Yemen in the Hermitage

Yemen is an extensive historico-cultural region in south-western Arabia that does not completely coincide with the present-day Republic of Yemen. A bitter civil war with extensive foreign intervention is bringing with it the mass destruction of historical monuments that is going unnoticed by the world community. That is why museums around the world in conjunction with UNESCO have launched a series of informative actions to remind people of yet another cultural tragedy. This series of videos is part of our contribution. It is an extension of the Days of Yemen in the Hermitage – 26 April (international) and 26 May (only in the Hermitage, together with a Day of Syria).

Yemen is one of the earliest places of human habitation. Artefacts have been found there that are directly connected with humans' first advances out of East Africa, the generally acknowledged as the area where Homo Sapiens originated. In the Ancient World Yemen was called Arabia Felix or Eudaimon Arabia (“Happy Arabia” in Latin and Greek) and was a land of prosperity, wealth and luxurious living. The Arabic name Yemen means “south” and is also consonant with a root meaning “happiness, well-being”. The prosperity granted by Allah to the inhabitants of Yemen is also mentioned in the Quran, where the country is called Saba. That is the endonym for one of the states that existed in ancient Yemen. An echo of the splendour of Saba/Sheba/Yemen can be found in the biblical account of the visit to King Solomon (10th century BC) by the Queen of Sheba, bringing gifts for the newly built temple. Her acknowledgement of Solomon's authority was perceived as very important evidence of his success. Similar trading embassies were also sent north-eastwards from Yemen, to Assyria.

The success and fame of the Yemenite states were founded upon their monopolistic role in trade between the Mediterranean basin and the world of the Indian Ocean. The transit routes to India and East Africa passed through southern Arabia. Yemen itself was the source of the aromatic resins (frankincense, myrrh) that the Ancient World required for religious rituals, medical potions and cosmetics. They were literally worth their weight in gold and brought the Yemenite states (both producers and merchants) enormous profits. That income facilitated a miracle – the creation of tremendous irrigated agriculture in places where there are no rivers at all and rains come only twice a year. A sophisticated system of large and small dams and canals made it possible to retain and distribute the water from the abundant rains over large areas, turning them into fertile fields. Yemen was one vast oasis that staggered travellers by the contrast to both the lifeless deserts of Arabia and the boundless ocean. For the inhabitants of Arabia the chief symbol of the grandeur of Yemen, and later of its demise, would be the tremendous dam in the Sabaean capital, Marib. Its destruction, as a punishment sent by Allah, is related in the Quran. The ruins of the Marib Dam look magnificent even today. And now they have become one of the casualties of the bombings and rocket fire.

The Yemenite states that amazed people past and present with their dams, waterways, temples, palaces, bronze statues and monumental inscriptions, traded and waged wars. Roughly by the end of the first millennium BC, Ma'in, Qataban, Ausan and Hadhramaut were more or less subjugated by the most warlike of them – Saba. In the first centuries AD, the small, inconspicuous, but aggressive kingdom of Himyar came to the fore, gradually gaining control over the whole of Yemen and many formerly independent regions inhabited by the nomadic tribes to the north. In the time of King Asad, who is mentioned in the Quran, campaigns were launched into the central regions of Arabia.

By the 5th and 6th centuries, commerce had diminished somewhat in significance, but control of the trade routes remained an important international factor. Rome in its time had fought to gain that power. In the centuries preceding Islam, Byzantium and Iran entered the contest. The channels of Byzantine influence were Christian merchant colonies in Arabia and the Christian state of Ethiopia. Iran’s ideological weapon was another monotheistic religion – Judaism. In the middle of the 6th century, Christendom was shaken by the story of the martyrs of Najran. As a result of a series of dynastic coups following the death of King Asad, a "descendant" of his came to power. He formally converted to Judaism and began to eradicate Christianity. The peak of the persecutions was a mass burning of Christians at Najran. This event is mentioned in the Quran. Immediately after the incident, a large number of Christian writings appeared that are still well known today, describing the horrors of what was done and calling for revenge. Ethiopia became the instrument of that revenge, conquering Yemen. The Judaic king was killed and his followers were persecuted. An important event in the Ethiopian period was an attempt to subjugate Western Arabia, the cradle of Islam. The Quran also tells how Allah saved Mecca from the Ethiopians. Meanwhile those fighting for independence turned to Iran for help. Help came by sea and when Islam came to Yemen it was a vassal region of Sassanid Iran.