Perhaps the most accurate description of the present state of knowledge on the economic history of the Near East is the schoolboy’s definition of a net as “a bunch of holes tied together with string.” The trouble is that, here, the holes are so wide that rather large fish can easily slip through, while the string is so weak that one cannot be sure of keeping what one thinks one holds. Add to this the fact that the present fisherman is a newcomer to the field, and has not yet had the time to make much of the necessary studies, and it will be seen that this paper must be regarded as only a preliminary and very tentative introduction, which makes no claim to thoroughness or completeness.