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The Sabaeans or Sabeans were an ancient group of South Arabians. They spoke Sabaic, one of the Old South Arabian languages. They founded the kingdom of Sabaʾ in modern-day Yemen, which is considered to be the biblical land of Sheba and "the oldest and most important of the South Arabian kingdoms".
The Himyarite Kingdom 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.
Abraha, also known as Abraha al-Ashram, was a viceroy for the Kingdom of Aksum who ruled the Himyarite Kingdom of Yemen and much of the Arabian Peninsula in the 6th century. He is famous for the tradition of his attempt to destroy the Kaaba, a revered religious site in Mecca, using an army that included war elephants, an event known as Year of the Elephant. During his reign, Christianity was the most populous of all.
The ancient history ofYemen or South Arabia is especially important because it is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a feature recognized by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who described Yemen as Eudaimon Arabia meaning Fortunate Arabia or Happy Arabia. Between the eighth century BCE and the sixth century CE, it was dominated by six main states which rivaled each other, or were allied with each other and controlled the lucrative spice trade: Saba', Ma'īn, Qatabān, Hadhramaut, Kingdom of Awsan, and the Himyarite Kingdom. Islam arrived in 630 CE and Yemen became part of the Muslim realm.
Shammar Yahr'ish al-Himyari, full name Shammar Yahr'ish ibn Yasir Yuha'nim al-Manou was a Himyarite king. He was the first to have the title “King of Saba', Dhu Raydan, Hadramawt and Yamnat” and he united most of Yemen during his rule.
Mikhlaf was an administrative division in ancient Yemen and is a geographical term used in Yemen. According to Ya'qubi there were eighty-four makhaleef in Yemen. The leader of a mikhlaf is called a Qil.
Raḥmānān was an epithet and theonym predominantly used to refer to a singular, monotheistic God from the fourth to sixth centuries in South Arabia, beginning when the ruling class of the Himyarite Kingdom converted to Judaism and replacing invocations to polytheistic religions. The term may have also been monolatrous until the arrival of Christianity in the mid-sixth century.
Sharhabil Ya'fur, also known as 'Amr ibn Tubba' al-Himyari, was a Himyarite king who ruled in the 5th century CE. His rule was unique, as he was the only ruler descended from Dhamar Ali Yahbur II who ruled by himself and did not have a co-regent.
Sharhabil Yakkuf also known as Šaraḥbiʾil Yakûf was a king of Himyar who reigned in the 5th century CE. He succeeded the similarly-named Sharhabil Yafar. He is also the founder of a new ruling dynasty, one that is not descended from Dhamar Ali Yahbur II.
Ja 1028 is a Sabaic inscription dating to the late Himyarite Kingdom. It was commissioned by an army commander of Dhu Nuwas named S²rḥʾl Yqbl in which he celebrated massacring the Christian community of Najran and the burning of their church with the army in a move against the Abyssinian Christians of the Kingdom of Aksum based in Ethiopia.
Malkīkarib Yuha’min was a king of the Himyarite Kingdom, succeeding his father Tharan Yuhanim. Byzantine sources and contemporary historians credit him with converting the ruling class of the Himyarite Kingdom from paganism to Judaism. These events are chronicled by the fifth-century Ecclessiastical History of the Anomean Philostorgius and the sixth-century Syriac Book of the Himyarites. 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.
Thaʾrān Yuhanʿim was a king of the Himyarite Kingdom, and was the second king of the new dynasty founded by his father Dhamar Ali Yuhabirr. He had an unusually long reign, on the order of fifty to fifty-five years and his son, Malkikarib Yuhamin, appears to have entered the throne at an advanced age.
Marthad'ilan Yu'nim also known as Marthad al-Khayr, was a Himyarite king who primarily reigned in the late 5th century CE. He is known for his involvement in the Basus War.
Marthad'ilan Yanuf also romanized as Murthid 'Alan Yanuf, was a Himyarite king who reigned in the early 6th century CE. A devout Christian, Marthad'ilan Yanuf engaged in diplomatic relations with the Aksumite Empire as well as renovated churches in his territory. He is the first Christian ruler to have official rule over Himyar.
'Abd-Kulāl al-Ḥimyarī, or simply 'Abdkulāl or 'Abd-kalal, was a governor of Himyar who lived in the 5th century CE. He was a convert to Nontrinitarianism, but kept his religious beliefs confidential. 'Abd-Kulal also held the power of regent rule temporarily during his time in office.
Ma'dikarib Ya'fur was a king of Himyar who reigned for six to seven years before Dhu Nuwas. Only two archaeological inscriptions mentioning him which date to the year 521 exist. In Arabian folklore, Ma'dikarib Ya'fur does not exist and is instead replaced by a person named Dhu Shanatir.
Tha'ran Ya'ub Yuhan'im was a ruler of the ancient Kingdoms of Saba' and Dhu-Raydan, which was located in present-day Yemen. The earliest mention of Tha'ran are inscriptions from the year 155 CE as part of a co-regency with his father, Dhamar Ali Yahbur. He went on to succeed his father around 175 CE, and ruled alone until 214.
Lakhni'ah Yanuf al-Himyari was a Himyarite prince who lived in the late fifth century. He first entered leadership as part of a co-regency with his father, Sharhabil Yakkuf, and his two brothers, Abu Shamir Nawaf and Ma'dikarib Yun'im.
CIH 6, also known as RES 2637C, is a pre-Islamic South Arabian inscription. It dates back to the 5th century CE, and commemorates the completion of the construction of a house or palace by the Himyarite regent 'Abd-Kulal and his family. A scanned picture of the inscriptions were first provided by Johannes H. Mordtmann and Eugen Mittwoch in their work Sabäische Inschriften. Rathjens-v. Wissmannsche Südarabischen-Reise. This inscription is also written in the Sabaic language and shows an instance of monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia.
References
- 1 2 3 Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, volume 28, pages 81–88. 1998.
- 1 2 The Oxford handbook of late antiquity. Oxford handbooks. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. 2012. ISBN 978-0-19-533693-1.
- 1 2 "The values of justice and tolerance in ancient Yemen are conveyed to us by the inscription YM 1200". Al Jazeera Press. 20 January 2017.