Haram (;

Old South Arabian Old South Arabian (or Ṣayhadic or Yemenite) is a group of four closely related extinct languages spoken in the far southern portion of the Arabian Peninsula. They were written in the Ancient South Arabian script. There were a number of othe ...

𐩠𐩧𐩣 ''hrm-m'', with mimation ''Haramum'') (known today as Kharibat Hamdān and Kharibat ʾl ʿAlī) is an ancient city in the north of al-Jawf in modern-day Yemen, at about 1100 metres above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

. It is bordered by the

Yemen Highlands Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and sh ...

to the north, in the west by the ancient

Kaminahu Kaminahu ( ar, مملكة كمنه; Old South Arabic: 𐩫𐩣𐩬𐩠𐩥 ''kmnhw''; modern Kamna) is the name of an ancient South Arabian city in the northern al-Jawf region of present day Yemen, 107 km north-east of Sana'a at about 1100 m ...

(present day Kamna), in the east by the ancient Qarnāwu (modern Ma'īn), and in the south by the Ghayl, otherwise known as the village of al-Ḥazm.

History

In early times Haram was an independent political entity, which by the early 7th century BC was a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

of the Kingdom of Saba' to the south and of its ruler Karab El Watar. During the war of Saba' against Awsān and the city states of

Nashan Nashan (Minaean: romanized: , ; modern day Kharbat Al-Sawda', ar, خربة السوداء, translit=Ḵirba al-Sawdāʾ) is the name of an ancient South Arabian city in the northern al-Jawf region of present day Yemen, in the territory of the ...

and Nashaq, the Haramite king Yadhmurmalik supported Saba' with an army under the leadership of one General Hanba from the clan of Naʿman. Walter W. Müller (Hrsg.) /

Hermann von Wissmann Hermann von Wissmann may refer to: * Hermann Wissmann (1853–1905), German explorer and administrator in Africa ** ''Hermann von Wissmann'' (steamship), a German steamer ** Hermann von Wissmann (ship, 1940), became in 1950 the Belgian Kamina * He ...

: ''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. 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. 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 the

Minaean Kingdom The Minaean people were the inhabitants of the kingdom of Ma'in (Minaean: ''Maʿīn''; modern Arabic ''Maʿīn'') in modern-day Yemen, dating back to the 10th century BCE-150 BCE. It was located along the strip of desert called Ṣayhad by ...

, it regained its importance for a while under

Sabaean Sabean or Sabaean may refer to: *Sabaeans, ancient people in South Arabia **Sabaean language, Old South Arabian language *Sabians, name of a religious group mentioned in the Quran, historically adopted by: **Mandaeans, Gnostic sect from the marshl ...

rule. It is not clear just when Haram was abandoned. A stela of Yatha' Amar Watar dated to about 715 BC, tells that he invaded the area and took the town. It reads

Kings of Haram

The order of succession is mostly unknown. * 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

Haram was in Wādī Madhāb,Leonid Kogan and Andrey Korotayev: Sayhadic Languages (Epigraphic South Arabian). Semitic Languages. London: Routledge, 1997. Pg. 221. to the north-east of

Ma'rib Marib ( ar, مَأْرِب, Maʾrib; Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 ''Mryb/Mrb'') is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of ''Sabaʾ'' ( ar, سَبَأ), which some scholar ...

. It was a town in ancient South Arabia. Haram and its neighbours,

and Inabba' were all civil temple settlements and city states, and inscriptions in all four towns are in the

Minaean language The Minaean language (also Minaic, Madhabaic or Madhābic) was an Old South Arabian or Ṣayhadic language spoken in Yemen in the times of the Old South Arabian civilisation. The main area of its use may be located in the al-Jawf region of North- ...

External links

Archive for the study of ancient south Arabian inscriptions in Kharibat Hamadan

References

{{coord, 16, 10, 28, N, 44, 47, 12, E, display=title Ancient history of Yemen Archaeological sites in Yemen Al Jawf Governorate Former kingdoms