Haram(Arabic:هرم;Old South Arabian𐩠𐩧𐩣hrm-m,withmimationHaramum) (known today asKharibat HamdānandKharibat ʾl ʿAlī) is an ancient city in the north ofal-Jawfin modern-day Yemen, at about 1100 metres abovesea level.It is bordered by theYemen Highlandsto the north, in the west by the ancientKaminahu(present day Kamna), in the east by the ancientQarnāwu(modernMa'īn), and in the south by the Ghayl, otherwise known as the village ofal-Ḥazm.
  Shown within Yemen | |
| Alternative name | Kharibat Hamdān |
|---|---|
| Location | Yemen |
| Region | Wādī Madhab,Al Jawf Governorate |
| Coordinates | 16°10′28″N44°47′12″E/ 16.174444°N 44.786667°E |
History
editIn early times Haram was an independent political entity, which by the early 7th centuryBCwas avassalof theKingdom of Saba'to the south and of its rulerKarab El Watar.During the war of Saba' against Awsān and the city states ofNashanandNashaq,the Haramite king Yadhmurmalik supported Saba' with an army under the leadership of one General Hanba from the clan of Naʿman.[1]It is from this time that the temple of Banāt 'Ād dates, it is situated in front of the gates of Haram, and contains many dedicatory inscriptions, including some to the Haramite god Mutibbnatyan.[1]At the time of the founding of the Kingdom of Ma'īn at the latest, the capital of which, Qarnāwu, was only 6 kilometers away, Haram lost its importance. After the end of theMinaean Kingdom,it regained its importance for a while underSabaeanrule. It is not clear just when Haram was abandoned.
A stela ofYatha' Amar Watardated to about 715BC,tells that he invaded the area and took the town. It reads
Yatha amar Watarson of Yakrubmalik mukarrib of Saba dedicated to Aranyada' the patron when Aranyada came back from the territories of Aranyada' and of Nashshan and avenged Nashshan at the expense of Kaminahu because Nashahn had maintained the alliance of Almaqah and of Aranyada', of Yatha amar and of Malikwaqah, of Saba of nashshan, because of... of god and parton of pact and alliance.[2]
Kings of Haram
editThe order of succession is mostly unknown.[3]
- Yadhmurmalik along with Watar'il
- Yadhmurmalik along with Bi'athtar (allied to Karib'il Watar I., c. 685 BC)
- Watar'il
- Yaschhurmalik Nabat (?)
- Watar'il Dharihan, son of Yadhmurmalik
- Yuhar'il (?)
- Ma'adkarib Raydan, son of Hwtrʿṯt
Culture
editHaram was inWādī Madhāb,[4]to the north-east ofMa'rib.It was a town inancient South Arabia.Haram and its neighbours,Nashan,KaminahuandInabba'were all civil temple settlements and city states, and inscriptions in all four towns are in theMinaean language.
External links
editReferences
edit- ^abWalter W. Müller(Hrsg.) /Hermann von Wissmann:Die Geschichte von Sabaʾ II. Das Grossreich der Sabäer bis zu seinem Ende im frühen 4. Jh. v. Chr.(Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-historische Klasse. Sitzungsberichte, Vol. 402) Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Wien, Vienna 1982.ISBN3700105169
- ^Greg Fisher, Arabs and Empires Before Islam (Oxford University Press,2015 ) p. 102.
- ^For details see:K. A. Kitchen,Documentation for Ancient ArabiaI, Liverpool 1994, pp. 113-114, 181-182ISBN0-85323-359-4
- ^Leonid Kogan and Andrey Korotayev: Sayhadic Languages (Epigraphic South Arabian). Semitic Languages. London: Routledge, 1997. Pg. 221.