in
Intan >20,000 Central and East Java!
Average 180,000
 Siraf
Guangzhou, 8th century, in a truly
booming year: ‘more than 40 ships’
Aden, 13th Wang, G. 1958: "The Nanhai Trade." JMBRAS 31(2): 1-135.

century (Ibn al-

Mujāwir): 70-80 Saymur
ships per year

This would include

coastal / local traffic!
‘‘… the loss of [a mere three] ships
and their cargo, of officers,
captains and well-known
merchants aboard contributed to
the decline of Siraf and Saymur.”
(Buzurg ibn Shahriyar, a.-R.-H. [G.S.P. Freemann-Grenville, ed.] 1981: The Book of the Wonders of India.)
Hippalus, and the
anonymous author of the
Periplus of the Erythrean Sea
The ‘Barbarian’ sailors carrying
Chinese ambassadors

Captain Abhara, and Buzurg

Ibn Shahriyar, our reporter

For the end of the 10th century, the Song Annals preserved more names:
• 971: Li Hemo, ‘sent at the head of a mission to bring tribute’ offered
by Sanfoqi – yet also representing the Middle Eastern merchant
community
• 985: ‘Srivijayan Master of Ships, Po-chu Chin-hua’, a private trader
• 983, 988: Pu Yaduoli, representing Śrī Vijaya – yet 995 and 998
noted as an Middle Eastern ‘master of ships’
(Hartwell, Robert 1983: Tribute Missions to China, 960-1126, pgs. 172ff)
 ????
1511 the Portuguese conquered
Malacca, the great mart of the
Maritime Silk, Ceramics, Spice Road …
By 1515, ‘the [Portuguese] Governor of India burned
and defeated all the enemy junks, they were all left
without any, and they have no junks [any more].’
(Pires, T. [Cortesao, A. ed.] [1515] 1944: The Suma Oriental of Tomé Pires. London.)

… but having no heavy artillery, all fell prey to the

canon of a Portuguese fleet coming to the rescue.
1513 Malacca was attacked by ‘35 big jong, each of which could load
500 tons […] and also 70 smaller ships, and innumerable even
smaller ones, all well armed’ … [Portuguese eyewitness report, taken from Manguin op.cit.: 205]
Thank you for your kind attention.