Bayt Naʽamah ( ) is a village in
Bani Matar District
Bani Matar District () is a district of the Sanaa Governorate, Yemen. , the district had a population of 100,012 inhabitants.
Environment
In this district is located Jabal An-Nabi Shu'ayb or Jabal Hadhur of the Harazi subrange of the Sarat ra ...
of
Sanaa Governorate
Sanaa ( '), also spelled San'a or Sana, is a governorate of Yemen. Its capital is Sanaa, which is also the national capital. However, the city of Sanaa is not part of the governorate but instead forms the separate governorate of Amanat Al-Asema ...
,
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
.
It is located on a small western outcrop of
Jabal Ayban
Jabal, Jabel, Jebel or Jibal may refer to:
People
* Jabal (name), a male Arabic given name
* Jabal (Bible), mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
Places
In Arabic, ''jabal'' or ''jebel'' (spelling variants of the same word) means 'mountain'.
* Dzhebel, ...
, about 10 km west of
Sanaa
Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...
.
Name
According to the 10th-century author
al-Hamdani, the name of Bayt Naʽamah is derived from that of ʽAmr Dhū Naʽāmah b. ʽĀmīr b. ʽAmr, of the tribe of
Himyar
Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to class ...
.
A number of inscriptions also refer to the name as that of a tribe called the Banū Dhī Naʽāmah, which they associated with the tribe of
Sahman.
History
Robert T.O. Wilson wrote that
M.A. al-Eryani
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
's 1973 work ''
In Yemen History'' seemingly implied that Bayt Naʽamah was originally located just below its present site, but Wilson himself argued that the upper site would have been more preferable as a defensive position.
In his view, the ruins below the present site are "remnants from an earlier expansion".
The only historical reference he found to Bayt Naʽamah was to the town being sacked in 647 AH (1249 CE).
References
{{Reflist
Villages in Sanaa Governorate
Bani Matar District