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The Yemeni Coastal Plain or Plateau is the northwestern region of modern Yemen that lies between the Red Sea and the Yemeni Mountains. Beginning in the ninth and eighth centuries BCE, this region became part of a wider "Sabaean" culture region (from the name of the dominant kingdom, Saba), in which many relatively small kingdoms across south and western Arabia, as well as Ethiopia, shared the same alphabet, the same iconographic repertoire (e.g. widespread depiction of animals such as ibexes and oryxes, and use of symbols such as hands, crescents, and circles), and the same vocabulary and turns of phrases in inscriptions.
[1]
At this time, the largest town in the Yemeni Coastal Plain was Marib, which covered an area of 100 hectares, for a population of about 30,000-40,000.
[2]
It is unclear, however, what the average population of a single kingdom would have been.
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94-96) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZMFH42PE.
[2]: (Edens and Wilkinson 1998: 96) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HGK23ABQ.
| Sabaean Culture |
| YeSaRay |
| Preceding: Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth) [None] | |
| Succeeding: Kingdom of Saba and Dhu Raydan (ye_saba_k) [None] |
| quasi-polity |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| absent |
| unknown |
| unknown |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| inferred absent |
| Year Range | Qatabanian Commonwealth (ye_qatabanian_commonwealth) was in: |
|---|---|
| (450 BCE 111 BCE) | Yemeni Coastal Plain |
"Until the end of the third century AD, when the kingdom of Ḥimyar, which had just expelled an Ethiopian invasion, annexed the kingdom of Sabaʾ and conquered Ḥaḍramawt (Ch. 3), South Arabia was divided between numerous kingdoms".
[1]
Language
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Two rulers, Yathaʿʾamar and Karibʾīl, known in Assyrian sources under the names ‘Itaʾamra the Sabaean’ (c.716 BC) and ‘Karibilu king of Saba’ (between 689 and 681) extended their hegemony over a large section of South Arabia (2.5, 2.31). Subsequently, the Sabaean ‘cultural model’ spread over a wide area including the entirety of Yemen, Ethiopia, the areas neighbouring Yemen, such as Najrān, western Arabia between Najrān and the Levant, and as far as the shores of the Arab-Persian Gulf, as indicated by evidence for the use of the Sabaean alphabet. Sabaean culture was expressed in the lexicon and phraseology of inscriptions and in the use of writing for decorative purposes. It is also reflected in an iconographic repertoire which applies a range of geometric figures, such as denticles, striations, and hollowed-out rectangles; emblematic animals, such as ibexes, oryxes, bulls, bucrania, ostriches; symbols, such as the hand, the crescent, the circle; and stylized representations, such as ‘eye stelae’." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94-96) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Until the end of the third century AD, when the kingdom of Ḥimyar, which had just expelled an Ethiopian invasion, annexed the kingdom of Sabaʾ and conquered Ḥaḍramawt (Ch. 3), South Arabia was divided between numerous kingdoms". [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"five major languages attested—Sabaʾic, Maʿīnic, Qatabānic, Ḥaḍramawtic, and Old Arabic" [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"five major languages attested—Sabaʾic, Maʿīnic, Qatabānic, Ḥaḍramawtic, and Old Arabic" [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"five major languages attested—Sabaʾic, Maʿīnic, Qatabānic, Ḥaḍramawtic, and Old Arabic" [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"five major languages attested—Sabaʾic, Maʿīnic, Qatabānic, Ḥaḍramawtic, and Old Arabic" [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"five major languages attested—Sabaʾic, Maʿīnic, Qatabānic, Ḥaḍramawtic, and Old Arabic" [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
Inhabitants. "Using population estimates derived from the modern village of Marib (van Beek, 1982), this largest of South Arabian towns might have held 30,000-40,000 people." [1]
[1]: (Edens and Wilkinson 1998: 96) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HGK23ABQ.
levels. "Marib, whose walls enclosed over 100 ha (Fig. 5e), was the largest by far of these towns and dwarfed the nearby fortified places of about 2-6 ha. [...] Walled centers of regional importance fell in the 15- to 30-ha range (e.g., Timna, Bayda, Sawda’, Shabwa), but were often smaller (Macin, Baraqish, and Inabba were only 4-8 ha), perhaps a reflection of more fragmented political scene away from the primate center at Marib. Towns such as Hajar bin Humeid (4 ha), Rayhani (3 ha), and ad-Durayb (2 ha) represent secondary centers in single wadi settlement systems." [1]
[1]: (Edens and Wilkinson 1998: 96-97) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HGK23ABQ.
"In the irrigated regions of the piedmont and in the cultivated lands of mountainous and highland areas, the numerous hydraulic and agricultural installations—dams, canals, sluice gates, wells, or terraced fields—testify to a high degree of technical skill associated with these settlements (2.19 and 2.27)." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 93) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"A rock inscription in the Qatabānic language from the third or second century BC, commemorating the construction of a pathway between the Upper Lands of the region of al-Bayḍāʾ (at an elevation of about 2000 m above sea level) and the plain of Lawdar (1000 m below)." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 101) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"One of the salient features of Yemen (and, to a lesser extent, Arabia) is the substantial quantity of epigraphic documents—texts written on non-perishable materials, such as stone and metal, or on durable media, such as wood—yielded by these regions. [...] The oldest local inscriptions, which originate from Yemen, were carefully carved texts and the work of professionals, and would date from the mid-eighth century BC." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 90-91) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"widespread use of a single script, Sabaean" [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"South Arabian writing uses an alphabet of 29 consonants." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 99) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"South Arabian writing uses an alphabet of 29 consonants." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 99) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Notably, none of these documents is a poem, a hymn, a collection of sayings, a mythological narration, a chronicle, a manual, or indeed any other sort of literary or technical composition." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 92) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Notably, none of these documents is a poem, a hymn, a collection of sayings, a mythological narration, a chronicle, a manual, or indeed any other sort of literary or technical composition." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 92) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Notably, none of these documents is a poem, a hymn, a collection of sayings, a mythological narration, a chronicle, a manual, or indeed any other sort of literary or technical composition." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 92) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Notably, none of these documents is a poem, a hymn, a collection of sayings, a mythological narration, a chronicle, a manual, or indeed any other sort of literary or technical composition." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 92) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Notably, none of these documents is a poem, a hymn, a collection of sayings, a mythological narration, a chronicle, a manual, or indeed any other sort of literary or technical composition." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 92) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Notably, none of these documents is a poem, a hymn, a collection of sayings, a mythological narration, a chronicle, a manual, or indeed any other sort of literary or technical composition." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 92) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Notably, none of these documents is a poem, a hymn, a collection of sayings, a mythological narration, a chronicle, a manual, or indeed any other sort of literary or technical composition." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 92) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Notably, none of these documents is a poem, a hymn, a collection of sayings, a mythological narration, a chronicle, a manual, or indeed any other sort of literary or technical composition."
[1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 92) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"Sabaʾ’s culture was represented through a language, Sabaʾic, a pantheon, a calendar, and a dating system, all specific to this kingdom." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 94) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www-oxfordscholarship-com.ezp.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654529.001.0001/acprof-9780199654529-chapter-3.
"These urban centres, containing temples and aristocratic dwellings, were protected by stone enclosures, which could reach 14 m in height." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 93) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZMFH42PE.
"These urban centres, containing temples and aristocratic dwellings, were protected by stone enclosures, which could reach 14 m in height." [1]
[1]: (Robin 2015: 93) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZMFH42PE.
Urban fortification in Yemen at time is relatively well studies and sources do not mention the existence of concentric fortifications. [1]
[1]: (De Maigret 2002: 267-273) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X3MRZCH5.