SABAEAN CULTURAL-POLITICAL AREA: SOME GENERAL TRENDS OF EVOLUTION

SABAEAN CULTURAL-POLITICAL AREA: SOME GENERAL TRENDS OF EVOLUTION Author(s): Andrey Korotayev Source: Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, Vol. 23, Proceedings of the Twenty Sixth SEMINAR FOR ARABIAN STUDIES held at Manchester on 21st - 23rd July 1992 (1993), pp. 49-62 Published by: Archaeopress Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41223396 . Accessed: 27/06/2013 09:37 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Archaeopress is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 49 AREA: SABAEAN CULTURAL-POLITICAL SOME GENERAL TRENDS OF EVOLUTION Andrey Korotayev The Middle Sabaic inscriptions have a remarkable feature: the plural is often used where the singular or dual is expected. For example the Middle Sabaic title fbLl bytn X "lords of the house Xм (where "house" denotes some kind of a "castle" - a prestigious fortified building, a symbol of power) is always used in the plural, irrespective of number of authors. If an inscription has one author, it looks as follows: X bn Y ЪЧ bytn Ζ "X son of (the clan of) Y, lords of the house Z". Long ago a convincing explanation of this phenomenon was proposed: in such cases the title characterizes clan of respective person and not the individual person himself (Repertoire 1950: 154; Ryckmans 1959: 173; Jamme 1962: 40 &c). The individual" application titles were used on a mixed, "clanmajority of the main Middle Sabaic basis: sometimes they characterized the status of individual persons. The of some simplest quantative methods helps to find here some regularities. Among those 67 individual authors who have the "title" ^bd/'dm "client/s" only 15 (22%) persons use it in the plural, and on the face of it this fact only witnesses the chiefly individual character of the usage of that title. Yet it turned out to be possible to get some additional information by a separate study of the use of this title in the Ancient period (the 1st mill. BO, on the one hand, and in the Middle one (the 1st - the 4th cent. AD), on the other (see table 1). Table 1. THE USE OF THE TITLe'cLIENT authors only) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Singular Plural OF X(Sabaean area, for individual cultural-political Anciejn^Perio^^^^^^^^^Middlei^erio^^^^^^^^^ 24 (100%) 0 (0%) I 16 (53%) | 14 (47%) The results of the analysis lead one to the supposition that in the Ancient Period the title "client" had an individualistic character (i.e it designated an individual and not clan status), and it might reflect the fact that individual persons (not groups) were in the Middle Period we find considered to be under this type of personal dependence. a marked trend towards the relations of dependence becoming less individualized, and whole clans (instead of individual persons) become to be considered as "clients". The remains of the above-mentioned collective type of personal dependence This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions in Early 50 Islamic Yemen seem to have been described by Hamdãni in al-Iklll when he mentions that ' the only remaining member of the ancient, noble clan Sufyãn b. Abd Kulãl had in Wadi Zahr thamânûr? mamlûk™ min fwuld1 1 rajulin wãhidin wa-awladl awladi-hh ''eighty mamlûks from [the offspring of I one man and the children of his children" (al-Hamdãnt 1980, 328), i.e. mamlûks forming a certain clan (or lineage); "the last of the Sufyanids" turns out to have had a whole clan of mamlûks. it is very important that al-Hamdanï calls these mamlûks dumam (sing, dummf): yuqãf li-l-rajut al-mamlukl dumml wa-hum al-dumam (alHamdãni 1980: 328), because as Piotrovskiy 1985: 73) al-Hamdani's it has been already noticed dumam is most likely to ascend 1978: 78; (al-Hadïtî to the Sabaic 'dm. It is quite remarkable that the trend towards the transformation of the title "client" from an individual to a collective clan one is accompanied by a trend towards the increase in the average number of those authors who have this title (see table 2). Table 2. DISTRIBUTION NUMBER OF AUTHORS OF INSCRIPTIONS ANCIENT PERIOD ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BY "CLIENTS" INSTALLED 1 AUTHOR 25 68% 2 AND MORE 12 TOTAL 37 ACCORDING TO THE "MIDDLE NORTH" 33% 32% J30 61 67% 100% 9 M)Q% Remarkable results were got when 1 tried to study who were "protectors" of the "clients" in the Ancient and Middle Periods of the Sabaean history (see table 3). Table 3. PATRONS OF CLIENTS CLANS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ancient Period Middle Period; "the North" ^^^^^ 11 (31%) 80 (80%) ^^^^^^^ ROYAL POWER 0 (0%) 19 (19%) ^^^^^^^ NAMED MONARCHS INDIVIDUAL PERSONS 19 (53%) 6 (17%) 1 (1%) ^^^^^^^^ 1 (1%) ^^^^^^^ Thus with the transition from the Ancient to the Middle Period the following group of interdependent social changes seems to have taken place: a) clans (instead of individual persons) began being considered as objects of cliental dependence and b) as "patrons" ( fmr') of the clients; c) the average number of the authors of the inscriptions increased, it looks as if individual persons had begun feeling uncomfortable when they acted alone and started trying to act in group, with their kinsmen. Similar changes (though somewnat less impressive) were found with respect to the and the title qa.vl« "chief" (of use of the designation of the tribal affiliation ("nisbah") the "tribe" /ďrb/V' It is quite evident that the relative proportion of the singular, dual and plural forms of the titles depends on the character of their usage and the number of the authors of the respective inscriptions; as a result such a supposedly purely "linguistic" This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 51 variable as the percentage of the singular, dual and plural forms turns out to be a of social indicator of "individualization-collectivization" synthetic and quite sensative relations standing behind respective titles. And with regard to this synthetic variable the difference between the "individualized" of the Ancient Period and the relations "clan'' ones of the Middle one is most evident (see table 4). "collectivized", Table 4. FORMS OF SOME SABAEAN TITLES ANCIENT ___ .^___ Singular Dual and PERIOD MIDDLE "North4 PERIOD; Plural Singular and Dual Plural ___________ ^^^^^^^^^^ "Clients" 34 (92%) 3 (8%) 17 (17%) 83 (83%) "Nisbah" 14 (93%) 1 (7%) 18 (30%) 42 (70%) δ (100%) 0 (0%) Qavls 2 61 (97%) (3%) Thus, the quantative analysis of the Sabaic inscriptions leads that the clan organization consolidated significantly in the Sabaean at the end of the Ancient Period, and, in general, some kind of social-cultural system took place with the transition to the Middle one to the supposition cultural-political area of this "archaization" Period. This conclusion was confirmed by the analysis of some other variables (first of all the between the difference where relations with the those dealing property Ancient and "collectivized" Middle Period is most distinct). This conclusion "individualized" was arrived at while analyzing the use of the possessive pronominal suffixes ( -hur, -~hmy, -hmw) with the words designating various kinds of immovable property (lands, fields, irrigation structures, houses, wells &c). Table 5. USE OF THE POSSESSIVE (Cases) ANCIENT PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES IN SINGLE-AUTHOR INSCRIPTIONS MIDDLE PERIOD PERIOD SOUTH NORTH ^^^^^^^^^^ Sing. PL Sing. PL LANDS 29 100% 0 0% 3 74 96% 10 77% BUILDINGS 20 95% 1 5% _9% 29 91% 15 62.5% 49 ALL IMMOVABLE PROPERTY I 98% ] 2% 6 6% 103 94% 25 68% J% 3 J^ng·^ This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ^^шшшшшшш 3 23% 9 37.5% 12 | 32% 52 Table 6. USE OF INSCRIPTIONS (Cases) THE POSSESSIVE ANCIENT ^^^^^^^^^ LANDS BUILDINGS ALL IMMOVABLE PROPERTY PRONOMINAL MIDDLE PERIOD ______^_____ PL Dual SUFFIXES IN DOUBLE-AUTHOR PERIOD SOUTH NORTH Dual PL Dual PL 8 89% 1 11% 0 0% 50 100% 2 40% 3 60% 4 0 0% 13 572t 3 43% 93%| 4 33% 8 67% 12 75% 4 25% 0 | 0% 63 | 98%' 6 | 35% 11 | 65% For all the main kinds of immovable property one regularity could be established: in the Ancient Period almost always with one author the singular form of the pronoun ( hw) was used, with two authors they used the dual form i-hmy), and only if the number of authors was three or more, they used the plural form I -hmw). Thus one would suppose that immovable property in this Period was usually considered to belong to individual persons. In the Middle Period in the "North" (i.e. in the Sabaean cultural-political area) we could see a contrary picture of the property relations: irrespective of the number of the authors all the words designating immovable property were almost always used with the plural possessive pronominal suffix ( -hmw). Hence, in this Period immovable property might have been considered to belong to groups (and not to individual persons). In the Middle Period in the "South" (i.e. in the Himyarite-Radmanitecultural- political area) one could find an intermediate situation. This transformation which took place at the end of the Ancient Period was accompanied by a significant increase in the average number of the authors of inscriptions dealing with immovable property. Table 7. NUMBER OF AUTHORS OF THE INSCRIPTIONS MENTIONINGIMMOVABLEPROPERTY (Summary; cases) ANCIENT MIDDLE PERIOD PERIOD SOUTH NORTH 1 AUTHOR 2 OR MORE 1 AUTHOR 2 OR MORE 1 AUTHOR 2 OR MORE LANDS 29 69% 13 31% 76 35% 141 65% 12 35% 22 65% BUILDINGS 21 66% 11 34% 32 23% 105 77% 24 46% 28 54% ALL IMMOVABLE PROPERTY 50 68% 24 32% 108 31% 246 69% | 36 43% | 50 57% | ^^^^^^^^^ As a result, the singular and dual forms of the possessive pronouns (in the combination with the "immovable property words") prevailed in the Ancient Period; This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 53 whereas in the Middle Period in the "North" these pronouns supplanted by the plural form. Here too the "South" occupies almost disappeared being the intermediate position. USED PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES Table 8. FORMS OF THE POSSESSIVE DESIGNATING AUTHORS' IMMOVABLE PROPERTY OF VARIOUS KINDS (Summary; cases) ANCIENT PERIOD SOUTH NORTH _____^____ Sing. and dual Plural Sing. and dual Plural 8 16% 3 1% 270 99% 11 33% 22 67% 31 74% 11 26% õ 3% 177 98% 21 34% 41 66% 73 79% 19 21% 8 2% 447 98% 32 34% 63 | 66% Plural Sing. and dual ____ LANDS 42 84% BUILDINGS ALL IMMOVABLE PROPERTY ________ MIDDLE PERIOD WITH THE WORDS Thus it is quite evident that in the "Middle North" all the main types of the immovable property were considered to belong to certain groups, and not to individuals. It is quite evident that behind any possessive pronominal suffix -hmw, "their", we have personal pronoun hmw, "they". And it was those hmw, "they" (usually not defined), who as the real possessors were considered of all the the main kinds of the immovable property. It is quite evident that these groups played an extremely important role in the Middle Period, and especially in the "Northern", Sabaean, cultural- political area. Another important point should be certainly kept in mind. According to a stable South Arabian epigraphic tradition all the inscriptions should be written in the third person. So one would not write something like "I, Andrey, son of Vitaliy, of (the clan) Korotayev, have built my house". Instead one would write: "Andrey, son of Vitaliy, of (the clan) Korotayev, has built his house . Thus any -hw, "his", in such a context implies "my" (and conseqently "I"), as well as any -hmw, "their", would imply "our" (and consequently "We"). "I" and "We" seem to have been also implicated in the singular or plural forms of the Middle Sabaean titles. It is "We" who are the qa.vls of a certain tribe Z, this title is "Our" and not "My" property, and that is why I would not call myself "X, son of (the clan) Y, the qavl of the tribe Z", but I would call myself "X, son of (the clan) Y, (who are) the qayls of the tribe Z". And that is why such an "abstract" variable as the relative proportion of some singular and plural forms turns out to be an important indicator of the character of certain social relations. A large proportion of some singular forms is an evident indicator of "strong I", whereas a large percentage of plural forms (in certain positions and contexts) is as a good indicator of "strong We" and "weak I". In these terms the Ancient epoch turns out to be a period of emancipation of "I" from "We". This process seems not to have been completed, but it yielded some significant results. At the same time the end of the Ancient as a period when "We" began absorbing epoch can be considered "I", when "We" appreciably pressed on "I" in some important spheres of social life, and when "We" almost completely forced out "I" from some other spheres (first of all from the sphere of the immovable property relations). On the other hand, it is quite evident the Middle Sabaic inscriptions is usually just as it is usually evident who We are (at least It is not surprising that such clarifications that, for example, 'vd-hmwy "their land", of "our land", it is the land of We-group; and for Us) it does not need any clarification. occur rarely, but due to the really large This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 54 number of all the cases it is possible to find at least several clarifications of this kind, which make it possible to find the answer to the question who those powerful "We-groups" are. And every time when we have such an opportunity· it practically always turns out (not surprisingly) that "We" is just "My clan". For example, the authors of Er 19 from the clan Gurat (line 1) mention certain construction works undertaken by them b-byt-hmw b-byt GRT*"in their bayt, in the bayt of (the clan) Gurat" (line 24). -hmwf"their", turns out to be equal to "of their clan", hence, "they" (and conseqently "We") must be just "their (and consequently "Our") clan". In R 4627 (the end of the Ancient Period) the authors from the clan HLHLM (lines 1-2) mentionon line 3 nhl-hmw, "their palm grove", after which we find a clariřication, nhl bn HLHLM, "the palm grove of the clan HLHLM". And every time when we have such an opportunity, it practically always turns out (not surprisingly) that "We" is just "My clan" ( С 457,7 /?/:lrtJa 560,6-7: 091,10; 603,6-7; 615, 11-12,21: Ga 29,3; NAM2659 fCIAS II 39.1l/o6 N 6],5-6; &c). Thus there are certain grounds to suppose that the above-mentioned influential "We-groups", the collective bodies which were considered to be real possessors of all the main kinds of the immovable property in the Middle Sabaean cultural-political area were simply the clan groups. Hence, there is another good piece of evidence to suppose the significant consolidation of the clan organization in the "North" at the end of the Ancient Period and the rise of its importance. This supposition correlates quite well with the results of the analysis of the Sabaic onomastic formulae by Avanzini who comes to the following conclusions: in the Middle Period Y of the basic onomastic formula X bn F practically always was a clan ("family") name (Avanzini 1991: 22). Yet "la formuleonomastique composée de deux membres avec nom de famille n'est pas toujours attestée dans la documentation sabéenne: il apparaît déjà clairment, après une première observation, que la documentation de la ville de Màrib et des régions voisines de la période des moukarribs de Saba, c'est-à-dire au début de la documentation, donne des indications différentes. Dans la formule onomastique: X bn Y , Y est généralement le nom du père et non de la famille" (Avanzini 1991: 22). On the other hand, it is difficult not to agree with the following point which Avanzini maintains with respect to the Sabaic onomastic formulae: "Le nom individuel reste l'élément principal d'identification, mais l'individu est intégré à l'intérieur du groupe social soit en privilégiant le rapport avec son père soit en privilégiant le rapport avec sa lignée" (Avanzini 1991: 23). So I would interpret the results of Avanzinťs study of the Sabaic onomastic formulae as another important piece of evidence in support of the supposition that the Sabaean clan organization had become by the end of the Ancient Period much stronger than it was at the beginning. The above-mentioned social changes fit quite well in the general picture of the preIslamic Yemeni history. Several factors caused a significant decline of the Sabaean state and civilization (and the South Arabian internal Lowlands in general) by the end of the 1st millennium ВС. The weakening state organization seems to have become incapable of providing guarantees of life and property to the individuals, and it was the clan organization that took to a considerable extent these functions. Though the Sabaean state which seems to have found itself on the brink of the complete collapse at the end of the Ancient Period considerably reconsolidated during the Middle Period, it remained rather weak especially in comparison with the Ancient Sabaean state. Indeed the inscriptions witness the existence of a rather strong state organization in the centre of the early Sabaean Commonwealth.For example this relatively developed state apparatus allowed mukarribs to erect dozen-, of various buildings (irrigation structures, temples, city walls &c) in many parts of the Commonwealth(C 366 a;b: 367 + Lu 16; 490; 622; 623; 627; 629; 631; 632 a; b: 634; 636: 957; Gl 1122+1116+1120; 1558 f= MAFRAY-al-Asãhil61; 1560 1= MAFRAY-al-Asãhil51; 1561; 1567 [ = MAFRAY-ad-Durayb 3): λ 710: 775 fMAFRAY-HirbatSa ûd 41: 776 f= MÀFRAYHirbat Sa'ud 21: 777 [= MAFRAY-Hirbat Sa'ud 81: MAFRAY-al-Asãhil 2: 3: 7: -Hirbat Sa'ud 6; 10: Ph 133 [= MAFRAY-al-Asãhil 11: R This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 55 3943; 3945; 3946; 3948 [= Gl 1550 = MAFRAY-ad-Durayb 4]; 3949; 3950; 4399: 4401; 4429; 4494: 4844 [= MAFRAY-Hirbat Sacûd 1]; 4850 [= MAFRAY-Hirbat Sacud 3]; 4904 [= Gl 1559 = MAFRAY-al-Asãhil 4]; 4906; 5096 &c>. We, know relatively much about the Ancient Sabaean civil officials who could be appointed is ym) to organize certain constructions or to be in charge of a certain city &c ( С 375 [= Ja 550]; 439; 494; 496 [= MAFRAY-Hirbat Sacud 13]; 1 (= Gl 1719+1717+1718!; R 4428; 4635; 566; Ja 552; 555; 557; MAFRAY-al-Balaq-al-Ganub: 4845 bis; Ry 584; Sh 20 &c: see also Ryckmans 1951: 62-64. 83, 85, 88-90, 92; Audouin, Breton, Robin 1989: 74-76 &c). In a sharp contrast with the relatively scanty Ancient epigraphy the numerous Middle "Sabaean" inscriptions give us almost no information of this kind. In general the Middle "Sabaean" not witness the existence in the Middle Sabaean inscriptions do cultural-political area of almost any specific features of the regular state, either a regular civil administration or a regular system of taxation or an artificial administrativeterritorial division. The royal clients ( 'dm mlkn) were not royal officials in the Middle Period. At this time most of them were simply ordinary clans with ordinary social organization, whose main difference from the other client clans was that they were directly dependent on the royal power which was considered to be their direct patron. All the people who served the kings (first of all the royal maqtawis but also the holders of such royal offices as tly 'frs mlkn / 'tlwtn [Inãn 22; Ja 584; 745; 2117) or nhl 'frs mlkn [RB/M.Bayhãn δ] &c) when we get to know anything concrete about their and practically service, always turn' out to be connected with the military activities never with the administration of anything (except the military operations) within the Sabaean cultural- political area. There are no grounds to suppose the Middle "Sabaean" royal power exercised any actual governing through its agents on the level of the "tribes", shacbs. There is no doubt that the qayl were not the agents of the royal power. The stability of the qaylite is impressive in comparison with the relative instability of the Middle dynasties "Sabaean" royal dynasties. In the 2nd - 3rd centuries AD almost a dozen royal dynasties superseded each other on Mãrib throne, whereas we always find the same clans as the tribes from the beginning of the Middle Period (and often qayls of the main "Sabaean" earlier) to its end (and often later). We have sufficient evidence that qayls needed certain consent (tqnc) of the other qayls (as well as the Sabaeans and the royal army, hms) to become the "Sabaean" kings (Ja 562,4-8; 564,4-6; Loundine 1973: 190; Lundin 1984: 46; see also Hamdãní 1980 /?/) whereas certain clans were qayls of corresponding tribes irrespective of the will of any Middle "Sabaean" kings. The "Sabaean" royal power interfered in the internal affairs of the sha' bs extremely rarely (see for example Gl 1628) and most likely as a kind of mediator. The only significant evidence of serious interference of this kind is attested on the part of the Himyarite royal the Sabaean cultural-political area when certain traces power after it finally subjugated of regular state administration could be attested here (Er 37,10-23; Ja 647,25-30; 651; 671+788,10-14; R 3910 &c), it is not surprising at all taking into consideration the higher degree of the political cent ralization of the Himyarite kingdom (see e.g. Bâfaqïh, Robin 1980, 15; Robin 1981, 338), the above-mentioned inscriptions seem to witness the attempts to establish a similar system of the regular state administration in the "North". We have some evidence that a certain regular administration through the royal agents, vice-gerents ( qbt mlkn) existed in some regions outside the Sabaean culturalpolitical area proper subjugated by the Middle "Sabaean" kings (Ja 577,13; 2109 [CIAS II 39.ll/o3 N81,3-7 &c), yet it should be taken into consideration that the most evident case of such a type of administration (Sh 31) is attested under the Himyarite rule, whereas before that the authority over the most important of such territories (the land of the Great [or New?] Khawlãn, Yd Hwln Gddtn) usually belonged to one of the qaylite clans, Banu Sukhaym, who considered themselves as the qayls of two tribes, Yarsum and Great Khawlãn (С 220; Gl 1228; Ja 601; 602; Robin/Umm Layla 1)." The royal vice-gerents are also attested in the Sabaean heart landen Nashq (Ja 629,1-3); it is not really surprising This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 56 taking into the consideration the fact that this city had special relations with the Sabaean monarchs since the Earliest Subperiod (C 610; 637). It is also necessary to take into consideration the fact that in the above-mentioned inscriptions two authors use the title in the plural (and not dual), it might witness the collective clan character of this title; it would mean that we deal with the members of a noble clan who monopolized this office and occupied the dominant position in Nashq; in this case I would expect them to be relatively independent from the royal power. The inscriptions keep persistent silence about the existence of anything like the state taxation in the Middle Sabaean cultural- political area and to regular system of my mind it is not completely fortuitous just because the political organization of this area (as we can reconstruct it) did not need such a system. But the same inscriptions provide a lot of the data about the existence in the same area in the same time of the temple tithe (Gl 1438,5; Ja 656,17; NaNAG 11,9 &c), whereas there are some grounds to suppose that it was simply the temple tithe and not a covert form of the state taxation; for example, it was possible to remit the tithe in the form of a statue dedicated to the temple (C 342,5-6: 567,3-4; Er 22 §1; 26 §1; Ja 615,9; 617,4; 659.5 &c). It is evident that such a tithe could be used by the temple only. The silence of the sources does not seem to be fortuitous, as the Middle Sabaean political system did not really need such institutions as a regular civil administration or a regular system of taxation or an artificial administrative-territorial division ♦ This system appears to have consisted of the weak state in its centre and strong autonomous "tribes" ( chiefdoms) on its periphery, ^he only really well attested obligation of these tribes was to provide militaryservice (s^w0) to their kings. Yet this apparently very loose system turned out to work very effectively. Anyhow there are serious grounds to suppose that at the end of the Ancient Period the Sabaean state had significantly weakened and notwithstanding its partial reconsolidation during the Middle Period it had never regained the strength it had in the Earliest Sub- Period. As a result we can see by the Middle Period the consolidation of the clan organization which acted as a partial substitute for the weak state and remained really strong during the whole of the Middle Period. This process can be also considered as quite an adequate social adaptation for the new situation which appeared in the Sabaean cultural- political area by the end of the 1st millenium ВС with relative decline of the Sabaean Lowlands (caused by the abovementioned factors) and the rise of the importance of the "Sabaean" Highlands. Indeed the Middle "Sabaean" political system which included strong clan and tribal structures as its integral elements and which was much less like a regular state than the Ancient one turned out to be a really effective form of the socio-political organization of a complex society in the Northern Highlands, and most political entities which appeared in this region since that time till the present showed evident similarities to the Middle "Sabaean" socio-political organization (Dresh 1984; Gerasimov 1987: 45-55). The decline of the Ancient Qatabanian state took place significantly later than that of the Ancient Sabaean one, as a result the social continuity between the Ancient and Middle Period in the Qatabanian cultural- political area was stronger, and the social transformationin the "South" turned out to be less dramatic. NOTES 1. In this paper the history of ancient South Arabia is divided in three main periods: a. the Ancient Period (the 1st milleniumВС). The Ancient Period can be subdivided into two sub-periods: Ancient Sub-period I (the Earliest Sub-period, the Sub-period of the mukarribs of Saba' roughly speaking the first half of the 1st millenium ВС) and Ancient Sub-period II (roughly speaking the Sub-period of the traditional kings of Saba' the second half of the 1st millenniumВС). This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 57 b. The Middle Period (the 1st - 4th centuries AD, roughly speaking the Period of the kings of Saba' and dhû-Raydïn). с The Late Í "Monotheistic") Period (the end of the 4th century - the 6th century AD). 2. The word "title" is used in this paper in a conventional way: here it designates any piece of informationgiven by the authors of an inscription in the initial formulae of the official self-identification in addition to their personal names, patronymics and clan names. For example in this paper "nisbah" (the designation of tribal affiliation) is considered to be a "title". 3. In this table (as well as in all the other tables) only titles explicitly mentioned by the authors in the initial formulae of their official self-identification were taken into consideration. Τhe table is made on the basis of all the accessible inscriptions. The main sources are Corpus 1889-1929; 1977-1986; Eryani 1973; Fakhry, Ryckmans 1952; Inãn 1396 H.; Jamme1962: Námi 1943; 1947-1962; Répertoire 1935; 1950; Robin 1982, vol.2; Ryckmans 1949-1960; and more than 100 other publications of inscriptions. Detailed description of the inscriptions used to prepare these tables is to be published in the forthcoming Ancient Yemen: Some General Trends of Evolution of the Sabaic Language and Sabaean Culture. 4. I.e. practically in the centre of what was the Sabaean cultural- political area in the preIslamic epoch. 5. And the organization of this clan of mamlûks appeared to be so strong and effective that at the end they managed to seize the main part of their patrons' possessions (jalf amwäli-him) in Zahr (al-Hamdãní 1980, 328). 6. Only the pronouns designating the belonging of the objects to the authors of the inscriptions were considered). 7. Taking into consideration one case of the singular form ( -hw) in Ja 619,12. 8. Taking into consideration one case of the singular form (-hw) in Ja 619,12. 9. See for example С 368 (= MAFRAY/Abü-Thawr2): 1. CM'MRbn 'B(2.)'MR d-YBRN m(3.)wd SMHCLYw-Y(4.)Tc>MR bny bt-(5.)hw MRDcm "cAmmi'amar,son of Abťamar, of (the clan) Yabran, favorite of Sumhu^alay and Yatac>mar, has built his house (named) Marda0". 10. Only very rarely does -hmw in this position mean anything else. The only important exception is -hmw meaninig "of his clan and tribe". For example, the author of Er 22, of the clan dhu-Ghaymãn, the qayls of the tribe Ghayman, asks (§2) the deity for the wellbeing of 'byt-hmwy"their houses" (certainly in such a context "house" denotes first of all a "house community"or clan community,and not simply a house building). Immediately after that a clarification follows : 'byt d-Gymn w-&°b-hmw Gymn9"the houses of (the clan) dhu-Ghaymãn and of their tribe Ghayman". In this case "We" has embraced both the author's clan and their tribe. It is not surprising at all, because the area of the concerns and responsibilities of the heads of the qaylite clans must have been much broader than that of the heads of the ordinary clans. The former seem to have been responsible for the well-being both of their own clans and of all the other clans of their tribes, thus they must have been thinking in broader categoi'ies than the latter. What is really surprising is the fact that the qayls did so quite rarely. In general while reading the qayls' inscriptions it is difficult to avoid an impression that usually they were concerned with the well-being of their own clans much more than with the well-being of the tribes which they headed. 11. Some role in this process was certainly played by the transfer of the main incense trade routes from land to sea, that must have caused a considerable decline of the economic importance of the edge of Say had desert (von Wissmann 1981, 66; Bowen 1958 a, 35; Robin 1982 a, I, 98; b, 17; 1984, 212; Audouin, Breton, Robin 1988, 74). In the second half of the 1st millenniumВС the main part of the Lowlands must have been also affected This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 58 by the Hadramis and Minaeans who seem to have begun to use widely the direct way through the gravel corridor in the Sayhad desert (ot through al-cAbr ?) bypassing such important ancient South Arabian centres as Wadi Markhah, Timna'Jor Mãrib (Beeston 1991). Quite a significant role may have been also played by the processes of Arabian aridization (see for example Fedele 1988, 36). But the most important factor seems to have been the silting of the irrigation systems. As a result the situation in the Lowlands became similar to an ecological catastrophy (Serjeant 1960, 583; Piotrovskiy, Piotrovskaya 1984, 107; Robin 1984, 220-221). 12. For example direct evidence for the tremendous decline of the Sabaean state in the end of the Ancient Period has been recently found by Robin in the materials of the German Archaeological Expedition in Mãrib (Robin 1989 b, 222). 13. It is almost a rule that in the agrarian societies organization causes the consolidation of the clan structures Obolonkov 1989; 1990). 14. The only important exception is the participation 16; 633,6; 2110; Fa 102,10-11 /?/ &c). 15. The Sukhaimides also seem to Northern tribal confederation in the after the final Himyarite conquest of qavls of both their own Yarsum and in the weakening of the state (for more detail see Korotayev, embassies (Ja 560,8-15; 631,15- have re-established their control over this huge second half of the 4th century AD, several decades the SCPA, and they went on calling themselves the Great Khawlan Ja 671 + 788. 16. Yet it should be maintained that the Middle "Sabaean" inscriptions seem to portray a society which is likely to appear more archaic than it was in reality. For example, these inscriptions never mention craftsmen (as well as crafts) and traders (as well as trade), though both quite developed crafts and trade were no doubt present in pre-Islamic Yemen (see for example Piotrovskiy 1985, 138-140). It is not surprising at all taking into consideration the well-known fact that such occupations are regarded as somehow unworthy in many archaic societies. The inscriptions seem to mention only "worthy" types of the human activities: warfare, religion, agriculture &c; the collecting (or payment) of taxes is most unlikely to be in such a list (it is not relevant for the temple tithe the payment of which must have been considered as something quite "worthy" - see below). Thus the Middle "Sabaean" inscriptions seem to portray the society as it must have been from the point of view of the "Sabaeans" (some "pure" society of warriors and without such an "undecent" things as for example trade). Hence I would agricultaralists not be completely surprised if the recently discovered documents in cursive script (which have much less solemn more everyday nature - see for example Bauer, Akopyan, Lundin 1990; Beeston 1989) provided evidence for the existence of certain state taxation in the Middle Sabaean cultural- political area, though I would insist that this political system could do without any regular state taxation. 17. Royal power, notwithstanding its relative weakness, seems to have played an important and useful role in the functioning of the Middle Sabaean cultural-political system. Royal semi-independent chief doms, power concentrated the military potential of the "Sabaean" "tribes", ahd directed it outside the area. The tribal levies instead of fighting each other thus destroying the area provided more or less successful defence of it. Thus at least two tasks were solved simultaneously: /1/ the intertribal conflicts were effectively prevented (In any case such conflicts seems to have been extremely rare I see for example Er 6 §1 ?] in the Middle Period especially in comparison with the later epochs of Yemeni history); /2/ a high level of the concentration of the forces to counteract the external enemies was provided. Tribes + the royal power turned out to be many times stronger than a of the existence of the royal mechanical sum of the tribes; as a result the advantages power seem to have been so evident that it was permanently preserved in some form notwithstanding the weakness of the power of many individual kings. In general it is necessary to state that in the Middle Sabaean cultural area we can observe the formation of a political system which was simple« effective and perfectly adapted to the conditions of the Northern Highlands, which without the significant limitation of the autonomy of the tribes managed to effectively solve its external tasks quite successfully counteracting its This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 59 much stronger enemies who often had much higher economic potential and much more political centralization (the politically centralized and economically strong Himyarite kingdom in the South, the gigantic Hadrami kingdom in the East, the militarilystrong Arab tribes and Kindite kingdom in the North, and the Axumitekingdom (.with its allies) in the East which in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD reached one of the peaks of its might). 18. Whereas the Ancient Sabaean socio-political system seems to be very suitable for the conditions of the 1st millenniumВС Lowlands. BIBLIOGRAPHY Audouin, R., Breton, J.-F., and Robin, C. 1988 "Towns and Temples - the Emergence of South Arabian Civilization". Daum, W., ed., Yemen: 3000 Years of Art and Civilization in Arabia Felix. Innsbruck - Frankfurt/Main: 63-77. Avanzini, A. 1991 "L'anthroponymie en Arabie du Sud comme source pour l'histoire". Publications de lfinstitut orientaliste de Louvain, 39. Études sud-arabes, recueil offert à J.Ryckmans. Louvain: 19-30. Bafaqîh, M.CA.,and Robin, C. 1978 "Min nuqûsh Mahram Bilqîs". Bâfaqïh, M.CA.,and Robin, C. 1980 3: 9-29. Raydân i: 11-56. "Ahammiyyatnuqûsh Jabal al-Micsãl". Bauer, G.M., Akopyan, A.M., and Lundin, A.G. 1990 pamyatniki iz Hadramauta". VDI N 2: 168-174. Raydãn "Novyye epigraficheskiye Beeston, A.F.L. 1989 "Mahmoud Ali Ghul and the Sabaean Cursive Script". 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SIGLA OP THE INSCRIPTIONS CITED С = CIH - Corpus 1889-1908, 191L 1929 CIAS = Corpus 1977,1986 Er - Eryãní 1973; Bron 1992 Fa - Inscriptions discovered by A.Fakhry - Fakhry, Ryckmans 1952 Ga - Garbini 1973 Gl - Inscriptions from E. Glaser's collection - Höfner 1954: 1973; 1981; Höfner. Sola Sole 1964; Lundin 1965; Schaffer 1972; 1975; Sola Sole 1964 cInãn - cInSn 1396 H.; Bãfaqíh, Robin 1978 Ja - Jamme 1962; Doe, Jamme1968 Lu - Lundin 1966 MAFRAY- Robin, Bãfaqíh 1981; Robin, Rvckmans 1980; 1982 NAM= National Aden Museum - Corpus 1986 Na NAG - NSmï 1947; 1954; 1958: 1960; 1961; 1962 Na NNSO - Nairn 1943 Ph - Philby, Tritton 1944 R = RÉS - Répertoire 1929; 1935; 1950 Robin - Robin 1982 a, v.2 RB/M.Bayhãn - Robin, Bãfaqíh, 1980 Ry - Ryckmans 1949; 1953; 1954: 1955; 1956 a: b: 1957; 1959; 1960 Sh - Sharafaddin 1967 This content downloaded from 82.179.218.138 on Thu, 27 Jun 2013 09:37:30 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions