Al-Baleed Archaeological Park
البليد | |
 | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value. | |
| Location | Salalah, Dhofar, Oman |
|---|---|
| Region | Arabia |
| Coordinates | Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. |
| Type | city |
| Part of | Land of Frankincense |
| History | |
| Founded | 6th century[1][2] |
| Abandoned | 17th century[1][2] |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1952–present[1] |
Al-Baleed Archaeological Park is an archaeological park located in Al Balīd (Arabic: البليد) of Salalah, Dhofar, Oman. It is a part of the Land of Frankincense in the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.[3]
The ruins in the park belong to the medieval city of Ẓafār/Ẓufār (Arabic: ظفار) which also covers the adjacent area in Ar Rubāṭ (Arabic: الرباط). Ẓafār/Ẓufar, from which the Dhofar Governorate got its name,[4] acted as an important port for frankincense trade after the decline of the nearby port in Khor Rori.[1][2] It is sometimes associated with Sapphara Metropolis mentioned by ancient Greek/Roman authors,[5] but this name more likely refers to the ancient Himyarite city with the same name.[6]
It was visited by many famous travellers, such as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Ibn al-Mujawir and Zheng He.[7] The city declined in the 16th–17th centuries due to various reasons such as the closure of the lake Khawr al Balīd (which used to be a bay) and Portuguese/Turkish/Mamluk invasion.[1][2]
The park also contains the Museum of the Land of Frankincense.
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
 | This article relating to archaeology in the Near East is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about the geography of Oman is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |