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Chapter 25: Arabia and Himyar
The Arabian Peninsula, that is, the areas south of the line connecting the Gulf of Aqaba and he estuary of the Euphrates and Tigris, has been so far left out from our updates for a considerable time. On this last update, before a general overview, we will discuss what has been going on in the peninsula up until the year 800.
The region of Midian (1) had become once more the home of expulsed Judeo-Christian sects, called more generally the Ebionites, but included also Elcesaites, Nazarenes and other groupings. The oasis cities of Tayma and Tabuk were organized as city-states, competing for influence, and taking profit of the extensive caravan trade in the region.
The Ebionitic Church, now exiled from Jerusalem grew, and gradually develops its own infrastructure and bishops. While at first limited to Oultrajordain, the historical Nabatea and Midian, they would send missionaries to Timamah and Hejaz and even to the regions of Hail.
The region of Hejaz had become organized into two kingdoms: a Jewish one centerred around Yathrib, and encompassing the nearby oasis of Khaybar as well, and another kingdom further south, led by the Quraysh. The Quraysh by this time have greatly profitted from the caravan trade, and the rivalry between the two Hejazi kingdoms would continue throughout the entirety of the eighth century. However, both kingdoms remained under a cultural, while not necessarily political influence of Axum during the first half of the 8th century. Despite the fact that the Quraysh had adopted Monophysite Chrisitianity, ultimately the Axumite kings would prefer Yathrib to the Quraysh.
However, due to the rise of Rahmanism, contact between Himyar and Mecca declined, and while the Kaaba, now converted to a cathedral, remained a Christian temple, with the detatchment of Yamna outside of the Coptic Church, Mecca was ultimately forgotten by them. The question around the canonical jurisdiction of the Hejaz and Najd was left ambiguous in 797.
This was however taken advantage of by the nascent Ebionite Church, which sent its missionaries further south along the caravan routes of Hejaz; and most of the Meccans and people in neighbouring oases welcomed them, for they taught in their very own tongue, and not in Syriac nor Geez, and would use also Arabic to worship God.
The regions of Jizan and Asir would by this time have been mostly Christianized, accepting Christianity from the region of Najran. Najran had become a center of Christian pilgrimage and Axumite power in the region. Political dependence on Axum was lost in the 770s, when the region became dominated by Himyar, which becomes the dominant power of South Arabia in this period
As for the region called Yemen and Himyar, a new monotheistic religion had appeared in the area. Preached by Aswad Ansi, also known as Abhala bin K´ab (2), this new religion rose in the areas of Hadhramawt and soon spread into eastern Yemen and the ancient kingdoms of Saba and Qataban. It became known as Rahmanism, for Rahman (the Most Merciful) became a title of God.
The events are recorded by Arethas of Hawran (3) in his Histories of Arabias:
“The people of Arabia Felix, of the ancient kingdoms of Himyar, Saba, Main, Qataban and Hadhramawt were amongst the most zealous worshippers of the Lord, and their strict manners, were known to many, and it is not by chance that the Laws of the Himyarites (4), a utopic text spread among the Rhomans. While the description of the society in the text was not such, the zeal in Himyar was such that it became known as far as Constantinople”
The embracement of Rahmanism came hand-in-hand with antagonism to Axumite power projection. However by the late 8th century, Rahmanism began losing momentum again, due to Himyarite influence. The Himyarites soon became the hegemon in South Arabia, and found themselves being the leader of the anti-axumite movement. With Himyarite preachers speaking practically the same tongue as the Qatabanis and Sabians (5). In the region of Yemna, however, there were many adherents of Judaism, and also a considerable portion of people of Persian origin. These were called al-Abna (6). These people were among the strongest opponents of Rahmanism. However the Persians in Yamna had, by most part, converted to Manicheism by this time
“But it happened, that the Devil, seeing the zeal of the people in Himyar and Arabia Felix, sent a false prophet, who perverted the teachings of Jesus and the Laws of Moses and in the lands of Arabia Felix, the heresy called Rahmanism spread hastily. The false prophet claimed to receive visions from angels, and claimed that all statues of saints, and any depiction of God was as such idolatrous, and the worship of the God, known as Rahman (the Most Merciful) was done solely in words” Arethas of Hawran.
As for the Himyarites, they remained loyal to Christianity, and have led numerous delegations to Cairo, Alexandria and Damascus, on allowing for an episcopal hierarchy independent of Axumite influence. For Himyar broke free from Axum in the mid-eigth century, and was aspiring to secure this status. The Himyarite churchmen and monks pointed out, that that there exists a Syriac Orthodox Church, an Armenian Orthodox Church, a Coptic Orthodox Church, and thus so far, the basis has been on nationality. Also, they argued, that there is considerable geographic distance from Himyar to Egypt.
At the court of the Himyarite kings, the Geez Bible has been translated into the Himyarite language, using South Arabian script. This had been done to do away with the symbols of Axumite suzerainty, and to make the churches more accessible to the ordinary people.
The pleas of the Himyarite kings were listened to in Damascus, and when the previous archbishop of Himyar and Najran died, the Patriach of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Quriaqos of Tagrit, has accepted their requests
Arethas of Hawran writes: “Thus it was in the seven hundredth ninety-seventh year after the birth of the Lord that the venerable Patriarch of Antioch and Damascus, Quriaqos from Tagrit had listened to the pleas of the people of Himyar and decided to name a Maphrian for the lands of Yamna and Himyar. For the Himyarites, fervent Christians complained that Ethiopians continued to oppress them: thus Jibril became the first Maphrian of the lands of Yamna, Himyar and roundabout.”
While many chronicles cite the Limits of the Five Patriarchates, claiming that the See of Jerusalem had authority over Arabia; and the borders of the Coptic jurisdiction are in the Red Sea; thus that it was upon the Syriac Orthodox Church to administer the lands of Yamna. More arbitrary reasons could be caused by the decline of the Ghassanid kingdom, which seeked for allies, and after losing to the Rhomans, established an alliance with Himyar. Moreover, the Syriac Orthodox Church tried to prevent the rise of a third center of Monophysite Christianity on both sides of the Bab-el-Mandab, diminishing their own positions. The Syriac Orthodox missionary field in the east was blocked by the Church of the East.
To the south of Yamna lies the island of Socotra (Suqutra), which has been Christian since the mid-1st century, evangelized by the shipwrecked aposte Thomas on his mission to India. The people of the island have since then listened to the authority of the Catholicos in Qtespon.
The region of Hadhramawt, which was the source of Rahmanism, was now undergoing a process of disintegration, for during the 740s, until then unfied realm along the coasts got fractured to a disputed succession, and several smaller statelets appeared. This faith extended as far as Dhofar.
In the land of Mazoun, Persian influence had waned, yet memory of Zoroastrism had been retained. However, orthodox Zoroastrism has been replaced by Mazdakism among many, and Manicheism for the smaller part. Nestorianism had also become influential in the region, and there was diocese of the Church of the East based in Sohar.
The eastern coast of Arabia along the Persian Gulf was known as Beth Qatriye. Throughout the seventh and eigth centuries, the population along the coasts were adherents of the Church of the East, and memorable amongst them was Saint Isaac of Nineveh, who originally stemmed from that region and became a well known saint in the Church of the East. The area technically became an appendix of Sawad, and the most educated from its region would go to Qtēspōn to study. Aramaic has largely replaced the local Arabic dialect in the urban and coastal regions. Beth Qatriye was among the first place to accept Manichean refugees from Sawad: and they would have preached amongst al-Abna, and many fire temples were converted into Manichean palces of worship.
Jubail Church, one of the oldest Churches in the Peninsula
As for the interior of the Peninsula, the plateau called al-Yamamah, or Najd, the area remains tribal. While the Banu Abs claimed that they have received a Prophet called Khalid possibly in the 4th century, the neighbouring tribes failed to acknowledge him. While some of the tribes of Najd remained polytheists, the pagan Arab religion was disappearing by the eigth century even in the most remote parts of the Peninsula. The Tayy, Taghlib and Banu Hanifa had accepted Monophysite Christianity from Syria; the Banu Tamim were thought to have embraced Zoroastrism, yet later adopting Manicheism, for a large number of Manicheans who were exiled from Sawad fled southwards, into Arabia.
However, the adoption of Christianity by the aforementioned tribes was largely superficial. Arethas of Hawran wrote: “The tribes of Yamamah in the innermost parts of Arabia have accepted the joyful message of Christ. At least their emirs and sheikhs did, and they would travel to Damascus or Tadmur to accept baptism; yet most of their tribesmen stuck to their pagan practices, worshipping the idols of Kahl, Athtar and Lah” This would mean that there were no domestic bishops in the area, and that there was a general lack of priests among the Bedouins of the area.
A castle in the northern parts of the Peninsula
As for the languages spoken on the peninsula, all of them were Semitic. In the regions of Yamna and Hadhramawt, the South Semitic prevailed. They were divided into two branches: a western one called Sayhadic, represented by Himyaritic language (7), and an eastern one spoken along the southern shores of the peninsula from Mahra to Dhofar, as well as on the island of Suqutra.
The Arabs are ethnically divided into Adnanites (living in the northern and western parts) and Qahtanites (clans which emigrated from Yamna). Linguistically, the central Semitic language is distinguished into the varieties of Hijaz, Azd (8), Hudayl (9) and Yamamah. As mentioned, the peoples of Beth Qatriye have by most part adopted Aramaic, yet features of the Arabic substratum could very well seen in their language. The language spoken in Mazoun appears to be of Arabic stock as well, but highly divergent, due to a Southeastern Arabic substratum and Persian superstratum.
As for the Abna, or Persians of the Arab peninsula, most of them have by the 8th century shifted to the local tongue of the area; their presence however can be seen in many Persian loanwords used in the area. While not maintaining their original Zoroastrian faith outside Himyar, the Persians would nevertheless practise an Iranian faith, mostly the Manicheism or Mazdakism.In the societies of the coastal regions, the descendants of the Persians would enjoy a higher social status, and would engage mostly in commerce or as artisans.
The writing systems used in the area varied from region to region: in Beth Qatriye, it would be the Syriac script; in Mazoun, most common was the Persian script, yet neither the Syriac script wasn’t uncommon. Along the coast of the Indian Ocean and in Himyar and Asir and Jizan, the South Arabian script would be used. In Midian and Hejaz, the Arabic abjad was used for the most part; and possibly also in Yamamah, but written records in the area are scarce from that period
(1) Roughly corresponding to Tabouk province in Saudi Arabia
(2) A real historical figure, who lived in the mid-7th century
(3) Arethas of Hawran is a fictional historian, writing his History of the Arabias in the early 9th century on the Ghassanid court. The chronicle is written in Syriac script, written in Arabic.
(4) The Laws of the Himyarites resemble a rather strict society, similar to sharia law.
(5) The varieties spoken gby the peoples were at the border of compúrehensibility. Yet a trained preacher could easily overcome these differences
(6) Literally “the sons”, of Persian soldiers and Arabic women
(7) The classification of Himyaritic in OTL is a matter of debate. Due to geographic proximity, I decided that Himyaritic shall belong to this branch of languages.
(8) Arabic, non-Persian influenced hinterlands of Oman
(9) The region of and around Najran
Note: This is the last chapter before the 800AD overview. @Gian , you can now start doing the political and cultural basemaps. As for the religious one, I think I may have forgotten to mention Gnostic groups still prevalent in the Middle East
The region of Midian (1) had become once more the home of expulsed Judeo-Christian sects, called more generally the Ebionites, but included also Elcesaites, Nazarenes and other groupings. The oasis cities of Tayma and Tabuk were organized as city-states, competing for influence, and taking profit of the extensive caravan trade in the region.
The Ebionitic Church, now exiled from Jerusalem grew, and gradually develops its own infrastructure and bishops. While at first limited to Oultrajordain, the historical Nabatea and Midian, they would send missionaries to Timamah and Hejaz and even to the regions of Hail.
The region of Hejaz had become organized into two kingdoms: a Jewish one centerred around Yathrib, and encompassing the nearby oasis of Khaybar as well, and another kingdom further south, led by the Quraysh. The Quraysh by this time have greatly profitted from the caravan trade, and the rivalry between the two Hejazi kingdoms would continue throughout the entirety of the eighth century. However, both kingdoms remained under a cultural, while not necessarily political influence of Axum during the first half of the 8th century. Despite the fact that the Quraysh had adopted Monophysite Chrisitianity, ultimately the Axumite kings would prefer Yathrib to the Quraysh.
However, due to the rise of Rahmanism, contact between Himyar and Mecca declined, and while the Kaaba, now converted to a cathedral, remained a Christian temple, with the detatchment of Yamna outside of the Coptic Church, Mecca was ultimately forgotten by them. The question around the canonical jurisdiction of the Hejaz and Najd was left ambiguous in 797.
This was however taken advantage of by the nascent Ebionite Church, which sent its missionaries further south along the caravan routes of Hejaz; and most of the Meccans and people in neighbouring oases welcomed them, for they taught in their very own tongue, and not in Syriac nor Geez, and would use also Arabic to worship God.
The regions of Jizan and Asir would by this time have been mostly Christianized, accepting Christianity from the region of Najran. Najran had become a center of Christian pilgrimage and Axumite power in the region. Political dependence on Axum was lost in the 770s, when the region became dominated by Himyar, which becomes the dominant power of South Arabia in this period
As for the region called Yemen and Himyar, a new monotheistic religion had appeared in the area. Preached by Aswad Ansi, also known as Abhala bin K´ab (2), this new religion rose in the areas of Hadhramawt and soon spread into eastern Yemen and the ancient kingdoms of Saba and Qataban. It became known as Rahmanism, for Rahman (the Most Merciful) became a title of God.
The events are recorded by Arethas of Hawran (3) in his Histories of Arabias:
“The people of Arabia Felix, of the ancient kingdoms of Himyar, Saba, Main, Qataban and Hadhramawt were amongst the most zealous worshippers of the Lord, and their strict manners, were known to many, and it is not by chance that the Laws of the Himyarites (4), a utopic text spread among the Rhomans. While the description of the society in the text was not such, the zeal in Himyar was such that it became known as far as Constantinople”
The embracement of Rahmanism came hand-in-hand with antagonism to Axumite power projection. However by the late 8th century, Rahmanism began losing momentum again, due to Himyarite influence. The Himyarites soon became the hegemon in South Arabia, and found themselves being the leader of the anti-axumite movement. With Himyarite preachers speaking practically the same tongue as the Qatabanis and Sabians (5). In the region of Yemna, however, there were many adherents of Judaism, and also a considerable portion of people of Persian origin. These were called al-Abna (6). These people were among the strongest opponents of Rahmanism. However the Persians in Yamna had, by most part, converted to Manicheism by this time
“But it happened, that the Devil, seeing the zeal of the people in Himyar and Arabia Felix, sent a false prophet, who perverted the teachings of Jesus and the Laws of Moses and in the lands of Arabia Felix, the heresy called Rahmanism spread hastily. The false prophet claimed to receive visions from angels, and claimed that all statues of saints, and any depiction of God was as such idolatrous, and the worship of the God, known as Rahman (the Most Merciful) was done solely in words” Arethas of Hawran.
As for the Himyarites, they remained loyal to Christianity, and have led numerous delegations to Cairo, Alexandria and Damascus, on allowing for an episcopal hierarchy independent of Axumite influence. For Himyar broke free from Axum in the mid-eigth century, and was aspiring to secure this status. The Himyarite churchmen and monks pointed out, that that there exists a Syriac Orthodox Church, an Armenian Orthodox Church, a Coptic Orthodox Church, and thus so far, the basis has been on nationality. Also, they argued, that there is considerable geographic distance from Himyar to Egypt.
At the court of the Himyarite kings, the Geez Bible has been translated into the Himyarite language, using South Arabian script. This had been done to do away with the symbols of Axumite suzerainty, and to make the churches more accessible to the ordinary people.
The pleas of the Himyarite kings were listened to in Damascus, and when the previous archbishop of Himyar and Najran died, the Patriach of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Quriaqos of Tagrit, has accepted their requests
Arethas of Hawran writes: “Thus it was in the seven hundredth ninety-seventh year after the birth of the Lord that the venerable Patriarch of Antioch and Damascus, Quriaqos from Tagrit had listened to the pleas of the people of Himyar and decided to name a Maphrian for the lands of Yamna and Himyar. For the Himyarites, fervent Christians complained that Ethiopians continued to oppress them: thus Jibril became the first Maphrian of the lands of Yamna, Himyar and roundabout.”
While many chronicles cite the Limits of the Five Patriarchates, claiming that the See of Jerusalem had authority over Arabia; and the borders of the Coptic jurisdiction are in the Red Sea; thus that it was upon the Syriac Orthodox Church to administer the lands of Yamna. More arbitrary reasons could be caused by the decline of the Ghassanid kingdom, which seeked for allies, and after losing to the Rhomans, established an alliance with Himyar. Moreover, the Syriac Orthodox Church tried to prevent the rise of a third center of Monophysite Christianity on both sides of the Bab-el-Mandab, diminishing their own positions. The Syriac Orthodox missionary field in the east was blocked by the Church of the East.
To the south of Yamna lies the island of Socotra (Suqutra), which has been Christian since the mid-1st century, evangelized by the shipwrecked aposte Thomas on his mission to India. The people of the island have since then listened to the authority of the Catholicos in Qtespon.
The region of Hadhramawt, which was the source of Rahmanism, was now undergoing a process of disintegration, for during the 740s, until then unfied realm along the coasts got fractured to a disputed succession, and several smaller statelets appeared. This faith extended as far as Dhofar.
In the land of Mazoun, Persian influence had waned, yet memory of Zoroastrism had been retained. However, orthodox Zoroastrism has been replaced by Mazdakism among many, and Manicheism for the smaller part. Nestorianism had also become influential in the region, and there was diocese of the Church of the East based in Sohar.
The eastern coast of Arabia along the Persian Gulf was known as Beth Qatriye. Throughout the seventh and eigth centuries, the population along the coasts were adherents of the Church of the East, and memorable amongst them was Saint Isaac of Nineveh, who originally stemmed from that region and became a well known saint in the Church of the East. The area technically became an appendix of Sawad, and the most educated from its region would go to Qtēspōn to study. Aramaic has largely replaced the local Arabic dialect in the urban and coastal regions. Beth Qatriye was among the first place to accept Manichean refugees from Sawad: and they would have preached amongst al-Abna, and many fire temples were converted into Manichean palces of worship.
Jubail Church, one of the oldest Churches in the Peninsula
As for the interior of the Peninsula, the plateau called al-Yamamah, or Najd, the area remains tribal. While the Banu Abs claimed that they have received a Prophet called Khalid possibly in the 4th century, the neighbouring tribes failed to acknowledge him. While some of the tribes of Najd remained polytheists, the pagan Arab religion was disappearing by the eigth century even in the most remote parts of the Peninsula. The Tayy, Taghlib and Banu Hanifa had accepted Monophysite Christianity from Syria; the Banu Tamim were thought to have embraced Zoroastrism, yet later adopting Manicheism, for a large number of Manicheans who were exiled from Sawad fled southwards, into Arabia.
However, the adoption of Christianity by the aforementioned tribes was largely superficial. Arethas of Hawran wrote: “The tribes of Yamamah in the innermost parts of Arabia have accepted the joyful message of Christ. At least their emirs and sheikhs did, and they would travel to Damascus or Tadmur to accept baptism; yet most of their tribesmen stuck to their pagan practices, worshipping the idols of Kahl, Athtar and Lah” This would mean that there were no domestic bishops in the area, and that there was a general lack of priests among the Bedouins of the area.
A castle in the northern parts of the Peninsula
As for the languages spoken on the peninsula, all of them were Semitic. In the regions of Yamna and Hadhramawt, the South Semitic prevailed. They were divided into two branches: a western one called Sayhadic, represented by Himyaritic language (7), and an eastern one spoken along the southern shores of the peninsula from Mahra to Dhofar, as well as on the island of Suqutra.
The Arabs are ethnically divided into Adnanites (living in the northern and western parts) and Qahtanites (clans which emigrated from Yamna). Linguistically, the central Semitic language is distinguished into the varieties of Hijaz, Azd (8), Hudayl (9) and Yamamah. As mentioned, the peoples of Beth Qatriye have by most part adopted Aramaic, yet features of the Arabic substratum could very well seen in their language. The language spoken in Mazoun appears to be of Arabic stock as well, but highly divergent, due to a Southeastern Arabic substratum and Persian superstratum.
As for the Abna, or Persians of the Arab peninsula, most of them have by the 8th century shifted to the local tongue of the area; their presence however can be seen in many Persian loanwords used in the area. While not maintaining their original Zoroastrian faith outside Himyar, the Persians would nevertheless practise an Iranian faith, mostly the Manicheism or Mazdakism.In the societies of the coastal regions, the descendants of the Persians would enjoy a higher social status, and would engage mostly in commerce or as artisans.
The writing systems used in the area varied from region to region: in Beth Qatriye, it would be the Syriac script; in Mazoun, most common was the Persian script, yet neither the Syriac script wasn’t uncommon. Along the coast of the Indian Ocean and in Himyar and Asir and Jizan, the South Arabian script would be used. In Midian and Hejaz, the Arabic abjad was used for the most part; and possibly also in Yamamah, but written records in the area are scarce from that period
(1) Roughly corresponding to Tabouk province in Saudi Arabia
(2) A real historical figure, who lived in the mid-7th century
(3) Arethas of Hawran is a fictional historian, writing his History of the Arabias in the early 9th century on the Ghassanid court. The chronicle is written in Syriac script, written in Arabic.
(4) The Laws of the Himyarites resemble a rather strict society, similar to sharia law.
(5) The varieties spoken gby the peoples were at the border of compúrehensibility. Yet a trained preacher could easily overcome these differences
(6) Literally “the sons”, of Persian soldiers and Arabic women
(7) The classification of Himyaritic in OTL is a matter of debate. Due to geographic proximity, I decided that Himyaritic shall belong to this branch of languages.
(8) Arabic, non-Persian influenced hinterlands of Oman
(9) The region of and around Najran
Note: This is the last chapter before the 800AD overview. @Gian , you can now start doing the political and cultural basemaps. As for the religious one, I think I may have forgotten to mention Gnostic groups still prevalent in the Middle East
- Tomislav Addai
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