The Minaean people were the inhabitants of the kingdom of Ma'in (
Minaean
The Minaean people were the inhabitants of the kingdom of Ma'in ( Minaean: ''Maʿīn''; modern Arabic ''Maʿīn'') in modern-day Yemen, dating back to the 10th century BCE-150 BCE. It was located along the strip of desert called Ṣayhad by ...
: ''Maʿīn''; modern Arabic ''Maʿīn'') in modern-day
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
, dating back to the
10th century BC
The 10th century BC comprises the years from 1000 BC to 901 BC. This period followed the Late Bronze Age collapse in the Near East, and the century saw the Early Iron Age take hold there. The Greek Dark Ages which had come about in 1200 BC cont ...
E-150 BCE. It was located along the strip of
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
called
Ṣayhad by
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
geographers
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
, which is now known as Ramlat Dehem.
The Minaean people were one of four ancient Yemeni groups mentioned by
Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; grc-gre, Ἐρατοσθένης ; – ) was a Greek polymath: a mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria ...
. The others were the
Sabaeans
The Sabaeans or Sabeans (Sabaean language, Sabaean:, ; ar, ٱلسَّبَئِيُّوْن, ''as-Sabaʾiyyūn''; he, סְבָאִים, Səḇāʾīm) were an ancient group of South Arabians. They spoke the Sabaean language, one of the Old Sout ...
,
Ḥaḑramites and
Qatabānians. Each of these had regional kingdoms in ancient Yemen, with the Minaeans in the north-west (in
Wādī al-Jawf), the Sabaeans to the south-east of them, the Qatabānians to the south-east of the Sabaeans, and the Ḥaḑramites further east still.
History
Nothing is known about the early history of this north Yemeni kingdom. The region later to be known as Ma’īn first enters history at the time of the Sabaean mukarrib
Karib’il Watar I, and at that time consisted of a number of small city-states, which were under very strong Sabaean influence. The inscriptions from the city-state of
Ḥaram
Haram ( ar, حرم, translit=ḥaram, lit=sanctuary) is one of several similar words originating from the triliteral Semitic root Ḥ-R-M. The word literally means "sanctuary," commonly used by Muslims to refer to the holy sites of Islam and t ...
, which date from this time, exhibit Minaean linguistic features, alongside the significant
Sabaean impact. The Kingdom of Ma’īn emerged in the 6th century BCE, but then found itself under the rule of
Saba’
The Sabaeans or Sabeans (Sabaean:, ; ar, ٱلسَّبَئِيُّوْن, ''as-Sabaʾiyyūn''; he, סְבָאִים, Səḇāʾīm) were an ancient group of South Arabians. They spoke the Sabaean language, one of the Old South Arabian languag ...
. Only in about 400 BCE were the Minaeans able to ally themselves to Ḥaḑramawt and free themselves from direct Saba’ rule. In the 4th century both Ma’īn and Ḥaḑramawt were ruled by the same family, a close relationship that broke up again probably in the second half of the same century (approx 350-300 BCE). The next capital of the kingdom was Yathill (modern
Baraqish
Barāqish or Barāgish or Aythel ( ar, براقش) is a town in north-western Yemen, 120 miles to the east of Sanaa in al Jawf Governorate on a high hill. It is located in Wādī Farda(h), a popular caravan route because of the presence of wat ...
) and later
Qarnāwu (near modern Ma’īn). The kingdom enjoyed its golden age in the 3rd century BCE when it was able to extend its influence all along the incense trail due to the conquest of
Najrān
Najran ( ar, نجران '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated as a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen f ...
,
‘Asīr and
Ḥijāz. From the time of Waqah'il Sadiq I. (sources differ on when this golden age was, by as much as 2 centuries;
Hermann von Wissmann Hermann von Wissmann may refer to:
* Hermann Wissmann (1853–1905), German explorer and administrator in Africa
** ''Hermann von Wissmann'' (steamship), a German steamer
** Hermann von Wissmann (ship, 1940), became in 1950 the Belgian Kamina
* He ...
has it a during 360 BCE, while Kenneth A. Kitchen dates it to approximately 190–175 BCE) Minaean rule reached as far as
Dedan. The extent of their long-distance trade is also shown by the presence of Minaean merchants in the
Aegean. With the expansion of Ma’īn as far as the Red Sea they were also able to carry out sea trade. At the end of the 2nd century BCE Ma’īn found itself under the rule of Qatabān, but after the collapse of the Qatabānian Empire a few centuries later, the Minaean Kingdom fell too. The area was under Sabaean rule at the latest by the time the Roman general
Aelius Gallus waged a military campaign in the area in 25/24 BCE.
Trade
The Minaeans, like some other Arabian and Yemenite kingdoms of the same period, were involved in the extremely lucrative
spice trade, especially
frankincense
Frankincense (also known as olibanum) is an aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality incense').
There are several species o ...
and
myrrh
Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...
.
info please at
/ref> Inscriptions found in Qanāwu mention a number of major caravan stations along the trading route, including Yathrib
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
(Medina) and Gaza; there is also a brief account of how war between the Egyptians and Syrians interrupted the trade for a while.
The Minaeans had a different social structure to the rest of the Old South Arabians. Their king was the only one involved in lawmaking, along with a council of elders, who in Ma'īn represented the priesthood as well as families of high social class. The Minaeans were divided into groups of various sizes, led by a very high official called the ''kabīr'', appointed once every two years, who was in charge of one or sometimes all of the trading posts. The reason for this difference in social structure is unknown.
Kings
The order of succession and the dates of individual Minaean kings is extremely uncertain; the following table presents the reconstruction of Kenneth A. Kitchen. It should however be pointed out that the reconstruction of Hermann von Wissmann deviates from this considerably, and is just as probable.
See also
*Ancient history of Yemen
The ancient history of Yemen ( South Arabia) is especially important because Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable pop ...
* Ancient South Arabian art
*Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
*Sabaean Kingdom
The Sabaeans or Sabeans ( Sabaean:, ; ar, ٱلسَّبَئِيُّوْن, ''as-Sabaʾiyyūn''; he, סְבָאִים, Səḇāʾīm) were an ancient group of South Arabians. They spoke the Sabaean language, one of the Old South Arabian langua ...
*Qataban
Qataban (Qatabanian: , romanized: , ) was an ancient South Semitic-speaking kingdom of South Arabia (ancient Yemen) which existed from the early 1st millennium BCE till the late 1st or 2nd centuries CE.
The kingdom of Qatabān was one of the six ...
*Minaean language
The Minaean language (also Minaic, Madhabaic or Madhābic) was an Old South Arabian or Ṣayhadic language spoken in Yemen in the times of the Old South Arabian civilisation. The main area of its use may be located in the al-Jawf region of North- ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*Alessandro de Maigret. ''Arabia Felix'', translated Rebecca Thompson. London: Stacey International, 2002.
*Andrey Korotayev
Andrey Vitalievich Korotayev (russian: link=yes, Андре́й Вита́льевич Корота́ев; born 17 February 1961) is a Russian anthropologist, economic historian, comparative political scientist, demographer and sociologist, ...
''Ancient Yemen''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995
.
*Andrey Korotayev
''Pre-Islamic Yemen''. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1996
.
*Mounir Arbach: ''Le madhabien: lexique, onomastique et grammaire d'une langue de l'Arabie méridionale préislamique. Vol. 4: Réexamen de la chronologie des rois de Ma'in d'après les nouvelles donnéées''. Aix-en-Provence, 1993
* Kenneth A. Kitchen: ''The World of Ancient Arabia Series. Documentation for Ancient Arabia. Part I. Chronological Framework & Historical Sources.'' Liverpool, 1994
*Jacqueline Pirenne
Jacqueline Pirenne (1918 – 8 November 1990) was a French archaeologist and epigrapher, who studied ancient South Arabia and Ethiopia.
Life
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the granddaughter of the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne through her fat ...
: ''Paléographie des Inscriptions sud-arabes, Vol. I.'' (''Verhandelingen van de Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten van België. Klasse der Letteren. Verhandeling Nr. 26'') Brussels, 1956
*Hermann von Wissmann Hermann von Wissmann may refer to:
* Hermann Wissmann (1853–1905), German explorer and administrator in Africa
** ''Hermann von Wissmann'' (steamship), a German steamer
** Hermann von Wissmann (ship, 1940), became in 1950 the Belgian Kamina
* He ...
: ''Die Geschichte des Sabäerreiches und der Feldzug des Aelius Gallus'', in: Hildegard Temporini: '' Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt. II. Principat. Ninth Volume, First Half Volume'', De Gruyter, Berlin, New York 1976 {{ISBN, 3-11-006876-1, pp. 308–544
External links
Info Please
Britannica Online
Tribes of Arabia
Ancient history of Yemen
Former kingdoms