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I.BeforetheConquest
descended.Heservedastheguardianofagriculture.IlmuahorAlmaahwas
thegodofthemoon,rain,abundantharvestandwar.WorshippedmainlyinSaba’
,
hewasraisedtothepositionofthestate’sprincipaldeity.AfertheSabeanshad
seizedcontroloftheregion’spoliticalcentres,hiscultspreadacrossthewholeof
southernArabia.Wadd(inArabic“love”)wasworshippedineverystateofthere-
gion.TeMinoanssawinhimtheirgod-ancestorandtheprotectoroftheircoun-
try.HewasalsoknownintheCentralandNorthArabia
12.
TesouthernArabsspoketheirownlanguage,nowcalledEpigraphicOldAr-
abic.ItsalphabetwasdilerentfromstandardArabic.Nolongerusedintheregion,
itwasadoptedbyEthiopianlanguages
13.
WhileYemen’straderelationswiththeoutsideworldflourished,thecountry
waslesssuccessfulindevelopingitspoliticalrelations.TeRomans’attemptto
takecontrolofitsterritoryinordertohaveprofitsfromthecountry’stradewas
oneofthemostimportanteventsinitshistory.However,theRomanexpedition,
ledbyAeliusGallus
14,endedincompletefailure.NeveragaindidtheRomans
trytoconquerYemen,andRomanhistoriansusuallyshowedmuchrestraintin
providinganyinformationaboutthatfailedattempt.
3010TeNabateans
InthenorthedgeofAl-Hidjśz,eastandsouth-westoftheDeadSea,there
existedastatefoundedbytheNabateans,withitscapitalinPetra
15.Teearlyhis-
toryofNabateaisshroudedinmystery.Itisknownthataroundthesixthcentury
BC,coming,asitisbelieved,fromthenorth-westernpartoftheArabianPenin-
sula,theNabateansarrivedinanareanorthofMoab.Intheso-calledinter-testa-
mentandNewTestamentera,theyplayedanimportantroleinthepoliticaland
economiclifeofPalestine,andtheneighborhood.TeNabateansconducted
anelectivepolicy,skillfullymaneuveringbetweenthemiddle-easternpowers
ofthetime:themonarchiesoftheSeleucidsandthePtolemies.Significantly
12B.Doe,PołudniowaArabia…,pp.31-46;M.M.Dziekan,Dziejekultury…,pp.55-60.
13A.Majewicz,Językiświataiichklasyfkowanie,Warszawa1989,p.41.
14F.R.Scheck,Szlak…,pp.44-50.
15Ofthemorerecentpublicationssee:M.Sartre,Wschódrzymski.Prowincjeispołec-
zeństwaprowincjonalnewewschodniejczęścibasenuMorzaŚródziemnegowokresieodAugus-
tadoSewerów(31r.p.n.e.-235r.n.e.),transl.S.Rościcki,Wrocław1997,pp.340-392;
F.Bourbon,Petra.Sztukaihistoria.PrzewodnikpostolicyNabatejczyków,Warszawa2001;
I.ś.śifman,Nabatejskoegosudarstvoiegokul’tura,Sankt-Peterburg2007;W.Machowski,
Petra,Wrocław-Warszawa-Kraków2007.