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{{short description|Prominent trading partner of Sumer during the Middle Bronze Age}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=300|caption_align=center
| align = right
| direction =vertical
| header=Meluhha {{cuneiform|𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠}}
| image1 = Moyen_Orient_3mil_aC.svg
| caption1 = Location of foreign lands for the Mesopotamians, including Meluhha.
| image2 = Impression of a cylinder seal of The Divine Sharkalisharri Prince of Akkad Ibni-Sharrum the Scribe his servant.jpg
| caption2 = Impression of a cylinder seal of the [[Akkadian Empire]], with label: "The Divine [[Sharkalisharri]] Prince of Akkad, Ibni-Sharrum the Scribe his servant". The [[Indian Buffalo|long-horned buffalo]] is thought to have come from the [[Indus Valley]], and testifies to exchanges with Meluhha, the [[Indus Valley civilization]]. Circa 2217-2193 BC. [[Louvre Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Cylinder Seal of Ibni-Sharrum |url=https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/cylinder-seal-ibni-sharrum |website=Louvre Museum}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=12067 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Brian A. |last2=Feldman |first2=Marian H. |title=Critical Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art |date=2013 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9781614510352 |page=187 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4DoBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 |language=en}}</ref>
}}
'''{{lang|sux-Latn|Meluḫḫa}}''' or '''Melukhkha''' (''Me-luḫ-ḫaKI'' {{cuneiform|𒈨𒈛𒄩[[𒆠]]}}) is the [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] name of a prominent trading partner of [[Sumer]] during the [[Middle Bronze Age]]. Its identification remains an open question, but most scholars associate it with the [[Indus Valley Civilization]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives|last=McIntosh|first=Jane|year=2008|isbn=978-1-57607-907-2|pages=46}}</ref>

==Etymology==

[[Asko Parpola]] identifies [[Proto-Dravidian language|Proto-Dravidian]]s with the [[Indus Valley Civilization]] (IVC) and the Meluhha people mentioned in [[Sumer]]ian records. According to him, the word "Meluhha" derives from the Dravidian words ''mel-akam'' ("highland country"). It is possible that the IVC people exported [[sesame oil]] to [[Mesopotamia]], where it was known as ''ilu'' in [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] and ''eḷḷu'' in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]. One theory is that these words derive from the [[Dravidian languages|South Dravidian 1]] name for sesame (''eḷḷ '' or ''eḷḷu'').<ref>Franklin Southworth - Linguistic Archaeology of South Asia, Appendix C (2005)</ref> However, [[Michael Witzel]], who associates IVC with the ancestors of [[Munda languages|Munda]] speakers, suggests an alternative etymology from the [[Munda languages|para-Munda]] word for wild sesame: ''jar-tila''.{{clarify|date=October 2019}} Munda is an [[Austroasiatic language]], and forms a [[substratum]] (including [[loanword]]s) in Dravidian languages.{{sfn|McIntosh|2008|p=354}}

[[Asko Parpola]] relates Meluhha with [[Mleccha]] who were considered non-[[Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic]] "barbarians" in [[Vedic Sanskrit]].<ref>{{citation |last1=Parpola |first1=Asko |first2=Simo |last2=Parpola |title=On the relationship of the Sumerian toponym Meluhha and Sanskrit mleccha |journal=Studia Orientalia |volume=46 |year=1975 |pages=205–238 |url=http://ojs.tsv.fi/index.php/StOrE/article/view/49874/14912}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Witzel |first=Michael |year=1999 |author-link=Michael E. J. Witzel |title=Substrate Languages in Old Indo-Aryan (Ṛgvedic, Middle and Late Vedic) |periodical=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies |volume=5 |issue=1 |url=http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0501/ejvs0501article.pdf |page=25 |access-date=2018-12-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206073939/http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0501/ejvs0501article.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Trade with Sumer==
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=500|caption_align=center
| align = right
| direction =horizontal
| header=Mesopotamian "Meluhha" seal
| image1 = Akkadian cylinder seal with inscription Shu-ilishu, interpreter of the Meluhhan language, Louvre Museum AO 22310.jpg
| image2 = Meluhha-ki on a cylinder seal.jpg
| footer=[[Akkadian Empire]] cylinder seal with inscription: ''"Shu-ilishu, interpreter of the language of Meluhha"'': "Meluhha" appears with the standard [[cuneiform]] as {{cuneiform|𒈨𒈛𒄩[[𒆠]]}} (''Me-luḫ-ḫaKI'', "KI" standing for "country").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parpola |first1=Asko |title=The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190226930 |page=353 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DagXCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT353 |language=en}}</ref> [[Louvre Museum]], reference AO 22310.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meluhha interpreter seal. Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not&idNotice=12071 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Gudea cylinder A (IX 19) Magan Meluha with transcription.jpg|thumb|[[Gudea cylinders]] inscription A IX:19, Gudea mentions of the devotions to his Temple: "Magan and Meluhha will come down from their mountains to attend".<ref>"I will spread in the world respect for my Temple, under my name the whole universe will gather in it, and Magan and Meluhha will come down from their mountains to attend" "J'étendrai sur le monde le respect de mon temple, sous mon nom l'univers depuis l'horizon s'y rassemblera, et [même les pays lointains] Magan et Meluhha, sortant de leurs montagnes, y descendront" (cylinder A, IX:19)" in {{cite web |title=Louvre Museum |url=https://www.louvre.fr/oeuvre-notices/cylindres-de-gudea}}</ref> The words [[Magan (civilization)|Magan]] (𒈣𒃶) and Meluhha (𒈨𒈛𒄩) appear vertically in the first column on the right.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature |url=http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.2.1.7&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc&lineid=c217.815#c217.815 |website=etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk}}</ref>]]
{{See also|Indus-Mesopotamia relations| Indus_Valley_Civilisation#Trade_and_transportation | l2= Indus Valley Civilization trade | Indo-Roman trade relations | Maritime history of India | Indian Ocean trade | Silk route | Diaspora#Asian_diasporas | l7= Asian diaspora | }}
[[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] texts repeatedly refer to three important centers with which they traded: [[Magan (civilization)|Magan]], [[Dilmun]], and Meluhha.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moorey |first1=Peter Roger Stuart |title=Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence |date=1999 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-1-57506-042-2 |page=352 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_Ixuott4doC&pg=PA352 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Eisenbrauns">{{cite book |last1=Moorey |first1=Peter Roger Stuart |title=Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence |date=1999 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-1-57506-042-2 |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_Ixuott4doC&pg=PA87 |language=en}}</ref> The Sumerian location of Magan is now accepted to be the area currently encompassing the [[United Arab Emirates]] and [[Oman]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=United Arab Emirates : a new perspective|date=2001|publisher=Trident Press|others=Abed, Ibrahim., Hellyer, Peter.|isbn=978-1900724470|location=London|pages=40|oclc=47140175}}</ref> ''Dilmun'' was a [[Persian Gulf]] [[civilization]] which traded with Mesopotamian civilizations, the current scholarly consensus is that Dilmun encompassed [[Bahrain]], [[Failaka Island]] and the adjacent coast of [[Eastern Arabia]] in the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwBuAAAAMAAJ|title=Prehistory and Protohistory of the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain|work=M. A. Nayeem|year=1990|page=32|isbn=9788185492025|last1=Nayeem|first1=M. A.}}</ref><ref name=saed>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5800/|title=Sa'ad and Sae'ed Area in Failaka Island|work=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=21 July 2013}}</ref>

===Inscriptions===
In an inscription, [[Sargon of Akkad]] (2334-2279 BCE) referred to ships coming from Meluhha, [[Magan (civilization)|Magan]] and [[Dilmun]].<ref name="SCHO"/> His grandson [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]] (2254-2218 BCE) listing the rebel kings to his rule, mentioned "[[(..)ibra]], man of Melukha".<ref name="SCHO"/> In an inscription, [[Gudea]] of [[Lagash]] (21st century BCE) referred to the Meluhhans who came to Sumer to sell gold dust, [[carnelian]] etc...<ref name="SCHO"/><ref name="Eisenbrauns"/> In the [[Gudea cylinders]] (inscription of cylinder A, IX:19), Gudea mentions that "I will spread in the world respect for my Temple, under my name the whole universe will gather in it, and Magan and Meluhha will come down from their mountains to attend".<ref>"J'étendrai sur le monde le respect de mon temple, sous mon nom l'univers depuis l'horizon s'y rassemblera, et [même les pays lointains] Magan et Meluhha, sortant de leurs montagnes, y descendront" (cylinder A, IX:19)" in {{cite web |title=Louvre Museum |url=https://www.louvre.fr/oeuvre-notices/cylindres-de-gudea}}</ref> In [[Gudea cylinders|cylinder B]], XIV, he mentions his procurement of "blocks of [[lapis lazuli]] and bright [[carnelian]] from Meluhha."<ref name="Eisenbrauns"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Moorey |first1=Peter Roger Stuart |title=Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence |date=1999 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-1-57506-042-2 |page=97 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_Ixuott4doC&pg=PA97 |language=en}}</ref> There are no known mentions of Meluhha after 1760 BCE.<ref name="SCHO"/>

Meluhha is also mentioned in mythological legends such as "Enki and Ninhursaga":

{{quote| "May the foreign land of Meluhha load precious desirable cornelian, perfect mes wood and beautiful aba wood into large ships for you"|Enki and Ninhursaga<ref>{{cite book |last1=Michalowski |first1=Piotr |title=The correspondance of the Kings of Ur |date=2011 |page=257, note 28 |url=http://www.ancientportsantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/Documents/PLACES/IndOc-Gulf/Ur-Michalowski2011.pdf}}</ref>}}

===Artifacts===
There is extensive presence of Harappan seals and cubical weight measures in [[Mesopotamia]]n urban sites. Specific items of high volume trade are timber and specialty wood such as ebony, for which large ships were used. Luxury items also appear, such as [[lapis lazuli]] mined at a Harappan colony at [[Shortugai]] (modern [[Badakhshan]] in northern [[Afghanistan]]), which was transported to [[Lothal]], a port city in [[Gujarat]] in western [[India]], and shipped from there to Oman, Bahrain and Sumer.

In the 1980s, important archaeological discoveries were made at [[Ras al-Jinz]] (Oman), located at the easternmost point of the [[Arabian Peninsula]], demonstrating maritime Indus Valley connections with Oman, and the Middle East in general.<ref>Maurizio Tosi: ''Die Indus-Zivilisation jenseits des indischen Subkontinents'', in: ''Vergessene Städte am Indus'', Mainz am Rhein 1987, {{ISBN|3805309570}}, S. 132-133</ref><ref>[http://www.visitoman.nl/pdf/RAJ%20English%20brochure%20copy.pdf Story of Ras Al Jinz.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910032138/http://www.visitoman.nl/pdf/RAJ%20English%20brochure%20copy.pdf |date=2016-09-10 }} Oman Information</ref>

==="Meluhha dog"===
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=400|caption_align=center
| align = right
| direction =horizontal
| header="Meluhha dog"
| image1 = Dhole_(Asiatic_wild_dog)_cropped.jpg
| image2 = Cuon-alpinus-map.png
| footer=The "red dog from Meluhha", received by [[Ibbi-Sin]] as a tribute of the people of [[Marhashi]], could be a [[dhole]], also called "Asiatic red dog", a type of red-colored dog native to southern and Eastern Asia. The [[Ethiopian wolf]] (also called the red jackal) is another candidate.<ref name="JMC"/>
}}
In one of his inscriptions, [[Ibbi-Sin]] mentions that he received as a booty from [[Marḫaši]] a Meluhha red dog:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gelb |first1=I. J. |title=Makkan and Meluḫḫa in Early Mesopotamian Sources |journal=Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Orientale |date=1970 |volume=64 |issue=1 |page=4 |jstor=23294921}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kohl |first1=Philip L. |title=The Bronze Age Civilization of Central Asia: Recent Soviet Discoveries |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-28225-9 |page=389 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85Y0CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA389 |language=en}}</ref>

{{quote|"Ibbi-Sîn, the god of his country, the mighty king, king of Ur and king of the four world quarters, his speckled Meluḫḫa 'dog', from [[Marḫaši]] brought by them as tribute, a replica of it he fashioned, and for his life he dedicated it to him ([[Sin (mythology)|Nanna]])."|Meluhha dog inscription of Inni-Sin.<ref>{{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P432309 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}</ref>}}

The qualifier used to describe the dog is 𒁱, which can be read either ''dar'' "red" as an adjective,<ref>{{cite web |title=Sumerian Dictionary "Dar" entry |url=http://oracc.iaas.upenn.edu/epsd2/cbd/sux/D.html |website=oracc.iaas.upenn.edu}}</ref> or ''gun3'' "speckled" as an intransitive verb,<ref>{{cite web |title=Sumerian Dictionary "Gunu" entry |url=http://oracc.iaas.upenn.edu/epsd2/cbd/sux/G.html |website=oracc.iaas.upenn.edu}}</ref> and interpretations vary based on these two possible meanings.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lawler |first1=Andrew |title=Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization |date=2016 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4767-2990-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LE8ADAAAQBAJ&pg=PA38 |language=en}}</ref>

It is thought that this "red dog" could be a [[dhole]], also called "Asiatic red dog", a type of red-colored dog native to southern and eastern Asia.<ref name="JMC">{{cite book |last1=McIntosh |first1=Jane |title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives |date=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-907-2 |page=187 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC&pg=PA187 |language=en}}</ref>

===Animal figurines===
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=250|caption_align=center
| align = right
| direction =horizontal
| header="Animal figurines"
| image1 = Gold monkey of Meskalamdug (grave PG 755 at Ur).jpg
| caption1=Gold monkey on a pin, from the tomb of [[Meskalamdug]], [[Royal Cemetery at Ur]], circa 2600 BCE.
| image2 = Asia monkey statuette in red limestone found in Susa in 2340 - 2100 BCE disovered in the Tel of the Acropolis at Susa LOUVRE Sb5884.jpg
|caption2=Asian monkey statuette in red limestone found in Susa, dated to 2340 - 2100 BCE, discovered in the Tel of the Acropolis at Susa. Louvre Museum, Sb5884.<ref name="AMS">{{cite web |title=Asian monkey statuette from Susa |url=https://www.louvre.fr/oeuvre-notices/statuette-de-singe}}</ref>
}}
Various figurines of exotic animals in gold or carnelian are thought to have been imported from Meluhha. Many such statuettes have been found in Mesopotamian excavations.<ref name="JMC"/> The carnelian statuette of an Asian monkey was found in the excavation of the Acropolis of [[Susa]], and dated to circa 2340 - 2100 BCE. It is thought that it may have been imported from India. It is now in the Louvre Museum, reference Sb5884.<ref name="AMS">{{cite web |title=Asian monkey statuette from Susa |url=https://www.louvre.fr/oeuvre-notices/statuette-de-singe}}</ref>

===Meluhhan trading colony in Sumer===
Towards the end of the Sumerian period, there are numerous mentions in inscriptions of a Meluhha settlement in southern Sumer near the city-state of [[Girsu]].<ref name="VF"/> Most of the references seem to date to the [[Akkadian Empire]] and especially the [[Ur III]] period.<ref name="VF">{{cite journal |last1=Vermaak |first1=Fanie |title=Guabba, the Meluhhan village in Mesopotamia |journal=Journal for Semitics |date=2008 |volume=17/2 |pages=454–471 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1228519 |language=en}}</ref> The location of the settlement has been tentatively identified with the city of Guabba.<ref name="VF"/> The references to "large boats" in Guabba suggests that it may have functioned as a trading colony which initially had direct contact with Meluhha.<ref name="VF"/>

It seems that direct trade with Meluhha subsided during the [[Ur III]] period, and was replaced by trade with [[Dilmun]], possibly corresponding to the end of urban systems in the Indus Valley around that time.<ref name="VF"/>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="4">
File:Meluhha village tablet - BM17751 (horizontal).jpg|A tablet from the period of [[Shulgi]], mentioning the "Meluhha" village in Sumer. British Museum, BM 17751.<ref name="SP">Simo Parpola, Asko Parpola and Robert H. Brunswig, Jr [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274936748_The_Meluhha_Village_Evidence_of_Acculturation_of_Harappan_Traders_in_Late_Third_Millennium_Mesopotamia "The Meluḫḫa Village: Evidence of Acculturation of Harappan Traders in Late Third Millennium Mesopotamia?"] in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient Vol. 20, No. 2, 1977, p. 136-137</ref> "Meluhha" ({{cuneiform|𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠}}) actually appears on the beginning of the other side (column II, 1) in the sentence "The granary of the village of Meluhha".<ref>{{cite web |title=Collections Online British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1894-1015-11 |website=www.britishmuseum.org}}</ref><ref name="SP"/>
File:BM17751 Meluhha.jpg|thumb|Transcription of tablet BM 17751, with the word "Meluhha" ({{cuneiform|𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠}}).<ref name="SP"/> Column II continues Column I on the reverse.
</gallery>

==Conflict with the Akkadians and Neo-Sumerians==
[[File:AO 5476 (front, with transcription).jpg|thumb|Account of the victories of [[Rimush]], ruler of the [[Akkadian Empire]], over [[Abalgamash]], king of [[Marhashi]]. In his inscriptions, Rimush mentioned the army led by Abalgamash included troops from Meluhha. [[Louvre Museum]] AO5476.<ref>{{cite web |title=CDLI-Found Texts |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/search_results.php?SearchMode=Text&ObjectID=P220618 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Frayne |first1=Douglas |title=Sargonic and Gutian Periods |pages=55–56 |url=https://www.academia.edu/29704423 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="WLH93"/><ref>{{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P461954 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Frayne |first1=Douglas |title=Sargonic and Gutian Periods |pages=57–58 |url=https://www.academia.edu/29704423 |language=en}}</ref>]]
According to some accounts of the [[Akkadian Empire]] ruler [[Rimush]], he fought against the troops of Meluhha, in the area of [[Elam]]:<ref name="WLH93">{{cite book |last1=Hamblin |first1=William J. |title=Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-52062-6 |pages=93–94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=biyDDd0uKGMC&pg=PT93 |language=en}}</ref>

{{quote|"Rimuš, the king of the world, in battle over [[Abalgamash]], king of [[Parahshum]], was victorious. And Zahara<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bryce |first1=Trevor |title=The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: From the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire |date=2009 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-39485-7 |page=784 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QD9GrxiILH8C&pg=PA784 |language=en}}</ref> and [[Elam]] and Gupin and Meluḫḫa within Paraḫšum assembled for battle, but he (Rimush) was victorious and struck down 16,212 men and took 4,216 captives. Further, he captured Ehmahsini, King of Elam, and all the nobles of Elam. Further he captured Sidaga'u the general of Paraḫšum and Sargapi, general of Zahara, in between the cities of [[Awan dynasty|Awan]] and [[Susa]], by the "Middle River". Further a burial mound at the site of the town he heaped up over them. Furthermore, the foundations of Paraḫšum from the country of Elam he tore out, and so Rimuš, king of the world, rules Elam, (as) the god Enlil had shown..."|Inscription of Rimush<ref name="WLH93"/><ref>{{cite web |title=CDLI-Archival View |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P461954 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}</ref>}}

[[Gudea]] too, in one of his inscriptions, mentioned his victory over the territories of [[Magan (civilization)|Magan]], Meluhha, [[Elam]] and [[Amurru kingdom|Amurru]].<ref name="SCHO">{{cite web |title=MS 2814 - The Schoyen Collection |url=https://www.schoyencollection.com/history-collection-introduction/sumerian-history-collection/cuneiform-indus-valley-ms-2814 |website=www.schoyencollection.com |language=en-gb}}</ref>

==Identification with the Indus Valley==
Most scholars suggest that ''Meluhha'' was the Sumerian name for the [[Indus Valley Civilization]].<ref>{{citation |last=Possehl |first=Gregory L. |author-link=Gregory Possehl |title=The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pmAuAsi4ePIC&pg=PA219 |year=2002 |publisher=Rowman Altamira |isbn=978-0-7591-0172-2 |page=219}}</ref> Finnish scholars [[Asko Parpola|Asko]] and [[Simo Parpola]] identify ''Meluhha'' (earlier variant ''Me-lah-ha'') from earlier Sumerian documents with [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] ''mel akam'' "high abode" or "high country". Many items of trade such as wood, minerals, and gemstones were indeed extracted from the hilly regions near the Indus settlements. They further claim that ''Meluhha'' is the origin of the [[Sanskrit]] ''[[mleccha]]'', meaning "barbarian, foreigner".<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Parpola |first1= Asko |last2=Parpola |first2=Simo |title=On the relationship of the Sumerian Toponym Meluhha and Sanskrit Mleccha|journal=Studia Orientalia|volume=46|year=1975|pages=205–238}}</ref>

[[File:British Museum Middle East 14022019 Gold and carnelian beads 2600-2300 BC Royal cemetery of Ur (composite).jpg|thumb|left|The [[etched carnelian beads]] in this necklace from the [[Royal Cemetery of Ur]] dating to the [[First Dynasty of Ur]] (2600-2500 BCE) were probably imported from the Indus Valley.<ref name="BM Carnelian">British Museum notice: "Gold and carnelians beads. The two beads etched with patterns in white were probably imported from the Indus Valley. They were made by a technique developed by the Harappan civilization" [[:File:Ur Grave gold and carnelian beads necklace.jpg|Photograph of the necklace in question]]</ref>]]
Early texts (''c''. 2200 BC) seem to indicate that Meluhha is to the east, suggesting either the [[Indus valley]] or India.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} However, much later texts documenting the exploits of King [[Assurbanipal]] of [[Assyria]] (668–627 BC), long after the Indus Valley civilization had ceased to exist, seem to imply that ''Meluhha'' is to be found in Africa, somewhere near Egypt.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Hansman |first1= John |title=A "Periplus" of Magan and Meluhha|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=36|issue=3|year=1973|pages=554–587 |doi=10.1017/s0041977x00119858}}</ref>

There is sufficient archaeological evidence for the trade between Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent. Impressions of clay seals from the Indus Valley city of [[Harappa]] were evidently used to seal bundles of merchandise, as clay seal impressions with cord or sack marks on the reverse side testify. A number of these Indian seals have been found at [[Ur]] and other Mesopotamian sites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/sarasvati/html/urseals.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001211210600/http://hindunet.org/hindu_history/sarasvati/html/urseals.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2000-12-11|title=urseals|work=hindunet.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=India: A History|url=https://archive.org/details/indiahistory00keay|url-access=registration|year=2000|author=John Keay|page=[https://archive.org/details/indiahistory00keay/page/16 16]}}</ref>

The Persian-Gulf style of [[stamp seal|circular stamp]]ed rather than rolled seals, also known from Dilmun, that appear at [[Lothal]] in [[Gujarat]], India, and [[Failaka Island]] ([[Kuwait]]), as well as in Mesopotamia, are convincing corroboration of the long-distance sea trade network, which G.L. Possehl has called a "Middle Asian Interaction Sphere".<ref>Possehl, G.L. (2007), “The Middle Asian Interaction Sphere”, ''Expedition'' '''49'''/1</ref> What the commerce consisted of is less sure: timber and precious woods, [[ivory]], [[lapis lazuli]], [[gold]], and luxury goods such as [[carnelian]] and glazed stone beads, [[pearl]]s from the Persian Gulf, and shell and bone inlays, were among the goods sent to Mesopotamia in exchange for [[silver]], [[tin]], woolen textiles, perhaps oil and grains and other foods. [[Copper]] ingots, certainly, [[bitumen]], which occurred naturally in Mesopotamia, may have been exchanged for cotton textiles and chickens, major products of the Indus region that are not native to Mesopotamia—all these have been instanced.

== Later era ==
[[File:Mesopotamian ship 2700-2600 BC.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of a Mesopotamian boat, 2700-2600 BC.]]
[[File:Disha Kaka Boat with Direction Finding Birds, model of Mohenjo-Daro seal, 3000 BCE.jpg|thumb|Boat with direction finding birds to find land.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mathew |first1=K. S. |title=Shipbuilding, Navigation and the Portuguese in Pre-modern India |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-58833-1 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u0IwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 |language=en}}</ref> Model of [[Mohenjo-Daro]] seal, 2500-1750 BCE.]]
In the Assyrian and Hellenistic eras, cuneiform texts continued to use (or revive) old place names, giving a perhaps artificial sense of continuity between contemporary events and events of the distant past.<ref>{{cite book|last=Van De Mieroop|first=Marc|title=The Ancient Mesopotamian City|year=1997|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|pages=44}}</ref> For example, [[Medes|Media]] is referred to as "the land of the [[Gutians]]",<ref>{{cite book|last=Sachs & Hunger|title=Astronomical Diaries & Related Texts from Babylonia, vol.1|year=1988|publisher=Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften|location=Vienna|pages=–330 Obv.18}}</ref> a people who had been prominent around 2000 BC.

''Meluhha'' also appears in these texts, in contexts suggesting that "Meluhha" and "Magan" were kingdoms adjacent to Egypt. In the [[Rassam cylinder]], [[Ashurbanipal]] writes about his first march against Egypt: "In my first campaign I marched against Egypt (''[[Magan (civilization)|Magan]]'') and Ethiopia (''Meluhha''), and [[Taharqa]], king of Egypt (''Muṣur'') and Nubia (''[[Kingdom of Kush|Kûsu]]''), whom [[Esarhaddon]], king of Assyria, the father who begot me, had defeated, and whose land he brought under his sway."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pritchard |first1=James B. |title=Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement |date=2016 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-8276-2 |page=294 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEWWCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA294 |language=en}}</ref> In this context, "Magan" has been interpreted as "Muṣur" (ancient name of Egypt) and "Meluhha" as "[[Meroe]]" (capital of [[Nubia]]).<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Assurbanipall, Translated from the Cuneiform Inscriptions by George Smith |date=1871 |publisher=Williams and Norgate |pages=15 and 48 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_pFk53uejMjcC/page/n25/mode/2up |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Meluhha as mentioned by Ashurbanipal in the Rassam cylinder in 643 BCE.jpg|center|upright=1|thumb|<center>Meluhha ({{cuneiform|𒈨𒈛𒄩𒆠}}) as mentioned by [[Ashurbanipal]] in the [[Rassam cylinder]] in 643 BCE, as a territory associated with Egypt, probably [[Meroe]] (column 1 line 52)</center>]]

In the [[Hellenistic period]], the term was used archaically to refer to [[Ptolemaic Egypt]], as in an account of a festival celebrating the conclusion of the [[Sixth Syrian War]], or in reference to the campaigns of [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] in Egypt (''"Antiochus the King marched triumphantly through the cities of Meluhha"'').<ref>{{cite book|last=Sachs & Hunger|title=Astronomical Diaries & Related Texts from Babylonia, vol.2|year=1988|publisher=Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften|location=Vienna|pages=–168 A Obv.14–15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kosmin |first1=Paul J. |title=The Land of the Elephant Kings |date=21 April 2014 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-72882-0 |page=321 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9UWdAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA321 |language=en}}</ref>

These references do not necessarily mean that early references to ''Meluhha'' also referred to Egypt. Direct contacts between Sumer and the Indus Valley had ceased even during the [[Mature Harappan]] phase when Oman and Bahrain (Magan and Dilmun) became intermediaries. After the sack of Ur by the Elamites and subsequent invasions in Sumer, its trade and contacts shifted west and Meluhha passed almost into mythological memory. The resurfacing of the name could simply reflect cultural memory of a rich and distant land, its use in records of [[Achaemenid]] and [[Seleucid]] military expeditions serving to aggrandize those kings. This kind of re-attribution of archaic geographical terms was current during the 1st millennium BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kosmin |first1=Paul J. |title=The Land of the Elephant Kings |date=21 April 2014 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-72882-0 |page=321 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9UWdAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA321 |language=en}}</ref>
==Rulers==
* [[(..)ibra]] (possibly contemporary to [[Naram-Sin of Akkad]] .)(between 2300 BC - 2200 BC) .

==See also==

* [[Ancient Greece–Ancient India relations]]
* [[Buddhism and the Roman world]]
* [[Dilmun]]
* [[Economic history of India]]
* [[List_of_regions_by_past_GDP_(PPP)#Indian|Historic GDP of India (1-1947 CE)]]
* [[Indus–Mesopotamia relations]]
* [[Indo-Roman trade relations]]
* [[Indian maritime history]]
* [[Magan (civilization)]]
* [[Names for India]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book |first=Jane R. |last=McIntosh |title=The Ancient Indus Valley : New Perspectives |year=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, California |isbn=9781576079072 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC }}
*Julian Reade (ed.) The Indian Ocean in Antiquity. London: Kegan Paul Intl. 1996

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110607212814/http://www.harappa.com/arrow/meluhha_and_agastya_2009.pdf Meluhha and Agastya : Alpha and Omega of the Indus Script] by Iravatham Mahadevan

[[Category:Sumer]]
[[Category:Bronze Age Asia]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of India]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Prehistoric India]]
[[Category:Indus Valley Civilisation]]
[[Category:Archaeology of India]]
[[Category:Archaeology in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Indian Ocean trade]]

Meluhha - Revision history

Axis: general refined information and fixed typos

58.182.176.169: /* See also */ expanded