Home Region:  Arabia (Southwest Asia)

Sabaean Commonwealth

800 BCE 451 BCE
D G SC WF EQ 2020  ye_sabaean_commonwealth / YeSabaC
Preceding Entity: Add one more here.
[YeLBA***] [None]   Update here

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.

Displayed: 800 BCE

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-800-761-722-684-645-606-567-529-490-451


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  General Description   The Yemeni Coastal Plain or Plateau is the northwestern region of modern Yemen that lies between the Red Sea and the Yemeni Mountains. Beginning in the ninth and eighth centuries BCE, this region became part of a wider "Sabaean" culture region (from the name of the dominant kingdom, Saba), in which many relatively small kingdoms across south and western Arabia, as well as Ethiopia, shared the same alphabet, the same iconographic repertoire (e.g. widespread depiction of animals such as ibexes and oryxes, and use of symbols such as hands, crescents, and circles), and the same vocabulary and turns of phrases in inscriptions. [1]
At this time, the largest town in the Yemeni Coastal Plain was Marib, which covered an area of 100 hectares, for a population of about 30,000-40,000. [2] It is unclear, however, what the average population of a single kingdom would have been.

[1]: (Robin 2015: 94-96) Robin, Christian Julien. 2015. “Before Himyar: Epigraphic Evidence for the Kingdoms of South Arabia.” In Arabs and Empires before Islam, edited by Greg Fisher, 91-126. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZMFH42PE.

[2]: (Edens and Wilkinson 1998: 96) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HGK23ABQ.

General Variables
Identity and Location
Temporal Bounds
Political and Cultural Relations
Language
Religion
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Hierarchical Complexity
Professions
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Law
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Information / Money
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Military use of Metals
Projectiles
Handheld weapons
Animals used in warfare
Armor
Naval technology
Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.
Religion Variables Coding in Progress.
Crisis Consequences Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth) was in:
 (800 BCE 451 BCE)   Yemeni Coastal Plain
Home NGA: Yemeni Coastal Plain
General Variables
Identity and Location Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Original Name Sabaean Commonwealth Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Capital None (Absent Capital) Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Temporal Bounds Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Duration [800 BCE ➜ 451 BCE] Confident Expert
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Political and Cultural Relations Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Supracultural Entity Sabaean Culture Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Succeeding Entity YeQatab Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Preceding Entity
CE
YeLBA*** [None]    Update here
Confident Expert
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Succeeding Entity
450 BCE 111 BCE
Qatabanian Commonwealth (ye_qatabanian_commonwealth)   [None]  Confident
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Degree of Centralization quasi-polity Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Language Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Linguistic Family Semitic Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Language Genus Afro-Asiatic Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Language Old Arabic Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Language Qatabanic Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Language Sabaic Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Language Mainic Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Language Hadramawtic Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Religion Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Religious Tradition South Arabian Religions Confident Expert 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Population of the Largest Settlement [30,000 to 40,000] people Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Hierarchical Complexity Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Settlement Hierarchy [3 to 4] Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Professions Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Bureaucracy Characteristics Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Government Building Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Law Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Specialized Buildings: polity owned Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Irrigation System Present Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Food Storage Site Unknown Suspected 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Transport Infrastructure Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Special-purpose Sites Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Information / Writing System Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Written Record Present Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Script Present Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing Present Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Non Phonetic Writing Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Scientific Literature Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Sacred Text Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Religious Literature Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Practical Literature Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Philosophy Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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History Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Fiction Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Calendar Present Inferred 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Information / Money Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Information / Postal System Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Information / Measurement System Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Wooden Palisade Unknown Suspected 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared Present Inferred 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Stone Walls Mortared Unknown Suspected 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position Present Inferred 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Modern Fortification Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Moat Unknown Suspected 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Fortified Camp Unknown Suspected 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Earth Rampart Present Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Ditch Unknown Suspected 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Complex Fortification Absent Inferred 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Long Wall absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Military use of Metals Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Projectiles Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Sling Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Self Bow Present Inferred 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Javelin Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Composite Bow Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Atlatl Absent Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Handheld weapons Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
War Club Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Sword Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Spear Present Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Polearm Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Dagger Present Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Battle Axe Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Animals used in warfare Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Camel Present Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Armor Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Shield Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Limb Protection Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Helmet Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Breastplate Unknown Confident 800 BCE  451 BCE
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Naval technology Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)
Religion Variables
Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Human Sacrifice Sabaean Commonwealth (ye_sabaean_commonwealth)
Variable Coded Value Tags Year(s) See More
Crisis Cases
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Instability Data
Power Transitions
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