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Arab Lateen Sailboat
The Arab dhow was the core vessel type of 9th-century Indian Ocean and Red Sea trade, its lateen-rigged, keel-less shallow hull adapted to monsoon wi…
Timeline
- c. 800–850Siraf · Persian GulfIn the 9th century, Persian Gulf ports built large numbers of sewn and nailed lateen-rigged vessels; merchants sailed south to India with the southwest monsoon and returned with the northeast monsoon, forming a predictable annual sailing cycle.
- c. 850–900Basra · Persian GulfGeographers such as Ibn Hawqal recorded 9th-century Arab vessel forms and Indian Ocean routes; shipwreck archaeology shows that hulls of the period used coconut-fiber stitching techniques and could carry loads of tens of tons.
Sources
- The Book of the Description of the Earth — Ibn Hawqal (977)
- Arab Seafaring in the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times — George F. Hourani (1951)