Ancient history of Yemen

A Grion from the royal palace at Shabwa, the capital city of

Hadhramaut.

phers as ayhad. The southern and western Highlands

and the coastal region were less inuential politically. The
Sabaean inscription addressed to the moon-god Almaqah, men- coastal cities were however already very important from
tioning ve South Arabian gods, two reigning sovereigns and two the beginning for trade. Apart from the territory of mod-
governors, 7th century BCE. ern Yemen the kingdoms extended into Oman, as far as
the north Arabian oasis of Dedan, to Ethiopia and even
along the East African Coast to modern Tanzania.
The ancient history of Yemen (South Arabia) is espe-
cially important because Yemen is one of the oldest cen-
ters of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile
land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sus- 1 History of archaeological re-
tain a stable population, a feature recognized by the an-
cient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who described Yemen search in Yemen
as Eudaimon Arabia (better known in its Latin transla-
Sabaean Studies the study of the cultures of Ancient
tion, Arabia Felix) meaning Fortunate Arabia or Happy
Arabia. Between the eighth century BCE and the sixthSouth Arabia, belong to the younger branches of ar-
chaeology, since in Europe ancient South Arabia re-
century CE, it was dominated by six main states which ri-
mained unknown for much longer than other regions
valed each other, or were allied with each other and con-
trolled the lucrative spice trade: Saba', Ma'n, Qatabn,
of the Orient. In 1504 a European, namely the Italian
Hadhramaut, Kingdom of Awsan, and the Himyarite Lodovico di Varthema, rst managed to venture into
Kingdom. Islam arrived in 630 CE and Yemen became the interior.[1] Two Danish expeditions, contributed to
part of the Muslim realm. by Johann David Michaelis (17171791) and Carsten
The centers of the Old South Arabian kingdoms of Niebuhr (17331815) among others, [2][3] contributed to sci-
present-day Yemen lay around the desert area called entic study, if only in a modest way.
Ramlat al-Sab'atayn, known to medieval Arab geogra- In the rst half of the 19th century other European

1
2 3
Eduard Glaser.
travelers brought back over one hundred inscriptions.
This stage of investigation reached its climax with the
travels of the Frenchman Joseph Halvy[4] 1869/70 and
the Austrian Eduard Glaser 18821894, who together
either copied or brought back to Europe some 2500
inscriptions.[5] On the basis of this epigraphical material
Glaser and Fritz Hommel especially began to analyse the
Old South Arabian language and history. After the First
World War excavations were nally carried out in Yemen.
From 1926 Syrians and Egyptians also took part in the re-
search into ancient South Arabia. The Second World War
brought in a new phase of scientic preoccupation with
ancient Yemen: in 19501952 the American Foundation
for the Study of Man, founded by Wendell Phillips,[6] un-
dertook large-scale excavations in Timnah and Ma'rib, in
which William Foxwell Albright and Fr. Albert Jamme,
who published the corpus of inscriptions, were involved.
From 1959 Gerald Lankaster Harding began the rst sys-
tematic inventories of the archaeological objects in the
then British Protectorate of Aden.[7] At this time Her-
mann von Wissmann was particularly involved with the
study of the history and geography of ancient South Ara-
bia. In addition the French excavations of 19751987 in
Shabwah and in other locations, the Italian investigations
of Paleolithic remains and the work of the German Ar-
chaeological Institute in the Ma'rib area are particularly
noteworthy.
CHRONOLOGY
2 Written sources
The body of source material for Old South Arabia is
sparse. Apart from a few mentions in Assyrian, Persian,
Roman and Arabic sources, as well as in the Old Testa-
ment, which date back to the 8th century BCE right up
to the Islamic period, the Old South Arabian inscriptions
are the main source. These are however largely very short
and as a result limited in the information they provide.
The predominant part of the inscriptions originate from
Saba' and from the Sabaeo-Himyaritic Kingdom which
succeeded it, the least come from Awsn, which only ex-
isted as an independent state for a short time. Most of the
extant texts are building inscriptions or dedications; it is
rare for historical texts to be found.
3 Chronology
Although the Kingdom of Saba' already appears in
Assyrian sources in the 8th century BCE, this benchmark
is not sucient to date the early history of ancient South
Arabia, because the rst absolutely reliable dating starts
with the military campaign of Aelius Gallus in 25 BCE,
and the mention of the king Ilasaros. For earlier times the
chronology must be established on the basis of a compar-
ison of the Old South Arabian nds with those from other
regions, through palaeography, on the basis of the recon-
structed sequence of kings and by radio carbon dating.
Here two schools of thought have essentially evolved: the
Short Chronology and the Long Chronology. At the
end of the 19th century Eduard Glaser and Fritz Hommel
dated the beginning of the Old South Arabian Civilisation
to the late 2nd milennium BCE, a dating that persisted for
many years. In 1955 Jacqueline Pirenne published a com-
parison of Old South Arabian and Greek art and came
to the conclusion that the South Arabian Civilisation rst
developed in the 5th century BCE under Greek inu-
ence. She also supported this new Short Chronology
by means paleaeographic analysis of the forms Old South
Arabian letters. Based on the American excavations in
Timnah and Ma'rib in 195152 another Intermediary
Chronology came into being at about the same time,
which merely set the beginning of Qatabn and Ma'n at a
later time than in the Long Chronology. On the basis of
the study of a rock inscription at Ma'rib (Glaser 1703)
A. G. Lundin and Hermann von Wissmann dated the be-
ginning of Saba' back into the 12th or the 8th century
BCE. Even if their interpretation was later demonstrated
to be partially incorrect, the Short Chronology is not
proven, in more recent times many more arguments have
been brought against it. Above all because of the results
of new archaeological research, such as that carried out by
the Italians in Yala / Hafari and by the French in Shabwah
the Long Chronology attracts more and more support-
ers. Meanwhile, the majority of experts in Sabaean stud-
ies adhere to Wissmans Long Chronology, which is why
6.1 Kingdom of Saba (8th century BCE 275 CE)
the dates in this article have been adjusted in accordance During Sabaean rule, trade and agriculture ourished
with it.
4 Islamic accounts of pre-dynastic is located
Qahn (3rd millennium BCE - Noah, Shem, founded the city of Ma'rib.
8th century BCE)
According to some hypotheses, based on the accounts
given by medieval Muslim Arab historians, in the 3rd
millennium BCE the Semites of the southern Arabian
peninsula united under the leadership of Qahn.[8] The
Qahnites began building simple earth dams and canals
in the Marib area in the Sayhad desert. This area would
later become the site of the Dam of Marib. A trade route
began to ourish along the Red Sea coasts of Tihmah.
This period witnessed the reign of the legendary Queen of
Sheba mentioned in the Bible, and called Bilqs or Balkis
by Muslim scholars.[9] At the end of this period, in the
9th century BCE, an alphabet was introduced, this now
meant that South Arabian history could be written down.
5 Archaeology and the prehistory
of Yemen
The study of South Arabian prehistory is still at the
beginning, although sites are known going back to the
Palaeolithic. There are tumuli and megalithic enclosures
dating back to the Neolithic. Immediately before the his-
torical kingdoms in 2500 two Bronze Age cultures go
out of North Yemen and from the coast of the Indian
Ocean. In the middle of the second millennium BCE the
rst important urban centers appear in the coastal area,
among which are the sites of Sabir and Ma'laybah.[10] So
far it has not been adequately explained whether the Old
South Arabian Civilization of Yemen was a direct contin-
uation from the Bronze Age, or if at the beginning of the
Iron Age groups of people began wandering south from
Palestine or North Arabia, as is partly conjectured.
6 Documented history
It is not yet possible to specify with any certainty when the of these earthworks, known as the Ma'rib Dam was built
great South Arabian Kingdoms appeared, estimates range c. 700 BCE, provided
(within the framework of the long chronology) from the
12th until the 8th century BCE.
6.1 Kingdom of Saba (8th century BCE migration of up to 50,000 people.
275 CE)
Main article: Sabaeans
3
generating much wealth and prosperity. The Sabaean
kingdom was located in what is now the 'Asr region
in southwestern Saudi Arabia, and its capital, Ma'rib,
near what is now Yemens modern capital,
Sana'a.[11] According to Arab tradition, the eldest son of
6.1.1 Sabaean hegemony (800 BCE 400 BCE)
At the time of the earliest historical sources originating in
South Arabia the territory was under the rule of the King-
dom of Saba', the centres of which were situated to the
east of present-day Sana'a in irw and Ma'rib. The po-
litical map of South Arabia at that time consisted of sev-
eral larger kingdoms, or rather tribal territories: Awsn,
Qatabn and the aramawt; and on the other hand an
uncertain number of smaller states, such as the city states
of aram (Yemen) und Nasq in al-Jawf. Shortly after,
Yitha'amar Watar I had united Qatabn and some areas
in al-Djawf with Saba', the Kingdom reached the peak of
its power under Karib'il Watar I, who probably reigned
some time around the rst half of the 7th century BCE,
and ruled all the region from Najrn in the south of mod-
ern South Arabia right up to Bb al-Mandab, on the Red
Sea. The formation of the Minaean Kingdom in the river
oasis of al-Jawf, north-west of Saba' in the 6th century
BCE, actually posed a danger for Sabaean hegemony, but
Yitha'amar Bayyin II, who had completed the great reser-
voir dam of Ma'rib, succeeded in reconquering the north-
ern part of South Arabia. Between the 8th and 4th cen-
turies the state of Da'amot emerged, under Sabaean in-
uence in Ethiopia, which survived until the beginning
of the Christian era at the latest. The exact chronology of
Da'amot and to what extent it was politically independent
of Saba' remains in any case uncertain.
The success of the Kingdom was based on the cultivation
and trade of spices and aromatics including frankincense
and myrrh. These were exported to the Mediterranean,
India, and Abyssinia where they were greatly prized by
many cultures, using camels on routes through Arabia,
and to India by sea.
Agriculture in Yemen thrived during this time due to an
advanced irrigation system which consisted of large wa-
ter tunnels in mountains, and dams. The most impressive
[12]
irrigation for about 25,000 acres
(101 km) of land and stood for over a millennium, -
nally collapsing in 570 CE after centuries of neglect. The
nal destruction of the dam is noted in the Qur'an and the
consequent failure of the irrigation system provoked the
The Sabaean kingdom, with its capital at Ma'rib where
the remains of a large temple can still be seen, thrived for
almost 14 centuries. Some have argued that this kingdom
was the Sheba described in the Old Testament.
4 6 DOCUMENTED HISTORY

6.2 Kingdom of aramawt (8th century in South Arabian aairs. King GDRT of Aksum acted
BCE 300 CE) by dispatching troops under his son, BYGT, sending them
from the western coast to occupy Thifar, the imyarite
Main article: Hadhramaut capital, as well as from the southern coast against ara-
The rst known inscriptions of aramawt are known mawt as Sabaean allies. The kingdom of aramawt
was eventually conquered by the imyarite king Shammar
Yuhar'ish around 300 CE, unifying all of the south Arabic
kingdoms.[13]

6.3 Kingdom of Awsan (800 BCE 500

BCE)

Main article: Kingdom of Awsan

The ancient Kingdom of Awsn in South Arabia (mod-

ern Yemen), with a capital at ajar Yairr in Wd
Markhah, to the south of the Wd Bayn, is now
marked by a tell or articial mound, which is locally
named ajar Asfal in Shabwah. Once it was one of the
most important small kingdoms of South Arabia. The
city seems to have been destroyed in the 7th century BCE
by the king and mukarrib of Saba Karib'il Watar, accord-
ing to a Sabaean text that reports the victory in terms that
attest to its signicance for the Sabaeans.

6.4 Kingdom of Qatabn (4th century

BCE 200 CE)

Bronze man found in Al Bayda' (ancient Nashqum). 6th5th

century BCE. Louvre Museum.

from the 8th century BCE. It was rst referenced by

an outside civilization in an Old Sabaic inscription of
Karab'il Watar from the early 7th century BCE, in which
the King of aramawtt, Yadail, is mentioned as being
one of his allies. When the Minaeans took control of the
Bronze lion with a rider made by the Qatabnians c. 7550 BCE.
caravan routes in the 4th century BCE, however, ara-
mawt became one of its confederates, probably because
of commercial interests. It later became independent and Main article: Qataban
was invaded by the growing kingdom of imyar toward
the end of the 1st century BCE, but it was able to repel Qatabn was one of the ancient Yemeni kingdoms which
the attack. aramawt annexed Qatabn in the second thrived in the Bayn valley. Like the other Southern
half of the 2nd century CE, reaching its greatest size. Dur- Arabian kingdoms it gained great wealth from the trade
ing this period, aramawt was continuously at war with of frankincense and myrrh incense which were burned at
Himyar and Saba', and the Sabaean king Sha'irum Awtar altars. The capital of Qatabn was named Timna and was
was even able to take its capital, Shabwah, in 225. Dur- located on the trade route which passed through the other
ing this period the Kingdom of Aksum began to interfere kingdoms of aramawt, Saba' and Ma'n. The chief de-
6.7 Kingdom of Aksum (520 570 CE) 5

ity of the Qatabnians was 'Amm, or Uncle and the peo-

ple called themselves the children of 'Amm.

6.5 Kingdom of Ma'in (8th century BCE

100 BCE)
Main article: Minaeans

During Minaean rule, the capital was at Qarnwu (now

known as Ma'in). Their other important city was Yathill
(Sabaean yl :now known as Barqish). Other parts of
modern Yemen include Qatab and the coastal string of
watering stations known as the Hadhramaut. Though
Saba' dominated in the earlier period of South Arabian
history, Minaic inscriptions are of the same time period
as the rst Sabaean inscriptions. They pre-date the ap-
pearance of the Minaeans themselves, and, hence, are
called now more appropriately as Madhbic, after the
name of the Wadi they are found in, rather than Mi-
naic. The Minaean Kingdom was centered in northwest-
ern Yemen, with most of its cities lying along the Wd
Madhhb. Minaic inscriptions have been found far aeld
of the Kingdom of Ma'in, as far away as al-l in north-
western Saudi Arabia and even on the island of Delos and
in Egypt. It was the rst of the South Arabian kingdoms
to end, and the Minaean language died around 100 CE.[14]

6.6 Kingdom of imyar (2nd century BCE

525 CE)
Main article: Himyarite Kingdom

The imyarites eventually united Southwestern Ara-

bia, controlling the Red Sea as well as the coasts of the
Gulf of Aden. From their capital city, the imyarite
kings launched successful military campaigns, and had
stretched its domain at times as far east to the Persian
Gulf and as far north as the Arabian Desert.
During the 3rd century CE, the South Arabian kingdoms
were in continuous conict with one another. GDRT of
Aksum began to interfere in South Arabian aairs, sign- Statue of Ammaalay, 1st century BCE, Yemen
ing an alliance with Saba', and a imyarite text notes that
aramawt and Qatabn were also all allied against the
on the Red Sea. Dh Nuws, a imyarite king, changed
kingdom. As a result of this, the Kingdom of Aksum was
the state religion to Judaism in the beginning of the 6th
able to capture the imyarite capital of ifr in the rst
century and began to massacre the Christians. Outraged,
quarter of the 3rd century. However, the alliances did
Kaleb, the Christian King of Aksum with the encour-
not last, and Sha'ir Awtar of Saba' unexpectedly turned on
agement of the Byzantine Emperor Justin I invaded and
adramawt, allying again with Aksum and taking its cap-
annexed Yemen. About fty years later, Yemen fell to
ital in 225. imyar then allied with Saba' and invaded the
Persia.
newly taken Aksumite territories, retaking ifr, which
had been under the control of GDRTs son BYGT, and
pushing Aksum back into the Tihmah.[15][16] 6.7 Kingdom of Aksum (520 570 CE)
They established their capital at Thifar (now just a small
village in the Ibb region) and gradually absorbed the Main article: Kingdom of Aksum
Sabaean kingdom. They traded from the port of Mawza'a
6 8
Around 517/8, a Jewish king called Ysuf Asar Yathar
(also known as Dh Nuws) usurped the kingship of
imyar from Ma'adkarib Ya'fur. Interestingly, Pseudo-
Zacharias of Mytilene (. late 6th century) says that
Ysuf became king because the previous king had died
in winter, when the Aksumites could not cross the Red
Sea and appoint another king. Ma'adkarib Ya'furs long
title puts its truthfulness in doubt, however.[17] Upon
gaining power, Yusuf attacked the Aksumite garrison in
Thifar, the Himyarite capital, killing many and destroy-
ing the church there.[18][19] The Christian King Kaleb of
Axum learned of Dhu Nuwass persecutions of Chris-
tians and Aksumites, and, according to Procopius, was
further encouraged by his ally and fellow Christian Justin
I of Byzantium, who requested Aksums help to cut o
silk supplies as part of his economic war against the
Persians.[20]
Kaleb sent a eet across the Red Sea and was able to de-
feat Dh Nuws, who was killed in battle according to an
inscription from usn al-Ghurb, while later Arab tra-
dition has him riding his horse into the sea.[21] Kaleb in-
stalled a native imyarite viceroy, Sumyafa' Ashwa', who
ruled until 525, when he was deposed by the Aksumite
general (or soldier and former slave[22] ) Abrahah with the
support of disgruntled Ethiopian soldiers.[19] A contem-
porary inscription refers to Sumyafa' Ashwa' as viceroy
for the kings of Aksum.[23] According to the later Arabic
sources, Kaleb retaliated by sending a force of 3,000 men
under a relative, but the troops defected and killed their
leader, and a second attempt at reigning in the rebellious
Abrahah also failed.[24][25] Later Ethiopian sources state
that Kaleb abdicated to live out his years in a monastery
and sent his crown to be hung in the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre in Jerusalem. While uncertain, it seems to be
supported by the die-links between his coins and those of
his successor, Alla Amidas. An inscription of Sumyafa'
Ashwa' also mentions two kings (nagat) of Aksum, indi-
cating that the two may have co-ruled for a while before
Kaleb abdicated in favor of Alla Amidas.[24]
Procopius notes that Abrahah later submitted to Kalebs
successor, as supported by the formers inscription in 543
stating Aksum before the territories directly under his
control. During his reign, Abrahah repaired the Ma'rib
Dam in 543, and received embassies from Persia and
Byzantium, including a request to free some bishops who
had been imprisoned at Nisibis (according to John of
Epheseus's Life of Simeon).[24][23] Abraha ruled until
at least 547, sometime after which he was succeeded
by his son, Aksum. Aksum (called Yaksum in Ara-
bic sources) was perplexingly referred to as of Ma'ar"
( mar), the southwestern coast of Yemen, in Abra- [2] Michaelis 1762.
hahs Ma'rib dam inscription, and was succeeded by his
brother, Masrq. Aksumite control in Yemen ended in
570 with the invasion of the elder Sassanid general Vahriz
who, according to later legends, famously killed Masrq
with his well-aimed arrow.[23]
Later Arabic sources also say that Abrahah constructed
REFERENCES
a great Church called al-Qulays at Sana'a in order to di-
vert pilgrimage from the Ka'bah and have him die in the
Year of the Elephant (570) after returning from a failed
attack on Mecca (though he is thought to have died be-
fore this time).[22] The exact chronology of the early wars
are uncertain, as a 525 inscription mentions the death of a
King of imyar, which could refer either to the imyarite
viceroy of Aksum, Sumyafa' Ashwa', or to Yusuf Asar
Yathar. The later Arabic histories also mention a conict
between Abrahah and another Aksumite general named
Aryat occurring in 525 as leading to the rebellion.[19]
6.8 Sassanid period (570630 CE)
Main article: Sassanid Empire
The Persian king Khosrau I, sent troops under the com-
mand of Vahriz, who helped the semi-legendary Sayf ibn
Dhi Yazan to drive the Aksumites out of Yemen. South-
ern Arabia became a Persian dominion under a Yemenite
vassal and thus came within the sphere of inuence of the
Sassanid Empire. Later another army was sent to Yemen,
and in 597/8 Southern Arabia became a province of the
Sassanid Empire under a Persian satrap. It was a Per-
sian province by name but after the Persians assassinated
Dhi Yazan, Yemen divided into a number of autonomous
kingdoms.
This development was a consequence of the expansionary
policy pursued by the Sassanian king Khosrau II Parviz
(590628), whose aim was to secure Persian border ar-
eas such as Yemen against Roman/Byzantine incursions.
Following the death of Khosrau II in 628, then the Per-
sian governor in Southern Arabia, Badhan, converted to
Islam and Yemen followed the new religion.
7 See also
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Ancient Near East
Islamic history of Yemen
8 References
[1] Jones 1863.
[3] Niehbuhr 1772.
[4] Halvy 1872.
[5] Dostal 1990.
[6] Phillips 1955.
 7

[7] Harding 1964. Jones, John Winter, ed. and trans. (1863). The
Travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria,
[8] The Qahtanites in ancient times Archived September 28,
Arabia Deserta, and Arabia Felix, in Persia, India,
2007, at the Wayback Machine.
and Ethiopia. AD 1503 to 1508. Translated from
[9] Queen Bilqis Archived September 29, 2007, at the the Italian edition of 1510. London: Haylukt Soci-
Wayback Machine. ety.
[10] Grsdorf & Vogt 2001. Michaelis, Johann David (1762). Fragen an eine
Gesellschaft Gelehrter Mnner, die auf Befehl Ihro
[11] Archived April 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
Majestt des Kniges von Dnnemark nach Arabien
[12] Culture of Yemen - History and ethnic relations, urban- reisen [Questions put to a body of learned men who
ism, architecture, and the use of space travelled to Arabia on the command of His Majesty
the King of Denmark] (in German). Frankfurt am
[13] Mller 2003, pp. 965966.
Main.
[14] Nebes 2003, p. 334.
Mller, Walter W. (2003). "aramawt. In Uhlig,
[15] Sima 2003b, pp. 718719. Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Volume 2: D-
Ha. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 965966.
[16] Munro-Hay 1991, p. 72.
ISBN 978-3-447-05238-2.
[17] Munro-Hay 1991, p. 80.
Munro-Hay, Stuart C. (1991). Aksum: An African
[18] Mentioned in an inscription dated to 633 of the Himyarite Civilisation of Late Antiquity (PDF). Edinburgh: Ed-
era, or 518 CE. inburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-0209-
4. Link is to text lacking page numbers.
[19] Munro-Hay 1991, p. 81.
Munro-Hay, Stuart (2003). Arabia. In Uhlig,
[20] Munro-Hay 1991, p. 54.
Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Volume 1: A-
[21] de Maigret 2002, p. 251. C. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 294300.
ISBN 978-3-447-04746-3.
[22] Sima 2003a, p. 42.
Nebes, Norbert (2003). Epigraphic South Ara-
[23] Munro-Hay 2003, pp. 297298.
bian. In Uhlig, Siegbert. Encyclopaedia
[24] Munro-Hay 1991, p. 82. Aethiopica. Volume 2: D-Ha. Wiesbaden: Otto
Harrassowitz. pp. 334336. ISBN 978-3-447-
[25] Munro-Hay 2003, p. 297. 05238-2.
Niehbuhr, Carsten (1772). Beschreibung von Ara-
9 Sources bien. Aus eigenen Beobachtungen und im Lande
selbst gesammleten Nachrichten abgefasset (in Ger-
man). Copenhagen: Mller.
de Maigret, Alessandro (2002). Arabia Felix : an
exploration of the archaeological history of Yemen. Phillips, Wendell (1955). Qataban and Sheba: ex-
translated by Rebecca Thompson. London: Stacey ploring the ancient kingdoms on the Biblical spice
International. ISBN 1-900988-07-0. routes of Arabia. New York: Harcourt Brace.
OCLC 408743.
Dostal, Walter (1990). Eduard Glaser: Forschun-
gen im Yemen: Eine quellenkritische Untersuchung in Sima, Alexander (2003a). Abraha. In Uhlig,
ethnologischer Sicht (in German). Wien: Verlag der Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Volume 1: A-
sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. C. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 4243.
ISBN 978-3-7001-1746-9. ISBN 978-3-447-04746-3.
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Excavations at Ma'layba and Sabir, Republic of Siegbert. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Volume 2: D-
Yemen: Radiocarbon datings in the period 1900 To Ha. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 718719.
800 Cal BC. Radiocarbon. 43 (3): 13531361. ISBN 978-3-447-05238-2.

Halvy, Joseph (1872). Rapport sur une mission

archologique dans le Ymen (in French). Paris: Im-
primerie Nationale.
10 Further reading
Harding, Gerald Lankester (1964). Archaeology in Daum, Werner, ed. (1987). Yemen: 3000 Years of
the Aden Protectorates. London: Her Majestys Sta- Art and Civilisation in Arabia Felix. Innsbruck: Pin-
tionery Oce. OCLC 5040761. guin. ISBN 978-3-7016-2292-4.
8 11 EXTERNAL LINKS

Korotayev, Andrey (1966). Pre-Islamic Yemen:

socio-political organization of the Sabaean cultural
area in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-03679-6.
Korotayev, Andrey (1995). Ancient Yemen: some
general trends of evolution of the Sabaic language
and Sabaean culture. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. ISBN 0-19-922237-1.
Yule, Paul (2007). Himyar: Sptantike in Jemen /
Late Antique Yemen (in German and English). Aich-
wald: Linden Soft. ISBN 978-3-929290-35-6.

Yule, Paul (2013). Late antique Arabia - afr,

capital of imyar : rehabilitation of a 'deca-
dent' society; excavations of the Ruprecht-Karls-
Universitt Heidelberg 19982010 in the highlands
of Yemen. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-
447-06935-9.

11 External links
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Arabian Penin-
sula, 80002000 B.C.. New York: Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Arabian Penin-

sula, 20001000 B.C.. New York: Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: Arabian Penin-
sula, 1000 B.C.1 A.D.. New York: Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

DASI Digital Archive for the Study of pre-

Islamic Arabian Inscriptions: Corpus of South Ara-
bian Inscriptions. Universit di Pisa.
Arabia Antica: Pre-Islamic Arabian studies con-
ducted by the University of Pisa. Universit di Pisa.

A Dam at Marib
 9

12 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

12.1 Text
Ancient history of Yemen Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_history_of_Yemen?oldid=762686167 Contributors: Llywrch,
Jan Pedersen, Ccady, Auric, Mervyn, Per Honor et Gloria, Florian Blaschke, Dbachmann, Caeruleancentaur, Nsaa, Ogress, BD2412, Taless-
man, Bgwhite, Wavelength, Alarob, SmackBot, Hmains, Cloj, Colonies Chris, Cplakidas, Yom, Mr Stephen, Fangfufu, Tapatio, Courcelles,
Dadofsam, Anonymous44, Doug Weller, , Barticus88, Marek69, Phanerozoic, JAnDbot, Alameer, , Email4mobile, MetsBot,
Aziz1005, Brunodam, JaGa, EFG, R'n'B, CommonsDelinker, Artaxiad, Kingvald, Razorman400, Z.E.R.O., Charlesdrakew, Natg 19,
Vladsinger, Meters, Orange32, Lightmouse, Alfons berg, Skatewalk, ClueBot, Temoni prince, The12e32nd, Mild Bill Hiccup, Schreiber-
Bike, Athkalani2000, DumZiBoT, PhilippGs, Addbot, Laurinavicius, LinkFA-Bot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, 2D, Aa77zz, Riotrocket8676,
Fkjms73, Falastine fee Qalby, AustralianRupert, WebCiteBOT, FrescoBot, LittleWink, Trappist the monk, John of Reading, Italia2006,
Ready, Orange Suede Sofa, JohnLloydScharf, Mjbmrbot, ClueBot NG, Helpful Pixie Bot, Aisteco, Cyberbot II, Schreiber91, TheJJJunk,
Dexbot, Hmainsbot1, Ducky59, Lukekfreeman, Jodosma, Habib57, KatnissEverdeen, Selinamoore, BD2412bot, Yazebi, GreenC bot and
Anonymous: 38

12.2 Images
File:BronzeManNashqum.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/BronzeManNashqum.jpg License: CC-
BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: self-made, photographed at Le Louvre, Paris Original artist: PHGCOM
File:Eduard_Glaser.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Eduard_Glaser.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: Werner Daum (ed.), Jemen, Innsbruck / Frankfurt 1987, p. 15 Original artist: User:Schreiber
File:Flag_of_Yemen.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Flag_of_Yemen.svg License: CC0 Contribu-
tors: Open Clip Art website Original artist: ?
File:Griffon_hadhramaut.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Griffon_hadhramaut.jpg License: Copy-
righted free use Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Original artist: The original uploader was Jidan at English
Wikipedia
File:Panel_Almaqah_Louvre_DAO18.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Panel_
Almaqah_Louvre_DAO18.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Jastrow (2007) Original artist: Unknown<a
href='https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https:
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11'
srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x,
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data-le-height='590' /></a>
File:Qataban_lion_bronze.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Qataban_lion_bronze.jpg License:
Copyrighted free use Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Original artist: The original uploader was Jidan at English
Wikipedia
File:Statue_Ammaalay_Louvre_AO20282.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Statue_
Ammaalay_Louvre_AO20282.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Jastrow (2007) Original artist: Unknown<a
href='https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:Q4233718'><img alt='wikidata:Q4233718' src='https:
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/20px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png' width='20' height='11'
srcset='https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/30px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 1.5x,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Wikidata-logo.svg/40px-Wikidata-logo.svg.png 2x' data-le-width='1050'
data-le-height='590' /></a>

12.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0