Links of previous parts:
1. https://jbamit.blogspot.com/2018/11/all-societies-must-die-part-1.html
2. https://jbamit.blogspot.com/2018/12/all-civilizations-must-die-part-2.html
The kingdom's success in incense trades are strongly related to the tale of famous queen - Queen of Saba - as mentioned in many biblical and quranic references about her wealth & success in trades. There are references of her famous visit in the court of King Solomon in Holy Quran and Holy Bible. It is mentioned that she visited his court in Jerusalem with gold, jewels & spices to test the king's wisdom by asking him to solve some riddles. As you all may know, Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was, according to the Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, Quran, and Hadiths, a wealthy and wise king of Israel who succeeded his father, King David. You can know about the visit of Queen of Saba from this video:
1. https://jbamit.blogspot.com/2018/11/all-societies-must-die-part-1.html
2. https://jbamit.blogspot.com/2018/12/all-civilizations-must-die-part-2.html
Yemen is thought to be one of the oldest populated regions in the world. Its diverse climate and habitable geographical condition were hospitable for the people who lived in there first and the mighty civilizations stemmed from it. Three civilizations can be mentioned here - Minean, Sabaean and Himyarite - among which Sabean Kingdom was the most famous. During the age of Islam, Yemen has become the home of knowledge, wisdom & inventions which showed mankind a new horizon. Later many colonial & societal changes occurred which have changed the course of history leading us to present Yemen.
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| Ancient blocks with Sabean Inscriptions |
I will describe the ancient history of Yemen under four periods - Pre-Islamic, Islamic, Colonialism & Modern time. Pre-Islamic period can be divided into two sub-periods - when land route was important for business and when sea trade route replaced the land route. It is almost impossible to say exactly when the Yemenis flourishing started; most prominent and historically reliable information was found about Kingdom of Saba (Sheba).
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| Kingdom of Saba by Anna Carter |
Kingdom of Saba existed for 14 centuries from 10 century BC. In its prime, Saba grew wealthy through trade along the incense (spicy) routes from southern Arabia to the port of Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea. Frankincense and myrrh were among the expensive & desirable incense materials which were used in temples, rituals, public festivals etc. You can know about Frankincense and Myrrh from this video:
The kingdom's success in incense trades are strongly related to the tale of famous queen - Queen of Saba - as mentioned in many biblical and quranic references about her wealth & success in trades. There are references of her famous visit in the court of King Solomon in Holy Quran and Holy Bible. It is mentioned that she visited his court in Jerusalem with gold, jewels & spices to test the king's wisdom by asking him to solve some riddles. As you all may know, Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was, according to the Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, Quran, and Hadiths, a wealthy and wise king of Israel who succeeded his father, King David. You can know about the visit of Queen of Saba from this video:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Queen-of-Sheba/media/539342/191696
Saba continued to thrive as the most important state until several political groups tried to gain control through competing with Saba in fifth century B.C. Sea routes was being favored by the then civilizations for trade and traveling. Gradually, the mighty kingdom Saba, lost its control over the land routes.
Second epoch of pre-Islamic history of Yemen began with the Himyarites in the western highlands. The easterns (Sabeans) came and contributed to the flourishing. Land was comparatively fertile and another kingdom was thriving to give competition to Sabeans. Around the third century A.D., Himyarites conquered Marib, the capital of Saba. Ironically, the end of Himyar kingdom was also instigated by the collapse of the great dam of Marib in 570 A.D.
Yemen in the age of Islam
The religion of Islam and its beliefs played quite a pivotal role in Yemen's history. Moreover subsequent economic decline in the earlier decades and authoritarian behavior of the then Jewish and Christian leaders paved the way of establishing Islamic empire. Earlier history of Islamic empire in Yemen consisted of several short-lived caliphates. Influential span of Islam among the Yemenis did not take much longer to diminish due to the incessant changes of rulers and their fractious nature. After Prophet Muhammad's death, his first successor, the caliph Abu Bakr divided Yemen into three provinces - San'a, Al-Janad & Hadramawt.
This Arabian peninsula (San'a, Al-Janad & Hadramawt) failed to thrive because of the then rebellious and conceited leaders. After several spans of different caliphates, Himyarite reign started and power houses of Yemen moved to Sanaa and to Himyar center Zafar. Despite several political setbacks and turmoil, Yemen was one of the most flourishing trade centers. Political oppressors from Abyssinia and Persia did not wait longer to set their feet on Yemen soil. Persians were quite successful to preach Islam and make Yemen an architecturally affluent country. It is believed by the historians that the great mosque Sana'a was built at that time.
One of the most important dynasties in medieval Yemen is Zaidi Imamate by the Imam Yahya. He was a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and also of his cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib (Husband of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima). Zaidi Imamate was arguably the longest lasting dynasty of Yemen in Islamic age. Yahya was famous for his political vision and his success of mitigating tribal disputes. Some historians also questioned his vision and political outlook for his works attacking the legality of caliphates of previous caliphs.
(to be continued)
Saba continued to thrive as the most important state until several political groups tried to gain control through competing with Saba in fifth century B.C. Sea routes was being favored by the then civilizations for trade and traveling. Gradually, the mighty kingdom Saba, lost its control over the land routes.
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| Mahram Bilquis (Arabic Name of Queen of Saba) |
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| Ma'rib dam |
The religion of Islam and its beliefs played quite a pivotal role in Yemen's history. Moreover subsequent economic decline in the earlier decades and authoritarian behavior of the then Jewish and Christian leaders paved the way of establishing Islamic empire. Earlier history of Islamic empire in Yemen consisted of several short-lived caliphates. Influential span of Islam among the Yemenis did not take much longer to diminish due to the incessant changes of rulers and their fractious nature. After Prophet Muhammad's death, his first successor, the caliph Abu Bakr divided Yemen into three provinces - San'a, Al-Janad & Hadramawt.
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| Old city of Sana'a (Source: Imgur) |
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| Great mosque of Sana's (Source: flickr) |
One of the most important dynasties in medieval Yemen is Zaidi Imamate by the Imam Yahya. He was a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and also of his cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib (Husband of the Prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatima). Zaidi Imamate was arguably the longest lasting dynasty of Yemen in Islamic age. Yahya was famous for his political vision and his success of mitigating tribal disputes. Some historians also questioned his vision and political outlook for his works attacking the legality of caliphates of previous caliphs.
(to be continued)
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