Ancient South Arabia: From the Queen of Sheba to the Advent of Islam

By Klaus Schippmann

Book Overview

At the crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe, the South Arabian kingdoms were major commercial, military, and cultural players in world history. They controlled the sea route from Rome and Egypt to Africa and Asia and had a monopoly on the production and trade of frankincense and myrrh; religious ceremonies in the major ancient empires such as Greece, Rome, Byzantium, and Persia depended on the availability of myrrh from South Arabia. Their art and architecture, and especially their irrigation system, featuring a gigantic dam high in the mountains, gave witness to a fascinating civilization, the mythic and historical dimensions of which have captured our collective imaginations. Even their eventual decline was dramatic. When the famous dam was damaged in the 5th century, twenty thousand workers were employed to repair it. The Ethiopian Empire of Axum, originally a colony of Saba (Sheba), adopted Christianity, crossed the Red Sea, and fought bitter wars against the powerful Jewish kings of South Arabia. Exhausted from wars, South Arabia was ready to be taken by the new force of Islam.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558762361
• ISBN13: 9781558762367
• Release Date: February 2020
• Publisher: Markus Wiener Publishers
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A review of ancient south arabia

"Excellent...A synthesis of great density. On 150 pages, Klaus Schippman has assured pre-Islamic South Arabia an honorable position among the civilizations of the Near East." --Bibliotheca Orientalis

An impressive and scholarly history

Ancient South Arabia: From The Queen Of Sheba To The Advent Of Islam by Klaus Schippmann (University of Gottingen) is an impressive and scholarly history of the South Arabian kingdoms that draws from archaeology and primary sources to informatively depict an evolving picture of life in the crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe. Smoothly written, nicely illustrated with black-and-white photographs, and also available in a trade paperback edition, Klaus Schippmann's Ancient South Arabia is a uniquely insightful work and a very highly recommended addition to World History reference shelves.