Sabeans
The Sabaeans ( Assyr. Sabảajja; ancient Greek Σαβαίοι Sabaioi ; Latin Sabaei ) were an ancient Semitic people in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula in what is now Yemen .
Historical sources
In the annals of the Assyrians , the Sabeans are mentioned as early as 730 BC. Mentioned.
In the Old Testament they are mainly mentioned as incense dealers, for example in Jer 6.20 EU and Isa 60.6 EU . The memory of Jews in Saba can be seen in Gen 25.1–6 EU and Joel 4.8 EU .
→ See also: Queen of Sheba
The Sabeans were also known to the Greeks primarily as traders of frankincense and myrrh . Strabo mentions her capital Ma'rib (by some authors, as well as the kingdom , Saba called). The Romans consider them to be the wealthiest people in Arabia because they supply the coveted incense.
The Koran mentions the historical fact of the dam break at Ma'rib in the kingdom of Saba in the year 572 AD, in sura 34 , 15f. But the “Sabeans” resident here are not identical to the Ṣābiʾūn mentioned in Sura 2 , 62 (see below) (usually translated as “Sabier” to differentiate).
Sabaean religion
The Sabeans originally worshiped astral gods such as the moon , sun and Venus . After southern Arabia came under Persian influence in AD 575 , the last Persian governor converted to Islam in 628.
The Koran recognizes in Sura 2.62 a community of the Sabians ( Arabic سبئيون, DMG Ṣābiʾūn ) as a book religion (not to be confused with the inhabitants of Saba named in Sura 34.15, see above):
- “Verily, the believers and the Jews and the Christians and the Sabians - whoever (among them) truly believes in Allah and in the Last Day and does good works - they should receive their reward from their Lord, and no fear should be upon them they come, nor should they mourn. "
However, it is unclear to which religious community this refers. The Sabians of Harran adopted this name in 830 in order to be recognized as a book religion. In contrast, the Mandaeans are only referred to by their neighbors as "Sabaeans", but do not use this name themselves. Here the name refers to the repeated immersion in running water, which corresponds to the Arabic صاب (pouring out).
language
The common language of the Himyars and Sabaeans was Sabaean, a dialect of Old South Arabic . It was spoken in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula until the 10th century and is very well documented with around 6,000 inscriptions found.
literature
- Hermann von Wissmann: The great empire of the Sabeans up to its end in the early 4th century BC. The story of Saba. Volume 2. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1982, ISBN 3-7001-0516-9 .
- Jürgen Tubach: In the shadow of the sun god: The sun cult in Edessa, Harran and Hatra on the eve of the Christian mission. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1986, ISBN 3-447-02435-6 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Heinz Hahn: The Arabs. From pre-Islamic times to the present . CH Beck, Munich, 2004, p. 9. ISBN 3-406-50843-X .
- ↑ Sun worship in Saba: Sura 27 , 22–24.
- ^ The editing of the Koran was completed in the middle of the 7th century: Annemarie Schimmel in the foreword Der Koran , text edition Reclam, Stuttgart 1960, p. 12.
- ↑ In connection with the admission of persecuted Iraqis from religious minorities in Germany, Mandaeans and Sabaeans are mentioned: FAZ, March 19, 2009, p. 4.