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Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East.〔(Arabian Peninsula, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D. | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art )〕 Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a feature recognized by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who described Yemen as ''Eudaimon Arabia'' (better known in its Latin translation, ''Arabia Felix'') meaning "fortunate Arabia" or ''Happy Arabia''. Some scholars believe that Yemen remains the only region in the world that is exclusively Semitic, meaning that Yemen historically did not have any non-Semitic-speaking people. Yemeni Semites derived their Musnad script by the 12th to 8th centuries BC, which explains why most historians date all of the ancient Yemeni kingdoms to the 12th to 8th centuries BC. Between the 12th century BC and the 6th century AD, it was dominated by six successive civilizations which rivaled each other, or were allied with each other and controlled the lucrative spice trade: Ma'in, Qataban, Hadhramaut, Awsan, Saba and Himyar.〔(Arabian Peninsula, 2000–1000 B.C. | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art )〕 Islam arrived in AD 630, and Yemen became part of the Muslim realm. ==Ancient history== With its long sea border between early civilizations, Yemen has long existed at a crossroads of cultures with a strategic location in terms of trade on the west of the Arabian Peninsula. Large settlements for their era existed in the mountains of northern Yemen as early as 5000 BC.〔Daniel McLaughlin ''Yemen: The Bradt Travel Guide'' p.4〕 Little is known about ancient Yemen and how exactly it transitioned from nascent Bronze Age civilizations to more trade-focussed caravan kingdoms. This may be due to social or official discouragement of research into pre-Islamic civilizations in Arabia. The Sabaean Kingdom came into existence from at least the eleventh century BC. There were four major kingdoms or tribal confederations in South Arabia: Saba, Hadramout, Qataban and Ma'in. Saba is believed to be biblical Sheba and was the most prominent federation. The Sabaean rulers adopted the title Mukarrib generally thought to mean "unifier", or a "priest-king". The role of the Mukarrib was to bring the various tribes under the kingdom and preside over them all.〔Daniel McLaughlin ''Yemen: The Bradt Travel Guide'' p.5 2007〕 The Sabaens built the Great Dam of Marib around 940 BC. The dam was built to withstand the seasonal flash floods surging down the valley. Between 700 and 680 BC, the Kingdom of Awsan dominated Aden and its surroundings. Sabaean Mukarrib Karib'il Watar I changed his ruling title to that of a king, and conquered the entire realm of Awsan, expanding Sabaean rule and territory to include much of South Arabia.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= The kingdoms of ancient South Arabia )〕 Lack of water in the Arabian Peninsula prevented the Sabaeans from unifying the entire peninsula. Instead, they established various colonies to control trade routes. Evidence of Sabaean influence is found in northern Ethiopia, where the South Arabian alphabet religion and pantheon, and the South Arabian style of art and architecture were introduced. The Sabaean created a sense of identity through their religion. They worshipped El-Maqah and believed themselves to be his children. For centuries, the Sabaeans controlled outbound trade across the Bab-el-Mandeb, a strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea from the Indian Ocean. By the 3rd century BC, Qataban, Hadramout and Ma'in became independent from Saba and established themselves in the Yemeni arena. Minaean rule stretched as far as Dedan, with their capital at Baraqish. The Sabaeans regained their control over Ma'in after the collapse of Qataban in 50 BC. By the time of the Roman expedition to Arabia Felix in 25 BC, the Sabaeans were once again the dominating power in Southern Arabia. Aelius Gallus was ordered to lead a military campaign to establish Roman dominance over the Sabaeans. The Romans had a vague and contradictory geographical knowledge about Arabia Felix or Yemen. The Roman army of ten thousand men was annihilated before Marib. Strabo's close relationship with Aelius Gallus led him to attempt to justify his friend's defeat in his writings. It took the Romans six months to reach Marib and sixty days to return to Egypt. The Romans blamed their Nabataean guide and executed him for treachery. No direct mention in Sabaean inscriptions of the Roman expedition has yet been found. After the Roman expedition – perhaps earlier – the country fell into chaos and two clans, namely Hamdan and Himyar, claimed kingship, assuming the title ''King of Sheba and Dhu Raydan''. Dhu Raydan (i.e. Himyarites) allied themselves with Aksum in Ethiopia against the Sabaeans. The chief of Bakil and king of ''Saba and Dhu Raydan'', El-sharah Yahdub, launched successful campaigns against the Himyarites and ''Habashat'' (i.e. Aksum), El-sharah took proud of his campaigns and added the title ''Yahdub'' to his name, which means "suppressor"; he used to kill his enemies by cutting them to pieces. Sana'a came into prominence during his reign as he built the Ghumdan Palace to be his place of residence. The Himyarite annexed Sana'a from Hamdan circa AD 100. Hashdi tribesmen rebelled against them, however, and regained Sana'a in around 180. It was not until 275 that Shammar Yahri'sh conquered Hadramout and Najran and Tihama, thus unifying Yemen and consolidating Himyarite rule. The Himyarites rejected polytheism and adhered to a consensual form of monotheism called Rahmanism. In 354, Roman Emperor Constantius II sent an embassy headed by Theophilos the Indian to convert the Himyarites to Christianity. According to Philostorgius, the mission was resisted by local Jews. Several inscriptions have been found in Hebrew and Sabaean praising the ruling house in Jewish terms for ''helping and empowering the People of Israel''. According to Islamic traditions, King As'ad The Perfect mounted a military expedition to support the Jews of Yathrib. Abu Karib As'ad, as known from the inscriptions, led a military campaign to central Arabia or Najd to support the vassal Kingdom of Kindah against the Lakhmids. However, no direct reference to Judaism or Yathrib was discovered from his lengthy reign. Abu Kariba died in 445, having reigned for almost 50 years. By 515, Himyar became increasingly divided along religious lines and a bitter conflict between different factions paved the way for an Aksumite intervention. The last Himyarite king Ma'adikarib Ya'fur was supported by Aksum against his Jewish rivals. Ma'adikarib was Christian and launched a campaign against the Lakhmids in Southern Iraq, with the support of other Arab allies of Byzantium. The Lakhmids were a Bulwark of Persia, which was intolerant to a proselytizing religion like Christianity. After the death of Ma'adikarib Ya'fur in around 521, a Himyarite Jewish warlord named Yousef Asar Yathar rose to power. His honorary title ''Yathar'' means "to avenge". Yemenite Christians, aided by Aksum and Byzantium, systematically persecuted Jews and burned down several synagogues across the land. Yousef avenged his people with great cruelty. He marched toward the port city of Mocha killing 14,000 and capturing 11,000.〔 Then he settled a camp in Bab-el-Mandeb to prevent aid flowing from Aksum. At the same time, Yousef sent an army under the command of another Jewish warlord, Sharahil Yaqbul, to Najran. Sharahil had reinforcements from the Bedouins of the Kindah and Madh'hij tribes, eventually wiping out the Christian community in Najran. Yousef or Dhu Nuwas (The one with sidelocks) as known in Arabic literature, believed that Christians in Yemen were a fifth column. Christian sources portray Dhu Nuwas (Yousef Asar) as a Jewish zealot, while Islamic traditions say that he threw 20,000 Christians into pits filled with flaming oil.〔 This history, however, is shrouded in legend.〔 Dhu Nuwas left two inscriptions, neither of them making any reference to fiery pits. Byzantium had to act or lose all credibility as protector of eastern Christianity. It is reported that Byzantium Emperor Justin I sent a letter to the Aksumite King Kaleb, pressuring him to "attack the abominable Hebrew".〔 A tripartite military alliance of Byzantine, Aksumite and Arab Christians successfully defeated Yousef around 525–527 and a Christian client king was installed on the Himyarite throne. Esimiphaios was a local Christian lord, mentioned in an inscription celebrating the burning of an ancient Sabaean palace in Marib to build a church on its ruins. Three new churches were built in Najran alone.〔 Many tribes did not recognize Esimiphaios's authority. Esimiphaios was displaced in 531 by a warrior named Abraha, who refused to leave Yemen and declared himself an independent king of Himyar. Emperor Justinian I sent an embassy to Yemen. He wanted the officially ''Christian'' Himyarites to use their influence on the tribes in inner Arabia to launch military operations against Persia. Justinian I bestowed the ''dignity of king'' upon the Arab sheikhs of Kindah and Ghassan in central and north Arabia. From early on, Roman and Byzantine policy was to develop close links with the powers of the coast of the Red Sea. They were successful in converting Aksum and influencing their culture. The results with regard to Yemen were rather disappointing.〔 A Kendite prince called ''Yazid bin Kabshat'' rebelled against Abraha and his Arab Christian allies. A truce was reached once The Great Dam of Marib had suffered a breach. Abraha died around 555–565; no reliable sources regarding his death are available. The Sasanid empire annexed Aden around 570. Under their rule, most of Yemen enjoyed great autonomy except for Aden and Sana'a. This era marked the collapse of ancient South Arabian civilization, since the greater part of the country was under several independent clans until the arrival of Islam in 630. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of Yemen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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