Editing Gerrha (section)

== History ==
At first, Gerrha's trade exports moved to [[Babylonia]] and transports moved by sea. However, soon during or after the lifetime of [[Alexander the Great]], Gerrha's transports began moving in the direction of Egypt and Syria and the mode of transport shifted from by sea to by land. Gerrhean incense is reported as an ingredient in Greek poison and it was also an essential item on some discovered shopping lists. Some Gerrheans have been documented in the West, like Taymallat of Gerrha, who made some offerings in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] island of [[Delos]].{{Sfn|Hoyland|2002|p=24–25}}

[[Polybius]] reports that the Seleucid emperor [[Antiochus III the Great|Antiochus III]] sailed to Gerrha in 205 BC. The Gerrhaeans petitioned, and were granted by Antiochous, the rite to practice their religious customs. Robert Hoyland has suggested that a likely factor in this expedition was for Antiochus to use a show of force to get the Gerrhaeans to direct more of their trade through his territory. As the Seleucid domain expanded through military victories against the [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemies]], Gerrha's trading partners also expanded to include Palestine, Syria, and the [[Nabataeans]].{{Sfn|Hoyland|2002|p=25}}

By the first and second centuries AD, Gerrha as a city begins to decline. The exact causes are not known but one possibility is that the new [[Parthian Empire]] began to take over its trade routes with India. As Gerrha's influence declined, an encroachment of Arab tribes into the region also took place.{{Sfn|Hoyland|2002|p=26}}

The city of Gerrha was taken by the [[Qarmatians]] at the end of the ninth century.<ref>Tareekh al-Bahrain: Shaikh Tahir al-Qassimi, pages 53-65</ref>