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The
name of Yemen differs in history books. For ancient geographists it
is “The Happy Arabia” and for Yemenis it is derived from the
word yomn which means prosper.
Some
orientalists indicate that the
beginning of the flourishing of the ancient civilizations in Yemen
is back to the beginning of the first millennium B.C. the Yemeni
civilization is composed of many kingdoms: Sheba, Ma’ain, and
Kataban.
Moreover,
the Islamic era has left various marks some of which have been
discovered and some are still under process by European and American
committees. Yemeni people speak Arabic and a few can speak English.
The
diversity of the natural environment: plains, mountains and deserts
may be common in many countries, but it is unique in Yemen. Yemen's
highlands are an extension of a chain of the Trans-Arabian
Peninsula's high mountains which cut across, in parallel, from the
Red Sea in the west to the Arabian desert, The Empty Quarter, in the
east, the shape of which resembles the letter "L". Because
of the height of this mountain chain, which is the highest in the
Arabian Peninsula, rain clouds, carried by the seasonal winds from
the Indian Ocean during the spring and summer, causes rainfall,
which differs greatly from the rest of the area.
The
rains are not normally heavy, but when it pours, torrents flow
across a number of valleys. Some goes east to the desert and some
west to the Red Sea, or south to the waters of the Arabian Sea.
Under these circumstances and climate, people of the Stone Age lived
here tens of thousands of' years ago experiencing the various stages
of that period. There are many relics dating hack to this era are
now in exhibit at the National Museum in Sana'a. The facade of caves
show distinct traces of the Hunter Gatherers Society. While on top
of the eastern mountain chain, 2000*2300m above sea level, more
sophisticated societies lived during the Bronze Age.
Unsuccessful
attempt at dam construction can be traced back to the bronze age.
The people, after this failure, emigrated down-stream to the valleys
in the East of Yemen, and it is here where civilization in this part
of the world began to flourish. Yemeni civilization didn't flourish
on the hanks of rivers, as in many other ancient civilizations, but
in the valleys. The Sheba dynasty flourished in the valleys of
Dhanah and Ma'een in the Jouf Valley to the north of Sheba.
Similarly, other dynasties such as Qataban in the Baihan Valley,
Hadharmout in the valley of Armah and Osan in the valley of Markhah.
Is the oldest of the Yemeni civilizations. Historians consider the
start of the Sabean Dynasty as the beginning of historical accounts
for Yemen's ancient states. This historical period began in 715BC,
the year when Yathea'a Amirbayn, one of the oldest Macarabi, King of
Sheba, paid protection money to Serjoun, the King of Assyria, as
told by the Assyrian annals.
The
first line of Sabean Macarabis and kings existed around the same
time as the kings of Ma'een. The only time Ma'een was defeated was
by Sheba, its neighbor. The sovereignty of Sheba also extended to
cover the ancient states of Osan, Qataban and Hadramout. Qataban and
Hadramout had sided with Sheba against the State of Osan.
Regardless
of which Yemeni dynasty was the oldest, strongest or reigned
longest" the most recent archaeological researches state that
the Iron Age extended from 1200BC until 332BC. Thus, the beginnings
of the flourishing history of Southern Arabia civilizations was 1st
century BC. The people lived by means of agriculture and it was
around this time that dams and canals were constructed to irrigate
the land to provide food and camels domesticated to help with the
work load. The development of political systems was similar in each
dynasty. Their location, between 1ndia and Africa, on one side, and
between Egypt and Syria on the other, generated a good income from
the taxes paid for the protection of the camel caravans transporting
incense from Hadhramout and Dhofar (Oman) in the East. These
caravans were also used to carry other goods, whatever would fetch a
good price and was light enough for the camels to carry, which
arrived into Yemen at the port of Qana on thc Arabian Sea. From
there they would be transported through the cities and stations of
Hadhramout, Qataban, Sabean and the Ma'een Dynasties on to the port
of Gaza on the Mediterranean coast. Cities flourished and the
architectural style developed. The temples of the Astrological
Triangle' were
built along with the dams and canals which surrounded the capital
cities of Marib, Ma'een, Tamna'a and Shabwa.
The
capitals of the civilizations of southern Arabia had strong contact
with ancient Eastern civilizations. Before the birth of Christ, a
campaign by a Roman Commander failed in an attempt to take control
of' the incense road. However, Hippalos, a Greek sailor, had
discovered the closely guarded secret of the ancient Yemenis: the
monsoon winds, which gust eastward to India during the summer and to
the west towards Africa during the winter and made transportation by
sea so very difficult. The discovery by the Greeks on how to use the
monsoon winds to their advantage, was followed by a ban, introduced
by the Christian Church, on the use of incense which resulted in the
incense road losing its importance. The Great Dam also collapsed and
the Sheba Dynasty dispersed to the hills. This was evident by the
dams, cities, palaces and temples which sprang up in Sama'i, Sana'a
and Dhafar, and also on the trade road across the plateau by way of
the Assa'd' path.
The
sand dunes, however, preserved the outer crust of the ancient Yemeni
civilization in Eastern Yemen, in a way similar to the process of
preserving flowers pressed within the pages of a book, and as a
result, archeologists have been able to trace the history of ancient
Sheba.
Dynasty followed
with its rulers, the Kings of Sheba, Dhu Raidan, Hadramout, Yamant
and their tribes on the high plateau and coastal region, until the
Abyssinian (Ethiopians), occupied Yemen in the year 525AD. The
Abyssinians ruled for fifty years until 575AD. That year was known
as the Year of the Elephant', because Abraha used them in his failed
campaign to occupy the Qa'ba, Islam's most holiest of shrines. Saif
Ibn Dhi Yazan expelled the Abyssinians from Yemen with the help of
the Persian Empire, but only to place Yemen under the direct
influence of Persian Empire. This continued until the people of
Yemen heard the Islamic call. They voluntarily adopted Islam as
their new religion; and Yemeni battalions were at the vanguard of
the Islamic armies. Yemenis played leading roles in the building of
the Islamic state, which stretched from China in the east to
Andalusia to the west.
Yemen
came under the direct administration of the Islamic state during the
rule of the Caliphs in Madina, continuing through the Ommiad Dynasty
in Damascus and the Abbasid Dynasty in Baghdad. However, on the
decline of Islamic state in Baghdad, several dynasties ruled Yemen
starting from the 9th century AD. At various stages in the history
of Yemen there was more than one dynasty in existence, fighting each
other at times and peacefully co-existing at other times. Some of
them had formally followed either the Caliphate of Baghdad or the
Caliphate of Cairo. The direct rule of some of these states included
the largest parts of Yemen. Among these states were:
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Ziyadiya
State, the capital of which was Zabid, 819 * 1018AD.
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Ya'firiya
State in Shibam kawkaban, 861* 956AD.
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Zaydi
Imamate State in Sa'da, 892*1962AD.
It
co-existed with all other states for more than one thousand years.
Its influence stretched from Sana'a to Najran, diminishing to
include only the north-eastern regions. The Zaydi Imamate ruled most
parts of greater Yemen at one period in history.
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Sylihya
State in Jibla, 1047 - 1138AD.
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Ayoubid
State in Taiz, 1174 – 1229AD.
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Rasulide
State in Taiz, 1229 – 1454AD.
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Tahirid
State in Mikrana Rada'a', 1446 – 1517AD.
Despite
the fact that these states were independent from the central states,
they were in touch with what was going on in the main cities.
Several Yemeni cities flourished during the Islamic era on the roads
of trade and pilgrimage across the plateau and coastal plains. They
were influenced by the Islamic civilization which also prevailed at
other Arab and Islamic cities. Students and scholars came to the
centers from both inside and outside Yemen. The most famous cities
of the period were Zabid, Sana'a, Sa'da, Tarim, Jibla and Dhamar.
Yemen
also fell under the influence of Islamic states such as the
Mamelukes and the Ottomans in the wake of the Portuguese invasion of
the coasts in the early 16th century AD.
The
Turkish Ottomans ruled Yemen during two periods. The first began in
1535 and continued until 1638, while the second was from 1872 until
the end of the 1st World War in l918. The British occupied the
southern part of Yemen in 1839.
During
the period of conflict over the borders between the Ottomans in the
northern part of Yemen and the British in the south, border posts
were installed between the South and North of Yemen for the first
time in its history. After that, Yemen suffered from terrible
isolation imposed by a clerical utilitarian rule in the North and a
humiliating colonial hegemony in the South.
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