South Arabia Research Articles

Estimation of submarine groundwater discharge and nutrient loading using radium isotopes quartet in Kuwait

The water resources in the arid region like Kuwait are a scarce commodity. With the increasing population, industry and urbanization have lead to the demand of water resources with respect to both in quantity and quality. Therefore, quantification of submarine groundwater discharge is essential for sustainable groundwater management. Moreover, submarine groundwater discharge plays a vital role in delivering nutrients, dissolved carbon, and trace elements to the sea. This study used the naturally occurring radioactive isotopes to identify and estimate the SGD in the coastal strip of Kuwait along the Arabian Gulf. The study gains its significance in determining the loss of brackish groundwater from inland, in the arid region. The groundwater samples were collected from wells along the coast. Seawater samples were collected from Kuwait bay and open sea in transects. Samples were analyzed for major ions, nutrients, and 223Ra, 224Ra, 226Ra, and 228Ra. Box model and offshore gradient model approaches were used to estimate the SGD. The variation of 223Ra, 224Ra, 226Ra, and 228Ra concentrations was studied in different transects, and it was inferred to be influenced by the Kuwait coastal jet in the territorial waters. The water mass residence time calculated for the Kuwait Bay and the open sea ranged from 10 to 58 and 12 to 64 days, respectively. The 223Ra-based horizontal eddy diffusion coefficients for the Kuwait Bay and the south Arabian Gulf were 205.1 and 827.5 m2/s, respectively. The estimation of SGD fluxes in the Kuwait Bay using box model approach based on the spatial distribution of 226Ra and 228Ra were 3.05 × 106 and 5.46 × 106 m3/day, respectively. Similarly, the estimated SGD fluxes for the south Arabian Gulf by offshore gradient model using 226Ra and 228Ra concentrations were 2.92 × 108 and 3.0 × 107 m3/day, respectively. The nutrient fluxes from groundwater to Kuwait Bay and open sea were estimated for PO43−-P, SiO2-Si, and NO3−-N using box model and offshore gradient model approach.

وحدات الوزن في جنوب شبه الجزيرة العربية قبل الإسلام من خلال النقوش

يهدف هذه البحث إلى التعرف على أهمية عملية الوزن داخل أسواق جنوب شبه الجزيرة العربية، وکذلک تهدف إلى حصر کل ألفاظ وحدت الوزن والألفاظ المتعلقة بها الواردة في نقوش جنوب شبه الجزيرة العربية والتعرف على الشکل العام لمعايير الوزن ومواد صناعتها من خلال حصر القطع الأثرية التي تمثل وحدات الوزن في جنوب شبه الجزيرة العربية، وأيضا تصنيف الأوزان حسب استخداماتها التي ذکرت في النقوش. This research aims to identify the importance of the weighing process within the markets of South Arabian, as well as aiming to enumerate all the terms of weights, and related expressions That was mentioned in the inscriptions of the south Arabia, and identify the general shape of weight standards and their manufacturing materials by counting the artifacts that represent units of Weight in south Arabia, as well as the classification of weights according to their uses mentioned in the inscriptions.

Awal Dakwah dan Historisitas Pra Islam Arabia

This article deals with the history of pre-Islam Arabia. It talks about, politics, economics, cultures and religions. It tries to explore the situation of the civilization which was decline, while the civilization of Arab rise up. Most of Arabia is the victim of natur amaligna. The geological process is responsible for its shape and outline, a huge quadric lateral placed between two continents. At the time, trading, breeding and farming was most populer in society south arabia and north-arabia, but in Hijaz (Mecca) was impossible because the area is wiped out. They believed on paganism, because Judism and Cristianity were not popular

Water and power in South Arabia: the excavation of “Monumental Building 1” (MB1) at Sumhuram (Sultanate of Oman)

AbstractThe ancient port city of Sumhuram (Dhofar Governorate, Sultanate of Oman) has been the focus of over 20 years of research by the Italian Mission to Oman (IMTO), University of Pisa, in collaboration with the Office of the Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan for Cultural Affairs (Muscat‐Salalah, Sultanate of Oman). Excavation has revealed most of the town layout, leading to the identification of several buildings, alleyways, squares and workshops, among which two massive buildings stand out, significantly named by the excavators as “Monumental Building” 1 and 2 (MB1 and MB2). This paper presents the results of the excavation inside MB1, characterised by the presence of the only well discovered within the city walls, which was previously interpreted alternatively as a palace or as a temple. The architectural development of the building, its distinctive features, the archaeological material discovered inside it, and its chronology will be discussed. These results highlight the absence of fitting parallels from other ancient South Arabian towns. Overall, it is clear that access to, management of, and control over the water supply of the town represented a key asset which justified the huge investment in workforce and building materials that is reflected in the monumental architecture of this edifice.

Some Reflections on the Ancient Metallurgy of Sumhuram (Sultanate of Oman)

Abstract Multidisciplinary research on the metallurgy-related items and features from the ancient South Arabian harbour of Sumhuram, in southern Oman, have shed light on ancient copper and iron production and use at the site, pointing out what appears to be a definitely unusual practice in particular for what concerns copper alloying. In this paper, the archaeometallurgical data are summarised and discussed with the aim of showing that the existence of a copper working tradition specific to South Arabian centres can be tentatively postulated and that at least two different networks of metal production and exchange probably existed, centred on the opposite sides of the southern Arabian Peninsula.

Soqotri Lullabies

In the Autumn of 2019, the present author, in collaboration with Sarali Gintsburg and Vitaly Naumkin, was able to collect, decipher and analyze 18 lullabies in the Modern South Arabian language Soqotri (Island of Soqotra, Gulf of Aden, Yemen). Besides numerous text samples, the article contains a brief history of the previous research, a systematic comparison between the newly gathered texts and those published by David Heinrich Müller in 1905, as well as some comparative remarks pertaining to the Old Babylonian lullabies – the earliest known specimens of this genre.

“Holding Living Bodies in Graveyards”: The Violence of Keeping Ethiopian Manuscripts in Western Institutions

“Holding Living Bodies in Graveyards”: The Violence of Keeping Ethiopian Manuscripts in Western Institutions

Soqotrano-Biblica

Abstract The article investigates the thematic and stylistic parallelism between Old Testament books (primarily, but not exclusively, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs) and the oral poetry in the Modern South Arabian language Soqotri. Striking similarities between the two corpora, noted already by the father of Soqotri studies in the West, David Heinrich Müller, are investigated in depth on the basis of the author’s fieldwork experience on the island.

Facing Another: The Attenuation of Contact as Space in Dhofar, Oman

AbstractThis article considers the properly spatial aspects of communicative practices among speakers of Śħerēt, a Modern South Arabian language, living in Dhofar, Oman. I argue that participants i...

The Morphology of the Basic Verbal Stems in Eastern Jibbali/Śħrḗt

Abstract This paper is a presentation of the verbal morphology of the basic stems (Ga and Gb morphological classes) in a dialect of Jibbali/Śħrḗt (Modern South Arabian sub-family, Semitic family) spoken in Eastern Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman). It aims, as far as possible, at an exhaustive description of the existing verbal types and its core is a collection of paradigms obtained through elicitation. Focus is given to the system of phonologically-triggered allomorphy that characterizes the Jibbali/Śħrḗt (and Modern South Arabian) verbal morphology, whereby to a given inflectional cell correspond several morphological patterns the choice between which is determined by the characteristics of the root. Surface phonological processes necessary to an apprehension of verbal forms are also summarized.

The broken plural in Soqotri

AbstractThe article investigates the broken pural in the Modern South Arabian language Soqotri (island of Soqotra, Gulf of Aden, Yemen). It is based on extensive field research and rich collections of lexical evidence. Primarily synchronic in its approach, the article pays attention to historical problems of Modern South Arabian and Semitic phonology and morphology whenever appropriate.

A note on the order of constituents in the Mehri Noun Phrase

Abstract Data elicited from native speakers of Mehri and, to a lesser extent, Jibbali—two extant Modern South Arabian languages—show that within the extended nominal phrase, the noun precedes adjectives and the numerals one and two, but follows numerals from three up. This yields the following order: Num≥3 >> Noun >> Num=1,2 >> Adjective. Demonstratives appear between the noun and the numerals one or two, Noun >> Dem >> Num=1,2 >> Adjective, but when the noun is preceded by numerals from three up, the order is Dem >> Num≥3 >> Noun >> Adjective. Following Cinque (2005), I argue that these orders can be explained by taking the constituent order derived by external merge to be Dem >> Num≥3 >> Num=1,2 >> Adjective >> Noun and having the noun (more precisely, the minimal noun phrase) move step-by-step to a position immediately above, and therefore to the left of Num=1,2. The noun cannot move above Num≥3 and since it cannot skip it, it also remains below Dem.

A Late Antique Kingdom's Conversion: Jews and Sympathizers in South Arabia

This article delves into the relationship between South Arabian Jews and Jewish sympathizers and offers an interpretative framework for the monotheism of fourth- and fifth-century Ḥimyar which contextualizes the choice of South Arabia's elites to become Jewish sympathizers. The process of conversion to monotheism also shares features with the first stage of Christianity in Aksūm and in the Graeco-Roman world, as well as the henotheism of pre-Islamic North Arabia. I argue that the Ḥimyarite kings' cautious conversion follows a broad late antique trend which aimed to ease the transition for their subjects and/or to assume a neutral position towards the developments of the surrounding empires. In the brand new reign of Ḥimyar, the cult of a single, institutionalized, and translocal deity provided a strong mechanism for establishing identities which were reshaped in a wider syncretistic framework through a socio-political exploitation of cults, as characteristic of the broader late antique world.

Austrian Pioneers of South Arabian Studies: Science, Politics, Intelligence

Austrian Pioneers of South Arabian Studies: Science, Politics, Intelligence

Austrian Pioneers of South Arabian Studies

Austrian Pioneers of South Arabian Studies

A Historical Overview of Khat Production in Ethiopia

This paper tries to study the history of Khat production and expansion in Ethiopia. Khat has been consumed in Ethiopia for long period of time. Some sources moreover, mention Ethiopia as the origin of Khat production and the country that takes the lion share of Khat export to the rest of the world currently. The above mentioned notion has triggered the researcher to look at the history of this herbal and its production, consumption and contemporary use in Ethiopia. Different qualitative data collection techniques have been employed to get in to the bottom of the abovementioned topic. Here the researcher has conducted interview with elders who are believed to narrate the history of Khat, farmers who primary production has been Khat and consumers who use to consume Khat for long period of time. Moreover, secondary source of data like books, articles and term papers are also used to grasp the necessary information. After extensive data collection scheme and analysis, the researcher has reached into a conclusion that ancient Ethiopian rulers have been presented Khat as a gift for leaders of the south Arabia and this led the researcher to conclude that Ethiopia is one of the origin places of Khat if not the only country. Ethiopia is still the biggest Khat producing country with immense varieties that are mentioned inside this paper. Ethiopia could also be mentioned as the country where Khat is consumed immensely.

‘The Lord’: An Apology for the Muslim Faith from the Island of Soqotra1

Abstract The present study is a unique witness of the nascent literacy in the Modern South Arabian language Soqotri (Island Soqotra, Gulf of Aden, Yemen). For the first time, a consciously created, non-traditional specimen of Soqotri narrative appears both in the newly designed Arabic-based Soqotri script and the standard Semitological transcription, along with an English translation and philological annotations. The motivation behind the creation of this piece is, strikingly, neither artistic nor scientific, but religious, which opens new avenues for the development of the Soqotri language in complex framework of todays Arab and Islamic world: contrary to the widespread belief, Soqotri is not necessarily bound to the transmission of the traditional oral lore, but can serve as an efficient vehicle for creating and publishing texts pertaining to the vital interests of todays islanders.

Merchant and marauder—The adventures of a Sabaean clansman

AbstractTen years ago, a Sabaean inscription on a votive plaque of bronze was made known—immediately attracting the attention of the scholarly world because of its historical implications. This text, which has been given the sigla BL‐Nashq ? and Demirjian 1, respectively, by the editors, speaks—among others—about a commercial journey of its author to the north of the Arabian Peninsula—as far as Gaza, Judah, and even Cyprus. While the key message of this account is quite clear, a controversial discussion has evolved around the date of the “war between Chaldaea and Greece” mentioned in the text, thus yielding inconsistent proposals stretching from the seventh up to the early fourth century BC. In the search for possible synchronisms of the events mentioned in the text, however, clear parallels from Ancient South Arabia have almost been neglected. In a number of mostly Minaic inscriptions, first of all RES 3022, some striking lexical and formulaic isoglosses with the Sabaic text can be made out which can hardly be explained by coincidence. A thorough reconsideration of these texts will demonstrate that the events described in BL‐Nashq ? = Demirjian 1 could have found resonance in other documents from the region—resulting in a consistent chronological framework for all involved texts. In conclusion, we may watch the story of a Sabaean official in his commercial and diplomatic involvement with northern Arabia and the Levant in the shadow of political tensions within the Achaemenid Empire in the late fifth–early fourth century BCE.

Tribal Spirit and Tribal Moral Code in South Arabian Colloquial Poetry

Tribal Spirit and Tribal Moral Code in South Arabian Colloquial Poetry

30,000-Year-Old Geometric Microliths Reveal Glacial Refugium in Dhofar, Southern Oman

Despite its significant geographic position along the southern corridor into and out of Africa, little is known of the period between 70 and 12 thousand years ago in South Arabia. The existing archeological data come from a handful of lithic surface scatters and buried sites with broad chronological constraints. Here, we report the open-air site of Matafah, a stratified deposit in the Wadi Ghadun drainage system of Dhofar, southern Oman. The accretional terrace discovered at Matafah is composed of low-energy overbank sediments interstratified with cemented layers of fluvial gravels, eolian sands, and hillslope deposits. Three discrete archeological horizons were excavated from the 2.5-m stratigraphic sequence, including Holocene assemblages that overlie a heretofore-unknown assemblage type with geometric microliths. Optically stimulated luminescence age estimates bracket this lower assemblage between 33 and 30 thousand years ago, providing the earliest evidence for the use of projectile armatures in the Arabian Peninsula.