Saba (ancient)

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Saba ( Sabaean s 1 bʾ ; Greek Σάβα; Hebrew Ebā; Arabic سبأ, DMG Sabā ' ) was a kingdom in what is now Yemen between 1000 BC. And 400 AD with the capital Ma'rib . Research into the history and culture of this country is still patchy. Above all, the chronological classification of the historical events and the known kings is not certain.

See also:

history

Early days and Saba's supremacy

The Bible mentions the visit of the Queen of Sheba (also Queen of Sheba ), who visited King Solomon . The historicity of this visit is unclear, especially whether it was a ruler from the South Arabian kingdom. The kingdom of Saba was established no later than the 8th century BC Founded by the Sabaean tribe in north-western Yemen , in some cases the 10th century BC. Accepted; this is supported by the continuity of settlement in Ma'rib and other places. May have been initially Sirwah the capital of the empire, but Marib was the latest since the onset of written sources with Karib'il I. the economic and cultural center of the empire. The country's economic basis was agriculture and the frankincense trade , which was controlled by Marib. Dams were built early on to irrigate the Marib oasis, the predecessors of the famous Ma'rib dam .

Karib'il Watar's campaigns against Ausan (red: area with confiscated goods from the Ausan state)

The first mention of Saba is a note found in Haditha (Iraq), which reports that a governor of Suchu and Mari died in the middle of the 8th century BC. A caravan from Saba and Tayma was attacked at Hindanu (near Al-Būkamāl ) . In 715 BC Performed an Itamra of Saba and around 685 BC. A Karibilu from Saba tribute to the New Assyrian Empire . The identification of the two kings with kings from Sabaean sources is not conclusively certain, as several kings with this name are documented. But is considered likely that Itamra with I. Yitha'amar Watar and Karibilu with Karib'il Watar I. to be identified. Yitha'amar Watar I, who consequently lived around 715 BC. Ruled, conquered the areas of Qataban south of Saba and strengthened Saba's influence in the Jauf by defeating Kaminahu , Naschq and Naschān . Shortly thereafter, Saba Qataban lost to the Kingdom of Ausan . However, Karib'il Watar I (around 685 BC) succeeded in several campaigns in subjugating the neighboring state of Ausan, whose territory was added to the vassal Qataban, and controlled the incense trade by conquering Najran . In addition to the frankincense trade, there was also extensive maritime trade with the east coast of Africa. Colonist settlements were founded especially in today's Eritrea and Tigray in Ethiopia, from which a mixed culture emerged, the basis of the Ethio-Sabaean kingdom of Da'amot / Di'amat and later, from the 1st century AD, the empire of Aksum , has been.

To support the population of Saba was in the 6th or 4th century BC. The famous dam of Ma'rib was built. With this dam, large areas of the desert floor on the edge of the Rub al-Chali could be reclaimed, which contributed significantly to the rise of Saba. In the second half of the 6th ( Hermann von Wissmann ) or 4th ( Kenneth A. Kitchen ) century BC. BC King Yithi'amar Bayyin II , who also completed the Margela Dam, subjugated Ma'in , Amir and Najran, which has now apparently been lost again ( see the article section: Architectural History of South Arabia ).

Loss of supremacy

In the 4th century BC The vassals Ma'in, Qataban and Hadramaut as well as the Sum'ay area gained their independence temporarily . The first evidence of Ma'in's independence comes from around 420 BC. Around 390 BC BC Qataban struck Saba. With the loss of Ma'in, which lay between Saba and Najran, Saba temporarily lost control of the Incense Route. Since Saba also controlled the sea route through the Red Sea to India with the Bab al-Mandab , the Roman Emperor Augustus (27 BC to 14 AD) tried to subjugate Saba. To this end, the Roman general Aelius Gallus undertook under the leadership of the Nabatean Chancellor Syllaios with Roman, Judean and Nabatean troops in 25 BC. A campaign to southern Arabia. After a long, arduous and loss-making march, the Roman army, which, according to Strabo (Geography, XVI 4,23-24), was deliberately misled by Syllaios, reached the northern border town of Sabas, Najran, which was captured after a short battle. and shortly afterwards the former Mina city of Yathill (Yemeni name: Baraqish), which Gallus had occupied. Then he besieged Marib for six days, according to Strabo, but then withdrew due to the lack of water and illnesses and reached the beginning of 24 BC without further difficulties. The Nabatean Empire. Despite the military superiority of the Romans, the campaign was unsuccessful due to the ignorance of the terrain. Saba reached its political climax with the conquest of Hadramaut (242), which again controlled the entire incense route in Yemen.

Himyar Supremacy and End

Due to the relocation of trade routes, the coastal areas became increasingly important. For example, the Himyarites , who were first mentioned in a hadramitic inscription at the beginning of the 1st century AD and by Pliny the Elder , were able to gain increasing influence in the southern mountainous region of Yemen since 100, because they better the ports and thus the sea trade could control. According to Kenneth A. Kitchen , Saba and Himyar were united under a personal union from about 0–140 AD. At about the same time, Saba split into several clans or dynasties, which fought for supremacy: the traditional dynasty of Marib, the Hamdanids around Na'it , the Marthad in Shibam and the Gurat from Jebel Kamin . Around AD 200 the Hamdanids seized power, but the old center of Marib remained the religious center of Saba. 'Alhan Nahfan (around 200 AD) initially allied himself with the Abyssinians, his son Sha'ir Awtar, on the other hand, fought Aksum again, defeated the Hadramaut near Shawa'ran in 217/18 and threw an uprising of the Central Arab Kinda (280 km northeast from Najran). In the Saba-Himyar battle of Hurmat in 248/49, no party seems to have achieved a clear victory, and around 260, Saba was finally subdued by Himyar. Although the Himyarites viewed themselves as successors to the Sabeans, the decline of the hinterland could no longer be stopped. The irrigation systems increasingly fell into disrepair, which led to the emigration of the population. After several dam breaks, Marib 572 was finally abandoned.

With Eastern Roman support, the Aksumites under their Negus Ella Asbeha conquered southern Arabia in 525 after it fell to the Jewish king Yusuf Asʾar Yathʾar around 517 . Yemen briefly became an Aksumite vassal state, around 575 it became dependent on the New Persian Sassanid Empire until it became a Persian province in 597/598.

literature

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The years are based on the " Long Chronology " of South Arabia
  2. ↑ See Bible, Book of Kings 10: 1 ( the Bible online )
  3. ↑ Published: A. Cavigneaux / BK Ismail, in: Baghdader Mitteilungen 21 (1990), p. 32 ff.
  4. ^ So by Wissmann; Inscription RES 2980; Kenneth A. Kitchen: 415-400 BC. Chr.
  5. ↑ Inscription RES 3858
  6. ^ RES 2687
  7. ^ The World of Ancient Arabia Series. Documentation for Ancient Arabia. Part I. Chronological Framework & Historical Sources.