, London|318x318px South Arabia roughly corresponds to modern-day
Yemen, with Oman being designated as part of Eastern Arabia. In contrast to the rest of Arabia, South Arabia is a self-contained cultural area that retained the independence of its cultural, political, and linguistic dynamics from the rise of its first known kingdoms until the end of late antiquity. The rise of the South Arabian kingdoms owes itself to the construction of irrigation complexes that captured precipitation by the biannual monsoon rains, enabling agriculture, and the trade routes that carried incense and other spices, giving rise to tales of legendary wealth about the region among Greco-Roman observers. The South Arabian kingdoms emerged in the early first millennium BCE, and they included the Kingdoms of Ma'in, Saba, Hadhramaut, Aswan, and Qataban. Until recently, very little was known about human activity in South Arabia prior to the first millennium BCE. However, recent decades of archaeological work have begun to rapidly change this situation. This has helped increase the prominence of the discipline, though it has not yet became a mainstream topic in Near Eastern archaeology. In the third century CE, the
Kingdom of Himyar emerged and conquered its neighbours to exert complete political domination over South Arabia. This situation persisted for several centuries, until the Himyarite polity unravelled over the course of the sixth century CE and experienced a societal collapse. The collapse had no single cause, instead, a number of coinciding events contributed to this situation. First, a rapid series of turbulent political events took place: the violent coup of
Dhu Nuwas, the massacre of the
Christian community of Najran, the
Aksumite conquest of Himyar, and the rebellion of the Ethiopian soldiers in South Arabia against Aksum. Epidemic and climatological factors also contributed: one inscription (
CIH 541) from the 550s indicates that the
Plague of Justinian struck South Arabia. Severe droughts took place from 500 to 530 CE, and around the mid-6th century, there was the
Late Antique Little Ice Age. Across the Arabian Peninsula, the effect of each of these factors was the most severe in the South, and there, especially the Southwest. By the 550s and 560s, Himyar's decline was completed, as it faced military incursions from Central and Northwest Arabia, and local insurrections. In 559 CE, the final Himyarite inscription was recorded. The collapse of the traditional order is indicated by the breakdown of the
Marib Dam over the course of the 570s. A creeping in of influence from the Persian
Sasanian Empire is evident towards the end of the 6th century.
Almaqah, mentioning five South Arabian gods, two reigning sovereigns and two governors, 7th century BCE from the royal palace at Shabwa, the capital city of the
Kingdom of Hadhramaut Kingdom of Saba (1000 BCE – 275 CE) The Kingdom of Saba (or Sheba) was regarded by the South Arabian and earliest Ethiopian kingdoms as the locus for the birth of South Arabian civilization. The kingdom spoke
Sabaic and constructed many impressive architectural complexes, such as the
Marib Dam, which helped sequester the monsoon rains through an irrigation network that laid the foundation for the emergence of a civilization, and many temples, including the
Temple of Awwam for their national god
Almaqah where hundreds of inscriptions have been discovered. The Sabaeans had close contact with the cultures of the
Horn of Africa. They went on to
conquer both
Eritrea and northern
Ethiopia to establish the Kingdom of
Dʿmt, where a hybrid
Ethiosemitic script emerged. Under the leadership of
Karib'il Watar, Saba dominated most of modern-day Yemen, a feat that would not be accomplished again in the region until the
Himyarite Kingdom a thousand years later. Their legacy was remembered in both biblical and Islamic tradition, especially in the legendary story of the
Queen of Sheba. The Sabaean kingdom emerged some time around the turn of the 1st millennium BCE. By the time that the formative period of Sabaean history was complex, a fully developed alphabetic script was available, as well as the technological prowess to construct cities and other architectural complexes. There is some debate as to the degree to which the movement out of the formative phase was channeled by endogenous processes, or the transfer or technologies from other centers, perhaps via trade and immigration. The first major phase of Sabaean civilization lasted from the 8th to the 1st centuries BCE. Rulers referred to themselves by the title
Mukarrib ("federator") as a testimony to the hegemony they exerted over neighbouring polities. The period was dominated by a caravan economy that had market ties with the rest of the Near East. Its first major trading partners were at
Khindanu and the
Middle Euphrates. Later, this moved to Gaza during the Persian period, and finally, to
Petra in Hellenistic times. The South Arabian deserts gave rise to important aromatics which were exported in trade, especially
frankincense and
myrrh. It also acted as an intermediary for overland trade with neighbours in
Africa and further off from
India. Saba was a theocratic monarchy with a common cult surrounding their
national god,
Almaqah. Four other deities were also worshipped:
Athtar,
Haubas,
Dhat-Himyam, and
Dhat-Badan. The first Sabaean period came to a close as the
Roman Republic expanded to conquer Syria and Egypt in 63 and 30 BCE, respectively. They diverted the overland trade route through the Sabaean kingdom into a maritime trade route that went through the
Hadhramaut port city of
Qani. They even attempted to siege
Marib, the Sabaean capital, but were unsuccessful. Greatly weakened, they were annexed by the neighbouring
Himyarite Kingdom. Saba was able to regain their independence around 100 CE to onset a second period of their civilization. Notably, power dynamics had shifted from oasis cities like Marib and
Sirwah to groups occupying the highlands. Ultimately, Himyar permanently re-annexed them, around 275 CE.
Kingdom of Awsan (8th century BCE – 7th century BCE) Awsan was a South Arabian kingdom that lasted from the 8th to 7th centuries BCE, with a brief resurgence in the 2nd or 1st century BCE. Awsan is centered around a
wadi called the Wadi Markha. The name of the capital of Awsan is unknown, but it is assumed to be the
tell that is today known as Hagar Yahirr, the largest settlement in the wadi. The territory under its control was sizable enough that it was a powerful contender in local power politics. In the late 7th century BCE, under the reign of its ruler Murattaʿ, Awsan entered a military conflict with the
Kingdom of Saba that brought about its demise. The Sabaean king,
Karib'il Watar, defeated Awsan and proceeded to obliterate it. An inscription left behind claims that Karib'il killed over 16,000 people and took 40,000 more as prisoners. After this event, the wadi was left abandoned, and Awsan disappeared from the historical record for the time being. Saba had divided its territory between its then-allies,
Qataban and
Hadhramaut. Half a millennium later, when Qataban's control over the Wadi Markha was declining, Awsan was able to briefly re-emerge, in the 2nd or 1st centuries BCE. This final phase of the Awsanite kingdom is the only period in South Arabian history where kings were deified.
Kingdom of Ma'in (8th century BCE – 1st century CE) The Minaeans, or the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Ma'in, had their capital at Qarna (modern-day
Sa'dah). Another important city was Yathill (now known as
Baraqish). The Minaean Kingdom was centered in northwestern Yemen, with most of its cities lying along
Wādī Madhab. Ma'in was responsible for managing an international frankincense trade and it set up a number of colonies across Arabia and the Mediterranean to manage it. For this reason,
Minaic inscriptions have been found far afield of the Kingdom of Maīin, as far away as
al-'Ula in northwestern
Saudi Arabia and even on the island of
Delos and Egypt.
Kingdom of Qataban (8th century BCE – 2nd century CE) Qataban was one of the ancient Yemeni kingdoms which thrived in the
Beihan valley. Like the other Southern Arabian kingdoms, it gained great wealth from the trade of frankincense and myrrh incense, which were burned at altars. The capital of Qataban was named
Timna and was located on the trade route which passed through the other kingdoms of Hadramaut, Saba and Ma'in. The chief deity of the Qatabanians was
Amm, or "Uncle" and the people called themselves the "children of Amm".
Kingdom of Hadhramaut (8th century BCE – 3rd century CE) Hadhramaut is first mentioned in a 7th-century BCE inscription from the king of the
Sabaean kingdom,
Karib'il Watar, mentioned as an ally. For commercial reasons, Hadhramaut became one of the confederates of Ma'in when they took control of the
caravan routes. After the fall of Ma'in, it experienced a period of independence. Hadhramaut had to repel attacks by
Himyar in the 1st century BCE, and managed to annex
Qataban in the 2nd century CE, when it reached its greatest size. Ultimately, the kingdom did fall to an invasion by the Himyarite king
Shammar Yahri'sh in the 3rd century CE, making it the final one of the South Arabian kingdoms to fall to Himyar.
Kingdom of Himyar (110 BCE – 530 CE) , 1st century BCE, Yemen Himyar was a
polity in the southern highlands of
Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the
Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to classical sources, their capital was the ancient city of
Zafar, relatively near the modern-day city of
Sana'a. Himyarite power eventually shifted to Sana'a as the population increased in the fifth century. After the establishment of their kingdom, it was ruled by kings from dhū-Raydān tribe. The kingdom was named Raydān. The kingdom conquered neighbouring
Saba' in c. 25 BCE (for the first time),
Qataban in c. 200 CE, and
Haḍramaut c. 300 CE. Its political fortunes relative to Saba' changed frequently until it finally conquered the
Sabaean Kingdom around 280. With successive invasion and Arabization, the kingdom collapsed in the early sixth century, as the
Kingdom of Aksum conquered it in 530 CE. The Himyarites originally worshiped most of the
South-Arabian pantheon, including
Wadd,
ʿAthtar,
'Amm and
Almaqah. Since at least the reign of
Malkikarib Yuhamin (c. 375–400 CE),
Judaism was adopted as the
de facto state religion. The religion may have been adopted to some extent as much as two centuries earlier, but inscriptions to polytheistic deities ceased after this date. It was embraced initially by the upper classes, and possibly a large proportion of the general population over time.
Aksumite occupation of Yemen (525 – 570 CE) In response to the massacre of the
Christian community of Najran under the reign of the Jewish king
Dhu Nuwas, the Christian king of the
Kingdom of Aksum,
Kaleb, responded by
invading and annexing Himyar.
Sasanian period (570 – 630 CE) In the second half of the sixth century, the
Sasanian Empire conquered the Himyarite Kingdom and ended Aksumite occupation of South Arabia. This event is not mentioned in Sasanian sources and is noted only in passing in Byzantine sources. The bulk of what has been written about the period comes from Arabic sources, most famously that of
Al-Tabari in his
History of the Prophets and Kings, relying on an earlier account by
Ibn Ishaq. However, there are six major Arabic accounts describing the Sasanian conquest of South Arabia and they differ over a range of major and minor details, including who the key actors were and their relative roles, the religious identities of some of the authors, the sizes of the armies, and so forth. In Al-Tabari's reporting, the Persian king
Khosrau I sent troops under the command of
Vahriz (), who helped the semi-legendary
Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan to drive the
Aksumites out of Yemen. Southern Arabia became a Persian dominion under a Yemenite vassal and thus came within the sphere of influence of the Sasanian Empire. After the demise of the Lakhmids, another army was sent to Yemen, making it a province of the Sasanian Empire under a Persian
satrap. Following the death of
Khosrau II in 628, the Persian governor in Southern Arabia,
Badhan, converted to Islam and Yemen followed the new religion. ==Western Arabia (Hejaz)==