https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=BaghlahBaghlah - Revision history2026-07-30T21:48:58ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Baghlah&diff=106707&oldid=prev>Parsecboy at 09:41, 4 June 20212021-06-04T09:41:32Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[File:Sailors working on a deck covered in mangrove poles.jpg|thumb|left|A baghlah needed to be manned by a numerous crew]]<br />
[[File:Sd2-baggala.JPG|thumb|Baghlah sailing]]<br />
[[File:Alhashimi.jpg|thumb|The ornate stern of a baghlah in [[Kuwait]]]]<br />
A '''baghlah''', '''bagala''' or '''baggala''' ({{lang-ar|بغلة}}) is a large deep-sea [[dhow]], a traditional Arabic sailing vessel.<ref>Clifford W. Hawkins, ''The dhow: an illustrated history of the dhow and its world''</ref> The name "baghla" means "[[mule]]" in the [[Arabic language]]. <br />
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==Description==<br />
The baghlah dhows had a curved prow with a stem-head, an ornately carved [[stern]] and [[quarter galleries]]. Their average length was {{convert|100|ft|0|abbr=on}} with an average weight of 275 tons. <br />
Usually they had two masts using two to three [[Lateen|lateen sails]]; supplementary sails like a [[jib]] were often added on the [[bowsprit]], as well as on a [[topmast]] atop the main [[Mast (sailing)|mast]].<ref>[http://indigenousboats.blogspot.com/2008/08/too-late-to-document-dhows.html Too Late to Document Dhows?]</ref> <br />
As a large and heavy ship the baghlah required a [[crew]] of at least 30 [[sailors]]. Some had even up to 40.<ref>Thabit A. J. Abdullah, ''The Political Economy of Trade in Eighteenth-Century Basra'', SUNY series in the Social and Economic History of the Middle East , 2000, {{ISBN|978-0-7914-4808-3}}</ref> <br />
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The ''[[ghanjah]]'' or ''kotiya'' is a similar type of vessel, often difficult to distinguish from the baghlah.<ref>[http://www.omanet.om/english/culture/boats.asp?cat=cult The Traditional Dhow]</ref><br />
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==History==<br />
Baghlahs were widely used in the past centuries as merchant ships in the [[Indian Ocean]] and the minor seas around the [[Arabian Peninsula]]. They reached eastwards to [[Sindh]], [[India]] and up to the [[Bay of Bengal]] and further beyond as far as the [[Maluku Islands|Spice Islands]]. Southwestwards they reached down to the [[East Africa]]n coast. They were one of the main types of ship used by the [[Mustaali|Bohra]] traders.<br />
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In the early 19th century these ships were also part of [[pirate]] fleets operating from semi-independent or completely independent harbours in [[Persia]] or along the [[Arabian Peninsula]].<ref name="RG89">Gardiner, Robert (2001 [1998]). ''The Victory of Seapower''. Caxton Editions. {{ISBN|1-84067-359-1}}. p. 89</ref><br />
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In favorable conditions a baghlah could sail up to 9 [[knot (unit)|knots]], but it was a somewhat unwieldy ship and was largely replaced by the easier to maneuver [[Boom (ship)|boom]] in the 20th century.<br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[Persian Gulf campaign of 1809]]<br />
*[[Boom (ship)]]<br />
*[[Ghanjah]]<br />
*[[Shu'ai]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist|30em}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{commonscat|Baghlah}}<br />
*[http://siris-libraries.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1R2541H951A77.55299&profile=liball&uri=link=3100009~!1600632~!3100001~!3100002&aspect=subtab103&menu=search&ri=2&source=~!silibraries&term=Dhows+--+History.&index=#focus Hikoichi Yajima, ''The Arab dhow trade in the Indian Ocean : preliminary report'']<br />
*[http://socheapandchic.blogspot.com/2011/11/culture-first-traditional-dhow.html “The first traditional Dhow Exhibition” in Qatar]<br />
{{Sailing vessels and rigs}}<br />
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[[Category:Dhow types]]<br />
[[Category:Sailing ships]]<br />
[[Category:Arab inventions]]</div>>Parsecboy