Written Documents in Musnad Script about the Shibām Bakīl and the Maītam Tribes: A Historical Linguistic Study

Abstract

The current research covers sixteen Musnad inscriptions, which were found in the areas surrounding the town of Hakir (30 kms to the east of Dhamar City, Yemen). These inscriptions were written down during seven centuries at least by people belonging to Shibām Bakīl and Maītam tribes. The research is divided into two sections, the first of which analyzes the inscriptions linguistically, while the other analyzes them historically. The two sections reach a set of results, among the most important of which is that Shibām Bakīl tribe, who had close links with Radman tribe, lived in the Hakir region for several centuries BC. Since around the second century BC, the Himyarite Maītam tribe took their place. The residents of the two tribes left a large number of inscriptions written on rocks whose contents tell about a highly organized society. These inscriptions need to be further investigated in more than one research. Each single research should be devoted to studying a specific linguistic phenomenon or a cultural aspect that the historical inscriptions of Hakir area is abound in. This study shows the great need to conduct a wide and accurate archaeological survey of the areas around the town of Hakir in Dhamar Governorate and those adjacent to it in the eastern side belonging to Radāa town in Al-Baydhā Governorate. The studies in the aforementioned areas are recommended because there are not any previous surveys or studies, which have been conducted in the same field except for some individual unfinished efforts which have shown the richness of the region with ancient inscriptions and monuments.