Arabia Felix In antiquity, modern Yemen was famous for its incense and cinnamon - the latter being imported from India. There were several minor kingdoms in Arabia Felix: Saba (capital: Marib, later Sana) was the leading power in Yemen under the kings Yathîamar (last quarter of the eighth century BC?) and Karibil Watar (first half seventh century). These men may be identical to the kings Itiamara and Karibailu mentioned in Assyrian annals. The famous story of the queen of Shebas visit to the Jewish king Solomon (1 Kings 10.1-10) is somehow related to Saba, but is is unclear how. The city state Ma`in was a kingdom of traders, which gained its independence from Saba at an unknown moment before circa 375 BC. The Minaeans controlled the incense trade. Qataban (capital Timna) had been an ally of Saba, but became its main rival. In the third century, it seized the southwest from Saba; these territories were called Himyar. Hadramaut (capital Šabwa) was situated in the East. The Hadramautians produced incense and traded cinnamon from the port of Qana. Zufar was situated in modern Oman. Hardly anything about this country is known, because archaeologists have not found texts. The Roman geographer Ptolemy calls its capital trade center of the Omanians; others have identified this with other towns known from ancient texts, Ubar and Iram. (The latter is mentioned in the Quran as a splendid city, being punished by God for its wickedness; 89.6-13) Each of these kingdoms possessed extensive hydraulic installations, enabling the population to cope with both drought and the sometimes devastating river floods. The incense trade was the most important source of wealth. The product was transported from Hadramaut to Ma`in, and from there to Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean world. (The traders used camels: this animal was domesticated in the tenth century BC and could travel some hundred kilometers/day.) Several new towns were founded along the incense road; the most important was Iatribbu. Mecca was a little off the main road. When Alexander the Great had conquered the Persian empire, he wanted to launch a naval expedition to Arabia Felix, but he died several days before the expedition started (323 BC). Although this expedition had come to nothing, southern Arabia was now part of a larger world, and several economic changes took place. It is clear that several new towns were founded in this period and that access to the trade routes changed the balance of power: we already noticed how Qataban seized the country known as Himyar during the third century. About 120 BC, Saba managed to reconquer Ma`in, a war that may have been motivated by economic motifs. However, the trade route by land had declined. It had become possible to use the monsoon to make long voyages across the Indian Ocean. Himyar, situated in the South-West, now became independent (about 1110 BC), because it controlled harbor towns like modern Al-Mukha and Aden. The capital of Himyar was Zafar. From now on, Saba and Himyar were competitors, and they sometimes invited foreign powers to assist them in their wars: e.g., tribes from Arabia Deserta or Ethiopian warriors from Aksum. Later, the foreigners came uninvited, such as the army that was sent by the Roman emperor Augustus in 24 BC, who wanted to control Himyars ports. During the first stages of the conflict between Himyar and Saba, the latter was the leading power. Together with Hadramaut, it destroyed Qataban; later, king Ša`r Awtar conquered Hadramaut. Saba now controlled all the countries in the interior. However, Himyars control of the sea routes was decisive. At the end of the third century, its king Šamir Yuhar`iš united Yemen. He was important enough to negotiate on equal terms with the king of the Parthian empire. Confusion Despite the nice clear classifications that modern historians put onto these different terms, it is obvious that the ancient historians did not all agree on them. According to Strabo, XVI.iv.21 The Nabataeans and Sabaeans, situated above Syria, are the first people who occupy Arabia Felix. They were frequently in the habit of overrunning this country before the Romans became masters of it, but at present both they and the Syrians are subject to the Romans. The capital of the Nabataeans is called Petra … Today many people believe that the term Arabia Felix referred only to southern Yemen. However, Cl. Ptolemaeus lists places like Wadi Rumm (Iram) in southern Jordan, in his list of cities in Arabia Felix. (Aramava-Geogr. 6.7.27). Thus, many of the characteristics that ancient writers attributed to Arabia Felix can also be applied to the Nabataeans, and southern Nabataea in particular.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 10:22:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015