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Magan was an ancient region which was referred to in Sumer
Sumer

Sumer was a civilization and a historical region located in Southern Iraq , known as the Cradle of civilization. It lasted from the first settlement of Eridu in the Ubaid period through the Uruk period and the Dynastic periods until the rise of Babylon in the early 2nd millennium BC....
ian cuneiform texts of around 2300 BC as a source of copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
 and diorite
Diorite

Diorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate Intrusion igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar , biotite, hornblende, and/or pyroxene....
 for Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
.

The location of Magan is not known with certainty, but most of the archeological and geological
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
 evidence suggests that Magan was part of what is now Oman
Oman

Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
. However, some archaeologists place it in the region of Yemen known as Ma'in, in the south of Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt

File:Ancient Egypt map-en.svgUpper Egypt is a narrow strip of land that extends from the Cataracts of the Nile section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Asyut is sometimes known as Middle Egypt....
, in Nubia
Nubia

Nubia is a region in Southern Egypt along the Nile and in what is now northern Sudan. Most of Nubia is situated in Sudan with about a quarter of its territory in Egypt....
 or the Sudan
Sudan

Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest in the African continent and the Arab World, and List of countries and outlying territories by total area by area....
, and others as part of today's Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
 or Pakistan
Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
.






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Magan was an ancient region which was referred to in Sumer
Sumer

Sumer was a civilization and a historical region located in Southern Iraq , known as the Cradle of civilization. It lasted from the first settlement of Eridu in the Ubaid period through the Uruk period and the Dynastic periods until the rise of Babylon in the early 2nd millennium BC....
ian cuneiform texts of around 2300 BC as a source of copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
 and diorite
Diorite

Diorite is a grey to dark grey intermediate Intrusion igneous rock composed principally of plagioclase feldspar , biotite, hornblende, and/or pyroxene....
 for Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
.

The location of Magan is not known with certainty, but most of the archeological and geological
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
 evidence suggests that Magan was part of what is now Oman
Oman

Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
. However, some archaeologists place it in the region of Yemen known as Ma'in, in the south of Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt

File:Ancient Egypt map-en.svgUpper Egypt is a narrow strip of land that extends from the Cataracts of the Nile section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Asyut is sometimes known as Middle Egypt....
, in Nubia
Nubia

Nubia is a region in Southern Egypt along the Nile and in what is now northern Sudan. Most of Nubia is situated in Sudan with about a quarter of its territory in Egypt....
 or the Sudan
Sudan

Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest in the African continent and the Arab World, and List of countries and outlying territories by total area by area....
, and others as part of today's Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
 or Pakistan
Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
. Ranajit Pal holds that Oman and part of Iran was Magan. In his view king Manium of Magan who, according to Poebel, was also known as Mannu, was the famed Manu, the first sacrificer in the Indian sacred text Rigveda. The name Oman may, in fact, be a memory of Ooumi Manu, one of the several Manus. Pal also states that Magan is the ancient Magadha
Magadha

Magadha formed one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas or Kingdoms of Ancient India. The core of the kingdom was the area of Bihar south of the Ganges; its first capital was Rajagaha then Pataliputra ....
 of the Indian texts. The Indian texts name the Sishunaga and Kakavarna kings of Magadha who have no trace in the Patna area but in the Magan area kings named In-Susinak and Kak-siwe-Tempti etc are well known.

With the disappearance of trade from the Indus region, the copper from Magan was later replaced by copper imports from ancient Cyprus
Alashiya

Alashiya or Alasiya was an important state during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and was situated somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean....
.

Trade was common between Magan and Ur
Ur

Ur is modern Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq, and was a city in ancient Sumer. Once a coastal city near the mouth of the then Euphrates river on the Persian Gulf, Ur is now well inland....
 before the reigns of the Gutian
Gutian

Gutian can refer to:* Gutian County in Ningde Municipality, Fujian, China* the Gutian Massacre of Christians in that county* Gutian in Shanghang County, Longyan Municipality, Fujian...
 kings over Ur. After they were deposed, Urnammu of Ur restored the roads and trade resumed between the two nations (c. 2100 BC).

Evidence for identification of Magan with Oman

"Manishtusu mentions that he crossed the Lower Sea to Magan from Anshan and Sherikhum. From Magan he takes black stone for statues and metal from mines. Since Anshan is Tall-i Maylan in Fars, Magan must be on the opposite shore of the Gulf, i.e., Oman. Oman is the main source for copper at this time. Archaeological evidence (mines, slag, &c.) confirms this. Other texts mention copper being brought from Magan. 2 black stone statues of Manishtusu are of olivine gabbo, a stone abundant in Oman. 2 other statues and an obelisk are of diorite, also known from Oman. "Mesh-Magan" wood is known to be sissoo wood, attested in Oman."