Qataban

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Inscription of King Shahr Hilal, son of Yada'ib Dhubyan (around 370 BC)

Qataban ( old South Arabic Qtbn ; also Kataban or Ḳataban ) was an ancient kingdom in Yemen from the 8th century BC. Chr.

history

The origins of Qataban in northern Yemen are as yet unknown. At the end of the 8th century, Qataban was conquered by Yitha'amar Watar I of Saba . Shortly afterwards it came under the rule of Ausan . After this was conquered by Saba, an ally of Qataban, Qataban again became a vassal of its western neighbor Saba and received Ausan itself and areas on the coast of the Indian Ocean that were subject to Ausan . To what extent Qataban was able to control sea trade with Africa and India is unclear, at least the south coast of Yemen was still under Sumuhu'ali Yanuf III. , shortly before the Qataban independence, under Sabaean control. In the 4th or 3rd century BC Qataban, presumably in alliance with Ma'in and Hadramaut , was able to break free from Sabaean supremacy under King Yada'ib Yigal I. A few decades later, Saba was able to stop the rise of Qataban in the Battle of Tuhargib, but the breakup of the great Sabaean empire could no longer be prevented.

Since then, the Qataban empire ruled the outer areas of Ausan, Kahad, Dahas, Tubanaw, which originate from the former empire of Ausan, and those in the west, against the Bab al - along with the tribes Qataban, Radman , Madhay, Almalik and Yahir represented in the State Council. Mandab located bkl -Gaue. With the conquest of the Hadramaut by Yada'ib Dhubyan Yuhan'im (220–205 BC) and the victory over the Amir , Qataban reached the height of its power, it now controlled large parts of the Yemeni coastal plain and at the same time a connection to the Incense Route . For five generations since Haufi'amm Yuhan'im II , the Qataban rulers bore the title of Mukarrib , which probably identified them as the “link” of the tribal confederation that made up the state.

The capital of the country was Timna , which was on the Frankincense Route. Like the other South Arabian empires, Qataban was also heavily dependent on the incense trade .

For a short time, Qataban under King Shahr Yigal Yuhargib II (around 80 BC) even managed to establish hegemony over the kingdom of Ma'in , which controlled the Incense Route , but soon afterwards the Qataban supremacy over southern Arabia collapsed: Radman was probably achieved with the help of Saba , Ausan, Ma'afir and the previously unmentioned Himyar achieved independence. The west of Qataban and later Ma'in fell to Saba and Himjar, whereby the Qataban empire, which had replaced the Sabaean supremacy over ancient Yemen, was ended.

As a result, the power of the Qataban king, Shahr Yigal Yuhargib III, continued to decline . ( Kenneth A. Kitchen : around 45–65 AD) temporarily lost the legislative power to some of the tribes residing in the central Qataban area. In the 1st century AD Timna lost its status as the Qataban capital, instead the dhu-Ghail ( Hajar ibn Humaid ), only a few kilometers away, became the center of Qataban. Hadramaut finally conquered Qataban around 150 ; At the latest under the rule of the hadramitic king Yadi'ab Ghailan II. Qataban was completely in hadramitic hands.

The economy of the Kingdom of Qataban (light blue) was based heavily on the cultivation and trade in spices, frankincense and myrrh. These were exported to the Mediterranean, India and Abyssinia, where they were valued by many cultures, by camels through Arabia or by sea to India or the Mediterranean. Representation for the 3rd century AD

The kings of Qataban

In contrast to Saba, the succession of the Qataban kings is quite well established, so the following list, which is a slightly modified version of the results of Kenneth A. Kitchen 's research, can be considered largely reliable.

Surname Dating Remarks
Waraw'il should be divided into several rulers of the same name
Loss of tradition
Shahr Yigal I.
Haufi'amm Yuhan'im I.
Yada'ib Yigal I. defeated Saba
Yada'ib Yanuf Yuhan'im
Haufi'amm Yuhan'im II. first holder of the title "Mukarrib"
Shahr Yigal Yuhargib
Yada'ib Dhubyan Yuhan'im conquered the Hadramaut
Shahr Ghailan I.
Shahr Hilal I. last holder of the title "Mukarrib"
Loss of tradition
Shahr Ghailan II
Yada'ib Dhubyan Yuhargib
Shahr Yigal II.
Shahr Hilal II.
Shahr Hilal III.
Shahr Yigal Yuhargib II.
End of the great empire, then a gap in tradition
Haufi'amm Yuhan'im III.
Shahr Yigal Yuhargib III.
Waraw'il Ghailan Yuhan'im
Fara'karib II.
Yigal Yuhargib
Fara'karib III.
Shahr Hilal Yuhaqbid
Nabat Yuhan'im around 140/41 AD
Marthad around 160 AD

religion

In Qataban, Athtar (Venus star god ) was worshiped as the realm god . In addition, the moon god Amm and the Anbay who followed him in official invocations , as well as the sun god Athirat were of great importance.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ M. Arbach, H. as-Saqqaf: Naqsh jadīd min ʿhd Ydʿʾb Yhnʿm malik Qtbn w-Ydʿʾb Ġyln malik Ḥḍrmwt , in: Raydan 7, pp. 110–123 (Arabic part), figs. 21-22. CSAI number of the inscription: Arbach-Sayun 1
  2. ↑ so Kenneth A. Kitchen , after Hermann von Wissmann a few decades earlier
  3. ^ Hermann von Wissmann : 125 v. Chr .; Kenneth A. Kitchen : 70-50 BC. Chr.
  4. ^ Adolf Grohmann, Cultural History of the Ancient Orient, Parts 3-4

literature

For more general literature see the bibliography of the article Old South Arabia .