David Heinrich Müller

“ The Minæans, whose importance has been already indicated, appear in the inscriptions as only second to the Sabæans, and with details which have put an end to much guesswork, e.g., to the idea that they are connected with Miná near Mecca. Their capital, Ma‘ín, lay in the heart of the Sabæan country, forming a sort of enclave on the right hand of the road that leads northward from Ma’rib. South-west of Ma‘ín, on the west of the mountain range, and commanding the road from San‘a to the north, lies Baráḳísh, anciently Yathil, which the inscriptions and Arabic geographers always mention with Ma‘ín. ”

“ Two other accounts in Genesis, originally independent, give supplementary information drawn from the Sabæan colonies, the stations and factories established to facilitate trade through the desert. The inscriptions of Al-‘Ola published by D. H. Müller show that there were Minæan colonies in North Arabia. Other South Arabs, and especially the Sabæans, doubtless also planted settlers on the northern trade routes, who in process of time united into one community with their North-Arab kinsmen and neighbours. ”

“ All royal inscriptions are signed by him at the beginning and the end, and he appears with the king on coins.
Religion.—In spite of the many ruins of temples and inscriptions, the religion of the Sabæans is obscure. Most of the many names of gods are mere names that appear and vanish again in particular districts and temples. Of the great national gods of the Sabæans and Minæans we know a little more. The worship of the heavenly bodies, for which there is Arabic evidence, had really a great place in Yemen. ”

“ The last, as we know from the Aksum inscriptions, are the latest, and those with the title “mukrab” must be the earliest. Four princes of the oldest period bear the name Yatha‘amar, and one of these may, with the greatest probability, be held to be the “Itamara Sabai” who paid tribute to Sargon of Assyria. This helps us to the age of some buildings also. The famous dam of Ma’rib and its sluices were the work of this ancient prince—structures which Arnaud in the 19th found in the same state in which Hamdání saw them a thousand years ago. ”

“ Three gods of the inscriptions are named in the Koran,—Wadd, Yaghúth, and Nasr. In the god-name Ta’lab there may be an indication of tree-worship. The many minor deities may be passed over; but we must mention the sanctuary of Riyám, with its images of the sun and moon, and, according to tradition, an oracle. In conformity with old Semitic usage, pilgrimages were made at definite seasons to certain deities, and the Sabæan pilgrim month, Dhú Ḥijjatán, is the northern Dhú’l-Ḥijja. The outlines, and little more, of a few of the many temples can still be traced. ”

“ His expedition against Christian Nejrán had therefore political as well as religious motives. The Ethiopian conquest rather hurt than helped Christianity. The famous ḳalís (ἐκκλησία) of Abraha in San‘á seems to have been looked on as a sign of foreign dominion, and Islám found it easy to supersede Christianity in Yemen.
Coins.—In older times and in many districts coins were not used, and trade was carried on mainly by barter. Nor have there yet been many great finds of coins; indeed most of the pieces in European collections probably come from the same hoard. ”

“ At the same time the coins throw a general light on the relations of ancient Yemen. The oldest known pieces are imitations of the Athenian mintage of the 4th century b.c., with the legend ΑΘΕ and the owl standing on an overturned amphora. ”

“ Jewish influence appears in the name Raḥmán (see above) , while efforts at Christianization seem to have gone forth from several places at various times. According to Philostorgius, the Homerites were converted under Constantius II. by the Indian Theophilus, who built churches in Ẓafar and Aden. ”

“ Similarly Sargon (715 b.c.) in his Annals mentions the tribute of Shamsi, queen of Arabia, and of Itamara of the land of Saba’, gold and fragrant spices, horses and camels.
The earliest Greek accounts of the Sabæans and other South-Arabian peoples are of the 3d century b.c. Eratosthenes (276–194 b.c.) in Strabo (xv. 4, 2) says that the extreme south of Arabia, over against Ethiopia, is inhabited by four great nations,—the Minæans (Μειναῖοι, Mηναῖοι; Ma‘in of the inscriptions) on the Red Sea, whose chief city is Carna ”