On a wide geographical area northeast of Sanaa, the time stopped a long time ago, leaving behind an ancient history and the heritage of a civilization rooted in the depths of antiquity, as well as the remains of archaeological monuments testifying to an important city surrounded by impregnable walls. It was one of the cities occupied by Commander Aelius Gallus, one of the commanders of the Roman emperor Augustus, during his military campaign in Yemen between the years 24 and 25 BC.
Al-Jawf, which suffers from severe negligence and deliberate destruction of its heritage and historical monuments, is located about 143 kilometers from the capital Sanaa. It is the homeland of the ancient kingdom of Ma’in. Its population constitutes approximately 2.3% of the total population of the Republic of Yemen, and it is divided into 12 administrative districts.
On the other hand, agriculture and livestock breeding are the main economic activities of the governorate's population. The governorate can be classified as an agricultural region, as its agricultural crops constitute 28% of the total agricultural production in the Republic. The most important agricultural crops are cereals, vegetables, fruits, and fodder. The topography of Al-Jawf Governorate is predominantly plain, as it overlaps with the desert of the Empty Quarter. The governorate is generally characterized by a desert climate. The archaeological and tourist attractions in the governorate are varied; the most famous are Qarnawu, Kharbat Al-Sawda, Kharbat Al-Bayda, and Baraqish.
kingdom of Ma'in
The ancient Yemeni inscriptions talked about the memorable deeds of the Minaeans, as well as the Pharaonic inscriptions that were found in the land of Egypt, where an inscription was found of a man from the Kingdom of Ma’in who practiced the trade profession and used to supply the ancient Egyptian temples with sacred goods at that time. The inscription dates back to the third century BC.
On the banks of Wadi Al-Jawf, the civilization of the Ma'in State arose, and its people reached a high level of knowledge and science. They excelled in the arts of architecture and then built the beautiful cities and temples decorated with perfection and exquisite taste on the rocks of their granite columns in an artistic manner, which placed the arts of the Minaean civilization in a high position comparable to the arts of the civilizations of the centers of the ancient East in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The Minaeans took the city of Qarnawu as the capital of their state, which is located to the north of the city of Al-Hazm, about seven kilometers from the opening leading to the sands of the Rub' al-Khali desert (the Empty Quarter), in contact with the vast plain irrigated by Wadi Madhab-Al-Khard. It is located in the middle of the distance between Jabal al-Lawdh, which is located to the north at a distance of 20 km, and Jabal Yam, which is located to the south at the same distance, and from the east, it is bordered by the Empty Quarter.
The city of Qarnawu was known in the ancient inscriptions by this name (QRNW). Then, after the Minaeans took it as their capital, it became an administrative center and the capital of the Kingdom of Ma'in, whose news was spread in the past, according to the Yemeni scholar and historian al-Hassan al-Hamdani and others. Further, those settlements that the Ma'in Kingdom founded outside its lands, contributed to increasing the fame of this state, including, for example, its settlements in Dedan in the Hijaz. In which they left inscriptions, the oldest of which dates back to the fourth century BC, and it is likely that these settlements were mentioned and ended in the inscriptions in the second century BC.
The Minaeans also left many of their inscriptions in other regions and places in the land of Hijaz and in the eastern desert in Egypt and Antioch. For example, there is a wooden coffin dating back to the second century B.C. that was found in Egypt, bearing an inscription written on it in the Minaean language of a man from Ma’in who was settled in Egypt as an importer of frankincense, perfumed oils and incense, and medicinal natural preparations for the Egyptian temples. The inscription says: When he died in the year 22 of the reign of an Egyptian king called Ptolemy, a funeral was prepared for him according to the Egyptian Osiris rituals. Likewise, there is also a monument to a merchant from Ma'in's kingdom, found in a temple on the Greek island of Delos, who used to supply the Pharaonic temples with incense, myrrh, cinnamon, and elecampane. Further, another inscription, also found on the same island, dates back to the last half of the second century B.C., in which it is engraved that its owner was like an altar to the god Wadd and to the Minaean kingdom god Dilos.
Besides, the Minaeans excelled in agriculture and industry and became famous for trade. They built commercial stations during the prosperity of the frankincense trade route, and their influence extended to some areas in the north of the Arabian Peninsula and beyond.
At the peak of the prosperity of the Ma’in civilization, its fame increased until it reached the ranks of the civilizations of the ancient world. Further, the classics of the Greeks and Romans wrote about it, among whom was Strabo, who accompanied the invasion of the Roman commander Aelius Gallus to the land of Al-Jawf in 24 BC.
Furthermore, the Minaeans also documented their trade treaties with some of the ancient Yemeni states that controlled the seaports overlooking the Arabian and Red Seas. The sites of Ma'in civilization were a destination for foreign orientalists and Arab researchers during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries AD.
At the peak of the prosperity of the Ma’in civilization, its fame increased until it reached the ranks of the civilizations of the ancient world. Further, the classics of the Greeks and Romans wrote about it, among whom was Strabo, who accompanied the invasion of the Roman commander Aelius Gallus to the land of Al-Jawf in 24 BC.
Additionally, the efforts of the Italian and French archaeological missions, which carried out archaeological excavations in specific sites in the land of Al-Jawf, revealed new scientific results indicating that the Minaean state experienced the period of prosperity of the Sabaean state and was sometimes under its scope and at other times independent of it. Despite this, the land of the Ma'in kingdom still hides in the depths of those archaeological rubble and ruins, many secrets of a great civilization that can only be known through the completion of comprehensive archaeological excavations of its ancient sites.
However, it is certain that the emergence of the Kingdom of Ma'in was after those wars that were waged by Karb'il Watar bin Dhamar Ali Mukarrib (ruler) of Saba in the seventh century BC. Subsequently, it continued until it fell in the first century BC due to the fierce wars that took place in ancient Yemen during the conflict over the title of the Kingdom of Sheba and Dhu Raydan. In addition to diverting the land trade route from it to the sea route; that was the trade for which the Ma’inean merchants became famous as the kings of frankincense and incense in the north of the island and in Egypt and Greece.
It can be said that the Kingdom of Ma'in reached the peak of its prosperity in the third and second centuries BC. Five families ruled the Ma'in Kingdom during its reign. In addition, there was a council besides the king called Masud (MSWD). It included the heads of the tribes and notables of the capital, who used to contribute to the management of the affairs of the kingdom and were met at the invitation of the king. As for the major regions and cities, they were managed by employees who managed the conduct of all their affairs, and they were called KBR: chief. It seems that the policy pursued by Ma'in towards Sheba in order to preserve its independence did not last long; as we, in the first century BC, find Ma’in returning again to the Sabaean domination.
During the prosperity of the Kingdom of Ma'in, its capital, the city of Qarnawu, also flourished; of which only parts of its wall and gate and some other monuments remained.
In addition, the religious facilities and their places at the top of the mountain were called Sh'ab Mashja'e, and the religious facilities located at the foot of the mountain were called Sh'ab Al-Kea’ab. The summit was connected to a paved road that was used for ritual processions.
Governorate Geography
The governorate of Al-Jawf is located 170 kilometers to the northeast of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. It is bordered by Sa’ada governorate to the north, the Empty Quarter desert to the east, parts of Ma’rib and Sana’a governorates to the south, and Amran and Sa’ada governorates to the west. According to the 1994 population census, the population of Al-Jawf Governorate is about 196,440 people.
Al-Jawf's climate is moderate in summer and cold in winter in the interior regions and mountainous heights. Whereas desert and semi-desert regions are generally characterized by a climate that is hot during the summer and moderate in the winter during the day and tends to be cold at night.
Whereas the topography of Al-Jawf Governorate is divided between mountainous highlands, plateaus, and wide plains, which include fertile lands and large valleys in addition to desert and semi-desert areas. Perhaps the reason for naming Al-Jawf came as an approximate expression of its nature, which hosts the torrents coming to it from the northern and eastern mountains of Sana’a, the high mountains of Khawlan, the mountains of Nihm and Hamadan, as well as the torrents of rain coming from the mountains of Najran and the mountains of Saada. So, its desert nature also traps rainwater coming from these mountains, forming underground reservoirs that give growth to this land. Al-Jawf's region is one of the most fertile agricultural lands in Yemen. These lands grow many products, such as citrus, dates, grains, vegetables, and fruits.
The governorate is generally characterized by the wool spinning industries in the desert and semi-desert areas and the making of handicrafts from dry palm fronds—a traditional handicraft in Yemen—in the plains and valley banks.
Historical Regions and Cities
Al-Jawf Governorate, which is—as previously mentioned—the homeland of the historical Ma'in State civilization in Yemen, consists of several districts and regions, the most important of which are currently Hazm Al-Jawf, Al-Ghail, Al-Maslub, Al-Matun, and Al-Zahir.
In this context, Al-Jawf was famous for many historical towns and regions, such as the "town of Khirbet Aal Ali," which was also called the city of Haram, Khirbet Hamadan. The city of Haram is located to the southwest of the city of Al-Hazm, at a distance of one and a half kilometers. This city was mentioned in some inscriptions in the form (H G R N/H R M), meaning the city of Haram. The first appearance of its name (H R M) began in the victory inscription that dates back to the seventh century BC, in which the king Karib'il Watar bin Dhamar'ali Mukarrib of Saba mentioned that he had granted the property of the water of Dhi Qana’an to the king of the Haram city, who was called Yathmur, which—the water—was one of the properties of the king of the town (NASHAN), known today as Al-Sawda. This was because this king revolted against the rule of the King of Sheba. As for the water of Dhi Qana’an, it may have been a watercourse or a large stream of water flowing across Al-Jawf. Thus, the city of Haram appeared in the seventh century BC as a city subject to the Kingdom of Sheba.
There is also the city or area of Nashan, Khirbet Al-Sawda, which is located to the west of Al-Hazm city, about 14 km away from it. The oldest mention of the city of Nashan dates back to the seventh century BC. It was mentioned in the inscription—the so-called ‘Naqsh an-Nasr’ or ‘Inscription of Victory’, which was written down by Karb’il Watar bin Dhamar Ali Mukarrib of Saba. Actually, we note from this inscription that Al-Jawf was full of small kingdoms, including the kingdom of Nashan in the aforementioned in the victory inscription. Further, the inscription describes the campaign of King Karib-il-Watar bin Dhamar Ali Mukarib of Saba on Nashan to discipline it. Because it rebelled against him twice, which, it was ruled during that era by a king whose name was Yafa’a, and his kingdom extended to areas located in the west of the Sana’a region, including Durum in Wadi Dhahr and the town of Shibam Kawkaban. It seemed that the kings of Sheba had granted the kings of Nashan lands and water sources before; perhaps they were in Al-Jawf. So, Kareb’il Watar recovered them and seized their towns, including the town of Shibam Kawkaban and other towns we know nothing about except their names that came in the inscription.
Jabal al-Lawdh is located on the eastern side of the mountain range that borders the downhill of Al-Jawf, at an altitude of 1200 meters above ground level, overlooking the surrounding desert. In the old days, a fire was lit on its top to guide the trade caravans coming from Marib towards Najran, Al-Jawf, or vice versa.
Thus, by linking in the inscription between Nashan and Nashq—Khirbet Al-Bayda—for which a king was not mentioned, it can be assumed that Nashq was also one of the cities belonging to that king. The last thing that Karib’il Watar did against the two cities was that he avoided burning the city of Nashan, as he had burned many towns belonging to the kingdom of Nashan at that time, and contented himself with removing only its walls. Then he imposed on its king, Yafa, to accept the residence of the Sabaeans in it and to build in its center a temple to the main Sabaean deity, Ilmaqah.
While, as for Nashq, he seized it as a booty for the god Ilmaqah and for the Kingdom of Sheba. So, from that day on, it remained a Sabaean city that was repeatedly mentioned in the inscriptions as one of the important sites for Sheba, along with Sana'a and Ma'rib.
In addition, Jabal al-Lawdh was once called Kor or Korn. It is located on the eastern side of the mountain range that borders the downhill of Al-Jawf, at an altitude of 1200 meters above ground level, overlooking the surrounding desert. In the old days, a fire was lit on its top to guide the trade caravans coming from Marib towards Najran, Al-Jawf, or vice versa.
The religious facilities and their places at the top of the mountain were called Sh'ab Mushaja'e, and the religious facilities located at the foot of the mountain were called Sh’ab Al-Kea’ab. The summit was connected to a paved road that was used for ritual processions. In this regard, the Jordanian archaeologist Al-Khalidi discovered a temple at the foot of the mountain, where he saw the remains of its structures and took a photograph of it.
Temple of Athtar, Banat Aad
Through the inscriptions that were found inside the temple, the name of the temple was mentioned in these inscriptions as the House of Athtar. It is known that the word house in the ancient Yemeni language means a palace, but the temple is considered a house for the god, according to the beliefs of the ancient Yemenis. Also, this temple was dedicated to the worship of the god Athtar, who was in Sheba overseeing the complex of gods (the Pantheon).
Also, a local name was given to the temple: they call it the Temple of Banat Ad. This is due to the presence of decorations representing standing women adorning some of the columns at the entrance and on the columns that surround its yard.
This temple is located outside the city wall of Nashan—Khirbet Al-Sawda, less than a kilometer on the eastern side. In this regard, Dr. Ahmed Fakhry mentions in his book (An Archaeological Journey to Yemen) that it is located outside the city on the eastern side. The phenomenon of building temples outside cities in Al-Jawf is distinctive. So, the location of the temple outside the city wall should draw attention, and perhaps it was in this situation in order to receive the upcoming delegations who used to worship and approach the gods.
The location of the temple is east of the city of Al-Sawda, not far from Wadi Madhab, which is located at a depth of ten meters above the level of the surface of the plain, and therefore the approaching floods pose a danger to those cities and their contents of architectural structures.
Sources:
https://yemen-nic.info/gover/aljaowv/brife/
