History of Yemen

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History of Yemen
Ancient history
Islamic history
Modern history
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Sabaean inscription addressed to the moon-god Almaqah, mentioning five South Arabian gods, two reigning sovereigns, and two governors, 7th century BC.

The history of Yemen describes the cultures, events, and peoples of what is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East.[1] 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". Yemenis had developed the South Arabian alphabet by the 12th to 8th centuries BC, which explains why most historians date all of the ancient Yemeni kingdoms to that era.

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.[2] Islam arrived in 630 AD, and Yemen became part of the wider Muslim realm.

  1. ^ "Arabian Peninsula, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D. | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  2. ^ "Arabian Peninsula, 2000–1000 B.C. | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". Archived from the original on 2007-11-03. Retrieved 2008-01-20.