The Sabaean Presence in Jawf in the Eighth-Seventh Centuries BC Notes on the Oldest Phase of Ancient South Arabian Culture and Its Relationship with Mesopotamia

The history of Jawf is of fundamental importance in studying both the beginning of overland trade between the Sabaeans and the Near East, and also the genesis of ancient south Arabian (ASA) culture. The region of Jawf is located in the westernmost part of the area of ASA culture in southern Arabia. The main kingdoms of Jawf in the eighth century BC were Nashshan, Kamna, and Haram; their respective territories did not extend much beyond the boundaries of the cities themselves. One important factor to be remembered is that similarly to the Syro-Palestinian area, the name of a kingdom in South Arabia was normally that of the tribe (king of Israel, king of Aram, parallel to king of Saba, king of Qataban, etc.) and not that of the capital city. In the kingdoms of Jawf the name of the tribe coincided with that of the capital city (king of Nashshan, king of Haram, king of Kamna). This might be the mark of a transition from an urban-based organisation of the state, to be set in an as yet hypothetical Bronze Age in Jawf, towards a “national” type of organisation.