The fate of the Arabian Peninsula is truly dramatic. Findings of Early Paleolithic tools of the Olduvai type on the territory of South Arabia from the coastal strip near the strait to the western regions of Hadhramaut, as well as the discovery of numerous Early Paleolithic sites along the northern border of the Rub al-Khali indicate that South Arabia was part of one of the zones from where humanity began its “march around the planet”, starting from East Africa. One of the routes of settlement went through Arabia, which at that distant time was abundantly irrigated by the waters of river flows, flourishing, rich in countless herds of herbivores.
Apparently, no later than the 20th millennium BC. e. The first ominous signs of a sharp change in the natural conditions of human habitation in Arabia were discovered, which in the 18th-17th millennium led to absolute aridity of the climate throughout almost the entire territory of the peninsula. People left Arabia, although it is possible that in its extreme south and east separate, little connected “ecological refuges” remained, where the embers of life continued to smolder.
From the 8th millennium, under the conditions of a new climate change, this time favorable for people, the secondary and final settlement began - first of the eastern coastal part (Qatar), and then, from the 7th-6th millennium, of Central and Southern Arabia (south -western part of Rub al-Khali, North Yemen, Hadhramaut, etc.). Apparently, no later than the 5th millennium, bearers of the Ubaid culture, and then the Jemdet-Nasr culture, settled along the eastern coast of Arabia. In the 3rd millennium, Eastern Arabia, and especially Oman (ancient Magan), were included in the maritime trade of the Southern Mesopotamia and the “country of Dil-mun” (Bahrain) with North-West India.
It is possible that at the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Semitic tribes penetrate into the territory of South Arabia for the first time. We do not know the specific reasons that prompted them to make a journey full of hardships to the south of the peninsula, but it is clear that already in their ancestral home they reached a fairly high level of development: they were familiar with agriculture, they acquired skills in irrigation and construction. Communication with more cultured settled peoples introduced them to writing, and they already possessed a coherent system of religious ideas. The peculiarities of the natural conditions of Southern Arabia - the highly rugged terrain, contrasting climatic zones, relatively narrow wadi valleys suitable for agriculture - contributed to the fact that the newcomers, settling in separate tribal or clan groups, created isolated centers of culture. One of the consequences of this isolation was the coexistence of no less than four distinct languages in a small area over a long period of time.
Those that arose here from the end of the 2nd millennium to the 6th century also had clear features of originality. BC e. civilizations: Sabaean, Kataban, Hadhramaut and Mains, which coexisted throughout the 1st millennium BC. e. It is likely that throughout this time the South Arabian civilizations, in their cultural contacts with the Middle East, remained oriented toward the areas from which their founders had once come. In the culture of ancient Hadhramaut, there are also certain features of borrowing from the regions of the extreme east of the Arabian Peninsula, which for a long time were under the influence of the Southern Mesopotamia.
Al-Ghuza gorge. Early Paleolithic site
In the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. these were already highly developed societies, based on irrigated agriculture, with numerous cities, developed architecture and art. Industrial crops began to play a major role, and above all trees and shrubs that produced incense, myrrh and other fragrant resins, which were in high demand in the countries of the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The cultivation of fragrant trees became the source of prosperity for the states of Ancient Yemen - “Happy Arabia”. The export of incense contributed to an increase in exchange and trade, and the expansion of cultural contacts. In the 10th century BC e. Saba establishes trade and diplomatic relations with the Eastern Mediterranean. By the 8th century. BC e. The Sabaean state first came into contact with the Assyrian power and, apparently, no later than the 7th century. BC e. colonizes the territory of modern Northeastern Ethiopia. The production of frankincense, myrrh, etc. was concentrated mainly in the regions of Hadhramaut (and partly Qataban) adjacent to the Indian Ocean, and external caravan trade from the 6th century. BC e. ended up in Mine's hands. The main part of the caravan “Path of Incense” began from here. Subsequently, the Mainians created caravan stations and trading colonies in Northwestern Arabia and began to make regular trade trips to Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia, and then to the island of Delos. The place occupied by South Arabia on the sea route from India to Africa and Egypt and further into the Mediterranean, already in the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e., also determined its role as the most important intermediary in the exchange of goods between the ancient civilizations of South Asia and the Middle East, the Indian Ocean basin and the Mediterranean Sea. The harbors of Hadhramaut and Kataban served as transshipment points for these goods, which from here went north along caravan routes - to Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia. The matter was facilitated by the special regime of winds blowing in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, which made it possible in winter from the harbors of the western coast of India to sail directly to South-West Arabia and East Africa, while in the summer months the winds ensured navigation from South Arabia and Africa to India.
Ancient hieroglyphs. Limestone. West Hadhramaut
From the 7th century BC e. Saba's political hegemony extended to the entire territory of Southwestern Arabia, but already from the 6th-4th centuries. BC e. as a result of long wars, Main, Qataban and Hadhramaut are freed from Sabaean dependence, and this is reflected in numerous facts of “national” cultural revival. Wars continue throughout the second half of the 1st millennium BC. e. As a result, their Myne is absorbed by Saba, but she herself, weakened by these wars, for a long time becomes the arena of internecine battles and changes in various peripheral dynasties. Relative stability was established here only from the 3rd century. n. e. By this time, Qataban disappeared from the historical arena, and in Saba itself a dynasty from Himiyar, a region located in the extreme southwest of South Arabia, reigned.
By the beginning of our era, there was a sharp change in the situation on the routes for the export of incense, which influenced the subsequent development of local civilizations. Already in the middle of the 2nd century. BC e. The Red Sea and the western part of the Gulf of Aden were developed by Greek-Egyptian sailors and merchants. They use their ships to reach the northern coast of Somalia and Aden, where goods brought from India by Yemeni and Indian sailors are loaded onto their ships. At the end of the 2nd century. BC e. South Arabia's monopoly in transit trade between India and Egypt suffered a severe blow. The discovery of the monsoon regime by Greco-Egyptian navigators allowed them to sail directly to India and back. Within just a hundred years, over 100 ships were leaving Egypt annually for India. With the capture of Syria and Egypt by Rome in the 1st century. BC e. the situation became even more complicated. Intra-Arabian trade is withering away, the struggle in South Arabia since the 1st century. n. e is no longer fought for dominance on trade routes, but directly for the lands where trees that produce incense grow, and for the coastal areas where harbors were located for the export of these incense.
The founders of ancient Yemen civilizations brought with them to South Arabia solid knowledge, ideas and skills in many areas of economic and cultural life - this is evidenced by magnificent stone buildings, huge cities built on artificial hills in wadi valleys, and the unsurpassed skill of the builders of giant irrigation systems. This is also evidenced by the richness of spiritual life, reflected in complex ideas about the world of the gods, in the creation of their own “intelligentsia of the spirit” - the priesthood, in the extremely wide dissemination of writing.
The ancient South Arabians, who spoke the languages of a separate subgroup of the “south-peripheral” Semitic languages, used a special script that they inherited from the alphabetic writing of the Eastern Mediterranean - many signs were changed in accordance with the main idea - giving the entire system of signs clear geometric shapes. They wrote on a variety of materials: they cut stone, on wooden tablets, on clay, then cast inscriptions in bronze, scratched them on rocks (graffiti), and also applied soft writing materials. Everyone wrote: kings and nobles, slaves and merchants, builders and priests, camel drivers and artisans, men and women. The discovered inscriptions contain descriptions of historical events and articles of laws. Also found were dedicatory and building texts, inscriptions on tombs, business correspondence, copies of mortgage documents, etc., etc. It is the inscriptions, coupled with individual mentions in the Bible, among ancient and early Byzantine authors that are the most important source of knowledge on the history and culture of Ancient South Arabia.
Rayboon. Excavations
True, little is known about spiritual culture; large works of mythological, ritual and other content have been lost. The most important sources to this day remain inscriptions containing, among other things, the names and epithets of gods, their symbols, as well as sculptural and relief images of deities, their sacred animals, and mythological subjects. They are the basis for ideas about the nature of pantheons (there was no single host of gods in South Arabia) and some of the functions of gods. It is known that here in the early stages a huge role was played by astral deities who stood at the head of pantheons, primarily the ancient Semitic god Astar (cf. Ishtar, Astarte, etc.) - Venus was his image. After Astara came various incarnations of the solar deity and, finally, the “national” gods-deities of tribal unions, personified by the Moon (Almakah in Saba, Wadd in Maina, Amm in Kara-ban and Sin in Hadhramaut). Of course, there were other patron gods of individual clans, tribes, cities, “functional” deities (irrigation, etc.).
Rayboon. Excavation of the temple
In general, the pantheons united the most ancient pan-Semitic (Astar, possibly Ilu) gods or tribal deities, borrowed from Mesopotamia (Sin) and from neighbors, from Central and Northern Arabia, etc. If we talk about the dynamics of ideas in the “pagan” era, then one can clearly see, at least from the time shortly before the beginning of our era, the promotion of “national” gods to the fore and the gradual displacement of the main astral deity Astara. Subsequently, by the 4th century. n. e., Almakah in Saba almost completely displaces other gods, which significantly facilitated the transition to monotheistic religions - Judaism and Christianity.
A consequence of the special natural conditions of the existence of ancient South Arabian civilizations and a feature of their development was the close proximity and interaction with the nomadic tribes of inner Arabia. Some of these tribes constantly sought to leave the desert country for agricultural areas and settle there. The pastoral tribes were at a significantly lower level of economic and cultural development. Having settled for centuries (especially starting from the 2nd century AD) in the lands of Yemen, they came into direct contact with local civilizations. This, to a large extent, led to a general decline in economic life and culture, to the fact that the local population was increasingly dissolved in the mass of alien tribes and clans, lost its identity and language, and became “Arabized.” The irresistible and ever-increasing impact of negative factors predetermined the gradual decline of South Arabian civilizations from the first centuries of our era and their death in the 6th century.
However, the decline of the ancient civilizations of South Arabia was accompanied by an extraordinary rise in spiritual life, which reflected in a bizarre form the entire set of conditions and features of their development. In dying societies it has taken on eschatological tones to the greatest extent.
The fact that South Arabia, especially its internal, most developed centers of civilizations, was less and less able to take advantage of its special position at the intersection of trade routes did not mean at all that this position itself had lost all significance in the eyes of the great empires of antiquity. It can even be argued that from the end of the 1st century. BC e. it invariably increased, and Arabia in general and South Arabia in particular acquired the character of the most important element of international relations.
At the turn of our era, the natural centers for the spread of late Hellenistic influences (and subsequently Christianity) in South Arabia were precisely the trading settlements of Greco-Egyptian merchants in coastal trading cities (Aden, Qana, on the island of Socotra). Attested in iconography, attempts to create allegorical images of South Arabian gods and their “Hellenization” date back to this time. In the first centuries AD, Christianity began to spread in the Greco-Roman environment of Aden and Socotra.
From the 4th century n. e. The Eastern Roman Empire is making efforts to spread Christianity in Southern Arabia, using for this purpose both the missionary activities of the Alexandrian Church and the Christianized elite of Aksum - a state that arose at the beginning of our era on the territory of Ethiopia and captured already at the beginning of the 2nd century. some coastal areas in Southwestern Arabia. Soon, Arabia will be filled with more Arians, Monophysites, Nestorians, etc. To this picture we must add the local ancient pagan religion and primitive cults of the Bedouins, who are increasingly influencing political events in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. 
Wide circles of South Arabian society were involved in the fierce struggle of ideas, accompanied by clashes and invasions of the Aksumites... However, it was impossible to prevent an ideological explosion. The struggle of ideas spread beyond the borders of the south of Arabia, drawing trading posts along the caravan routes into its orbit. Gradually, in this struggle, another main political idea made its way - the idea of unity and confrontation. Something unique, Arabian, was born. Islam was born.
Upper Paleolithic
In the Early Paleolithic era, it was Arabia that became the first place from which humanity began its victorious march across the planet. In the Upper Paleolithic/Mesolithic era, the territory of Arabia was inhabited by tribes of carriers of haplogroup C. Luminescent chronology data indicate that 130 thousand years ago the Arabian Peninsula was relatively hotter, with higher rainfall, making it a vegetated, habitable land. At this time, the level of the Red Sea fell, and the width of its southern part was only 4 km. This briefly created the opportunity for people to migrate across the sea, through which they reached Arabia and founded a number of first sites in the Middle East, such as Jebel Faya. Early migrants, fleeing climate change in Africa, crossed the Red Sea into modern-day Yemen and Oman and further across the Arabian Peninsula in search of more favorable climatic conditions. Between the Red Sea and Jebel Faya (UAE) there is a distance of 2000 km, where there is now an uninhabitable desert, but about 130 thousand years ago, at the end of the ice age, the Red Sea was shallow enough to cross by ford or by boat. a small raft, and the Arabian Peninsula was not a desert, but a green area. With the end of the Ice Age in Europe, the climate became hotter and drier and Arabia turned into a desert poorly suited for human life.
Settlement of the Semites
See also: Pre-Semitic Substrate
Some authors believe that Arabia was the fatherland of the ancient Semites, of which the Arabs were one of the branches. Others believe that the Semites in the 5th millennium BC. e. migrated from the Sahara region of Africa. In any case, they are already at the turn of the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. settled in Arabia. The ancient nomadic Arabs worshiped the goddess Allat, revered the stars and believed in talismans (the cult of the black stone goes back to ancient times).
Ancient Arabia
In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. From the South Arab linguistic and tribal community, large tribal unions began to emerge: Mainean, Kataban, Sabaean. Tribes were ruled by leaders - cabirs, at the head of tribal alliances eventually became mukarribs, combining priestly and ceremonial functions. During military campaigns they acquired the title malik (king). Kingdoms began to form on the basis of the union of tribes. In the XIV century. BC e. The kingdom of Main was formed, from which the Incense Route stretched through western Arabia to Egypt and Canaan. On this route, the Mainians built the transit points of Mecca and Medina. Main's southern competitor was the Sabaean kingdom, known thanks to the Queen of Sheba mentioned in the Old Testament, a contemporary of Solomon. South Arabian script, adopted in the Main and Sabaean kingdoms from the 9th century. BC e., developed on the basis of the Canaanite script, which indicates the connections of Yemen with ancient Palestine, enshrined in the biblical legend about the origin of the ancestor of the Arabs Ishmael from Abraham. Sea caravan routes from the Mediterranean countries to India (Ophir) pass through the harbors of southern Arabia.
The Sabaean kingdom had a beneficial effect on progress in the adjacent regions of Africa. In the 8th century BC. e. A large Sabaean colony arrived on Ethiopian lands, quickly separating from its Arabian metropolis. The arrival of the Sabaeans is associated with the well-known Ethiopian legend about the “Solomon Dynasty”, the representatives of which were supposedly the Ethiopian kings. According to legend, they were all descendants of the ancient Israeli king Solomon and the biblical Queen of Sheba, that is, the ruler of the Sabaean kingdom. Ethiopians traditionally called the Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Makeda or Bilqis. The resettlement of the Arabians on the Tigre plateau led to the spread in Ethiopia of not only Semitic languages, but also numerous skills: stone construction using dry masonry and stone carving, painted ceramics and some other achievements of civilization. Mixing with the Cushites who lived in the Tigre region, the Arabian settlers formed the Agazi, an ancient Ethiopian people, after whose name the modern territory of Tigray became known as the “country of Agazi”, and the ancient Ethiopian language as Ge’ez.
Ancient Arabia
In the II century. BC e. In the north-west of Arabia, the Nabatean kingdom was formed with its capital in Petra, in which the Arabs ousted the ancient Idumeans. In addition to the territory of Jordan, the Nabateans controlled the west of modern Saudi Arabia (Madayin Salih), and also had their outposts in Sinai (Dahab) and in southern Syria (Es-Suwayda). The Nabataeans used the Nabatean script, which served as the basis for the Arabic alphabet. Three hundred years later, the Romans captured the Nabataean kingdom and incorporated it into their province of Stony Arabia.
Simultaneously with the Nabatean kingdom, Himyar appears in the southwest of Arabia, which replaced the Sabaean kingdom in 115 BC. e. . Zafar became the capital of Himyar. Over time (under Dhu-Nuwas), Judaism took a strong position in it. In the 4th and 6th centuries, the Ethiopian army ravaged southwestern Arabia twice. After the second campaign, the Ethiopian garrison, led by the Ethiopian governor Abraha, rebelled and formed the independent pro-Byzantine state of Himyar, centered in Sana'a, which became the center of the spread of Christianity in southern Arabia. According to legend, in 570 Abraha sent a punitive expedition to the then pagan Mecca, which ended in failure (Year of the Elephant).
Arabia in the 6th century
Iranian-Byzantine borderland
The Himyar expansion into central Arabia led to the emergence of Kinda. Geopolitically oriented towards Byzantium, the Kindites clashed with the “Persian Arabs” led by the Lakhmids, who roamed the lower reaches of the Euphrates. A civilizational rift passed through the territory of Arabia between Christian Byzantium and Zoroastrian Persia, in the zone of which a fierce inter-tribal war raged. In the 6th century, the weakened Kindites were replaced by the Byzantine policy of the Ghassanids, who were also defeated and by the end of the 6th century Arabia was turned into a Persian outskirts.
Notes
see also
The embassy of the “Queen of Sheba” to King Solomon and “Happy Arabia”, described in Greek geographical and mythological literature (where happy and prosperous people lived at the ends of the earth), Arabian incense and spices glorified South Arabia in ancient times. The true history of South Arabia has become the subject of close study only in the last few decades.
The history of ancient South Arabia can be traced mainly from the results of archaeological excavations, as well as from epigraphic data (inscriptions on stone, metal, cuttings of palm leaves), information from ancient authors, medieval Arab geographers and historians. Among South Arabian inscriptions, three types are most fully represented: temple dedications, funerary inscriptions, and memorial inscriptions about buildings. The cost of producing the inscription was so high that only a small, very wealthy part of the population or institutions such as temples could afford such an order.
The South Arabian alphabet, like almost all modern writing systems, comes from the Phoenician alphabet, but unlike the latter, it contains not 22, but 29 characters. The oldest South Arabian inscriptions date back to the mid-8th century. BC e., but their appearance was preceded by a long period of formation of the South Arabian writing system. The later inscription dates back to 559–560. n. e. The earliest inscriptions are characterized by monumental execution and geometric font. Over time, the style of writing changed, taking on very diverse forms.
Ancient South Arabian inscription
An absolute chronology has not yet been developed for the history of ancient South Arabia. Even establishing relative chronology - the sequence of events without fixing exact dates by year - for many periods presents significant difficulties. The inscriptions, the main source of dating for ancient South Arabian history, provide only a relative chronology for a period of almost a thousand years (their style and paleographic analysis allow us to determine only the sequence in which they were executed); coins that appeared in South Arabia in the 4th century. BC e., make it possible only to clarify the sequence of rulers. Only from the 2nd century. n. e. South Arabian chronology emerges quite clearly on the basis of local sources: inscriptions are dated according to a specific era, the sequence of rulers becomes quite clear. Their dating cannot be clarified on the basis of the established chronology of other regions.
Saba is mentioned in the tenth chapter of the Old Testament book of Genesis. Other biblical books (1 Kings X. 1–13; 2 Chronicles 9.1–9.12) mention the embassy of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. This information, however, cannot be the starting point for developing a South Arabian chronology, since local sources do not know a single woman on the Sabaean throne, and who is being referred to under the name of the Queen of Sheba has not yet been established. More useful in this regard are the references to the Sabaeans in the Assyrian texts of Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 BC), Sargon II (722–705 BC) and Sinnachherib (705–681 BC). e.). The latter mentions king Karibil, known from the actual Sabaean inscriptions (mukarrib Karibil Vatar the Great, son of Dhamarali). Dating is also complicated by the fact that it is virtually impossible to establish a clear sequence of reign of the South Arabian kings: there are large gaps in the dynasties, many rulers bore the same names.
It is partly possible to trace an exact chronological parallel, starting only from the 1st century. n. e., when in ancient geographical literature (Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Natural History by Pliny the Elder, Geography by Claudius Ptolemy) the first accurate descriptions of South Arabia appear and its kings are mentioned.
In general, the history of ancient South Arabia is divided into six main stages: about 1200–700 BC. BC e. – “proto-South Arabian” – the birth of the state of Saba; around 700–110 BC e. – “period of caravan kingdoms” – the dominance of Saba and Kataban; around 110 BC e. – 300 AD e. – “period of the warring kingdoms” – alternating dominance of Saba and Himyar; around 300–525 n. e. - unification of all of South Arabia under the rule of Himyar; around 525–571 n. e. – dominance of Aksum; 570–632 n. e. – predominance of Sasanian Iran.
Historiography
For a long time, the real South Arabia remained virtually unknown in Europe. The paucity of information from ancient authors about this region, the distance from the Mediterranean, the difficult climate, the difficult to navigate Red Sea and the desert landscape of the Arabian Peninsula meant that the history of the states of this region was practically forgotten.
In the 10th century Yemeni scientist al-Hamdani compiled the encyclopedia “al-Ikil”, one of the volumes of which was dedicated to South Arabia. He can be considered the first scientist to turn to the history of this region. Subsequently, European researchers used his book as a guide. The first European traveler to visit in 1500–1505. the current state of Yemen, was an Italian navigator L. di Varthema.
In the 16th century Southern Arabia became the target of fighting between Portugal and the Ottoman Empire. The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama managed to temporarily occupy the island of Socotra in 1507. His attempts to capture the port of Aden - the most important at the exit from the Red Sea to the Arabian - were unsuccessful, and in 1538 Aden came under the rule of the Turkish Sultan. Portuguese priest Paez visited in 1589–1594 BC e. Hadhramaut, described the wealth of Marib and even spent some time in captivity in Sana'a. He was one of the first to glorify Yemen as the home of the best coffee.
In December 1762 - August 1763, the Danish traveler K. Niebuhr made several trips to South Arabia, marking the beginning of its scientific study. Of the six people who started the journey with him, only he survived and returned to Copenhagen. His book “Description of Arabia” remained the main book on the history and geography of this region for a whole century.
K. Niebuhr was the first European to study South Arabian inscriptions of a cultic and secular nature, but he was the first to copy them U. -Y. Seetzen, in July 1810 in Zafar, the ancient capital of Himyar. Interestingly, around the same time, May 12, 1810, G. Salt discovered the first South Arabian inscription in Ethiopia. For 30 years, these and subsequent discoveries excited the minds of European philologists, until in 1841. W. Gesenius in Halle and E. Roediger in Göttingen, relying on copies of the South Arabian alphabet left in medieval Arabic manuscripts, two-thirds of the characters of the ancient South Arabian alphabet were not deciphered. Only towards the end of the 19th century. The South Arabian alphabet was completely deciphered.
On May 6, 1834, English naval officers led by J.-R. Wellsted visited the main port of ancient Hadhramaut - Kanu. Acquaintance with the ruins of Raybun - the largest agricultural oasis of Hadhramaut - begins with a journey A. von Wrede, a report on which was published in 1870. The influx of Europeans into South Arabia was also facilitated by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
The systematic study of inscriptions - the main source on the history of ancient South Arabia - began in 1870. French researcher J. Halevi was sent by the French Academy of Inscriptions and Beaux-Letters to Yemen to collect material for the “Corpus of Ancient South Arabian Inscriptions” that was being prepared. In 1882–1892 Austrian scientist E. Glaser continued his work. He compiled a grammar of the Sabaean language and prepared a collection of inscriptions.
In fact, throughout the 20th century. In Southern Arabia, no outstanding archaeological discoveries were made, such as in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran, India, and China. The first archaeological excavations were carried out in 1928 by a German researcher K. Rathjens, who discovered the small sanctuary of al-Huqqa, 23 km northwest of Sana'a. The greatest contribution to the study of ancient South Arabia in the pre-war period was made by the Austrian geographer H. von Wissmann, English archaeologist G. Caton-Thompson and traveler J. Philby.
Systematic and large-scale archaeological, linguistic, ethnographic study of ancient South Arabia began only in the last quarter of the 20th century. In 1983, the Russian-Yemen archaeological expedition was created, the priority activity of which is the study of the ancient history and languages of Hadhramaut (the port of Qana, the agricultural oasis of Raybun) and the island of Socotra.
Natural conditions and population
The states of South Arabia were concentrated in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. (Currently, this territory is occupied by the Republic of Yemen.) This region is bordered by the Tihama coastal plain, which stretches along the Red Sea for 400 km in length and 50 km in width. In its western coastal part there are practically no natural reserves of water; the air temperature reaches 55°C with almost 100% humidity. The eastern part of Tihama, adjacent to the mountain range, has the best natural irrigation, and rainwater flows from the mountains into Tihama. The Howlan, Jebel Nabi Shob and Serat mountain ranges, stretching east of Tihama, reach a height of 3760 m. They are separated by gorges and wadis - dry river beds filled with rainwater brought by the summer monsoons.
South Arabia in the 1st–3rd centuries. BC e.
The central part of Yemen is occupied by a mountain plateau up to 3000 m high. From the south of the Arabian Sea it is bordered by a coastal plain, separated from the central desert part of the country - the Ramlat al-Sabatein and Rub al-Khali deserts - by a mountain range. This part of the Arabian Peninsula is also crossed by numerous wadis, which fill with water only during the short period of seasonal rains. The largest wadi in South Arabia is the Hadhramaut wadi, located in eastern Yemen. Humid and hot coastal plains are adjacent to high mountain ranges, behind which stretch endless deserts.
The presence of large oases such as Marib and Najran contributed to the fact that the desert was not completely deserted. The oases served as the most important transit points in caravan trade, and cattle breeding and agriculture developed there.
The climate in South Arabia has always been arid. However, the drought was followed by wetter periods. The last such period dates back to 8000–5000. BC e. At this time, plants and animals were found in South Arabia, which then disappeared due to the subsequent drought. The now dry riverbeds of the Wadi Jouf and Hadhramaut once formed a single river, fed by waters that flowed from the mountains in the north-west of the region. This river then flowed south into the Indian Ocean.
The presence of water and stone, which was easy to process, allowed man to begin developing the territory of Southern Arabia in very ancient times. The oldest Paleolithic site dates back to approximately 1 million years BC. e. Paleolithic artifacts were first discovered in 1937 in Hadhramaut. During the Neolithic period, ancient man developed arrows, which indicates the development of hunting skills. People began to engage in cattle breeding and agriculture. By the 7th millennium BC. e. These include the oldest examples of rock art, which reached its greatest flourishing during the Bronze Age in the 2nd millennium BC. e.
The most studied and extensively represented for the Bronze Age is the recently discovered archaeological culture of Sabir. Its bearers occupied Tihama and the foothills bordering it from the east and south up to the coast of the Arabian Sea west of modern Aden. The Sabirians, already familiar with city life, probably spoke the language of the Cushitic group. Their main occupations were irrigation farming, cattle breeding and fishing. The Sabir culture was closely associated with East Africa. Its decline occurred in the first centuries of the 1st millennium BC. e. Quite justified for the 2nd millennium BC. e. is the identification of the territory occupied by the carriers of the Sabir culture with the country of Punt, glorified in Egyptian texts as a source of incense and the homeland of strange animals. Material culture of the settlements of South Arabia III–II millennium BC. e. radically different from the subsequent period. This is due to the arrival of tribes who spoke Semitic languages of the South Arabian group.
The process of settlement of South Arabia occurred differently in different regions. In the west by the beginning of the 12th century. BC e. Sabaean culture is established. In the east, in Hadhramaut, by the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. tribes appear whose material culture is closely connected with Southern Palestine and Northwestern Arabia. By the end of the 8th century. BC e. Hadhramaut falls under the influence of Saba.
The first states in South Arabia
Of the dozen and a half ancient South Arabian states, only Saba, Qataban, Main, Himyar, Hadhramaut, which flourished at different times from the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. to the 6th century n. e., left a noticeable mark on history. The development of these states was determined by their geographical location: in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula on the coast of the Red and Arabian Seas between the coastal plains, surrounding mountains, hills and desert.
Despite the fact that South Arabia used one written language, the population in ancient times spoke and wrote several, very different languages, belonging to the Semitic language family. The main languages were Sabaean, Minaan (the language of the Maina population), Qatabanian and Hadhramaut. They are all related to each other. The dominance of any language indicates the political dominance of one or another of the kingdoms. The last inscription in Minaean dates back to the 2nd century. BC e., in Kataban - by the 2nd century. n. e., in Hadhramaut - to the 3rd century. n. e. In the kingdom of Himyar, the Kataban language was adopted, which was replaced by Sabaean when this state reached a dominant position. The Sabaean language fell out of oral use in the 4th century.
Saba
The first state in South Arabia Saba with its capital in Marib arose around the 9th century. BC e., and the first urban settlements can date back several centuries earlier. The first rulers of Saba did not bear any title or called themselves Muqarribs of Saba. According to the most probable assumption, this word can be translated as “gatherer”, “unifier”, but its exact meaning has not been established. According to another hypothesis, the heads of several tribal formations that stood at the origins of the state were called mukarribs. In their functions, the mukarribs most closely resembled priest-kings. It is interesting that only the bearers of this title called themselves mukarribs, while the population addressed them by name.
Rulers of other kingdoms, such as Ausan and Hadhramaut, also claimed this title, which was held by the kings of Saba until about 550 BC. e. It was probably worn by kings who were able to extend their power to all of South Arabia. From the 1st century BC e. the title “mukarrib” is replaced in the title with the epithet “king”, which did not carry any cultic or “unifying” meaning.
South Arabian ruler
In the initial period of its existence, Saba controlled a small area of the Marib oasis and the southern slopes of the Dzhauf plateau. Victory in the war over Saba's main rival at that time - the kingdom of Ausan, located in Wadi Markha, made it possible for Mukarrib Saba to add the epithet "Great" to his title: mukarrib Karibil Vatar The Great One, son of Dhamarali. At the beginning of the 7th century. BC e. he made several successful campaigns and united all of Southwestern Arabia under the rule of Saba. The era after the reign of Karibil Watara is poorly covered in the sources, so the sequence of the mukarribs cannot be accurately determined.
The basis for the well-being of the Sabaean state was a developed system of artificial irrigation and caravan trade in incense - incense, myrrh, and aloe. It is noteworthy that not a single inscription from Marib (or from the capital of Hadhramaut - Shabwa) mentions the presence of developed trading skills among the Sabaean (and Hadhramaut) elite, focused primarily on military craft. The development of maritime trade with the Mediterranean in the first centuries AD shifted the center of gravity in the incense trade from the caravan routes to the sea routes, from which Saba was cut off. This led to the fact that the Sabaean kings, seeking to gain access to the sea coast and control trade flows, constantly provoked clashes with Himyar in the first centuries of our era.
Saba's capital, Marib, was located 130 km east of the current capital of Yemen, Sana'a. The urban settlement in Marib dates back to the 4th millennium BC. e. From the middle of the 8th century. BC e. Marib was the main economic and cultural center of South Arabia. Its population reached 50 thousand people. The city was located on a hill, occupying 1.5 km in length and 1 km in width. It was surrounded by a wall 4.3 km long and 7 to 14 m thick. Archaeological research has not yet been carried out inside the city wall. The presence of city buildings outside this wall may indicate that it surrounded only its central part. The main Sabaean sanctuary was located 3.5 km from the city - a temple dedicated to the deity Almakah. In the 3rd century. n. e. As a result of the defeat of Saba in the war with Himyar, Marib lost its status as a capital. In the VI century. The Marib dam was destroyed and the inhabitants left the city.
Ruins of the Marib Dam
The Marib oasis was irrigated by flood waters from Wadi Dhana, the deepest river valley in South Arabia. It was located on both sides of the river valley, providing food for 50 thousand people. Cereals and date palms were cultivated there. The water in the oasis had to not only be preserved, but raised to the level of the fields. A special pool served to allow muddy water to settle, and a system of canals led water from the dams to the fields, where it was distributed by special mechanisms. The fields were covered with water to a height of 50 cm. Excess water in the upper fields was transferred to the fields below. The remaining water after irrigation was discharged into the wadi.
Kataban
This state occupied the territory east of Saba and west of Hadhramaut. Capital Katabana There was a city called Timna, located in Wadi Beihan. Qataban was first mentioned in Sabaean inscriptions in the 7th century. BC e. as an ally of Saba and Hadhramaut. The state of Kataban was a union of tribes, the strongest of which gave its name to the entire kingdom. All tribes of Kataban were united by a single cult and obeyed one ruler. In addition, there was a council of tribal elders.
The circumstances under which Qataban became the dominant political force have not yet been sufficiently clarified. In the period after the reign of Mukarrib Karibil Watara Saba broke off the alliance with Qataban, who lured tribes hostile to Saba to his side. From VI to I centuries. BC e. the rulers of Qataban bore the title of mukarriba. The first muqarrib of Qataban was Haufiamm Yuhanim. The kingdom's territory expanded rapidly from Marib in the northwest to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the southwest.
There are significant gaps in the history of Kataban, reconstructed from local inscriptions and according to ancient authors. After the break in the alliance with Saba at the beginning of the 6th century. BC e. Kataban waged long wars with her for a whole century. After the title of mukarriba was finally established for the Qataban rulers, the kingdom entered a period of prosperity. Temples and palaces are built in cities, the number of inscriptions increases, and fine art flourishes.
From the 1st century n. e. a period of decline began. The territory of the kingdom shrank sharply, and at the end of the 2nd century. n. e. Qataban was finally absorbed by the kingdom of Hadhramaut. The capital of Qataban, Timna, occupied a dominant position in Wadi Beihan. The city was located at an altitude of 25 m above the level of the river valley, which was convenient for artificial irrigation and trade. As a result of excavations in Timna, the first legislative South Arabian inscriptions of Muqarrib Shahr Hilal - “Qataban Commercial Code” were discovered. The Roman encyclopedist writer Pliny the Elder reported that there were 65 temples in Timna.
Main
State Main(capital - Karanau) was located on a small part of the Jouf plateau between the Rub al-Khali and Ramlat al-Sabatein deserts. The basis of its existence was caravan trade. The first information about Main goes back to the 7th century. BC e. In the VI–II centuries. BC e. After the fall of Saba's power, Ma'in completely controlled the export of traditional Arabian incense to the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Ma'in traders established a number of colonies in Northwestern Arabia. An important transit point was located in Dedan (now the oasis of al-Ula) - an area north of the Hejaz. The Maina nomads carried out caravan trade, while the settled population was engaged in agriculture.
There is no mention in the sources of the presence of military skills among the Main residents. The rulers of the Main state never called themselves mukarribs and did not mint their own coins. The Main pantheon was led by a triad of astral deities led by Wadd, presumably the moon god. The Main alphabet goes back to the Phoenician; inscriptions were written both from right to left and in the opposite direction, and even in boustrophedon - a method of writing in which the first line is written from right to left, the second from left to right, the third again from right to left, etc.
The development of direct sea trade between the Mediterranean and South Arabia, bypassing the caravan routes and the pressure of nomads by the beginning of the 1st century. BC e. completely undermined the power of Main.
Hadhramaut
State Hadhramaut was located in the east of South Arabia along the coast of the Arabian Sea. It occupied the Hadhramaut plateau, crossed by numerous wadis. The basis of his wealth was agriculture, as well as the collection of incense and their sale. Hadhramaut was the starting point of the caravan routes that crossed the entire Arabian Peninsula in the western and eastern directions.
Situated on the edge of the Ramlat al-Sabatein desert, Hadhramaut's capital, Shabwa, was in an area least supplied with water, but it was in Shabwa that the caravan routes leading to Marib and Najran branched off.
The history of the city dates back to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The oldest studied layer dates back to this time. Shabwa was the most important center for the supply of incense to all regions of Southern Arabia. All the resin from fragrant trees collected in spring and autumn was delivered to Shabva, from there the incense was transported along caravan routes in two main directions: to the northwest and northeast. In the 2nd half of the 2nd century. n. e. under the Sabaean king Shair Autar, a war broke out between Saba and Hadhramaut; Shabwa was plundered and burned. In the 4th century. Shabva was once again burned by the Himyarites, and she finally lost her political and commercial significance.
One of the most important ports on the South Arabian coast, along with Aden - “Happy Arabia”, were the Hadhramaut ports of Mosha Limen and Qana. Qana served as the main point for transporting goods from India and East Africa to the mainland.
The founding of Cana (late 1st century BC) and Mosha Limen (3rd century BC) was most likely associated with the development of maritime trade along the South Arabian coast. Good roads connected Qana with the capital of Hadhramaut, Shabwa. The islands and rocky cape located in Cana Bay made it an attractive stop for sea traders. The city's prosperity was also facilitated by the proximity of markets on the African coast that supplied spices and incense. Cana traded with many countries from Spain in the west to India in the east. The oldest buildings in Caen were incense storage facilities. Period from the end of the 2nd to the 5th century. n. e. became the peak of Cana's heyday: the territory grew rapidly. In the 3rd century. n. e. Qana, like Shabwa, was destroyed by Saba's troops, but the city was very quickly rebuilt. In the last period of the history of Cana (VI - early 7th century AD), there was intense migration of the population from East Africa and trade contacts with India almost completely ceased.
The port of Mosha Limen (gr. “Harbor of Mosha”) was located in the area of Khor Rori near the modern city of Salalah, the capital of the Dhofar province of the Sultanate of Oman. 600 m from the shore of Mosha harbor there was Fort Samkharam - a fortress that stood on a high hill. Samharam-Mosha Limen was the political and military center of the eastern region of Hadhramaut, which covered Dhofar, including the incense-bearing highlands. Fragments of Mediterranean pottery from the 1st century were discovered there. n. e. The settlement itself was founded in the 3rd century. BC e., and abandoned in the 5th century. n. e. At this time, Hadhramaut lost its status as the dominant political force in South Arabia, and there was no longer a need to guard its borders; In addition, the decline in transit trade had an impact.
By the 1st century BC e. The importance of caravan trade fell sharply. The center of trade activity moved to the South Arabian ports: Muza, Aden (“Happy Arabia”), Qana and Mosha Limen. The states of Qataban and Saba were in a state of decline, as they were cut off from the sea coast, but the importance of Hadhramaut increased sharply.
Hadhramaut reached the peak of its political and economic power at the beginning of the 2nd century. n. e. The kings of Hadhramaut, who took the title of mukarriba, even managed to capture a significant part of the Qataban territory. At this time the king was on the throne Illiazz Yalit. He entered into an alliance with Saba and sealed it with a dynastic marriage. King of Saba in 222–223. helped him suppress the uprising, but then he himself led a successful campaign against his recent ally. Illiyazz Yalit was captured, the capital of Shabwa and the port of Qana were captured and plundered. By 300 Hadhramaut became part of the Himyar state .
Himyar
Around 110 BC e. The vast territory in southwestern Arabia, controlled by Qataban, was united under the rule of the alliance of the Zu-Raydan tribes, the main of which was the Himyar tribe. It gave the name to the emerging kingdom. Raidan was the name of the palace in Zafar, the capital Himyara, and the concept “zu-Raidan” (literally “the one to whom Raidan belongs”) began to designate the dynasty that ruled in it, and the tribal union itself. This union was built on new, “federal” principles: each tribe was no longer obliged to honor the gods of the most powerful tribe, but retained its own cults. The spread of Himyar's power can be determined by dating the inscriptions from the Himyar era. The Kataban language was consigned to oblivion, it was replaced by Sabaean, and the Kataban deities also gave way to Sabaeans. The Himyar state originally occupied the south of the Yemen Highlands. Gradually, Himyar subjugated the numerous small tribes that surrounded him.
During the 1st century. n. e. The kings of Himyar managed to keep Saba under their control. Saba was not territorially included in Himyar, but was ruled from Raidan, maintaining its political and religious unity. At the end of the 1st century. n. e. A series of wars began between Saba and Himyar. The rulers of both kingdoms simultaneously claimed the double title of “King of Saba and Zu-Raydan.”
In the II century. n. e. Saba was experiencing a period of genuine political renaissance: old sanctuaries were restored, Sabaean coinage developed, and a new capital, Sana, was built. At this time, the kings of Saba managed to conclude an alliance in the fight against Himyar with the rulers Aksum- kingdoms on the east coast of Africa. Between 200 and 275 BC e. Aksum occupied the western part of the Yemen Plateau. In 275 BC. e. Saba drives Aksum's troops out of Arabia, and Aksum makes an alliance with Himyar.
In the last quarter of the 3rd century. n. e. Himyar, as a result of an attack on Sana, annexed the Sabaean kingdom to its territory. Having subjugated by 300 AD. e. Hadhramaut, Himyar, for the first time in the history of South Arabia, united all its lands under his rule. The vast territory was subordinated to a single central authority, a single Sabaean language was used, a single writing system was used, and a single religion for the entire country was spread - Judaism.
In the VI century. n. e. Southern Arabia became the scene of a clash of interests between Byzantium and Iran, who fought for control over maritime trade routes. Taking advantage of the extermination of Christians in Najran in 521–523. As a pretext, the Byzantine Emperor Justin (518–527) forced the king of Aksum, Kaled Ella Asbeh, to invade South Arabia. Himyar's troops were defeated, Kaled Ella Asbeha died in battle. The country was plundered. From 570 to 632, South Arabia was under the rule of Sasanian Iran.
The Way of Incense
Ancient Arabia was crossed by caravan routes - “roads of incense”. South Arabia was the main supplier of spices and incense. Since the 8th century. BC e. The main export items from South Arabia to the Mediterranean and the Middle East were frankincense, myrrh and aloe.
Since ancient times, incense has been used for incense in religious practice, as well as in medicine and perfumery. Myrrh and the oil obtained from it were used in perfumery, medicine, cooking as a spice, in cult practice and in funeral rituals. Myrrh grows in the northwestern parts of modern Somalia, in the Dhofar region, in the area between Mukalla and Wadi Hadhramaut; in ancient times, myrrh also grew in Qataban. Myrrh from Somalia was considered the best, so it was exported to Arabia, and from there to the Mediterranean. Aloe became known in the Roman world no earlier than the reign of Augustus and immediately acquired a reputation as an excellent remedy for treating skin irritations, burns, and wounds. It was supplied from the south of Arabia and from the island of Socotra.
Incense burner
Land routes 2,500 km long led from Hadhramaut - the incense-bearing country of ancient geographers - to the east and west of Arabia: the first route led to Guerra, to the Middle Euphrates, and then to the Middle Eastern “caravan cities” - Dura-Europos and Palmyra. The second route ran along the western borders of the Arabian deserts to Petra and Gaza, from where goods went to Egypt and Palestine. Spices and aromas from East Africa and India were also brought to the ports of Hadhramaut - Kanu and Mosha Limen - starting points of caravan routes.
The journey to Guerra along the eastern route took approximately 40 days. From the capital of Qataban, Timna, along the western route, the caravan reached Gaza in 70 days. Initially, this route was controlled by the Sabaeans, and from the 5th century. BC e. - residents of Main. Through Qataban and Saba, caravans with Hadhramaut incense reached the oasis at Al-Jouf. Here, apparently, customs duties and the services of guides were paid. This path lay along the western border of the Rammat al-Sabatein desert. Another, shorter, but also more dangerous route led from Shabva in a northwestern direction. From the El-Abr oasis it led to Najran, the largest trading center in Southwestern Arabia, located at the intersection of the main caravan routes.
Religion of ancient South Arabia
The main source of knowledge about the religion of ancient South Arabia is the inscriptions left in temples dedicated to certain deities. There are very few inscriptions that talk about cult rituals. Prayers, laments, panegyrics, and blessings characteristic of other ancient Eastern cultures have not been preserved at all. On the other hand, there are inscriptions that mention cult pilgrimages and meals, sacrifices to the gods so that they would send rain during periods of drought. Partly, the lack of information from epigraphic sources is supplemented by fine art.
The South Arabian deities had an astral nature, as follows from their names: Shams (sun), Rub (quarter moon), Sahar (dawn). The god Asthar (the incarnation of Venus) retained his name in the patheons of all the South Arabian kingdoms. He occupied first place in the hierarchy of South Arabian deities. Although his name is related to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar and the Canaanite goddess Astarte, he is a male deity. He was the god of fertility and rain.
Tombstone with the image of the deceased
Ruins of the Almakaha Temple in Marib
Each kingdom revered its own dynastic deity. The main Sabaean deity mentioned in the most ancient inscriptions was Almakah. People were considered his children, of whom the first and most important was mukarrib. It was the mukarribs who maintained the connection between the world of the gods and people; they supervised the construction of temples and ritual hunting. In the Marib oasis, two temples were dedicated to Almakah.
The most revered deity of Main was Wadd, whose name means “love.” In temple inscriptions throughout Southern Arabia the formula “Wadd is the father” is found. In Hadhramaut, the dynastic god was Sin, to whose name the epithet Alim was added after the name of the center of his cult in the capital of the kingdom of Shabwe. Temples dedicated to Sin were erected in Shabwa and Raybun, the largest agricultural oasis of Hadhramaut. This name must be related to the name of the Mesopotamian moon god Sin, although the symbol of the Hadhramaut deity was an eagle, which rather indicates his connection with the sun. The female sun deity was Zat-Khimyam, the male deity was Shams. In Katabana, the god Amm was most revered.
For a long time there was a hypothesis according to which the unified South Arabian pantheon was headed by a triad of gods, headed by the moon god (father). The sun goddess was considered the mother, and the Venus god Astar was their son. This hypothesis is currently being questioned.
The most revered South Arabian sanctuary was Awwam - the temple of Almakah in Marib - oval in shape with a vast courtyard surrounded by 32 monolithic columns. Its study began in the 50s. XX century, but the purpose of many buildings around the temple is still not clear. This is the largest sanctuary in South Arabia. The height of its walls reached 13 m.
Human sacrifice is unknown in South Arabia, except in cases involving prisoners of war. Judging by the prevalence of magical signs on rock graffiti, magic occupied an important place in the religious beliefs of South Arabia. Belief in an afterlife was also their characteristic feature.
From the 4th century n. e. Judaism and Christianity begin to spread in South Arabia. By this time, the inscriptions already contain references to a certain “one god,” which gives reason to assume the presence of monotheistic tendencies in religious life. The first monotheistic inscription dates back to the mid-4th century. n. e. By the 5th century n. e. mentions of astral deities practically disappear, although ancient beliefs persisted for a long time, even during the period of the establishment of Islam. The last Sabaean inscriptions were left in the 1st half of the 6th century. n. e. Christians or Jews.
N. e. — The Sabaean kingdom is at the peak of its power
On the southern coast of Arabia, where the climate is more humid, prosperous kingdoms arose in ancient times.
Sabaean kingdom
The most famous of the ancient Arabian kingdoms is Saba (the kingdom of Sabaean, or Sheba). In its capital Marib there was a huge dam, with its help the controlled consumption of water was carried out.
Nabatea
In the north, where the trade routes ended, was the kingdom of Nabatean. Its capital, the city of Petra, built in a narrow valley, was surrounded by rocky cliffs. The wealthy people of Petra had spectacular rock-cut tombs.
Merchants from India brought spices and precious stones to ports on the southern coast of Arabia. Arab traders took these goods to Egypt or the Mediterranean coast and sold them at incredible prices. Material from the site
Incense
In the southern kingdoms, two special varieties of shrubs were grown. Frankincense and myrrh (types of incense) were prepared from their juice. In ancient times, incense was smoked during religious ceremonies, considering it an offering to the gods. They were also used in the manufacture of aromatic substances and medicines.
North Arabian tribes and state formations. On the periphery of the large states of Mesopotamia and the small principalities of the Eastern Mediterranean coast there was a vast territory of the Syrian-Mesopotamian steppe and Northern Arabia, inhabited in ancient times by tribes: the Aribi, Kedrei, Nabateans, Thamud, etc., who led a nomadic lifestyle. The main occupation of the population is cattle breeding (horses, donkeys, large and small cattle, camels). They led a nomadic economy. Tribal alliances and small states dominated. It is possible that some of them were principalities (Nabatea). Their rulers in Assyrian documents were usually called “kings” or, more correctly, “sheikhs”. The Arab tribes gradually developed their own military organization, tactics, and elements of military art. They did not have a regular army; all adult men of the tribe were warriors. The Arab nomads had their own battle tactics: unexpected raids on the enemy and quick disappearance in the vast desert. Being adjacent to the strong ancient eastern kingdoms of Egypt and Assyria, as well as to the small states of the East Mediterranean coast, which were often attacked by powerful powers, the North Arab tribal unions and principalities were often involved in the international contradictions of that time (9-7 centuries BC. ) – Arab-Assyrian clashes (mid-9th century BC). Arab tribes united and entered into alliances with Egypt and Babylon against Assyria.
The rise of the Persian state and the development of its plans of conquest led to the establishment of contacts between the Persians and the Arabs of the northern part of the peninsula, but the Arabs were never under the yoke of the Persians; according to Herodotus, they participated in the Greco-Persian wars on the side of the Persians (5th century BC) , resisted the Greek-Macedonian troops during the campaign of A. the Great to the east (4th century BC).
South Arabia. In the south and southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, on the territory of the modern Yemen Arab and Yemen People's Democratic Republic, in ancient times there existed a number of state entities that were the most important centers of ancient Yemen civilization. The northernmost was Main (with centers - the cities of Yasil and Karnavu). To the south of Main was Saba, with its center at Marib. To the south is Kataban with its capital in Timna. To the south of Qataban is Ausan with its center in Miswar, and to the east is Hadhramaut with its capital Shabwa.
The emergence of the most ancient states dates back to the 10th-8th centuries. BC. The states of Main, Qataban, Aswan, Hadhramaut and Saba in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. enter into a struggle for dominance.
In the 3rd-1st centuries. BC. - Kataban's dominance. In the 1st century BC. - Sabaean kingdom. At the end of the 2nd century. BC. a new Himyarite state emerged with its capital Zafar, which was previously part of Qataban. By the beginning of the 4th century. BC. she established her hegemony over all of southern Arabia. From the middle of the 1st millennium BC. and until the middle of the 1st millennium AD. Arabia was in close contact with Greece, Ptolemaic Egypt and the Roman Empire. Military clashes in Axum (Ethiopia).
The economy is associated with the development of irrigation land tenure and nomadic cattle breeding, as well as crafts. Directions for the development of trade: exchange between agricultural and pastoral tribes of Arabia; international trade in incense with many countries of the ancient Eastern and ancient world; transit trade with the Middle East in Indian and African goods. But at the end of the 1st millennium BC. a number of factors led to severe shocks in the economy of southern Arabia: changes in trade routes (the establishment of direct sea routes between Egypt, Turkey, Persia, India), as well as climate change towards greater aridity and the encroachment of deserts on fertile oases and agricultural zones, the destruction of irrigation structures , natural disasters (repeated failures of the Marib Dam). The infiltration of Bedouins into settled agricultural zones increased. Thus, the complication of the domestic and foreign political situation and constant wars led to the decline of the South Arabian states.
Social relations and political system. In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. and the South Arabic linguistic and tribal community began to identify large tribal unions: Minaan, Kataban, Sabian. At the end of the 2nd millennium - beginning of the 1st millennium BC. As a result of the development of productive forces, productive relations began to change. Early class slave-owning societies arose on the territory of Ancient Yemen. Noble families emerged, which gradually concentrated political power in their hands. Social layers were formed: the priesthood and the merchant class. Land, as a means of production, was owned by rural and urban communities, which regulated water supply, carried out divisions between community members who owned plots of land, paid taxes and performed duties in favor of the state, churches, and community administration. The main economic unit was a large patriarchal family (large family community).
A special category of land consisted of very extensive temple estates. A lot of land was in the hands of the state. The conquered population worked on state lands, performing a number of duties and being essentially state slaves. Free people, persons dedicated to one or another deity, and temple slaves worked in the temple premises to fulfill their duties. The slaves were mainly prisoners of war; debt slavery was not widespread. Documents indicate the presence of slaves in private and temple households, in the household of the ruler and his family, in large patriarchal families they were equated with younger family members.
The system of political structure of the South Arabian peoples can be illustrated by the example of the Sabaean kingdom. It consisted of 6 “tribes”, of which 3 were privileged, and 3 others occupied a subordinate position. Each tribe was divided into large branches, the latter into smaller ones, and these, in turn, into separate clans. The tribes were ruled by Kabiri leaders who came from noble families; perhaps the tribes had councils of elders.
Privileged tribes chose eponyms from representatives of noble families for a certain period of time - important officials of the state who performed priestly duties associated with the cult of the supreme god Astara, and also carried out astronomical observations and drawing up a calendar. The highest officials who had executive power and administered the state were until the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC. mukarribs. During the war, the mukarribs could assume the functions of leadership of the militia, and then they received for a time the title “malik” - king. Gradually, the Mukarribs concentrated the prerogatives of royal power in their hands, and at the end of the 1st millennium BC. their position actually turned into a royal one. The supreme body of the state was the Council of Elders. It included the Mukarrib and representatives of all 6 Sabian tribes, with the unprivileged tribes entitled to only half representation. The Council of Elders had sacred, judicial and legislative functions, as well as administrative and economic ones. Other South Arab states had a similar arrangement.
Gradually, in the South Arab states, along with tribal division, territorial division arose. It was based on cities and settlements with adjacent rural districts, which had their own autonomous system of government. Each Sabaean citizen belonged to one of the blood-related tribes and at the same time was part of a certain territorial unit.
