Cheraman Perumal in Salalah

kilometres from Muscat, in the northeastern port town of Sur, where the Sohar was built, one can still see a living piece of Oman’s maritime history. Another historical re-creation was the ‘Jewel of Muscat’, based on the design of the Belitung Shipwreck found off the coast of Indonesia in 1998. The shipwreck, surprisingly well preserved, showed the exact way in which these dhows were made. ‘The Jewel of Muscat' was built in Sur, using wood and other material as close to the original as could be found. It sailed to Singapore in February 2010, reaching in July 2010, stopping at Kochi, Kerala on the way, as it historically would have, halting for supplies and for the weather to change. This mid-way point in Kerala furthered the maritime connections between Omani ports and the southern Malabar Coast.

Cheraman Perumal in Salalah

A thousand kilometres south from Muscat, the city of Salalah is less often associated with historical trade in the Indian Ocean than its beautiful Khareef winds. But in prehistoric times, the port of Sumhuram (now approximately 35 kilometres from Salalah) was a major trading site with ideal sea conditions. Archeological evidence shows that this ancient port engaged with trade as far as the Mediterranean. As the traditional regional capital, the city’s history stretches back two millennia, when, thanks to its strategic location, it was an important stop on the frankincense and silk trading routes. In the 19th century the region was incorporated into the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, and Salalah served as the country’s working capital from 1932 until the accession of the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said in 1970 who relocated the capital to Muscat. Salalah has various holy sites central to Islam, including the tombs of Nabi Hub and Nabi Ayoub but there are also other places which reflect connections with the western Indian coast with its multiple layers of history and legend. Embodying its closer links with coastal India, there is another tomb that is of legendary importance and points to the pre-Islamic connections between India and Oman. The legend is that Cheraman Perumal Rama Varma Kulashekhara35 (622-628 CE, Hijra 1-7) became interested in the stories coming out of Mecca and decided to make a pilgrimage there. Keralolpatti, a work in Malayalam dealing with the rise of Kerala, narrates the story thus: “Cheraman Perumal, the last Perumal ruler of Kerala, who became enamoured of Islam, partitioned the Kingdom and secretly left for Mecca with some Arab traders and lived

35 For more information on Perumal, see M. H. Ilias (2007). ‘Mappila Muslims and the cultural content of trading Arab diaspora on the Malabar Coast’.

for a few years in obscurity and peace in Arabia. There he visited the Prophet and embraced the new faith. On his return, Perumal died and was buried on the Arabian coast”36 .

In Mecca, King Cheraman declared his conversion to Islam in the presence of the Prophet and adopted a new name, Thajuddin. He later performed Haj. As per the wishes of the Prophet, a team of his companions led by Malik bin Dinar started their journey with Thajuddin to propagate Islam in Kerala. But along the way the king fell sick and died in Oman during his return journey. He was buried in Salalah under his local name Adbur Rahiman Samiri37 .

Tomb of Cheraman Perumal in Salalah

Cheraman’s meeting has been mentioned in the Hadith by Imam Bukhari and Abu Saeed Al Khudri. The Hadith says: “A king from India presented the Messenger of Allah with a bottle of pickle that had ginger in it. The Prophet distributed it among his companions. I also received a piece to eat”38. He is said to have sent messengers, led by Malik bin Dinar, who established the first ten mosques on the west coast of south India. Malik bin Dinar landed in Kodungallore where the first mosque was established. . The mosque at Kodungallore is still a standing place of worship and is considered to be the first mosque built in India. In Salalah, the tomb of Cheraman has the inscription “Abdur Rahiman Samiri arrived in Arabia in Hijara 212, died 216 A.H”. “Worship is offered at an old grave in Dhofar even today, believed to be belonging to a royal convert from Kerala,” William Logan mentions in the Malabar Manual (1879) Although the dates may continue to be debated, the presence of this Hindu king who converted to Islam and died on his way back

36 Ilias, M. H. (2011). ‘Narrating the history of Malabar’s Omani connection with special reference to the life histories of Cheraman Perumal and Saiyyid Fadl Moplah’. 37 The time frame of Cherman Perumal’s travel and death are much disputed, but not the authenticity of the story. Ilias (2007) studies the various versions of the story based on different written and oral accounts and concludes that Perumal’s travels could be dated to 620-825 AD. 38 Randhatani, H. (no date). ‘Makkan pilgrimage from Malabar in medieval periods – the description of the travelers’. https://www.academia.edu/10080314/Hajj_in_Medieval_

Period_Malabar_Experience

from Mecca, facilitating the first mosque in southern India, is uncontestable. He remains a testament to the richly layered history of ties between the two coasts of Oman and India which continued well into documented history, as more traders travelled, interacted and put down roots39

Karte von Arabien (Map of Arabia) Engraved by: Jan Huygen van Linschoten, Amsterdam (Spanish Netherlands) Copper engraving, printed colour 1004–05 AH/1596 CE (Portuguese Presence) Jan Huyghen van Linschoten was a Dutch merchant, trader and historian. He travelled extensively along the coasts of India, the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa under Portuguese influence and served as the Portuguese Viceroy’s secretary in Goa between (1583 and 1588 CE). He is credited with publishing in Europe important classified information about Asian trade and navigation that was being hidden by the Portuguese. In 1596 CE, he published a book, Itinerario, which graphically displayed for the first time in Europe, detailed maps of voyages to the East Indies, including the map on display. Jan Huyghens provided nautical data such as currents, depths and the location of islands and sandbanks, which was absolutely vital for safe navigation, along with coastal depictions. The publication of the navigational routes enabled the passage to India to be opened to trading by the Dutch, the French and the English. As a consequence, the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company would break the 16th century CE monopoly on trade with India and the East enjoyed by the Portuguese. Courtesy: The National Museum of Oman

39 Shashi Tharoor, in an interview notes that Perumal left Kerala coconuts in Salalah which grow until today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji6xb6zxZdE&t=689s

Cheraman Mosque, built in c629 CE Picture courtesy: M H Illias

Harappan Jar Ra’s al-Jinz Origin: Indus Valley Civilization Painted eathernware c3000 BCE © The National Museum, Oman

Necklace Samad ash-Shan (North A’Sharqiya) Carmelian Late Bronze Age © The National Museum, Oman

Necklace (close up) Samad ash-Shan (North ash-Sharqiya) Carmelian Late Bronze Age © The National Museum, Oman

Pottery fragments Sohar Origin: India Earthernware 7th-9th CE © The National Museum, Oman

Comb with circular iconography Ra’s al-Jinz Origin: Indus Valley Civilization Painted eathernware c3000 BCE (Early Bronze Age) ©The National Museum, Oman

Dhows have been built in Sur for thousands of years and is part of the maritime culture of Oman © The National Museum, Oman

‘The Lion of Sohar’ is one of the most prominent archeological finds in Sohar. The object consists of 3 iconographic parts – a roaring lion, a lotus and Buddha. It was made in China, of glazed porcelain, c8th century CE. This discovery highlights the historical religious tolerance of Oman.

© The National Museum, Oman

Miniature in a book which depicts Indian pilgrims leaving for Jeddah passing through the coast of Oman. This manuscript is presently on loan from Mumbai to be showcased at The National Museum, Oman.

© The National Museum, Oman

Rasulid Gravestones “The three marble gravestones displayed here date from the Rasulid era and were originally located in a cemetery in the Rabat district of present day Salalah. The stones were probably produced in Khambhat (medieval Cambay), a monsoon port in the west coast of India located only one month’s sailing distance from Dhofar.” One grave is dated 1311 CE. The grave has Arabic calligraphy and Hindu iconography.

©The National Museum, Oman

A page from Tarek-e-Kesari showing HH Sultan Sayyid Thuwainy

of Muscat and (below), a description of Muscat

© The National Museum of India

Map of The Gulf of Persia (New Edition)

Contributors: J W Norie, J Stephenson, Lt John, Captain David Simmons and William Heather

Publisher: J W Norie & Co, London (United Kingdom)

Copper engraving Sha’ban 1248 AH/9 January 1833 CE (Sultanate of Oman and Zanzibar)

This is a very accurate nautical map of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, which also shows the northern and western coasts of Oman. It includes the names of Omani ports which were prominent during the reign of Sultan Sayyid Said Bin Sultan al-Busaidi, Sultan of Oman and Zanzibar, and important nautical data such as navigation lines and the depths of seas surrounding islands. There is also an inset map of Muscat and Mattrah with drawings depicting Muscat Island and Fisher’s Rock.

Picture courtesy: The National Museum, Oman

Excerpt from Waqai-I Manazil-I Rum describing the journey of Tipu Sultan’s envoys Ghulam Ali Khan and Nurullah Khan to Muscat and beyond. Picture courtesy: Embassy of India, Muscat, Oman

View of Fort Mirani, 1814, water colour by Thomas Daniel © The National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi