The birth of the first states on the Arabian Peninsula. Arabian civilization. The position of women in the country
The first states in the territory of South Arabia
Of the fifteen ancient South Arabian states, only Saba, Kataban, Main, Himyar, Hadhramaut, which flourished at different times from the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. according to the VI century. n. e., left a noticeable mark in history. The development of these states was determined by their geographical position: in the south-west of the Arabian Peninsula on the coast of the Red and Arabian Seas between the coastal plains, surrounding mountains, hills and desert.
Despite the fact that one script was used in South Arabia, the population in antiquity spoke and wrote several, very different languages from each other, belonging to the Semitic language family. The main languages were Sabaean, Minean (the language of the population of Maine), Kataban and Hadhramaut. All of them are related to each other. The dominance of any language speaks of the political predominance of one or another of the kingdoms. The last inscription in Menaic dates back to the 2nd century BC. BC e., in Kataban - to the II century. n. e., in Hadramaut - to the III century. n. e. In the kingdom of Himyar, the Kataban language was adopted, which was replaced by Sabaean when this state reached a dominant position. The Sabaean language fell out of use in oral speech in the 4th century BC.
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The most prosperous state in the Mediterranean throughout the Middle Ages, along with Byzantium, was the Arab caliphate, created by the prophet Mohammed (Mohammed, Mohammed) and his successors. In Asia, as in Europe, military-feudal and military-bureaucratic state formations arose episodically, as a rule, as a result of military conquests and annexations. This is how the Mughal empire arose in India, the empire of the Tang dynasty in China, etc. A strong integrating role fell to the Christian religion in Europe, the Buddhist one in the states of Southeast Asia, and the Islamic one in the Arabian Peninsula.
The coexistence of domestic and state slavery with feudal-dependent and tribal relations continued in some countries of Asia even during this historical period.
The Arabian Peninsula, where the first Islamic state arose, is located between Iran and Northeast Africa. At the time of the Prophet Mohammed, who was born around 570, it was sparsely populated. The Arabs were then a nomadic people and, with the help of camels and other beasts of burden, provided trade and caravan links between India and Syria, and then North African and European countries. The Arab tribes were also concerned about ensuring the safety of trade routes with oriental spices and handicrafts, and this circumstance served as a favorable factor in the formation of the Arab state. Mohammed himself, according to legend, was a native of the Quraysh tribe, who carried out similar security functions along the caravan routes for several generations.
Mohammed believed in his great mission at about the age of forty, after the first communication with God Allah. He, in particular, proclaimed that "there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet." He first launched his preaching activity in his hometown of Mecca, but under the threat of persecution by the priests of the local pagan cult and the aristocracy dissatisfied with his rise, Mohammed was forced to retire with like-minded people to the neighboring city of Medina (former Yathrib). , which received the name "Hijra" (621-629), the summer reckoning according to the Muslim calendar begins.
Mohammed quite quickly gathered a significant number of adherents and already in 630 managed to settle again in Mecca, the inhabitants of which by that time were imbued with his faith and teachings. The new religion was called Islam (peace with God, obedience to the will of Allah) and quickly spread throughout the peninsula and beyond. In dealing with representatives of other religions - Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians - Mohammed's followers maintained religious tolerance. In the first centuries of the spread of Islam, on Umayyad and Abbasid coins, there was a saying from the Koran (Sura 9.33 and Sura 61.9) about the prophet Mohammed, whose name means "gift of God": "Mohammed is the messenger of God, whom God sent with instruction on the right path and with true faith, in order to exalt it above all faiths, even if the polytheists were dissatisfied with this.
By the time of the prophet's death, almost all of Arabia fell under his rule, his first successors - Abu Bakr, Omar, Osman, Ali, nicknamed the righteous caliphs (from "caliph" - successor, substitute), - stayed with him in friendly and family ties . Already under Caliph Omar (634-644), Damascus, Syria, Palestine and Phoenicia were annexed to this state, and then Egypt. In the east, the Arab state expanded through the territory of Mesopotamia and Persia. During the next century, the Arabs conquer North Africa and Spain, but twice fail in the conquest of Constantinople, and later in France are defeated at Poitiers (732), but in Spain they hold their dominance for another seven centuries.
The Umayyad dynasty (from 661), which carried out the conquest of Spain, moved the capital to Damascus, and the Abbasid dynasty following them (from the descendants of the prophet named Abba, from 750) ruled from Baghdad for 500 years. By the end of the X century. The Arab state, which had previously united peoples from the Pyrenees and Morocco to Fergana and Persia, was divided into three caliphates - the Abbasids in Baghdad, the Fatimids in Cairo and the Umayyads in Spain.
The most famous of the Abbasids were Caliph Haroun al-Rashid, who became one of the characters in the Thousand and One Nights, as well as his son al-Mamun. Naturally, in the role of caliphs, they were also occupied with the problems of the spread of the new faith, perceived by themselves and their subjects as a commandment to live in equality and universal brotherhood of all true believers. The duty of the ruler in this case was to be a just, wise and merciful ruler. The enlightened caliphs combined the care of administration, finance, justice, and the military with support for education, art, literature, science, and trade and commerce. The latter were understood as intermediary operations and services related to transportation, warehousing, resale of goods and usury.
As in previous historical epochs, an important role was assigned to the methods of assimilation of the heritage and experience of highly developed ancient cultures and civilizations. In the past, the Greeks adopted writing from the Phoenicians and some philosophical constructions from the Eastern sages (Egyptian, Mesopotamian, possibly Indian). After 10 centuries, the ancient Greco-Roman heritage facilitated the formation of the Arab-Muslim culture, which for several centuries continued the cultural work that was interrupted for one reason or another in the Greco-Latin world.
In the Middle Ages, acquaintance with Arabic science became, according to the generalization of Academician V.V. Barthold, "one of the main advantages of the Western European medieval world over the Byzantine one ..." The Arab-Muslim world, in the course of assimilation and processing of the ancient heritage, brought to the public arena such outstanding thinkers and figures as Farabi, Avicenna (980- 1037), ibn Rushd (lat. name Averroes, b. 1126) and ibn Khaldun (XIV century).
Ibn Khaldun lived in North Africa and tried (the only one in Arabic literature!) to move from narrative history to pragmatic (utilitarian scientific) in order to establish and describe the laws of world (in this case, within the Arab Caliphate and its environment) social history . He considered history as a “new science”, and considered the main area of historical change not to be changes in political forms, as the ancient Greeks in their time, but the conditions of economic life, which have a strong influence on the transition from rural and nomadic life to urban life and customs.
Characteristically, for the Arab historian throughout the world and his history, only the cultural merits of Muslims as a whole existed as significant. Thus, he places the historically new culture of the Muslim peoples above all others, but notes its decline and predicts its death. In his Arab compatriots he saw only nomads, destroyers of culture. According to his generalization, the Arabs did not achieve any success either in the arts, with the exception of poetry, or in public life. Even when choosing a place to build cities, they seemed to be guided only by the needs of nomadic life, as a result of which the cities founded by the Arabs quickly fell into decay.
The caliphate as a medieval state was formed as a result of the unification of Arab tribes, the center of settlement of which was the Arabian Peninsula.
A characteristic feature of the emergence of statehood among the Arabs in the 7th century was the religious coloring of this process, which was accompanied by the formation of a new world religion - Islam. The political movement for the unification of the tribes under the slogans of rejecting paganism and polytheism, which objectively reflected the tendencies of the emergence of a new system, was called "Hanif".
The search by the Hanif preachers for a new truth and a new god, which took place under the strong influence of Judaism and Christianity, is associated primarily with the name of Muhammad. Muhammad argued that the Islamic teaching does not contradict the two previously widespread monotheistic religions - Judaism and Christianity, but only confirms and clarifies them. However, at the same time it became clear that Islam contains something new. His cruelty, and sometimes even fanatical intolerance, was quite clearly manifested in some matters, especially questions of power and the right to power. According to the doctrine of Islam, religious power is inseparable from secular power and is the basis of the latter, in connection with which Islam demanded the same unconditional obedience to God, the prophet and those who have power.
In the history of the medieval empire, called the Arab Caliphate, two periods are usually distinguished: Damascus and Baghdad, which also correspond to the main stages in the development of the Arab medieval society and state.
The development of Arab society was subject to the main laws of the evolution of Eastern medieval societies with a certain specificity of the action of religious and cultural-national factors. The characteristic features of Muslim society were the dominant position of state ownership of land with the widespread use of slave labor in the state economy (mines, workshops), state exploitation of peasants through rent-tax in favor of the ruling elite, religious-state regulation of all spheres of public life, the absence of clearly defined estates. groups, the special status of cities, any freedoms and privileges.
Since the legal status of an individual was determined by religion, differences in the legal status of Muslims and non-Muslims (Zhimmi) came to the fore. Initially, the attitude towards the subjugated Zimmievs was distinguished by sufficient tolerance: they retained self-government, their own language and their own courts. However, over time, their humiliated position became more and more obvious: their relationship with Muslims was regulated by Muslim law, they could not marry Muslims, they had to wear clothes that distinguish them, supply the Arab army with food, pay a heavy land tax and poll tax.
At the first stage of development, the caliphate was a centralized theocratic monarchy. In the hands of the caliph was concentrated spiritual (immat) and secular (emirate) power, which was considered indivisible and unlimited. The first caliphs were elected by the Muslim nobility, but rather soon the power of the caliph began to be transferred by testamentary order.
Later, the vizier became the chief adviser and the highest official under the caliph. According to Islamic law, viziers could be of two types: with broad power or with limited powers, i.e. only carrying out the orders of the caliph. In the early caliphate it was common practice to appoint a vizier with limited power. Among the important officials at the court were also the head of the Caliph's bodyguard, the head of the police, a special official supervising other officials.
The central government bodies were special government offices - sofas. The Divan of Military Affairs was in charge of equipping and arming the army. It kept lists of people who were part of the permanent army, indicating the salary they received or the amount of awards for military service. The Divan of Internal Affairs controlled the financial authorities involved in accounting for tax and other revenues, for this purpose the necessary statistical information was collected. The sofa of the postal service performed special functions. He was engaged in the delivery of mail and government cargo, supervised the construction and repair of roads, caravanserais and wells. Moreover, this institution actually performed the functions of the secret police.
The system of local government bodies during the 7th-8th centuries. Has undergone significant changes. Initially, local governments in the conquered countries remained intact, and the old methods of government were preserved. As the power of the rulers of the caliphate was consolidated, the local administration was streamlined according to the Persian model. The territory of the caliphate was divided into provinces, ruled as a rule by military governors - emirs. The emirs were usually appointed by the Caliph from among their close associates. However, there were also emirs appointed from representatives of the local nobility, from the former rulers of the conquered territories. The emirs were in charge of the armed forces, the local administrative-financial and police apparatus. The emirs had assistants - naibs.
Small administrative divisions in the caliphate (cities, villages) were controlled by officials of various ranks and titles. Often these functions were assigned to the leaders of local Muslim religious communities - foremen (sheikhs). The large role of the army in the caliphate was determined by the very doctrine of Islam. The main strategic task of the caliphate was considered to be the conquest of the territory not inhabited by Muslims, through the "holy war". All adult and free Muslims were required to take part in it.
At the first stage of the conquests, the Arab army was a tribal militia. However, the need to strengthen and centralize the army caused a number of military reforms at the end of the 7th - the middle of the 8th centuries. The Arab army began to consist of two main parts (standing troops and volunteers), and each was under the command of a special commander. In the permanent army, a special place was occupied by privileged Muslim warriors. The main arm of the army was light cavalry.
A huge medieval empire consisting of heterogeneous parts, despite the unifying factor of Islam and authoritarian-theocratic forms of exercising power, could not exist as a single whole for a long time. Starting from the IX century. Significant changes took place in the state system of the caliphate.
First, there was an actual limitation of the caliph's secular power. His deputy, the grand vizier, relying on the support of the nobility, pushes the supreme ruler away from the real levers of power and control. Without reporting to the caliph, the vizier could independently appoint the highest state officials. The caliphs began to share spiritual power with the chief qadi, who led the courts and education. Secondly, the role of the army and its influence on political life increased even more in the state mechanism of the caliphate. The militia was replaced by a professional mercenary army. The palace guard of the caliph is created from the slaves of Turkic, Caucasian and even Slavic origin (Mamluks), which in the 9th century. becomes one of the main pillars of the central government. However, at the end of the IX century. its influence becomes so great that the guards commanders crack down on objectionable caliphs and enthrone their proteges.
Thirdly, separatist tendencies are intensifying in the provinces. The power of the emirs, as well as local tribal leaders, is becoming more and more independent of the center. From the 9th century the political power of the governors over the administered territories becomes in fact hereditary. Whole dynasties of emirs appear. The emirs create their own army, withhold tax revenues in their favor, and thus turn into independent rulers.
The collapse of the caliphate into emirates and sultanates - independent states in Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Central Asia, Transcaucasia - led to the fact that the Baghdad caliph, while remaining the spiritual head of the Sunnis, by the 10th century. actually controlled only part of Persia and the capital territory. In the X and XI centuries. As a result of the capture of Baghdad by various nomadic tribes, the caliph was twice deprived of secular power. The eastern caliphate was finally conquered and abolished by the Mongols in the 13th century. The seat of the caliphate was moved to Cairo, in the western part of the caliphate, where the caliph retained spiritual leadership among the Sunnis until the beginning of the 16th century, when it passed to the Turkish sultans. Simultaneously with the emergence of the Caliphate, its law, Sharia, was also formed. Law was originally formed as the most important part of religion. Its main sources were the Koran - the holy book of Islam, containing prescriptions that are in the nature of moral guidelines; sunna - a collection of legends about the actions and sayings of Muhammad, containing the prescriptions of family inheritance and judicial law; ijma - decisions made by authoritative Muslim jurists on issues not reflected in the Koran and sunnah, fatwa - a written opinion of the highest religious authorities on decisions of secular authorities regarding certain issues of public life.
According to Islamic law, the actions of each person are defined as: 1) strictly obligatory, 2) desirable, 3) permitted, 4) undesirable, but not punishable, 5) prohibited and severely punished.
Islam has identified a number of main protected values: religion, life, reason, procreation and property.
In accordance with the encroachment on these values and the nature of punishments, crimes are divided into:
1) crimes against the foundations of religion and the state, for which precisely defined punishments follow;
2) crimes against individuals for which certain penalties are also imposed;
3) crimes and offenses, the punishments for which are not strictly established and the right to choose the punishment is given to the court.
For Muslims, the Qur'an is the living word of Allah, and therefore it contains the eternal Truth.
One of the largest phenomena in medieval civilization in the East was Islamic law (Sharia). This legal system, which eventually acquired world significance, arose and took shape within the framework of the Arab Caliphate. After his fall, Muslim law did not lose its former significance.
Sharia is a legal prescription that is integral to the theology of Islam, closely related to its religious and mystical ideas. Islam considers legal institutions as part of a single divine law and order.
The most important source of Sharia is the Koran, the holy book of Muslims, the compilation of which is attributed to Muhammad. The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters (suras) divided into 6219 verses (verses). Only about 500 verses contain prescriptions classified as Sharia. And only 80 of them can be considered legal. The second source of law obligatory for all Muslims was the sunnah (“sacred giving”), which consisted of numerous stories (hadith) about the judgments and actions of Muhammad himself. Despite the processing of the hadiths, the sunnah contained many contradictory provisions, and the choice of the most "authentic" of them entirely depended on the discretion of the judges.
The third place in the hierarchy of Muslim law was occupied by ijma (“general consent of the Muslim community”). In practice, ijma consisted of concurring opinions on religious and legal issues, which were expressed by the companions of Muhammad or later by the most influential Muslim theologians - jurists.
One of the most controversial sources of Islamic law was qiyas - the solution of legal cases by analogy. According to qiyas, a rule established in the Qur'an, sunnah or ijma can be applied to a case that was not expressly provided for in these sources of law. Qiyas, thus, not only made it possible to regulate new social relations, but also contributed in a number of cases to the liberation of the Sharia from the theological plaque. But in the hands of feudal Muslim judges, qiyas often became an instrument of outright arbitrariness. As an additional source, Sharia allowed local customs that were not directly included in Muslim law itself during its formation, but did not contradict its principles.
Finally, the sources of law in the Arab Caliphate were considered derivatives of the Sharia, decrees and orders of the caliphs - firmans. In the later Muslim states (Ottoman Empire, etc.), with the development of legislation, state laws - kanuns - became sources of law.
Judicial functions in the Caliphate were separated from administrative ones. Local authorities had no right to interfere in the decisions of judges. The chief judge was the head of state - the caliph. In general, the court was the privilege of the clergy. In practice, the supreme judicial power was exercised by a board of the most authoritative theologians, who were also jurists. On behalf of the caliph, they appointed lower-ranking judges (qadi) and special commissioners from among the representatives of the clergy, who supervised their activities on the ground. The powers of the qadi were extensive. They considered court cases of all categories on the ground, monitored the execution of court decisions, supervised places of detention, certified wills, distributed inheritance, checked the legality of land use. Judicial decisions of the qadi were final and not subject to appeal. The exception was those cases when the caliph himself or his representatives changed the decision of the qadi.
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ARABIAN PENINSULA- in the southwest of Asia, the largest on Earth (over 2.7 million km & sup2). It is washed in the west by the Red Sea, in the south by the Aden Hall. and Arabian m., in the east the Omani and Persian Gulfs. Indian ca. Plains and plateaus prevail, in the west, south and east ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Arabian Peninsula- Arabia (from other Hebrew. Arab desert), the largest peninsula of Asia, in the southwest of the mainland. It is washed in the west by the Red Sea, in the south by the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, in the east by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The northern border of A. p. is usually drawn ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Arabian Peninsula- in the southwest of Asia, the largest on Earth (over 2.7 million km2). It is washed in the West by the Red Sea, in the south by the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, in the East by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf of the Indian Ocean. Plains and plateaus predominate, on ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Arabian Peninsula- in South-West Asia. From the II millennium BC. e. n ov is inhabited by Arabs; his Arab, the name Jezira el Arab pov Arabs (less commonly used Bylyad el Arab country of the Arabs). The area inhabited by Arabs, Arabia, but Russian. traditional Arabia, which is due to ... ... Toponymic Dictionary
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Peninsula- PENINSULA, a piece of land that extends far into the sea, lake or river and is surrounded on three sides by water. The largest peninsulas are Arabian, Hindustan, Indochina. … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
Saudi Arabia- (Saudi Arabia) History of Saudi Arabia, political structure of Saudi Arabia Attractions of Saudi Arabia, economy of Saudi Arabia, culture of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina Contents Contents Section 1.… … Encyclopedia of the investor
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- Arabian Peninsula. "Cradle of the Arabs", I.P. Senchenko. Removing layers of sand and a web of times from the history of the countries and peoples of the Arabian Peninsula, the book offered to the reader's attention will tell him about interesting and little-known facts from the past and ... Buy for 929 rubles
- History of Islam, . Islam is a world civilization that saved not only the Arabian Peninsula, but all of humanity from ignorance and obscurantism. Who were those who stood at the origins of this civilization? Which…
Arabia at the beginning of the 7th century
Thanks to the main Muslim shrines in Mecca and Medina (Hejaz region) and, at the same time, the remoteness of the Arabian Peninsula from the political center of the Caliphate (Baghdad), representatives of the local tribal and tribal elite, as well as religious leaders, have become virtually independent from the power of the Baghdad caliphs since the end of the 8th century. At the same time, the economic and religious-political significance of the Hejaz was determined by the desire of the dynasties that ruled in Baghdad, and then in Cairo, to maintain their dominance here.
At this time, Oman, the eastern region of Arabia, becomes the center of the followers of the religious and political movement of the Kharijites. Here the dynasty of Aal al-Julanda is established. In Bahrain, militant Qarmatians (representatives of one of the extreme movements in Shiism) are fixed, striving to conquer neighboring territories (under the Qarmatian slogans, anti-Caliph uprisings repeatedly broke out in southern Iraq.) On the territory of modern Yemen, states appeared, headed by the dynasties of the Ziyadids, Yafurids and Zeydi Imams.
Traditional "tower" house in the mountainous regions of the Arabian Peninsula
From the beginning of the XI century. the Fatimids come to power in Egypt, who are recognized by the dynasties of southern Arabia - the Sulaihids and the Najahids. Subsequently, their lands were occupied by rivals - the Zurayids and Hamdanids, and then the Mahdids.
In the 70s. 12th century Ayyubid troops invade Yemen (the rulers of Egypt from among the descendants of Salah ad-Din (Saladin)). The dominance of the Ayyubids in Yemen continues until 1229, when the Rasulid dynasty reigns here. By the middle of the XV century. The Rasulids, who were at enmity with the Zaydi imams, lose their position in the region. A few years later, most of South Yemen comes under the rule of the Tahirid dynasty.
At the beginning of the XVI century. The Arabian Peninsula falls into the sphere of interests of Portugal and the Ottoman Empire. The rulers of Oman from the Yarubid dynasty vigorously resist European penetration.
Rub al Khali Desert, Arabian Peninsula
In the XVIII century. an active aggressive policy is pursued by the Albusaids, who tried to challenge the control of trade in the Persian Gulf from the Portuguese and Dutch. In the second half of the XVIII century. Great Britain, France, as well as the Wahhabis of Central Arabia are included in this struggle. As a result, British influence becomes predominant in the Persian Gulf, and the British East India Company manages to obtain exclusive rights to trade.
In the XVIII century. in the central Arabian region of Nejd, a new Muslim religious and political movement, Wahhabism, was born. The founder of the Wahhabi state was the ruler of the small emirate of Diriyya (in the region of Nejd) Muhammad ibn Saud (1735 - 1765). He became the founder of the Saudi dynasty, ruling to this day in Saudi Arabia.
At the beginning of the XIX century. Saudi power extends to all of central Arabia. They manage to establish control over the holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. However, in 1818, the state of the Saudis was destroyed by the troops of the Ottoman governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, who invaded Arabia.
After 1840, when the Egyptian troops were forced to leave Arabia, the Saudis restored their state. The city of Riyadh becomes the new capital of the revived state (instead of Diriyya destroyed by the Egyptians).
In the second half of the XIX century. the territory of the state of the Saudis is captured by the rulers of the principality of Shammar (Northern Arabia) - the Rashidids. But at the beginning of the 20th century, the Saudis, under the leadership of the energetic young emir Abdelaziz ibn Abd ar-Rahman (Ibn Saud - the future first king of Saudi Arabia), liberate Nejd from the power of the Rashidids.
In the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. British colonial policy in the region is becoming more and more aggressive. It extends its influence to the territory of South Yemen. The main stronghold of the British in southern Arabia is the city they built and the strategically important port of Aden. With the emirs and sheikhs of the southern regions of Yemen, the British conclude agreements on "friendship", and subsequently - on the protectorate.
During the First World War (1914 - 1918), Great Britain was actively involved in intelligence activities in the region. During the fighting against the Turkish troops on the front between Egypt and Palestine, the British are trying to raise the local Arab population against the Turks.
With the help and under the political pressure of England, in 1916, an anti-Turkish uprising took place in the Hijaz, led by the Hashemite dynasty (rulers of Mecca). After the war, with the support of Great Britain in Iraq and Transjordan, representatives of this dynasty were in power.
In central Arabia, after the First World War, the Saudis continue the struggle for the unification of Arabia. In 1926 they defeat the Hashemites in the Hijaz and occupy this most important area with the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
In 1927, the emir Abdel-Aziz ibn Abd ar-Rahman (Ibn Saud) was proclaimed the king of "Hijaz, Najd and the annexed regions", and from 1932 the new state began to be called Saudi Arabia.
Literature:
. Vasiliev A.M. Puritans of Islam? Wahhabism and the first state of the Saudis in Arabia M., 1967.
Vasiliev A. M. History of Saudi Arabia. M., 1982.
Kotlov L.N. Yemen Arab Republic. Directory. M., 1971.
Lutsky V. B. New history of Arab countries. M., 1965.
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In the south and southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, on the territory of the modern Yemeni Arab and Yemeni People's Democratic Republics, there existed in antiquity a number of state formations that were the most important centers of the ancient Yemeni civilization. The most northerly was Main, with the chief cities of Iasil and Karnavu. South of the Main was Saba, centered on Marib. To the south of it is Kataban with its capital in Timna. To the south of Kataban was the state of Ausan, and to the east - Hadhramaut with the capital Shabwa.
The emergence of the ancient Yemeni states dates back to the 9th-8th centuries. BC e. In the VI-V centuries. Main, Kataban, Ausan, Hadhramaut and Saba enter the struggle for dominance. Its fierce character is evidenced, for example, by the war of Saba, Kataban and Hadramaut against Ausan, during which 16,000 Ausans were killed, its most important cities were destroyed and burned, and the state itself was soon absorbed by Kataban. Main hardly restrained the expansion of Saba and Kataban, until in the 1st century. BC e. did not depend on the latter. Hadhramaut was either part of the Sabaean kingdom, or acted as an independent state, its ally or opponent. In III-I centuries. BC e. Kataban becomes one of the strongest states in the south of Arabia, but already in the 1st century. BC e. he was defeated and his territory divided between Saba and Hadhramawt.
The most powerful in the I millennium BC. e. was the Sabaean kingdom, in its heyday occupied the territory from the Red Sea to Hadhramaut (sometimes including it) and from Central Arabia to the Indian Ocean.
At the end of the C. BC e. a new, Himyarite state with the capital Zafar, which until that time was part of Kataban, advanced. By the beginning of the IV century. n. e. it established its hegemony over all of southern Arabia. From the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. and almost to the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e. Arabia was in close, mainly trade, contacts with Greece, Ptolemaic Egypt and the Roman Empire. During the Himyarite period, peaceful relations and military clashes tied the fate of South Arabia and Aksum (Ethiopia).
Economy.
The economy of the South Arabian states is characterized primarily by the development of irrigation agriculture and nomadic pastoralism. In agricultural areas, in the river valleys, cereals were grown - wheat, spelt, barley, legumes and vegetables. Vineyards were located along the mountain slopes, processed in the form of terraces. The territories of the oases were occupied by groves of date palms. The cultivation of fragrant trees, shrubs and spices was of great economic importance. Agriculture was possible only with artificial irrigation, so the construction of irrigation facilities was given serious attention. The Marib dam and other extensive buildings served as the basis of South Arabian agriculture. A particularly grandiose structure was the Marib dam (600 m long, over 15 m high), built in the 7th century. BC e. and existed for thirteen centuries.
Along with agriculture, cattle breeding was developed: cattle, sheep (fat-tailed and fine-wooled), camels were bred. Of the handicraft industries, it is necessary to single out stone processing and construction, the extraction and processing of metals, pottery, weaving, and leatherworking.
The specialization of the economy in various natural zones of Arabia, the presence of a number of valuable products (for example, spices and incense), an advantageous geographical position contributed to the development of trade in several directions at once: exchange between the agricultural and pastoral regions of Arabia; international trade in incense with many countries of the ancient Eastern and ancient world; finally, transit trade with the Middle East in Indian and African goods. Depending on the changes in the directions of trade routes, the role of individual South Arabian states changed. At first, Main flourished, holding in its hands the famous "incense route" and having trading posts up to the island of Delos in the Aegean Sea and in Mesopotamia, then Saba, which seized Main and trade routes into its own hands. Further, Kataban and Hadhramaut established direct contacts with the Tigris and Euphrates valleys through the Persian Gulf, and with the coast of East Africa through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
At the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. a number of factors led to strong shocks in the South Arabian economy. One of them is the change in trade routes: the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks established direct contacts with India; not land, but sea trade routes began to play a predominant role (this was facilitated by the discovery of the effect of constant "winds - monsoons, the improvement of navigation technology, the increased role of the Persian Gulf in comparison with the Red Sea). Another factor is climate change towards greater aridity and the onset of deserts on fertile oases and agricultural zones. The third is the gradual destruction of irrigation facilities, natural disasters, which more than once led to major catastrophes, for example, to repeated breakthroughs of the Marib dam. The infiltration of the Bedouins into the settled agricultural zones intensified. The consequences of the long isolation of Arabia from other states of the Ancient East had an effect. Along with the complication of the domestic and foreign political situation and constant wars, all this led to the decline of the South Arabian states.
The social and political system of South Arabia.
In the middle of the II millennium BC. e. from the South Arabic linguistic and tribal community, the separation of large tribal unions began: Menaic, Kataban, Sabaean. At the end of II - beginning of I millennium BC. e. as a result of the development of the productive forces, relations of production began to change. On the territory of ancient Yemen, class early slave-owning societies arose. There was a growth in property inequality, noble families stood out, which gradually concentrated political power in their hands.
Formed such social groups as the priesthood and the merchant class.
The main means of production - land was owned by rural and urban communities, which regulated water supply, redistributed between community members who owned plots of land) paid taxes and performed duties in favor of the state, temples, community administration. The main economic unit was a large patriarchal family (or large family community). She could own not only a communal plot of land, but also acquire other land, receive it by inheritance, develop new plots, arranging irrigation facilities on them: irrigated land became the property of the one who “revived” it. Gradually, noble families sought the withdrawal of their possessions from the system of communal redistribution, started a profitable economy on them. Families differed in their property status, and even within the family, the inequality of its members was noticeable.
A special category of land was a very extensive temple property. A lot of land was in the hands of the state, and this fund was replenished through conquests, confiscations, forced buying of land. The personal fund of the lands of the ruler and his family was very significant. The subjugated population worked on state lands, performing a number of duties and being, in essence, state slaves. These lands were often given in conditional ownership to impoverished families of free colonists, along with slaves. Free people, persons dedicated to this or that deity, and temple slaves worked in the temple possessions in order to fulfill their duties.
Slaves were mainly recruited from among prisoners of war, acquired by sale and purchase, usually from other areas of the ancient Eastern world (from Gaza, Egypt, etc.). Debt slavery was not widespread. Documents speak of the presence of slaves in private and temple households, in the household of the ruler and his family. In large patriarchal families, they were equated with the younger members of the family. Slaves who belonged to the ruler could sometimes rise, take a privileged position among their own kind, and perform administrative functions. But no matter what position the slave occupied, when mentioning his name, the name of his father and family was never mentioned, for this was a sign of a free person. The ancient Yemeni society was an early slave-owning society, which, however, retained the tribal way of life and traditions, with a gradually developing trend towards social stratification, an increase in the role of slavery.
The process of formation of an early class society led to the transformation of tribal unions into a state. In the conditions of Arabia, the slow course of this process contributed not to the radical destruction of the political institutions of the tribal system, but to their adaptation to the new orders of class society, their transformation from tribal to state bodies. The system of the political structure of the South Arabian states can be shown on the example of the Sabaean kingdom.
It consisted of 6 "tribes", of which three belonged to the number of privileged, and the other three occupied a subordinate position. Each tribe was divided into large branches, the latter into smaller ones, and they, in turn, into separate genera. The tribes were ruled by leaders - Kabirs, who came from noble families and formed a collegial body. Perhaps the tribes also had councils of elders.
Privileged tribes elected from representatives of noble families for a certain period (in Saba - for 7 years, in Ka-tabak - for 2 years, etc.) eponyms - important state officials who performed priestly duties related to the cult of the supreme god Astara, also carried out astronomical, astrological, calendar observations and some economic functions for the organization of land and water use. According to eponyms, state and private legal documents were dated, and chronology was kept. Eponyms took office at the age of 30 and after the expiration of their term of office they were members of the council of elders.
The highest officials who had executive power and exercised control over the Sabaean state were until the 3rd-2nd centuries. BC e. mukarribs. Their functions included economic, mainly construction, activities, sacred duties (committing sacrifices, arranging ritual meals, etc.), state activities (periodic renewal of tribal unions, issuing state documents, legal acts, establishing the boundaries of urban areas, private estates, etc.). d.). The position of the Muqarribs was hereditary.
During the war, mukarribs could assume the functions of leadership of the militia, and then they received for a while the title of "malik" - king. Gradually, the mukarribs concentrated in their hands the prerogatives of royal power, and at the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. their position actually turned into a royal one.
The supreme body of the Sabaean state was the council of elders. It included mukarrib and representatives of all 6 Sabaean "tribes", and unprivileged tribes had the right to only half representation. The Council of Elders had sacred, judicial and legislative functions, as well as administrative and economic functions. Approximately similar device had other South Arabian states.
Gradually, in the South Arabian states, along with the tribal division, territorial division also arose. It was based on cities and settlements with adjoining rural districts, which had their own autonomous system of government. Each Sabaean citizen belonged to one of the consanguineous tribes and at the same time was part of a certain territorial unit.