Questions ARWAD

Some open unsettled questions about ARWAD.

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a. Why is a place called Arada in the Africa Proconsularis according to the list of bishops from 482 AD? Is it an Aradus in Africa? It seems to be identical to Henchir bou Arada. See: A.Beschaouch, Sur trois cites de lÁfrique chrétienne: Gunela, Aradu et Middica, CRAI 1983. See : N.Ferchiou, Une zone de petite colonisation romaine à l’époque julio-claudienne : le centre-ouest de l’Africa vetus (région d’Aradi, Avitina, Dj.Mansour, Siliana), Africa romana, 3, 1985.

 

b. Close to Arwad lies Tall Qarnun (4 km from Tartus). This was called Carné in antiquity. It means “horn”. The fame of the seamen of Carné is great Lycrophon speaks in jealousy of the “dogs of Carné”. The navigator Hanno along the West-coast of Africa speaks also of a “horn”, which he calls it Cerne/Kerne. Is there a connection? Did the seamen of Carné took part in the expedition of Hanno? Ps.Skylax speaks also about Cerne, where the Phoenicians (not the Punic) were trading. Were they earlier there than Hanno? See: S.Segert, Phoenician Background of Hanno’s Periplus, MUSJ 45 (1969) p.501-518.

 

c. Plinius calls in NH IV 61 Arados as an island in front of the coast of Crete. Where exactly is that situated? In front of Ithanos?

 

d. The most intriguing question is the mention of classical authors of Tylos and Arados in the Persian Gulf. It is known, that there is a small island now with the name of Arad. Coincidence? On the other hand we know, that Dilmun was in antiquity a famous land around what we now call Bahrein and that there is a classical tradition, that the Phoenicians came of the south. There are at least four possibilities for solving the question:

- Arwadians came from Bahrein in the Persian Gulf;

- In the Hellenistic period some Arwadians did go for trade to Bahrein;

- Both movements took place;

- Arad at Bahrein has nothing to do with Arwad/Arados, because some classical authors learned about the existence of some islands in this sea and simply gave them the name of the islands in the Mediterranean, which they already knew: Tyros and Arados.

See: Strabo XVI 766,784, Ptolemeus VI 7,47, Stephanus of Byzantium.

 

Another time I will explain more about the four possibilities>>>>>>>

 

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