Old South Arabian comprised a number of languages; the following are those that have been preserved in writing (the dates follow the so-called long chronology). Besides these, at least
Razihi may be a surviving Old South Arabian language. •
Sabaean: the language of the kingdom of
Saba and later also of
Ḥimyar; also documented in the
Ethiopian kingdom of
Da'amot; very well documented, ca. 6,000 Inscriptions •
Old Sabaean: 8th until 2nd century BC. •
Middle Sabaean: 1st century BC until the 4th century AD (the best documented language) •
Ḥaramitic: the language of the area to the north of Ma'īn •
Central Sabaean: the language of the inscriptions from the Sabaean heartland •
South Sabaean: the language of the inscriptions from
Radman and
Ḥimyar • "
Pseudo-Sabaean": the literary language of Arabian tribes in
Najrān,
Haram and
Qaryat al-Fāw •
Late Sabaean: 5th and 6th centuries AD. •
Minaean: (also called
Madhabian): the language of the city states in
al-Jawf − with the exception of
Haram − especially the later sparsely populated state of
Ma'in (recorded from the 8th until 2nd century BC). Inscriptions have also been found outside Ma'īn in the commercial colonies of
Dedan and
Madā'in Ṣāliḥ, in Egypt and also on
Delos. (ca. 500 inscriptions) •
Qatabānian: the language of the kingdom of
Qatabān, recorded from the 5th century BC until the 2nd century (barely 2,000 inscriptions) •
Awsānian: the language of the kingdom of
Awsān, poorly recorded (ca. 25 inscriptions, 8th/ 1st century BC until about the 1st century AD). Indistinguishable from Qatabānian. • Other varieties such as the language of the tribe of Radmān •
Hadramautic (or Ḥaḍramitic): the language of
Ḥaḍramaut, with an additional inscription from the Greek island of Delos. 5th century BC until the 4th century AD, with ca. 1,000 inscriptions. == Written records ==