Sabaeans in the Horn of Africa

(enunciated as "Da'amat" or "Di'amat") was a polity centred on Yeha in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia near the border with Eritrea, founded some time around 800 BCE, and is considered to have been the first state in the region. It was the precursor to the Kingdom of Aksum and the later Ethiopian Empire. The nature of its origins regarding the role played by Sabaeans from Sheba in South Arabia continues to be debated by historians. ==Development of social complexity==

Archaeological research has suggested two distinct trajectories to social complexity in the northern Horn of Africa. and dates to around 3800-3000 BCE. Evidence for social complexity is limited to the discovery of porphyry mace-heads, known to have been associated with wealthy burials in contemporary prehistoric Egypt and Nubia. This indicates that some individuals may have had more prestige and authority than others, as porphyry was likely imported northeast. It is thought to have had three levels of social hierarchy. Groups of people with Middle Nubian ceramics then settled the region. There is a lot of evidence for social complexity, including settlement patterns, burials (such as funerary steles), administrative devices, architecture, and standardization of pottery. It became progressively more socially stratified throughout its period, and may have constituted a chiefdom, although no definitive evidence has been uncovered. It is thought to have had five levels of social hierarchy. Ancient Ona The Ancient Ona culture was located in Hamasien, and dated from at least 900-400 BCE, although it is thought to have originated in the 2nd millennium BCE. Its largest site is Sembel. It served as an intermediary for trade between the Gash Group and the Red Sea. Evidence for social complexity includes the settlement pattern, administrative devices, and a rich grave dating to the mid-1st millennium BCE. ==Evidence of South Arabian influence==

The northern Horn of Africa underwent a period of South Arabian influence, approximately between 700-400 BCE. and some have questioned whether it was ever completed. There are seven inscriptions that mention , all found in Aksum or the eastern Tigray Region (none at Yeha or in Eritrea). It is unclear whether they had been moved from their original locations. There are inscriptions naming non- rulers at Seglamen, Keskese, and Yeha. Some inscriptions on votive altars near Yeha also mention individuals from Sheba. Inscriptions also mention the Sabaean deities Almaqah and ʿAṯtar as well as indigenous ones. Linguistics The origins of Semitic languages continue to be debated, however Akkadian receives the most support. Others consider Semitic languages to have originated in Africa, and to have been spoken in Egypt as early as 3000 BCE. However, this conclusion is disputed, and David Phillipson wrote in 2012 that there is linguistic evidence that Semitic languages were spoken in the northern Horn much earlier, and that a date between 1000-750 BCE can no longer be accepted. In 2018 a paper by Carina Schlebusch and Mattias Jakobsson notes that the founding of , which they said was established by Sabaeans, is a good candidate for the initial admixture of Eurasian genes into East Africa. In 2016 a paper authored by 19 scholars focussing on haplogroup R0a found that their results were inconsistent with a large migration from Arabia into the Horn of Africa around the time of , however said there may have been some minor gene flow owing to growth in trade between the two regions at this time. ==Theories==

The colonisation theory, in which is considered to have been a colony of Sheba, was first articulated by Carlo Conti Rossini based on the Hamitic hypothesis in the early 20th century, and was widely accepted by historians and entered popular historical understanding. However from the 1970s onwards, epigraphic, linguistic, and more recently archaeological evidence and re-interpretation indicated that developments previously attributed to South Arabian contact were indigenous in origin and had occurred at an earlier date, Scholars of South Arabian archaeology and epigraphy tend to favour a migration and/or colonisation, while scholars of African archaeology tend to stress an indigenous origin. David Phillipson writes that other polities, indicated by inscriptions mentioning non- rulers, were likely short-lived and localised. Some have questioned whether '''' was the name of a state, a tribe, a region, or a specific location. Sabaean inscriptions were found in Somaliland and Puntland, as well as a Sabaean temple whose inscriptions say its construction was ordered by the admiral of Sheba's fleet. In 2025 said "we can perhaps discern two different models: a proper colonialist one along the northern Somali seaboard, with direct intervention of the state and aimed at the extraction of resources, and a diasporic model in the northern Horn, led by élites who soon mixed with local people, while maintaining ties with their ancestral homeland". He notes that differences between the nomadic pastoralist groups in Somalia and South Arabians were probably too great for assimilation. Large migration and/or colonisation In 2011, Sarah Japp, , Holger Hitgen, and Mike Schnelle authored a paper which analysed evidence from Yeha and Hawelti. They find the evidence of Sabaean influence too compelling to be explained by the presence of individuals or small groups, and note that settlers are more associated with social, political, cultural, and religious change than merchants and tradesmen, leading them to conclude that there was a large migration of Sabaean groups. They relate this to Sheba's expansionism during the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, and their policy to settle Sabaeans in conquered territories, proposing that Sabaeans founded an autonomous realm called and acculturation took place between Sabaean settlers and the indigenous population. ==References==