Sirwah
Sirwah ( Arabic صرواح, DMG Ṣirwāḥ ) was next to Ma'rib the most important economic and political center of the empire of Saba at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. BC on the Arabian Peninsula. Sirwah was surrounded by a rampart. The urban layout within the oasis housed several large buildings.
The ruins of Sirwah are 40 km west of Ma'rib . Due to its mountain location, the city was well protected, but this also limited its development. As a result, Sirwah soon lost its capital city function to Ma'rib, which was an important economic center due to its location on Frankincense Street .
Nevertheless, the city remained an important center of the Sabeans , which is proven by the large number of temple buildings. So was King Yada'il Dharih I around 700 BC. An important Almaqah temple was built. Experts suspect that it came from the same architect who built the temple at Awwam near Ma'rib.
archeology
German excavations have been taking place in Sirwah since 2003, from which it is hoped that further knowledge about the early days of the Sabaean Empire will be obtained. For this purpose, post-antique buildings were initially removed. The excavations take place inside the fortress-like building, the walls of which rise up to 9 meters in part (original height was 10.5 meters).
In 2005, archaeologists at the DAI discovered and recovered a 7-meter-long frieze from the Sabaean Empire. The 7-ton stone block was part of the Almaqah Temple and fell from its base in an earthquake. The epigraphist Norbert Nebes from the University of Jena described the inscription as the most important to date from the 1st century BC. The inscription tells of the armed struggles of a Sabaean ruler against his immediate neighbors in the south-east and north of Yemen.
The Almaqah Temple is currently being restored (2008). Another temple from the 7th century BC was added to the work. Discovered. This sanctuary has a monumental entrance that is decorated with columns. It contains several rooms, the building material is wood and stone, the floor plan is unique in Yemen at this time.
see the article section: Architectural history of South Arabia
Military intervention in Yemen 2015
According to Yemeni sources, Sirwah suffered significant damage from fighting during the 2015 military intervention in Yemen due to its proximity to the local governor's palace.
literature
- Norbert Nebes (ed.) With an archaeological contribution by Iris Gerlach and Mike Schnelle: The report of the facts of Yiṯa''amar Watar bin Yakrubmalik from Ṣirwāḥ (Yemen): on the history of South Arabia in the early 1st millennium BC , (= series of publications: Epigraphic research on the Arabian Peninsula / German Archaeological Institute, Orient Department ), Wasmuth, Tübingen [2016], ISBN 3-8030-2203-7 .
- Horst Kopp (Ed.): Geography of Yemen . Reichert, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89500-500-2 .
- Maria Höfner : Inscriptions from Sirwah, Haulan , (= session reports / Austrian Academy of Sciences. Philosophical-Historical Class; 304.5. ), Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften , Vienna 1976, ISBN 3-7001-0160-0 .
Web links
- Monumental inscription found in the kingdom of the Queen of Sheba ( Memento from March 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 175 kB)
- Sirwah City Walls
- Temple in Yemen. nt-v.de, March 19, 2008, lost property, No. 309.
- Communication from the German Archaeological Institute
Individual evidence
- ↑ Horst Kopp (ed.): Yemen geography . Reichert, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89500-500-2 , p. 199.
- ↑ Iris Gerlach : The archaeological-architectural-historical investigations in the Sabaean city complex and oasis of Sirwah . In: Iris Gerlach (Ed.): 25 years of excavations and research in Yemen 1978–2003 . Sanaa 2003, pp. 96-105.
- ↑ 'Engineering Marvel' of Queen of Sheba's City Damaged in Airstrike ( Memento of 5 June 2015 Webcite ) (English). news.nationalgeographic.com, June 3, 2015, by Kristin Romey.
Coordinates: 15 ° 27 ′ 0 ″ N , 45 ° 1 ′ 0 ″ E