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Persian Gulf Pearl Fisheries

Type Object Region West Asia Time c. -2000–1670

Traditional pearl diving along the southern Persian Gulf coast of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE was since antiquity the world's most important source o…

Timeline

  1. c. -2000–1000Dilmun (Bahrain) · BahrainThe ancient Dilmun civilization was already renowned for pearl collection; divers gathered pearls by hand from shallow-sea oyster beds, and pearls flowed as tribute and commodities into Mesopotamian and Indian Ocean trade networks.
  2. 1200–1600Coast of the Qatar Peninsula · QatarArab tribes formed a system of seasonal pearl diving fleets; during the diving season (May–September), all coastal communities engaged in diving for pearls, which were transshipped via Hormuz and Basra to India and the Ottoman Empire.
  3. 1600–1660Muscat · OmanPortuguese and Dutch merchants intervened in the Persian Gulf pearl trade, attempting to monopolize diving rights and export channels; the Imam of Oman and the ruler of Bahrain negotiated with European merchants, yet pearls still flowed in large quantities to Surat and Amsterdam.
  4. 1661–1670Bahrain pearl banks · BahrainIn the 1660s, the Persian Gulf pearl diving industry was still flourishing; hundreds of diving boats put to sea each summer, divers gathered oysters which were graded and priced by captains and merchants, and fine pearls were shipped via Basra to the Mughal court and European markets.

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