Malkikarib Yuhamin
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Malkīkarib Yuha’min (r. 375–400) was a king (
Tubba' This is a list of rulers of Saba' and Himyar, ancient Arab kingdoms which are now part of present-day Yemen. The kingdom of Saba' became part of the Himyarite Kingdom in the late 3rd century CE. The title Mukarrib (Old South Arabian: , romanize ...
, ) of the
Himyarite Kingdom Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qataban, Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According ...
(in modern-day
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
), succeeding his father Tharan Yuhanim. Byzantine sources and contemporary historians credit him with converting the ruling class of the Himyarite Kingdom from paganism to
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
(whereas later Islamic sources ascribe this event to
Abu Karib Abū Karib As’ad al-Kāmil (), called "Abū Karīb", sometimes rendered as As'ad Abū Karīb, full name: Abu Karib As'ad ibn Hassān Maliki Karib Yuha'min, was king ( Tubba', ) of the Himyarite Kingdom (modern day Yemen). He ruled Yemen from 39 ...
, his son). These events are chronicled by the fifth-century ''Ecclessiastical History'' of the Anomean
Philostorgius Philostorgius (; 368 – c. 439 AD) was an Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries. Very little information about his life is available. He was born in Borissus, Cappadocia to Eulampia and Carterius, and lived in Constantinopl ...
and the sixth-century Syriac Book of the Himyarites. Such sources implicate the motive for conversion as a wish on the part of the Himyarite rulers to distance themselves from the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
which had tried to convert them to Christianity. Malkikarib was likely at an advanced age when he took the throne as he immediately initiated a coregency with his children. He first entered into a coregency with his son Abīkarib Asʿad (Abu Karib). Later in his reign, he entered into coregency with both his sons Abīkarib Asʿad and Dharaʾʾamar Ayman. According to two inscriptions, RES 3383, Ja 856 (= Fa 60), and Garb Bayt al-Shwal 1, Malkikarib Yuhamin constructed a ''mikrāb'' named Barīk in the city of
Marib Marib (; Ancient South Arabian script, Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 ''Mryb/Mrb'') is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of ''Saba’, Sabaʾ'' (), which some scholars beli ...
(and also capital of the ancient Saba kingdom) in order to replace the polytheistic temple of the moon deity
Almaqah Almaqah or Almuqh (; ) was national deity of the Sabaeans of the pre-Islamic Yemeni kingdom of Saba', representing the Moon or Sun god. He was also worshipped in Dʿmt and Aksum in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The main center for his worship was at th ...
. The term ''mikrāb'' refers to a structure that is either the equivalent of a
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
or refers to a local Himyarite variant of this Jewish institution. Very little memory remained of Malkikarib Yuhamin remained among traditionalist writers from the Islamic era. Al-Hamdani believed that he had reigned for thirty-five years and, besides this, only knew that he was the father of Abīkarib Asʿad.


Iconography

The standing relief image of a crowned man, is taken to be a representation possibly of Malkīkarib Yuhaʾmin or more likely the Christian Esimiphaios (Samu Yafa'). Yule, Paul, A Late Antique christian king from Ẓafār, southern Arabia, ''Antiquity'' 87, 2013, 1124-35.


Inscriptions mentioning Malkikarib Yuhamin


Ja 671 + 788

This inscription dates form 360 to 370, prior to Malkikarib taking the throne. It is carved on a stela from the Great Temple of the god Almaqah. It is the earliest inscription to mention the Marib Dam.
harah ˙ ʿathat Ashwaʿ and hisson 2 Mar hadumAsʾar banū Su h aymum mas ers of the palae of Raymān, princes of the two commu4 nes Yarsum of *Samʿī, the third of *Haga5 r um, and Khawlān Gudādatān, have dedicated to their lo6 d*Almaqahū *Thahwān master of *Awām 7 a bronze statue when order was given to him by his two lo8 rds Thaʾrān Yuhanʿim and his son Malkīka9 rib Yuʾmin, kings of Sabaʾ, of dhu-Raydān, of H ˙ a10d ˙ ramawt and of Yamnat, to take the lead of the army with the Arabs 11 when the Dam was breached at H ˙ abābid ˙ and *Rah ˙ bum, 12 and was breached the entire great wall which is between H ˙ abābid ˙ and 13 *Rah ˙ bum and, of the dam, were breached 70 *shawh ˙ a14t ˙ ; and they praised the power of their lord *Almaqah15ū-*Thahwān master of *Awām because He granted them 16 their fulfilment, with his order to retain for 7hem the flood until they completed their works; and he 18 praised their lord *Almaqahū Thahwān master 19 of *Awām because He granted them the oracles that to Him 20 had been demanded; and may He continue to grant them the fa21vour and the benevolence of their two lords Thaʾrān Yuhanʿim 22 and his son Malkīkarib Yuʾmin, kings 23 of Sabaʾ, of dhu-Raydān, of H ˙ ad ˙ ramōt, and of Yamnat; and they rep24aired this breach in three months, 25 during dhu-Sabaʾ, -*Ilʾilāt, and -*Abhī.


Bayt al-Ashwal 2

This inscription dates to January 384 and is carved on a relief from a large block, likely originating from
Zafar, Yemen Ẓafār (), also Romanized Dhafar or Dhofar, is an ancient Himyarite site situated in Yemen, some 130 km south-south-east of today's capital, Sana'a, and c. south-east of Yarim. Given mention in several ancient texts, there is little doubt ...
. It describes Malkikarib Yuhamin in coregency with his two sons and commemorating the construction of a new palace. This is also the first time where the rejection of polytheism is expressed in an extant inscription from the Himyarite kingdom.
Malkīkarib Yuhaʾmin and his sons Abīkarib Asʿad and Dharaʾʾamar Ayman, kings of Sabaʾ, of dhu-Raydān, 2 of Hadramawt, and of Yamnat, have built, laid the foundations of, and completed the palace Kln3m, from its base to its summit, with the support of their lord, the Lord of the Sky4 in the month of dhu-diʾāwān of the year four hundred and ninety-three.


Ja 856 = Fa 60.

This is the oldest inscription mentioning the construction of a ''mikrāb''. It was found at
Marib Marib (; Ancient South Arabian script, Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 ''Mryb/Mrb'') is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of ''Saba’, Sabaʾ'' (), which some scholars beli ...
, which was once the capital of the ancient Saba kingdom. It likely dates to the first half of Malkikarib's reign, between 375 and 384.
Malkīkarib Yuhaʾmin and his son bīkarib Asʿad, kings of2 Sabaʾ, of dhu Raydān, of H ˙ ad ˙ ramawt and f Yamnat have built from the foundations to3 the summit their mikrāb Barīk for their salvation and .. .../blockquote>


Maʾsal 1 = Ry 509

This inscription dates to the first half of the fifth century and describes the conquest of Central Arabia and was carved on a desert ravine from that area. It mentions Malkikarib Yuhamin in the capacity of him being the father of the king who created the inscription,
Abu Karib Abū Karib As’ad al-Kāmil (), called "Abū Karīb", sometimes rendered as As'ad Abū Karīb, full name: Abu Karib As'ad ibn Hassān Maliki Karib Yuha'min, was king ( Tubba', ) of the Himyarite Kingdom (modern day Yemen). He ruled Yemen from 39 ...
.
Abīkarib Asʿad and his son H ˙ aśśān Yuhaʾmin, kings of Sabaʾ, 2 of dhu-Raydān, of H ˙ ad ˙ ramawt, and of Yamnat, and of the Arabs of the Upper-Country and of the Coast , 3 son of H ˙ aśśān Malkīkarib Yuhaʾmin, king of Sabaʾ, of dhu-4 Raydān, of H ˙ ad ˙ ramawt, and of Yamnat, have had this inscription carved in the wād5 ī Maʾsal Gumh ˙ ān, when they came and took possession of the Land 6 of Maʿaddum during the installation of garrisons provided by some of their communes, with their commune 7 H ˙ ad ˙ ramawt and Sabaʾ—the sons of Marib—the junior offspring 8 of their princes, the youngest of their officers, their ag9 ents, their huntsmen, and their troops, as well as their Arabs,10 Kiddat, Saʿd, ʿUlah, and H ../blockquote>


See also

*
Ja 1028 Ja 1028 is a Sabaic inscription dating to the late Himyarite Kingdom. It was commissioned by an army commander of Dhu Nuwas named S²rḥʾl Yqbl in which he celebrated massacring the Christian community of Najran and the burning of their church wi ...
*
Dhu Nuwas Dhū Nuwās (), real name Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), Yosef Nu'as (), or Yūsuf ibn Sharhabil (), also known as Masruq in Syriac, and Dounaas () in Medieval G ...
* DJE 23


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * {{Cite book , last=Robin , first=Christian Julien , title=The Cambridge History of Judaism , date=2021 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , editor-last=Ackerman-Lieberman , editor-first=Phillip Isaac , pages=294–331 , chapter=Judaism in Pre-Islamic Arabia 4th-century Arab people Converts to Judaism from paganism Kings of Himyar Yemenite Jews 4th-century Jews 4th-century monarchs in the Middle East