Latest news with #Zanj
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Enslaved Africans led a decade-long rebellion 1,200 years ago in Iraq, new evidence suggests
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Around 1,200 years ago in what is now Iraq, enslaved people who were forced to build a vast canal system defied authority and rebelled, a new study indicates. Between A.D. 869 to 883 a group known as the Zanj, many of whom were enslaved people taken from Africa, rebelled against the Abbasid Caliphate (ruled from 750 to 1258) and disrupted its control over the region, according to historical texts. The records also suggest that during the Middle Ages, the Zanj helped build a large system of canals spanning nearly 310 square miles (800 square kilometers) that was used to irrigate agriculture near the city of Basra. These canals are no longer used, but their earthen remains, including 7,000 human-made ridges, are still visible across the landscape. While researchers have long known about the canal system, no one had ever dated the ridges to see if they were constructed during the ninth-century Zanj rebellion. To investigate, the researchers collected and dated soil samples from within four of the ridges in an effort to learn more about who built them. Using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, a technique that estimates when soil was last exposed to sunlight, the team determined that the ridges were built sometime between the late ninth to mid-thirteenth centuries A.D., they reported in their study published June 2 in the journal Antiquity. "The close dating between some of the ridges and the time of the rebellion makes it very likely that people who were involved in the rebellion were involved in the creation of some of these features," study first author Peter J. Brown, an archaeologist at the Radboud Institute for Culture and History in the Netherlands and Durham University in the U.K., told Live Science in an email. The results also indicate that construction of the ridges continued long after the rebellion ended. "We have a more limited understanding of exactly what happened afterwards and whether large numbers of slaves continued to work across this field system or whether 'free' local peasant farmers took over," Brown said. The fact that the work on the ridges came to an end during the mid-thirteenth century could be related to the Mongol invasion of the region, which resulted in the sack of Baghdad in 1258, the authors wrote in their paper. The ninth-century revolt was not the Zanj's first rebellion. They also revolted in 689 to 690 and 694 to 695, according to historical texts. However, both of these insurrections were quickly suppressed. In contrast, the third revolt ended up "sparking more than a decade of unrest until the Abbasid state regained control of the region," according to the study. Life as an enslaved person digging canals was brutal, and medieval texts provide some clues as to what life was like for the Zanj. Before the rebellion, the textual sources describe work camps distributed throughout the canal region, with groups of 50 to 500 enslaved people in each camp, Brown said. "They seem to have been in a servile situation with 'agents' or 'masters' who were in charge of them, and the historical sources suggest they were treated poorly but we don't have details about the conditions in which they lived," Brown said. The labor they had to perform was backbreaking. "The workers who built this system would have had to dig out the canals and pile up earth into the large ridge features we can see on the ground today, " Brown said, noting that the slaves may have used animals such as donkeys to help with transporting sediment. After the canals were built, they needed to be cleaned frequently "to keep them functional as water carries silt that would be deposited within the canal beds," Brown said. "Over time, [the silt] would lead to them becoming unusable if they were not routinely cleaned." RELATED STORIES —14 wrecks that expose 'what life was like on slaver ships' identified in the Bahamas —Origins of enslaved Africans freed by British, then abandoned on remote Atlantic island revealed by DNA analysis —Plantation slavery was invented on this tiny African island, according to archaeologists Adam Ali, an assistant professor of Arabic language at the University of Toronto who has a doctorate in Islamic history, said that the study is interesting but cautioned that the samples come from just four of the ridges and more work is needed to verify the study findings. "I think that this study opens an avenue for further the discussion and examination of these ridges and what they can tell us," Ali, who was not involved in the research, told Live Science in an email. The possibility that slaves from Africa kept being used on the canals after the rebellion is important, Kristina Richardson, a professor of Middle Eastern and South Asian languages and cultures and history at the University of Virginia, told Live Science in an email. "The findings are extraordinary and surprising, because they upend the historical consensus that Middle Easterners stopped using East Africans as agricultural slaves after the suppression of the Zanj Rebellion in 883."
02-06-2025
- Science
Archaeologists find new evidence of ancient slave labor in southern Iraq
BEIRUT -- A system of thousands of ridges and canals across a floodplain in southern Iraq has long been believed to be the remnant of a massive agricultural system built by slave labor. Now an international team of archaeologists has found new evidence to support the theory. The team undertook testing to determine the construction dates of some of the massive earthen structures and found that they spanned several centuries, beginning around the time of a famous slave rebellion in the 9th century A.D. The research findings were published Monday in the journal Antiquity. The enslaved people from that era are known today as the 'Zanj,' a medieval Arabic term for the East African Swahili coast, although there are different theories about where in Africa most of them actually came from. They carried out a large-scale revolt in Iraq in 869 AD under the Abbasid state, known today as the 'Zanj rebellion.' The rebellion lasted for more than a decade until the Abbasid state regained control of the region in 883 A.D. Many descendants of those enslaved people now live in the southern port city of Basra in modern-day Iraq. While they are part of the fabric of modern-day Iraq, 'their history has not been actually written or documented very well in our history,' said Jaafar Jotheri, a professor of archaeology at the University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq, who was part of the research team. Researchers from Durham and Newcastle universities in the U.K., Radboud University in the Netherlands, and the University of Basra in Iraq also took part. 'So that's why this (finding) is very important, and what is next actually is to protect at least some of these huge structures for future work. It is minority heritage,' he said. The researchers first reviewed recent satellite imagery and older images from the 1960s showing the remains of more than 7,000 massive manmade ridges across the Shaṭṭ al-Arab floodplain. The size and scale of the network indicate the 'investment of human labour on a grand scale,' the report in Antiquity said. Sites were selected across the system to be analyzed with radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating. All four of the ridge crests sampled date to the period between the late ninth to mid-13th century A.D., situating their construction during the period when slave labor was in use in the area — and providing evidence that the use of slave labor likely continued for several centuries after the famous rebellion. Their findings demonstrate 'that these features were in use for a substantially longer period than previously assumed and, as such, they represent an important piece of Iraqi landscape heritage,' the researchers wrote. The finding comes at the time of a resurgence of archaeology in Iraq, a country often referred to as the 'cradle of civilization,' but where archaeological exploration has been stunted by decades of conflict that halted excavations and led to the looting of tens of thousands of artifacts. In recent years, the digs have returned and thousands of stolen artifacts have been repatriated.
The Independent
02-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Archaeologists solve mystery of Iraq's huge network of ridges and canals
Archealistgists may have finally figured out the origin of a vast network of ridges and canals in Southern Iraq. New evidence suggests that the lines, long thought to be the remains of a large-scale agricultural system, may indeed have been constructed using slave labour. An international team of archaeologists has uncovered findings that support this theory. By dating the construction of some of the massive earthen structures, the team discovered that their creation spanned several centuries, beginning around the time of a notable slave rebellion in the 9th century A.D. The research, which sheds new light on the history and social structures of the region, was published in the journal Antiquity. The enslaved people from that era are known today as the 'Zanj,' a medieval Arabic term for the East African Swahili coast, although there are different theories about where in Africa most of them actually came from. They carried out a large-scale revolt in Iraq in 869 AD under the Abbasid state, known today as the 'Zanj rebellion.' The rebellion lasted for more than a decade until the Abbasid state regained control of the region in 883 A.D. Many descendants of those enslaved people now live in the southern port city of Basra in modern-day Iraq. While they are part of the fabric of modern-day Iraq, 'their history has not been actually written or documented very well in our history,' said Jaafar Jotheri, a professor of archaeology at the University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq, who was part of the research team. Researchers from Durham and Newcastle universities in the U.K., Radboud University in the Netherlands, and the University of Basra in Iraq also took part. 'So that's why this (finding) is very important, and what is next actually is to protect at least some of these huge structures for future work. It is minority heritage,' he said. The researchers first reviewed recent satellite imagery and older images from the 1960s showing the remains of more than 7,000 massive manmade ridges across the Shaṭṭ al-Arab floodplain. The size and scale of the network indicate the 'investment of human labour on a grand scale,' the report in Antiquity said. Sites were selected across the system to be analyzed with radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating. All four of the ridge crests sampled date to the period between the late ninth to mid-13th century A.D., situating their construction during the period when slave labor was in use in the area — and providing evidence that the use of slave labor likely continued for several centuries after the famous rebellion. Their findings demonstrate 'that these features were in use for a substantially longer period than previously assumed and, as such, they represent an important piece of Iraqi landscape heritage,' the researchers wrote. The finding comes at the time of a resurgence of archaeology in Iraq, a country often referred to as the 'cradle of civilization,' but where archaeological exploration has been stunted by decades of conflict that halted excavations and led to the looting of tens of thousands of artifacts. In recent years, the digs have returned and thousands of stolen artifacts have been repatriated.
CTV News
02-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Archeologists find new evidence of ancient slave labour in southern Iraq
Archeologists work at an archaeological site where researchers uncovered massive earthen structures, believed to have been built with slave labour, and found that their construction spanned several centuries, near Basra, Iraq, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Jaafar Jotheri) BEIRUT — A system of thousands of ridges and canals across a floodplain in southern Iraq has long been believed to be the remnant of a massive agricultural system built by slave labour. Now an international team of archeologists has found new evidence to support the theory. The team undertook testing to determine the construction dates of some of the massive earthen structures and found that they spanned several centuries, beginning around the time of a famous slave rebellion in the 9th century A.D. The research findings were published Monday in the journal Antiquity. The enslaved people from that era are known today as the 'Zanj,' a medieval Arabic term for the East African Swahili coast, although there are different theories about where in Africa most of them actually came from. They carried out a large-scale revolt in Iraq in 869 AD under the Abbasid state, known today as the 'Zanj rebellion.' The rebellion lasted for more than a decade until the Abbasid state regained control of the region in 883 A.D. Many descendants of those enslaved people now live in the southern port city of Basra in modern-day Iraq. While they are part of the fabric of modern-day Iraq, 'their history has not been actually written or documented very well in our history,' said Jaafar Jotheri, a professor of archeology at the University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq, who was part of the research team. Researchers from Durham and Newcastle universities in the U.K., Radboud University in the Netherlands, and the University of Basra in Iraq also took part. 'So that's why this (finding) is very important, and what is next actually is to protect at least some of these huge structures for future work. It is minority heritage,' he said. The researchers first reviewed recent satellite imagery and older images from the 1960s showing the remains of more than 7,000 massive manmade ridges across the Shaṭṭ al-Arab floodplain. The size and scale of the network indicate the 'investment of human labour on a grand scale,' the report in Antiquity said. Sites were selected across the system to be analyzed with radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating. All four of the ridge crests sampled date to the period between the late ninth to mid-13th century A.D., situating their construction during the period when slave labour was in use in the area — and providing evidence that the use of slave labour likely continued for several centuries after the famous rebellion. Their findings demonstrate 'that these features were in use for a substantially longer period than previously assumed and, as such, they represent an important piece of Iraqi landscape heritage,' the researchers wrote. The finding comes at the time of a resurgence of archeology in Iraq, a country often referred to as the 'cradle of civilization,' but where archeological exploration has been stunted by decades of conflict that halted excavations and led to the looting of tens of thousands of artifacts. In recent years, the digs have returned and thousands of stolen artifacts have been repatriated. Abby Sewell, The Associated Press
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Archaeologists find new evidence of ancient slave labor in southern Iraq
BEIRUT (AP) — A system of thousands of ridges and canals across a floodplain in southern Iraq has long been believed to be the remnant of a massive agricultural system built by slave labor. Now an international team of archaeologists has found new evidence to support the theory. The team undertook testing to determine the construction dates of some of the massive earthen structures and found that they spanned several centuries, beginning around the time of a famous slave rebellion in the 9th century A.D. The research findings were published Monday in the journal Antiquity. The enslaved people from that era are known today as the 'Zanj,' a medieval Arabic term for the East African Swahili coast, although there are different theories about where in Africa most of them actually came from. They carried out a large-scale revolt in Iraq in 869 AD under the Abbasid state, known today as the 'Zanj rebellion.' The rebellion lasted for more than a decade until the Abbasid state regained control of the region in 883 A.D. Many descendants of those enslaved people now live in the southern port city of Basra in modern-day Iraq. While they are part of the fabric of modern-day Iraq, 'their history has not been actually written or documented very well in our history,' said Jaafar Jotheri, a professor of archaeology at the University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq, who was part of the research team. Researchers from Durham and Newcastle universities in the U.K., Radboud University in the Netherlands, and the University of Basra in Iraq also took part. 'So that's why this (finding) is very important, and what is next actually is to protect at least some of these huge structures for future work. It is minority heritage,' he said. The researchers first reviewed recent satellite imagery and older images from the 1960s showing the remains of more than 7,000 massive manmade ridges across the Shaṭṭ al-Arab floodplain. The size and scale of the network indicate the 'investment of human labour on a grand scale,' the report in Antiquity said. Sites were selected across the system to be analyzed with radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating. All four of the ridge crests sampled date to the period between the late ninth to mid-13th century A.D., situating their construction during the period when slave labor was in use in the area — and providing evidence that the use of slave labor likely continued for several centuries after the famous rebellion. Their findings demonstrate 'that these features were in use for a substantially longer period than previously assumed and, as such, they represent an important piece of Iraqi landscape heritage,' the researchers wrote. The finding comes at the time of a resurgence of archaeology in Iraq, a country often referred to as the 'cradle of civilization,' but where archaeological exploration has been stunted by decades of conflict that halted excavations and led to the looting of tens of thousands of artifacts. In recent years, the digs have returned and thousands of stolen artifacts have been repatriated.
