Himyarite Kingdom
Himyar 𐩢𐩣𐩺𐩧 ( Abu Karib As'ad | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
• 510s–525 CE | Yusuf Ash'ar Dhu Nuwas | ||||||||||
Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||||||
• Established | 110 BCE | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 525 CE | ||||||||||
Currency | Drachma[2][3] | ||||||||||
|
History of Yemen |
---|
Yemen portal |
The Himyarite Kingdom
The kingdom conquered neighbouring
The Himyarites originally worshiped most of the
Descendants of the Himyarites, namely the
History
The Himyarite Kingdom was a confederation of tribes, several inscriptions and monumental buildings survive of this period which shows evidence of a wealthy, sophisticated, relatively literate society that had a rich variety of local gods and religions. Trade was already well established by the 3rd century AD, with Yemen supplying the Roman Empire with frankincense and myrrh. Further, the late 1st century AD writer Pliny the Elder mentioned that the kingdom was one of "the richest nations in the world". It was a hub of international trade, linking the Mediterranean, the Middle East and India.[7]
The trade linking East Africa with the Mediterranean world largely consisted of exporting ivory from Africa to be sold in the Roman Empire. Ships from Ḥimyar regularly travelled the East African coast, and the state also exerted a large amount of influence both cultural, religious and political over the trading cities of East Africa whilst the cities of East Africa remained independent. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the trading empire of Himyar and its ruler "Charibael" (probably Karab'il Watar Yuhan'em II), who is said to have been on friendly terms with Rome:
"23. And after nine days more there is Saphar, the metropolis, in which lives Charibael, lawful king of two tribes, the Homerites and those living next to them, called the Sabaites; through continual embassies and gifts, he is a friend of the Emperors."
— Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Paragraph 23.[8]
Early period
During this period, the Kingdom of Ḥimyar conquered the kingdoms of Saba' and Qataban and took
Ẓafār's ruins cover scattered over 120 hectare on Mudawwar Mountain 10 km north-north-west of the town of Yarim.
By the 4th century, the rich Himyarite export of incense, which had once supplied pagan Rome in its religious offerings, now began to wane with the
Jewish monarchy
Conversion
By 300, the Himyarite Kingdom had vanquished other political units (including the Saba, Qataban, and Hadrawat kingdoms) and became the ruling power of southern Arabia, uniting the region for the first time. In the mid- to late-fourth century, Himyar or at least its ruling class had adopted Judaism, having transitioned from a polytheistic practice.[14] These events are chronicled by the Book of the Himyarites and the fifth-century Ecclessiastical History of the Anomean Philostorgius. Such sources implicate the motive for conversion as a wish on the part of the Himyarite rulers to distance themselves from the Byzantine Empire which had tried to convert them to Christianity. This also took place several decades after the Kingdom of Aksum converted to Christianity in 328. No changes occurred in the people's script, calendar, or language (unlike at Aksum after its conversion).[15] The conversion from polytheism and the institutionalization of Judaism as the official religion is credited in these sources to Malkīkarib Yuha’min (r. c. 375–400). According to traditional Islamic sources, the conversion took place under his son, Abu Karib (r. c. 400–445).[16] It is in the mid-fourth century that inscriptions suddenly transition from polytheistic invocations to ones mentioning the high god Rahmanan, "the Lord of Heaven" or "Lord of Heaven and Earth".[17][18] A Sabaic inscription dating to this time, titled Ja 856 (or Fa 60) describes the replacement of a polytheistic temple dedicated to the god al-Maqah with a mikrāb (which might be the equivalent of a synagogue or an original form of organization local to Himyarite Judaism[19]). The evidence suggests a sharp break with polytheism, coinciding with the sudden appearance of Jewish and Aramaic words (‘ālam/world, baraka/bless, haymanōt/guarantee, kanīsat/meeting hall) and personal names (Yṣḥq/Isaac, Yhwd’/Juda), Yws’f/Joseph).[16] Nevertheless, the nature of the Judaism practiced by the rulers is not clear[20] and the Jewish nature of the kings rule was not frequently made explicit.[21]
Abu Karib
According to Arabic historiography,
Dhu Nuwas
By the year 500, on the eve of the regency of Marthad'īlān Yanūf (c. 500–515) the kingdom of Himyar exercised control over much of the Arabian peninsula.
Aksumite conquest
Dhu Nuwas went on to try combatting the Christianizing influence from the Kingdom of Aksum militarily and massacred the Christian community of Najran,[27][28][29][30] which is in part documented by an inscription made by S²rḥʾl Yqbl (Yusuf's army commander), Ja 1028, which describes the burning of a church and slaughtering of Abyssinians (Ethiopian Christians), claiming thousands of deaths and prisoners. These events are also discussed in several contemporary Christian sources: in the writings of Procopius, Cosmas Indicopleustes, John Malalas, and Jacob of Serugh. Soon afterwards, John of Ephesus (d. 588) related a letter from another contemporary, Mar Simeon, directed to Abbot von Gabula about the events. In addition, an anonymous author produced the Book of the Himyarites, a sixth-century Syriac chronicle of the persecution and martyrdom of the Christians of Najran. This event to a significant counterattack by the Ethiopian kingdom, leading to the conquest of Himyar in 525 and the deposition of Dhu Nuwas. This signified the end of the Jewish leadership of southern Arabia,[31] and Kaleb appointed a Christian Himyarite, Esimiphaios ("Sumuafa Ashawa"), as his viceroy.[32]
Aksumite-Sassanian Wars
Around 530 CE the Christian viceroy was deposed by the Aksumite general Abraha with support of Ethiopians who had settled in Yemen. Aksum sent two expeditions against Abraha, but both were decisively defeated. Kaleb did not pursue the matter further, and recognized Abraha as his new viceroy.[32]
After Abraha's death, his son Masruq Abraha continued the Aksumite vice-royalty in Yemen, resuming payment of tribute to Aksum. However, his half-brother Ma'd-Karib revolted.
After being denied by Justinian, Ma'd-Karib sought help from Khosrow I, the Sassanid Persian Emperor, thus triggering the Aksumite–Persian wars. Khosrow I sent a small fleet and army under commander Vahrez to depose the king of Yemen. The war culminated with the Siege of Sana'a, capital of Aksumite Yemen. Following the capture of Sanaʽa by Sasanian forces, Wahrez reinstated the former Himyarite king Sayf ibn Dhī Yazan to his throne as a vassal of the Sasanian Persian Empire.[33]
In 575, the war resumed again, after Saif was killed by Aksumites servants. The Persian general Vahrez led another army of 8000, ending Axum overlordship on Yemen.
In 578 Yemen was annexed by the Sasanian Empire as a province, and a Persian General, Wahrez, was installed as its direct governor by the Sasanian emperor Khosrow I.[33] Greater Yemen remained under firm Sasanian control until the rise of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the early 7th century.
Religion
Polytheistic period
There is evidence prior to the fourth century that the
Jewish period
During the fourth century onwards after the Himyarite kingdom (or at least its ruling class) converted to Judaism, or a Jewish-inflected monotheism, references to pagan gods disappeared from royal inscriptions and texts on public buildings, and were replaced by references to a single deity in official texts. Inscriptions in the Sabean language, and sometimes Hebrew, called this deity Rahmanan (The Merciful), “Lord of the Heavens and Earth,” the “God of Israel” and “Lord of the Jews”. Prayers invoking Rahman's blessings on the “people of Israel” in monumental inscriptions often ended with the Hebrew words shalom and amen.[38]
There is scanter material regarding the religious affiliations of the locals. All inscriptions are monotheistic, but the religious identity of their authors is not always explicit. However, there is evidence for the practice of Judaism among locals as well. The name "Israel" appears in four inscriptions and replaces the earlier term shaʿb/community:
Christian Julien Robin argues that the epigraphic evidence argues against viewing the Judaism of Himyar as rabbinic. This is based on the absence of belief in the afterlife (shared by the
Unfortunately, Jewish literary texts outside of Yemen do not discuss the Jewish community there.[48] However, epigraphs from Palestine and Jordan do reflect communication and knowledge from the Yemenite Jewish community:
- An inscription from Palestine using the Sabaic script (a South Arabian script) is known.
- A Greek inscription from the village of Beit She'arim mentions the burial of a "Himyarite".
- A fifth-century Hebrew epitaph from Zoara, Jordan describes an individual named Ywsh br ʾWfy who "died in Ẓafār, the land of the Ḥimyarites".
These communication routes may have also transferred rabbinic and other Jewish teachings.[49]
Christian period
During the Ethiopian Christian period, Christianity appears to have become the official religion.[50] Many churches began to be built.[51] For example, the inscription RIÉ 191, discovered in Axum, describes the construction of a church off the coast of Yemen. The Marib Dam inscription from 548 mentions a priest, a monastery, and an abbot of that monastery.[52] As in the Himyarite period, Christian inscriptions continue to refer to the monotheistic deity using the name Rahmanan, but now these inscriptions are accompanied with crosses and references to Christ as the Messiah and the Holy Spirit. For example, one (damaged) inscription, as for example in Ist 7608 bis. Another extensive inscription, CIH 541, documents Abraha sponsoring the construction of a church at Marib, besides invoking/mentioning the Messiah, Spirit, and celebrations hosted by a priest at another church. Abraha celebrated the construction of the dam by holding mass in the city church and inviting ambassadors from Rome and Persia. Later Islamic historiography also ascribes to Abraha the construction of a church at Sanaa. Abraha's inscriptions bear a relatively low Christology, perhaps meant to assuage the Jewish population, and their formulae resemble descriptions of Jesus in the Quran.[53] (The Jabal Dabub inscription is another South Arabian Christian graffito dating to the sixth century and containing a pre-Islamic variant of the Basmala.[54]) Whereas Abraha's predecessor more explicitly denoted Jesus as the Son of Rahmanan and as "Victor" (corresponding to Aksumite description under Kaleb of Axum), and made use of Trinitarian formulae, Abraha began to only describe Jesus as God's "Messiah" (but not Son) and, in aligning himself more closely with Syriac Christianity, replaced Aksumite Christian with Syriac loanwords.[50] The use of the phrase "Rahmanan and his son Christ the conqueror" in inscriptions from this time owes to the use of the Syriac loanword Masīḥ.[55] More broadly, the separation of Abraha's Himyar from the Akumsite kingdom corresponded to its greater alignment with the Christianity espoused in Antioch and Syria. Inscriptions from this region disappear after 560.[50] Abraha's influence would end up extending across the regions he conquered, including regions of eastern Arabia, central Arabia, Medina in the Hejaz, and an unidentified site called Gzm.[56]
Military
As the Byzantines were usually equipped with armored horses, Indian fenestrated battle axe, round shield, spear, and scale or mail armor, Paul Yule argued that the Himyarite soldiers were armed in comparable fashion, if not as consistently.[57]
Language
It is a matter of debate whether the Ṣayhadic Himyarite language was spoken in the south-western Arabian peninsula until the 10th century.[58] The few 'Himyarite' texts seem to be rhymed.
List of rulers
Himyarite dynasties after the coming of Islam
After the spread of Islam in Yemen, Himyarite noble families were able to re-establish control over parts of Yemen.
- Yufirid Dynastyover most of Yemen (847–997)
- Mahdid Dynasty over Southern Tihama (1159–1174)
- Manakhis over Taiz (ninth century)
Many Himyarites participated in the
Among the leaders of the conquering Muslim troops was the Himyarite prince
According to the historian
After the deaths of Yazid I and his son and successor
In 686 Shurahbil ibn Dhi'l-Kala, the leader of the Himyar in Syria, was slain commanding his troops in the Umayyad army at the
During the
Ancestral divisions of Himyar
- Himyar: The most famous of whose septs were Zaid Al-Jamhur, Banu Quda'aand Sakasik.
- Judham
Kahlan septs emigrated from Yemen to dwell in the different parts of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the Great Flood (Sail Al-‘Arim of Marib Dam), due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and domain on both sea and land trade routes following Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria.
Naturally enough, the competition between
The emigrating septs of Kahlan can be divided into four groups:
- Azd: Who, under the leadership of ‘Imrān bin ‘Amr Muzaiqbā’, wandered in Yemen, sent pioneers and finally headed northwards. Details of their emigration can be summed up as follows:
- Tha‘labah bin ‘Amr left his tribe Al-Azd for Ḥijāz and dwelt between Tha‘labiyah and Dhī Qār. When he gained strength, he headed for Madīnahwhere he stayed. Of his seed are Aws and Khazraj, sons of Haritha bin Tha‘labah.
- Haritha bin ‘Amr, known as Khuzā‘ah, wandered with his people in Hijaz until they came to Mar Az-Zahran. They conquered the Ḥaram, and settled in Makkah after having driven away its people, the tribe of Jurhum.
- ‘Imrān bin ‘Amr and his folks went to ‘Oman where they established the tribe of Azd whose children inhabited Tihama and were known as Azd-of-Shanu’a.
- Jafna bin ‘Amr and his family, headed for Syria where he settled and initiated the kingdom of Ghassan who was so named after a spring of water, in Ḥijāz, where they stopped on their way to Syria.
- Tha‘labah bin ‘Amr left his tribe Al-Azd for Ḥijāz and dwelt between Tha‘labiyah and Dhī Qār. When he gained strength, he headed for
- al-Hirah.
- Banū Ṭayy: Who also emigrated northwards to settle by the so- called Aja and Salma Mountains which were consequently named as Tai’ Mountains. The tribe later became the tribe of Shammar.
- Kinda: Who dwelt in Bahrain but were expelled to Hadramout and Najd where they instituted a powerful government but not for long, for the whole tribe soon faded away.
Another tribe of Himyar, known as
However, it is estimated that the majority of the Ḥimyar Christian royalty migrated into Jordan, Al-Karak, where initially they were known as Banū Ḥimyar (Sons of Ḥimyar). Many later on moved to central Jordan to settle in Madaba under the family name of Al-Hamarneh (pop 12,000, est. 2010)[citation needed]
See also
- Ancient history of Yemen
- Rulers of Sheba and Himyar
- Tub'a Abu Kariba As'ad
- Yemenite Jews
- Zafar, Yemen
- Ethiopian–Persian wars
- List of Jewish states and dynasties
- Dhu'l-Kala Samayfa
Notes
References
- ^ a b "Encyclopædia Britannica, Himyar". Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "GREECE. PALESTINE. HIMYARITES. Taran Yaub, ca. 200 A.D. … | Drouot.com". drouot.com.
- ^ "Greek Coinage; Arabia Felix Himyarites, 1st Century AD, NGC VF, Store #191510". Integrity Coin Store.
- ^ a b Jérémie Schiettecatte. Himyar. Roger S. Bagnall; Kai Brodersen; Craige B. Champion; Andrew Erskine; Sabine R. Huebner. The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, John Wiley & Sons, 2017, 9781444338386.ff10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah30219ff. ffhalshs-01585072ff
- ^ See, e.g., Bafaqih 1990.
- JSTOR 3014224.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-14-196683-0. Archivedfrom the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ "Source". Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
- ^ Korotayev A. Pre-Islamic Yemen. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1996 Archived 16 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine.
- ISBN 978-3-447-06935-9
- ISBN 978-5-903417-63-6
- ^ Al Waqidi. p. 843.
- ^ The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: travel and trade in the Indian Ocean". New York : Longmans, Green. 1912. pp. 33–35.
- ISBN 978-0-19-533693-1.
- ^ Christian Julien Robin, "Arabia and Ethiopia," in Scott Johnson (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity, Oxford University Press 2012 pp.247–333, p.279.
- ^ ISBN 978-94-6298-806-4.
- ^ a b c Norbert Nebes, 'The Martyrs of Najrān and End of the Ḥimyar: On the Political History of South Arabia in the Early Sixth Century,' the Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, Michael Marx (eds.), The Qur'ān in Context: Historical and Literary Investigations Into the Qur'ānic Milieu, Archived 9 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine BRILL 2010 pp.27–60, p.43.
- ISBN 978-0-521-51717-1.
- ISBN 978-0-521-51717-1.
- ISBN 978-94-6298-806-4.
- ISBN 978-0-521-51717-1.
- ^ a b "The Jewish Kingdom of Himyar (Yemen): Its Rise and Fall," by Jacob Adler, Midstream, May/June 2000, Volume XXXXVI No. 4
- ^ P. Yule, Himyar Spätantike im Jemen, Late Antique Yemen, Aichwald, 2007, p. 98-99
- ^ Shlomo Sand, The Invention of the Jewish People, Verso 2009 p.194.
- ^ Hoyland, Robert (2001). Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam. Routledge. p. 51.
- ^ a b Christian Julien Robin,'Arabia and Ethiopia,'in Scott Johnson (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity, Oxford University Press, 2012, pp.247–333.p.282
- ISBN 978-0-520-05705-0.
- ^ Chatonnet, Françoise Briquel; Robin, Christian Julien (2000). "La persécution des chrétiens de Nagran et la chronologie himyarite". ARAM: 15–83.
- ^ Gajda, Iwona (2009). Le royaume de Ḥimyar à l’époque monothéiste. L’histoire de l’Arabie du Sud ancienne de la fin du IVe siècle de l’ère chrétienne jusqu’à l’avènement de l’Islam. Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. pp. 82–109.
- ISBN 978-0-8308-2810-4. Archivedfrom the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ISBN 978-90-04-68712-7.
- ^ a b Bury, J. B. (1923). History of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. II. Macmillan & Co. pp. 325–326.
- ^ a b "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
- ^ J. F. Breton (Trans. Albert LaFarge), Arabia Felix From The Time Of The Queen Of Sheba, Eighth Century B.C. To First Century A.D., 1998, University of Notre Dame Press: Notre Dame (IN), pp. 119–120.
- ISBN 978-0-8156-0522-5.
- ^ Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions, 1999 – 1181 páginas
- ^ J. Ryckmans, "South Arabia, Religion Of", in D. N. Freedman (Editor-in-Chief), The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 1992, Volume 6, op. cit., p. 172
- ^ David, Ariel (15 March 2016). "Before Islam: When Saudi Arabia Was a Jewish Kingdom". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-521-51717-1.
- ISSN 1613-0928.
- ^ "MAFRAY-Ḥaṣī 1". DASI: Digital Archive for the Study of pre-islamic arabian Inscriptions. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ Gajda, Iwona (2009). Le royaume de Ḥimyar à l’époque monothéiste. L’histoire de l’Arabie du Sud ancienne de la fin du IVe siècle de l’ère chrétienne jusqu’à l’avènement de l’Islam. Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. pp. 245–246.
- ^ Gajda, Iwona (2009). Le royaume de Ḥimyar à l’époque monothéiste. L’histoire de l’Arabie du Sud ancienne de la fin du IVe siècle de l’ère chrétienne jusqu’à l’avènement de l’Islam. Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. pp. 40, 46.
- ISBN 978-90-04-68712-7.
- ISBN 978-90-04-68712-7.
- ISBN 978-0-521-51717-1.
- ISBN 978-0-19-874849-6.
- ^ Gajda, Iwona (2009). Le royaume de Ḥimyar à l’époque monothéiste. L’histoire de l’Arabie du Sud ancienne de la fin du IVe siècle de l’ère chrétienne jusqu’à l’avènement de l’Islam. Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. p. 243.
- ISBN 978-90-04-68712-7.
- ^ , retrieved 20 February 2024
- , retrieved 20 February 2024
- ISBN 978-0-19-965452-9.
- ISBN 978-90-04-68712-7.
- ^ Al-Jallad, Ahmad (2022). "A pre-Islamic basmala: reflections on its first epigraphic attestation and its original significance". Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam. 52: 1–28.
- ^ Arbach, Mounir (2022). "Le christianisme en Arabie avant l'Islam". Bulletin des Chrétiens d'Orient: 17–26.
- ISBN 978-1-009-25296-6.
- ISBN 9783929290356. Archivedfrom the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ISSN 2295-8991
- ^ a b c d Al-Qadi 2009, p. 13.
- ^ Crone 1994, p. 45.
- ^ a b c d Crone 2003, p. 94.
- ^ a b c Madelung 1986, p. 141.
- ^ Madelung 1986, p. 142.
- ^ Crone 1994, pp. 44–45.
- ^ Madelung 1986, pp. 142–143.
- ^ Crone 1994, pp. 45–46.
- ^ a b Crone 1994, p. 46.
- ^ Madelung 1986, p. 146.
- ^ Madelung 1986, p. 184.
- ^ a b Crone 2003, p. 95.
- ^ Crone 2003, pp. 94–95.
Bibliography
- Adler, Joseph (May–June 2000). "The Jewish Kingdom of Himyar (Yemen): Its Rise and Fall". Midstream. 46 (4).
- Bafaqīh, M. ‛A. (1990). L'unification du Yémen antique. La lutte entre Saba', Himyar et le Hadramawt de Ier au IIIème siècle de l'ère chrétienne. Paris: Bibliothèque de Raydan.
- S2CID 154370527.
- ISBN 0-521-52940-9.
- ISBN 978-0-19-922237-7..
- Korotayev, Andrey (1996). Pre-Islamic Yemen. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-03679-5.
- Madelung, Wilferd (Autumn 1986). "Apocalyptic Prophecies in Hims in the Umayyad Age". Journal of Semitic Studies. 31 (2).
- de Maigret, Alessandro (2002). Arabia Felix. Translated by Rebecca Thompson. London: Stacey International. ISBN 978-1-900988-07-0.
- Al-Qadi, Wadad (2009). "A Documentary Report on Umayyad Stipends Registers (Dīwān al-ʿAtaʾ) in Abū Zurʿa's Tārīkh". Quaderni di Studi Arabi. 4: 7–44. JSTOR 25803083.
- Stupperich, R.; Yule, Paul (2014). "Ḥimyarite Period Bronze Sculptural Groups from the Yemenite Highlands". In A. Sedov (ed.). Arabian and Islamic Studies A Collection of Papers in Honour of Mikhail Borishovic Piotrovskij on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Moscow: Gosudarstvennyĭ muzeĭ Vostoka. pp. 338–67. ISBN 978-5-903417-63-6.
- ISBN 978-3-929290-35-6.
- Yule, Paul (2005). "Zafar-The Capital of the Ancient Himyarite Empire Rediscovered". Jemen-Report. 36: 22–29.
- Yule, Paul (2013). Late Antique Arabia Ẓafār, Capital of Ḥimyar, Rehabilitation of a 'Decadent' Society, Excavations of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg 1998–2010 in the Highlands of the Yemen. Vol. 29. Wiesbaden: Abhandlungen Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft. ISBN 978-3-447-06935-9.
External links