Yemen: The People and Culture (III) [Archives:2006/946/Culture]
By: Abu Al-Kalma Al-Tayyibah
Author: Qadhi Abdullah Abdul-Wahhab Al-Shamahi
Language: Arabic
Publisher: Dar Al-Hana Printing
Year Published: 1973
No. of Pages: 370
While still talking about the Sabaean Kingdom, Al-Shamahi contends that the first Western interest in Yemen came with Alexander the Great, who was interested in ending the trade monopolies of the Kingdom of Saba and its Northern counterpart, Phoenicia. He sent his naval commander “Tabarkhourous”1, to Yemen to learn about the Sabaeans. The latter returned to Alexander the Macedonian, after the latter had left Egypt and turned to face the Persians to confront the Emperor Darius and eventually defeat him. The explorer came to Alexander with a discouraging report on Yemen, in terms of trying to take the country, noting its difficult terrain, while mentioning the splendor under which Saba was enjoying its mercantile position. The aggressive Alexander postponed his plans for the conquest of Yemen and died before embarking on his South Arabian adventure. Nevertheless, the Ptolemy's of Egypt followed through with their previous master's plans and infringed upon the navigational routes of the Yemenis with the help of the Abyssinians. The author states that this seriously damaged Yemen's position and slowed down any further development of Yemen.
In the meantime, the Romans had expanded their realm to most of the areas in the Middle East (the Fertile Crescent and North Africa, and it wouldn't be long before they also eyed for Yemen. So the Yemeni King “Al-Yashruh Yahdhub” I, was ready for them, as he also felt that Mareb no longer suitable as a capital, as it was easily exposed to attack. So he probably moved the capital to the mountainous area of Dhu Raidan, in what is now Hamdan.
In 24 BC, the Emperor Augustus of Rome ordered his commander Illus Gallus to conquer Yemen and bring it under Roman domination. He took with him troops from what is now Syria and Jordan, which was then dominated by the Romans and the author says “500 Jews”, as a continuation of the oppression the Jews were facing from the Romans. He followed the trade routes from Jordan to Mareb, but when he reached Najran, he met a formidable force that “obliterated” the Romans and their allies, leaving only the rear guard commanded by Gallus to return home and report on the debacle. Here the author insists on refuting what the Roman historian Estrabon suggested that the Romans were defeated by the hardships of the desert, and it wasn't terrestrial hardships and climate that defeated the Romans, but the fighting spirit of the Yemenis, who have always made Yemen the graveyard for any aspiring conqueror over the ages. The King of Yemen then was “Al-Yashruh Yahdhub” II.
The Himyarite Kingdom
The author contends that Himyar was no more than a continuation of the Sabaean Kingdom, since Himyar are descendants from Saba Ibn Yashjub Ibn Ya'arub. The Himyarite Kingdom lasted from 115 BC to 525 AD. The capital of Himyar was Dhu Raidan. Himyar had two epochs, the First Epoch (from 115 BC to 275 AD and the Second Epoch (from 275 AD to 525 AD). There were 17 kings that reigned in the First Epoch and 12 have been found of the Second Epoch according to the author. According to the author also, the First King of the Second Epoch, Shimr Yahr I'Ish Bin Yassir Yahn'im ordered an expedition to Persia led by Dhu Hazfar.
In this period Abyssinian interest in Yemen grew and an attempted invasion was undertaken by Alali Iskandi, with the help of Byzantium and was driven out in 372 AD by Karb Yahamin. The Abyssinians introduced Christianity to Yemen and then it was on and off between the Persians and their allies in Yemen and the Abyssinians and their allies (the Yemeni Jews, who kept exchanging hands. Dhu Nawas was a famous Himyarite King, who fought the Abyssinians bravely, until he was betrayed by his own followers, but he kept fighting until he was drowned in the Straits of Bab Al-Mandab. Although the Abyssinians did get a fairly good foothold in Yemen, there were several areas they were unable to penetrate.
There were six Small Kingdoms, as the author calls them, that also prevailed in Yemen:
Qataban (1000 BC to 400 BC); 2) Hadhramaut (1020 BC to 295 AD); 3) Awsan (800 BC to 115 BC); 4) Jaba or Habban, coincided with Qataban to a certain extent and was situated West of Qataban; 5) the Emirate of Sim'i, which is situated where the Tribe of Hashid is now situated, coincided with Saba and later merged into it; and 6) the Emirate of Arba'a. There is very little known about the last one.
The author notes that Himyar was a spartan state and had undertaken extensive military activity against the Persians, the Romans and the Abyssinians.
1The name is based on the Arabic pronunciation given by the author.
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