On this page, I wanted to write about another invention which travvelled east to west and which the Arabs - supposedely - brought to the Mediterranean: the Lateen Sail.
A Dhow with Lateen Sails in the Persian Gulf
Upon checking the facts I found out that my know-how was a bit out-dated. What I learned at university a while ago was turned upside down by recent archeologic digs. The Lateen sail which allows a boat to cruise against the wind was already known by the Romans!
Roman mural from the 4th century AD
Rather than migrating east - west, the Lateen sail was introduced to the Indian Ocean from the west. Upon further reflection, this makes absolute sense. The wind pattern in the Mediterranean are challenging. It is rather difficult to sail from Egypt to Italy because the prevailing winds mostly blow west to east. The ancient mariners thus had to hug the Levant and Anatolian coast travelling first north before turning west. They had to use the morning ladwinds. The Lateen sail addressed this challenge
Seasonal wind pattern in the Indian Ocean
None of these problems exist in the Indian Ocean where boats sail with the seasonal winds. The gentle Monsoon is a sailor’s best friend. Commerce and trading in the Indian Ocean thus followed strict seasonal pattern. There was no need to invent a type of sail that allowed sailing against the wind.
Roman - Indian trade routes
The technology of the Lateen Sail must have travelled with Roman merchants who set out from Berenike on Egypt’s Red Sea coast. Extensive excavations in Berenike only started in 1994 but quickly confirmed the enormous volume of Roman - Indian trade. The town was indeed a major trade hub for goods arriving from the Malabar coast in India and beyond. It was also the main entry port for Chinese silk which the Romans were so fond of.
Our Carpe Diem V carries only Lateen Sails. So - thank you Romans!
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