00:00Lecturer Soleha Yaqob from the International Islamic University Malaysia has doubled down
00:06on her claim that the ancient Romans learned shipbuilding techniques from Malay seafarers.
00:11Soleha cited work such as P.Y. Mangan's The Southeast Asian Ship, An Historical Approach,
00:17and R.L. Smith's Premodern Trade in World History. She said the Malays were a maritime
00:22civilization with superior nautical knowledge and shipbuilding skills, while the Romans did
00:27not engage in significant seafaring until after 31 B.C.E. She said Arabic sources mentioned
00:33Al-Quran Al-Rumi and cited classical Islamic scholars such as Al-Biruni, who wrote that
00:38the art of iron smelting was developed in Qala, which Al-Kindi identified as being in ancient Qadda.
00:45According to her, the quality of European timber was unsuitable for long-distance voyages, which
00:50likely prompted the Romans to seek experienced navigators from Egypt and possibly from the
00:55Indian or Malay worlds, who could guide them towards the source of Qaddaan iron.
01:00She said Australian Museum Archives credited Austronesians as the finest deep-sea shipbuilders,
01:05and that historical newspapers claimed the first man to sail around the world was a Malay.
01:09Soleha added that the term Malay predates Austronesian, and that by the time of the Srivijaya Empire,
01:15these seafaring peoples were already recognized as Malays.
01:19Danish Rajar Reza, FMT.
Comments