The Yemenite coast from al Mokha to Aden in the ‘Periplus of the Red Sea’
1. Mouza (today’s al Mokha) Administration
After giving a brief description of Mouza in paragraph 21, the author of the Periplus of the Red Sea gives topographical details about the Himyarite kingdom of which part was Mouza. This is presented in two short paragraphs of the text, 22 and 23. The text reads as follows:
"After three days inland trip, we reach Savve, the capital of Mofar Province, which extended all around. There, lives and has his palace the local administrator, Kholaibos.
And after another nine days trip in the inland, we reach Safar, the capital of the entire country, where by law reigns Kharibael joining under his scepter the two peoples, the Himyarites and the nearby Sabaeans. He is a friend to the Roman emperors, thanks to the continuously exchanged embassies and presents".
2. Sabaa and Himyar kingdoms merged
It is noteworthy that for the author of the Periplus of the Red Sea, who writes around 70 CE, the two kingdoms, Sabaa and Himyar, had merged to form just one state. Even more interesting is that the author refers not to two states but to two peoples, namely the ‘Sabaeites’ and the ‘Homerites’. He testifies to an insightful understanding of the reality that there were several Yemenite peoples, not just one people divided into two (or more) states.
In this regard, it is necessary to bear in mind that it was very common for Ancient Greek authors to moderately hellenize foreign names of all sorts (from toponymics to ethnic and personal names) in a way that they allude to a reminiscence of the Greek cultural heritage environment. Consequently, the noun ‘Himyarites’ became ‘Homerites’, alluding to Homer, without however becoming absolutely the same as the adjective ‘homericos’, which derives from the name of the Greek epic poet.
First published on 21st March 2008 in AfroArticles, American Chronicle, and Buzzle
http://www.afroarticles.com/article-d...
Music accompaniment:
00:00 - Ottoman instrumental tasavvuf music (ney taksimi) "Osmanlı resimleri"
7:40 - Segah peşrevi (Yusuf Paşa notaları)
15:09 - Turkish Ottoman Music Oud Taksim & Şarki in Makam Uşşak
