The Ancient History Of Yemen

Yemen In Prehistoric Times

Historical relics found prove that Yemen has passed through many antiquities, starting with those found in the Early-Age Jardan Valley, one of the oldest paleolithic times, and French archaeologists have uncovered evidence that the first man lived in most parts of Yemen, and the relics revealed some sites, tools, and neolithic drawings.

Some of the relics found by the Italian mission in different locations of Yemen from the human settlement of Yemen in the Copper and Bronze Age, as the American Expedition of Antiquities found a whole city dating back to the Bronze Age, as well as traces of stonehenge-like rock blocks near the Yemeni city of Zubayd, and some archaeological sites dating back to the bronze and iron ages were found.

Yemen Under The Rule Of The Kingdom Of Osan

Yemen fell under the rule of the Kingdom of Osan, which emerged around the tenth century BC, and the kingdom was stationed in wadi Markha and extended south to the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and the kingdom's influence and influence was wide in the region, where maritime trade, especially African goods, was monopolized thanks to its control over the Yemeni and African coasts.

Malik then launched devastating campaigns that spread to far-flung parts of Yemen in the latter half of the 7th century BC, where he ruled the Kingdom of Osan in the region, but the Osan tribes remained in the region after the demise of their kingdom, where they were able to advance their kingdom again in the second century BC for a short period that extended until the beginning of the first century BC.

Yemen Under The Rule Of The Saba Kingdom

The Saba Kingdom emerged in the tenth century BC, formed from the union of a number of tribes, the most important of which is the Saba tribe and the Four tribes, and was taken from the city of Sarawah as its capital, and then moved the capital to marib city, extending the influence of the Sabian from the city of Marib to the east to Sana'a in the west, and then annexed the province of Al-Ma'afar after the elimination of the Kingdom of Osan, becoming its authority over most of the territory of the Yemeni country, and continued to rule the Seven Kingdom until the middle of the second century AD after it fell by Benou Jarti.

Yemen flourished during the sabbath, where one of the most important ancient architectural achievements was established, the Marib Dam, the largest ancient water engineering facility in the Arabian Peninsula, and the land and sea trade flourished, especially spices and agricultural products, so the Kingdom of Saba took control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait and established a number of colonies on African shores.

The influence of The Jarti and Hamdani rule began in the region since the middle of the second century BC, where the Gertiians imposed their control over the region after the fall of the original family, and at that time Yemen was in a state of conflict between a number of kingdoms: the Kingdom of Saba, the Kingdom of Hadramaut and the Redians, so the King of the Gertians fought an all-out war against Qatban, Hadramout, the Reds, and Beni Meaher, and the battle ended with the victory of The Leader of Hamdan and his leadership with his brother.

King Hamdani held the first alliance between the Yemeni ruler, the Ahabash, as well as the leaders of Hadramaut, to eliminate the growing power of the Redians, and during the period from 265 AD to 270 AD there were several conflicts between the Hamdanis and the pilots that ended with the fall of the capital Marib to the Reds and the end of the Hamdani rule.

Yemen Under The Rule Of Himyarite Kingdom

The Kingdom of Hamir imposed its authority on the southwestern Arabian Peninsula since 115 B.C., and took the city of Al-Zafar as their capital, and then expanded their state eastward to the Arabian Gulf and north in the Arabian Desert, moving their capital to Sana'a, and the Kingdom of Hamir was able to discover a sea route from Egypt to India, weakening the internal trade of the Kingdom of Saba.

The Kingdom of Hamir began to deteriorate during the 4th and 5th centuries BC, as a result of a number of economic, political and social changes, as trade between the regions declined, agriculture and land irrigation were neglected, and due to floods eroded dams, reservoirs, and water swamps, as well as the region witnessed the conquest of Abyssinian and Byzantine conquest, as well as internal unrest among followers of different religions, the Donkey State of the Persian Kingdom was used because of its weakness, but they seized power declaring the end of donkey rule in 575 AD.

Yemen Under A Minaeans kingdom

Moin's kingdom flourished in the northern regions of Yemen in the 4th century BC, and took from the city of Yathar as its capital, and its people worked in trade, especially the trade of tayoub, so they set up many stations and markets on the road of commercial frankincense, the kingdom was a mediator between the Kingdoms of Yemen and the world The exterior, characterized by its high-fenced cities, and its huge crossings dedicated to their gods, which were characterized by its ornate columns, and in the late 2nd century BC the kingdom of Moin fell to the Sabeans, ending their reign in the region.

Yemen Under The Rule Of The Kingdom Of Qatban

The Kingdom of Qatban emerged in the 7th century BC in the Bayhan Valley, after cooperating with the Kingdom of Saba to eliminate the Kingdom of Osan, then expanded from the east to the Red Sea in the west, and from the city of Dhamar in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south, and became a city preventing the official capital of the Kingdom, and during the fifth century BC Two leaders were attacked by the Sabean kingdom, through which the Sabeans were able to control the capital, and hand it over to people cooperating with them.

The Kingdom of Qatban began to weaken at the beginning of the second century AD, taking advantage of the Kingdom of Saba and Hadramout its weakness, and launched many battles to control its territory, ending with the fall of Qatban and the end of its rule at the end of the second century AD by the Kingdom of Hadramaut, Renowned for their architectural skills, al-Qatbanis built cities with their distinctive buildings and temples, public installations, as well as roads, the most famous of which is a rising mountain road connecting Qatban areas to the seven areas, which facilitated the conduct of commercial convoys, and the Qatbanis showed their skills in the literal field, such as the manufacture of statues, and the minting of silver and gold coins.

The Kingdom of Qatban relied on internal and external trade, thanks to their strategic position among the ancient kingdoms, imposing control over the southern parts of the sea, constructing roads, establishing trade laws, working in industry, pastoral wealth and developing agriculture, setting up irrigation projects in the Bihan Valley, the most important of which is a water channel that converts floodwaters from summer rainfall into fields, and issued several decisions to regulate the use of water, and the maintenance of structures and hydraulic fields.

Yemen Under The Rule Of Hadramout Kingdom

The period of rule of the Kingdom of Hadramaut began since the 7th century BC, and its territory extended to include Mahra, Dhofar province to the east, wadi al-Ma'asal south of Radaa, and the site of Hadramaut is characterized by its occurrence on a long coast extending on the Arabian Sea or the Indian Ocean, where a major port called Qana was established according to ancient texts, The Hadramaut Valley is one of the most attractive areas of the Arabian Peninsula for human settlement due to its vast area, water stocks near its surface, and its green soil suitable for the cultivation of many agricultural crops, and Hadramaut benefited from the existence of areas where frankincense is scattered, where it was used to make incense and birds.

In the middle of the second century AD, Hadramaut took control of most of the qatbani lands extending west of the country, then resorted to the kingdom to form an alliance with the King of Sabei and the King of Abyssinia with the aim of eliminating the Reds, and the Kingdom of Hadramaut witnessed a revolution known as the Revolution of Ahrar Yahabar, but was eliminated in cooperation with a number of forces sent by King Sabei, and the rule of the Kingdom of Hadramaut in the region ended by 293 AD by the Redians.

Yemen Under The Rule Of Al-Ahbash

Al-Ahbash imposed their rule on all areas of Yemen in 525 AD, where a Yemeni leader took over and then took the leadership from him and appointed Eryat al-Habashi as governor of the country, and then took over the rule after him, The Needle of Ashram, which was revolutionized against him under the leadership of a Yemeni leader, He sent his forces to confront the rebels, but the fighting stopped after the Marib dam collapsed, where a truce was held between the belligerents and they all went to build what was destroyed from the dam, and the rule of Abraha ended in the year of the elephant after he tried to demolish the Kaaba in Mecca, and his son, who was the last ruler of al-Ahbash after they were removed from Yemen in 570 AD.

Yemen Under Persian Rule

The people of Yemen appealed to the Persian Kingdom after being persecuted by the Ahbash, and the ruler of Persia sent an army to their victory, and they were able to defeat the Ahbash and seize power in Yemen in 575 AD, and by the first century of Islam the Persian ruler of Yemen converted to Islam, thus joining The Islamic State in 628 AD.