Ikaros (Failaka Island)
Ἴκαρος | |
  Ikaros (Failaka) Location within Kuwait  Ikaros (Failaka) Location within theNear East | |
| Location |  Kuwait |
|---|---|
| Region | Mesopotamia |
| Coordinates | 29°26′20″N48°20′00″E/ 29.43889°N 48.33333°E(approximate) |
Ikaros(Greek:Ἴκαρος) was theHellenistic namefor what is now theFailaka IslandofKuwait.[1]It is located 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of the spot where theTigris and Euphratesempty into thePersian Gulf.[2]For thousands of years, the island served as a strategic point in the Persian Gulf that would enable its ruler to control the lucrative trade that passed through the area;[3][2]the island has been a strategic location since the rise of theSumeriancity-state ofUrinMesopotamia.[3]
Having returned toPersiaafterhis Indian campaign,an order was issued byAlexander the Greatthat called for the island to be namedIcaruson the namesake ofthe Greek island in the Aegean Sea.[4]This was likely aHellenizedversion of the local name,Akar(Aramaic:´KR), derived from the ancientBronze-AgetoponymAgarum.[5]Another suggestion is that the name Ikaros was influenced by the local É-kara temple, dedicated to theBabyloniansun-godShamash.That both Failaka in the Persian Gulf and Icarus in theAegean Seahousedbull cultswould have made the identification all the more tempting.[6][7]
During the Hellenistic era, there was a temple dedicated toArtemison the island;[4][8][9]the wild animals of the island were dedicated to the goddess with a decree for their protection.[4]Strabowrote that there was a temple ofApolloand anoracleof Artemis (μαντεῖον Ταυροπόλου;Tauropolus).[10]The island is also mentioned byStephanus of Byzantium[11]andPtolemaeus.[12]
Remains of the settlement include a largeHellenistic fortand twoGreek temples.[13]Failaka was also a trading post (emporion) of theParthiankingdom ofCharacene.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^J. Hansamans, Charax and the Karkhen,Iranica Antiquitua7 (1967) page 21-58
- ^ab"Failaka Island, Kuwait".Jet Propulsion Laboratory.4 April 2013.
- ^ab"Failaka Island – Silk Roads Programme".UNESCO.
- ^abcArrian, Anabasis of Alexander, §7.20
- ^Steffen Terp Laursen:Royal Mounds of A'ali in Bahrain: The Emergence of Kingship in Early Dilmun(pp. 340–343). ISD LLC, 2017.ISBN9788793423190.
- ^Michael Rice:The Archaeology of the Arabian Gulf(p. 208). Routledge, 2002.ISBN9781134967933.
- ^Jean-Jacques Glassner: "Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha" (1988);Indian Ocean In Antiquity(pp. 240-243), edited by Julian Reade. Kegan Paul International, 1996. Reissued by Routledge in 2013.ISBN9781136155314.
- ^Dionysius of Alexandria, Guide to the Inhabited World, §600
- ^Aelian, Characteristics of Animals, §11.9
- ^Strabo, Geography, §16.3.2
- ^Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §I329.12
- ^Ptolemaeus, Geography, §6.7.47
- ^George Fadlo Hourani, John Carswell, Arab Seafaring: In theIndian Oceanin Ancient and EarlyMedievalTimesPrinceton University Press,page 131
