A Late Antique Christian king from Z.af¯ar, southern Arabia

A Late Antique Christian king fromZ. afar, southern ArabiaPaul Yule∗

Sana’a

Zafār

0 km 500

N·

Southern Arabia was an important tradingpartner for the Roman world but owingto geography and politics its archaeologyhas been less intensively studied than thatof neighbouring regions. A succession ofkingdoms rose and fell in the last centuries BCand first centuries AD, but in the late Romanperiod the dominant power was H. imyar, withits capital at Z. afar. In 2008 a relief sculpturewas discovered at the site depicting a crownedruler accompanied by symbols of office. Thisstudy reviews the arguments surrounding thedate of the sculpture, but more importantlythrows light on the cultural and politicalconnections that it embodies. The proposal isthat it represents an Aksumite puppet-ruler of

the sixth century, at a key moment in the history of the H. imyarite kingdom. The crowned kingof Z. afar is significant not only in itself but also in helping to delineate the cultural and politicalstage on to which Islam was shortly to emerge.

Keywords: Arabia, Yemen, Z. afar, H. imyar, Aksum, Christianity, crowned figure

Supplementary material is published online at http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/yule338/

IntroductionThe ancient site of Z. afar is located in the al-Nugud highlands of the Yemen, close to themodern village of Qaryat Z. afar (14◦ 12′40′′N, 44◦ 24′13′′E, GPS). On the south-westernslope of the mountain site 500m to the north is the substantial structure known as the StoneBuilding (Figure 1 and Figure S1 in the online supplement). It was here during excavation in2008 that the upper half of a relief crowned figure with musnad letters (Old South Arabian)was discovered (Figures 2 and 3). In the previous season, four registers of reliefs 9m in lengthhad been revealed in situ in the same building (Figure 4). The standing relief figure of 2008,designated z607, was situated in the courtyard of the building at the southern end of the

* Department of Languages and Cultures of the Orient, Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg, Schulgasse 2,D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany (Email: [email protected])

C© Antiquity Publications Ltd.ANTIQUITY 87 (2013): 1124–1135 http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/087/ant0871124.htm

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Figure 1. Plan of the Stone Building in Z. afar ( c© i3mainz, C. Hilbrig & P. Yule).

eastern wall (Figure 5). A nearly identical but fragmented relief followed a year later. A rangeof potential historical associations came to mind in seeking to identify and contextualisethe new figure, which measured 1.7m high. The subject of this paper is the dating of thesculpture. From a wide range of possibilities (Yule 2009, 2012) it is argued that the likelyage range can be narrowed to the short period between the Aksumite victory over H. imyar inAD 525 and the downfall of Z. afar and the decline of the H. imyarite kingdom from aroundAD 541–543.

Z. afar was the traditional capital of the H. imyarite tribal confederacy and the centre of anempire which, together with its allies, dominated 2.5 million square kilometres of Arabia(an area about three-quarters the size of Western Europe) for some 250 years (Gajda 1998;Muller 2007). It is the second-largest archaeological site in Arabia, although considerablysmaller than Ma’rib, the core of which alone is larger than the entire mapped rectangle surfaceof Z. afar. H. imyarite tribes appear first at the end of the last century BC in an inscription inthe defences in the Wadi al-Bana which protected the entrance to H. ad. ramawt from the portof Qani’. During the second quarter of the first century AD the anonymous Periplus Maris

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A Late Antique Christian king from Z. afar, southern Arabia

Figure 2. The crowned man relief; excavation context z607( c© C. Yule).

Erythraei, and at about the same timePliny’s Natural History, make further noteof H. imyar (Natural History 6.161; Healey1991). These sources also briefly describeZ. afar (Sapphar), which is “. . .nine days’march inland from the Red Sea, theresidence of Charibael, the legitimate kingof the two nations, namely of the Homeriteand Sabaean” (Periplus Maris Erythraei 23;Casson 1989; Muller 2001).

During and after its meteoric rise topower in the late third century AD H. imyarencountered vicissitudes from without and

within, as illustrated by the interregna in the royal calendar and a growing list of royalterritorial titles (Yule 2007: 49). Great member tribes vied with each other continually forposition, as in more recent times in the Yemen. In the wider geographical context, H. imyarwas caught between the world power of Christian Byzantium and the Sasanian empire,locked in a deadly struggle. Judaism had been adopted by the H. imyarite upper class beforethe early fourth century AD through the prestige of Jerusalem and its omnipotent paternalgod (Yule 2013a: 48). Then, as now, politics intertwined inextricably with religion. TheByzantines and Aksumites sought influence in agriculturally rich south-western Arabia, andthe local Jewish gentry were threatened by a flood of Christian Habasites, that is, Aksumites.War broke out in AD 523 and resulted 18 months later in the defeat of the tribal coalition ofthe H. imyarite king Yusuf As’ar Yath’ar, the ‘Lord of the Curls’ of Arabic tradition. Followingtheir victory, the Aksumites probably set about to break the power of the Jewish aristocracyof the H. imyarite tribes and their allies.

As Christian Robin (2006) has observed, the H. imyarite Age has, until recently, beenpoorly understood; its late pre-Islamic inhabitants being purportedly poor, isolated, illiterate,lacking a stable political system and living as nomads in the desert. Patchy textual sourceswhich often lapse into partisanship were the only available evidence for the history ofChristianity in Z. afar and H. imyar. Conservative studies, written at a time when little materialwas available, denigrated the H. imyarite period and its culture as decadent (e.g. Schmidt1997–98). Recent research contradicts this value judgement. Since the 1970s, the tempo ofresearch in Old South Arabia (OSA) has accelerated, and with new archaeological studiesthere has come a general reinterpretation of H. imyar as a crucible of Judaism, Christianityand the nascent Islam.

Archaeology, layout and site structureTen seasons of excavation by a Heidelberg University team at Z. afar targeted the H. imyariteEmpire period (AD 270–525) and the Late/Post Empire period (AD 525–c. second quarterof the seventh century). This second chronological term refers to the situation following AD525 when H. imyar became subordinate to Aksum after the latter’s victory. The H. imyarite


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Figure 3. The crowned man relief, 3D scan ( c©J. Lindenbeck & P. Yule).

state, however, continued to exist culturallyuntil, at an unknown point, it wasincorporated into the Islamic state.

Z. afar, with precipitation of around500mm per year, lies on the edge of thezone that has the highest precipitation inall of Arabia (1000mm per year in Ibb).During the period of the H. imyarite empire,depletion of finite fragile environmentalresources probably chronically exceeded thepoint of replenishment. Over-population,over-grazing, complete deforestation andchronic soil erosion destroyed the pro-ductivity of this rocky environment (cf.Brunner 1999). The present desolationof the rocky highlands results fromuncontrolled exploitation during and afterthe H. imyarite period.

Ancient Z. afar is located in the mountainsof southern Yemen and lies apart fromother large sites and from the main tradingroutes and ports, despite numerous potteryimports that have been found there. Itis most easily accessible from the plainsimmediately to the west. During Antiquity,unpaved roads facilitated communicationthrough the circuitous valleys and highlandplains. The site straddles a curving chain ofextinct volcanoes extending some 1000mnorth–south. The recent excavation projecthas designated the three mountains withinthe site area as Z. afar South, H. us.n Raydanand Raydan North; the last of theseis also known in the local dialect asal-Gus.r (standard Arabic: al-Qas.r—thecastle). Densely packed ruins occur on all

three mountains and indicate a population centre large enough to support the military andpolitical activities of the H. imyarite capital known from historical records.

Construction and significance of the Stone BuildingThe Stone Building was selected for investigation in the hope of finding good preservationand a representative building from the later historic phase of occupation at Z. afar. This periodis poorly known and in need of illumination. The ruins visible today date from around the


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Figure 4. The eastern interior wall of the Stone Building, 3D scan ( c© J. Lindenbeck). For a more detailed image see onlinesupplementary material.

Figure 5. Cross section of the crowned man in situ looking north ( c© P. Yule)

end of the last millennium BC/beginning of the first millennium AD. Of the precedingso-called Black Stone Building, named after its building material, only traces survive. Withthe exception of the reliefs and architecture encountered in situ, most of the finds fromthe Stone Building derive from the H. us.n Raydan mountain which overshadows it to thenorth-east, and slipped downslope into the building after it went out of use. Excavationswere also undertaken at a 30 × 30m structure on top of H. us.n Raydan in what must havebeen the palace centre, but were limited by the poor preservation. It is unclear whether thefamous Raydan palace lay solely on top of the mountain or also included the structures onits flanks. Erroneously at the beginning of our excavations, we suspected the Stone Buildingto be the remains of the Hargab palace. This identification rested on a lengthy inscription(siglum zm1) of the king Shurah. b’iıl Ya‘fur (AD 448–457 or 453–462), who described therenovation of this palace (Muller 2010: 75–76). The inscription was subsequently shown notto derive from the Stone Building. Inscriptional and architectural evidence indicate indeedthat this structure with its large court is neither clearly a temple nor a palace. Animal bones(150kg, mostly of cattle) on and below the floor show it to have been used for slaughteringlivestock.

The ‘crowned man’, which came to light in the eastern wall of the inner courtyard, datesto the very end of the Stone Building’s life, shortly before it fell out of use (Figures 1 andC© Antiquity Publications Ltd.

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5). This relief is skilfully fitted into the existing relief cycle, but it rests deeper below thepavement than the other older ashlar blocks. Toward the east (to the right in Figure 5) theupper edge of the courtyard wall is capped with white mortar. The pavement stones werepulled up and re-laid to fit snugly against the relief figure following its insertion in the wall.

Two theories underlie the dating of the Stone Building which contained the crownedman: 1) the destruction of this major edifice was contemporary with the demise of the entirecity; 2) its destruction in the fourth–fifth centuries, as suggested by 14C dates (Yule 2013b:249–50), is too far in advance of the decline of the city and is more likely part of a moregeneral late episode of destruction.

The new reliefsThe reliefs from the eastern inner wall of the Stone Building are unique (Figure 4). Fromtop to bottom they include a band of alternating leaf-crosses and rosettes, paradisiac animalsincluding gryphons, alternating grape bundles and leaves, and frontal bovine heads. Theseare attributed to the original Stone Building, which now appears to date to around the timeof Christ. Initial doubts about the contemporaneity of the crowned man to the adjacentfour relief bands arose from the former’s reddish, splotchy limestone and Late Antique stylein contrast with the whitish colour of the adjacent relief bands.

Given the absence of Aksumite sculpture and other H. imyarite royal images, it is notsurprising that parallels for the different attributes of the crowned figure (Figure 3) arerare or imprecise. A casual perusal of contemporary Aksumite and Byzantine images revealscommonalities which result from their contemporaneity and the shared Christian religion.Since 2000, numerous new H. imyarite sculptural types have come to light at Z. afar. Ofthese, nearly 40—both small and large—are closely related typologically to the crownedman (e.g. Figure 6). These demonstrate both the means and the need to differentiatesocial distinctions and express kingship, which have only recently become known forH. imyar.

Inscription

On the upper edge of the relief appear the OSA letters (right) wd and (left) b, ‘Wadd isfather’: a warning against any untoward actions in the presence of God the father. Theinscription appears at first to identify the subject as polytheist, hypothetically predatingAD 380 (M. Maraqten pers. comm.), but palaeographic criteria point to the fifth century(Kitchen 2000: pl. LXIII). One text is known (RES 1900–1905: no. 5064) in which thispagan invocation applies seemingly anachronistically together with the monotheistic nameRH. MN (Kitchen 2000). It appears, however, that the third line naming this deity is asubsequent addition written in a different style (W. Muller pers. comm.). RH. MN is takennot to be a personal name but rather to designate ‘god’ in the literal sense (W. Mullerpers. comm.). The incongruity of this polytheistic formula in a monotheistic context hasnonetheless been noted (C. Robin pers. comm.). At the H. imyarite site of Nagran more thaneight such inscriptions appear on public buildings, but all elude precise dating (J. Zarins


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Figure 6. Relief 07 192, excavated from the Stone Building,one of several closely related to the crowned man.

pers. comm.). This inscription does notlower the date of the relief figure, andpalaeography is not as precise an indicatorof date as is the style of the crowned manrelief.

Bodily proportions, compositionand hairstyle

A large head and large eyes, a moustacheand beard rest on a stubby body. Castin Late Antique style, these provide thefirst step toward establishing the dating.The figure is forced unnaturally into acompositional frame as seen also with theivory Byzantine Boethius image dated toAD 476 (in the Museo Civico Cristiano,Brescia; Kitzinger 1977: 46, fig. 81). Strictfrontality is clearly evidenced in Parthianbut also Early Byzantine art. However, themoustache, curly hairstyle and the narrowtorso have other parallels of wider date.Comparable moustaches are seen on the

second–third century AD Hatraean statue of Sanat.ruq II (Ghirshman 1962: 94, fig. 105;Sommer 2003: 24, fig. 28); others excavated from Z. afar are not precisely datable. Reliefssuch as Figure 6 form a style group to which the crowned figure belongs. These potentiallyagain lower the date of the crowned figure and indicate its local origin. The moustacheis un-Ethiopian, and points toward Byzantine and Lombardic coin images (D. Phillipsonpers. comm.). The figure’s right foot is posed en face, the left one in profile. Both are bare,presumably an expression of piety and submission, as known from depictions of Copticsaints: “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place whereupon you stand is holy ground”(Exodus 3: 5).

Jewellery and sword

Two pendulous necklaces hang from the neck, and a baldric decorated with a running spiralhangs from the right shoulder. The figure’s suspended sword is straight with an unusualcross-bar pommel. One would not expect a priest to bear a sword, but rather a deity or aking.

Garment

A long, elaborately folded outer garment drapes the figure. In the pelvic area a leaf-crossrendered in a quadrangular field adorns it. Beneath, the figure wears a gaily patterned,


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Figure 7. H. imyarite-period relief fragment from H. addatGulays near Z. afar, showing a shoulder with a richlyembroidered garment ( c©I. Blome & P. Yule).

possibly embroidered tunic-shirt. These areunique but perhaps are inspired by the longtunic over which the early Byzantine upperclasses wore a chlamys-gown. Such elaborateembroidery figures prominently in LateAntique elite fashion (Figure 7). Above andto the right of the figure a second leaf-crossfield appears—a motif reaching from earlymedieval Spain through Constantinopledown to Z. afar. It also occurs in conjunctionwith rare palaeographically late inscriptions(cf. Jamme 1962: pl. B). The tight curls ofthe figure z607 and the leaf-crosses match,among others, those of the aforementionedByzantine Boethius image.

An ambassador of Justinian relates aneye-witness account of the Aksumite kingKaleb Ella Asbeha. His words, recordedby John Malalas (for the sources seeMunro-Hay 1991: 153) are embellishedbut illustrate the kind of pomp andthe elaborate garments associated withthese rulers. Kaleb arrives in a carriagedecorated with golden wreaths and drawnregally by four elephants. The procession is

accompanied by music, pomp and circumstance to confirm his power and status. He wearsa linen garment embellished with gold work, evidently some kind of tunic or kilt decoratedwith appliques sewn with pearls, as well as much jewellery. His headgear is decorated withgold; four streamers or pendants hang down from each side. Such elaborate textiles bring tomind royal garments of contemporary Sasanian and Byzantine rulers.

Crown

The figure wears what appears to be a cylindrical five-spiked crown with eight squarepanels, six of which contain circular protrusions. This crown is neither the mural crown(embattlement) of the fate-deity Tyche nor the laurel wreath which adorns Greek and Romanheroes as a token of victory or honour. Its height and elaborate decoration convey a rankwhich distinguishes the wearer from his contemporaries. The high cylindrical polos bringsto mind those of the Late Roman tetrarch statue group in Venice, which are comparable inbasic form (L’Orange 1995: 57–59, figs. 16–17), although missing the metallic applications.Unlike contemporary elaborate Sasanian crowns, the polos crown is austere in its basic form.It also recalls the small hanging cylindrical crowns of the seventh century Visigothic king


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Figure 8. Obverse of a coin of King Armah. of Aksum witha staff cross (Munro-Hay 1999, type 573) ( c© P. Yule).

Recceswinth on display in Paris andToledo, with their recesses each containinga globular jewel. The crown bears acoincidental resemblance to the nationalinsignia which appeared on Ethiopian flagsfrom 1887 to 1974. On the other hand,it bears no resemblance to the modernEthiopian crowns housed in the MaryamTseyon Cathedral in Aksum (Munro-Hay1991: 263, fig. 67).

Closer parallels exist in the jewelledcrown worn by the kings of Aksum, asknown from their bronze, gold and silvercoins (Figures 8–10). Kings from Aphilasto Hataz wore a similar tiara (Munro-Hay& Juel-Jensen 1995: types 4–138) fromc. AD 300 to post 525 (R. Stupperichpers. comm.). The spikes, circular forms and

square fields are shared by both the relief and coin images. Unfortunately, frontal depictionsof such crowns are rare (Figure 10, no. 441; Munro-Hay 1999: types 440–42). Smalland inevitably conditioned by the engraving technique, many coin depictions of crownsnonetheless appear closely similar. Comparable crowns are lacking from H. imyarite coinimagery, and such a crown may most plausibly be dated in Z. afar to the period after the warof AD 525 and the establishment of the new Aksumite-H. imyarite regime.

Bundle held in the left hand

The crowned figure bears a bundle of three leafy twigs in its left hand, bound in a torsionalgrip. The barsom, or sacred bundle of twigs (or ‘slender wands’) is a ritual implementwhich played an important part in Zoroastrian religious practices. The bundled branchesof the crowned figure at first might seem to derive from this same sphere, but its dress isnot Iranian, and a Zoroastrian identification is unlikely (D. Potts pers. comm.). They mayalternatively be interpreted as a bouquet of branches, a rare Christian symbol that appears(though not identical in form) on late Aksumite coin images (Munro-Hay 1999: types420–37). Despite differences, the available parallels hence derive from Christian contexts.Stylised laurel (bay) leaves serve as a symbol of victory in war or the accomplishmentof peace with a secondary funerary symbolism that is common in Late Antiquity (B.Hamarneh pers. comm.). It is unclear how this symbol harmonises with neighbouringmotifs.

A staff cross?

In its right hand the figure holds a staff with a short cross member near the top. Six parallellines form the point. This kind of rendering also occurs in the crown and sword hilt. The


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Figure 9. Obverse of a coin of King Kaleb of Aksum(Staatliches Museum fur Volkerkunde Munchen, 92-316820) ( c© P. Yule).

cross member is slightly tapered inthe direction of the figure. NumerousMediterranean rulers were posed standingholding a spear or staff in semiphoricposture, but none to my knowledge holdone with a cross member (e.g. an imagefrom Nemrud Dagh shows Antiochos andHerakles Verethragma (69–34 BC), theking holding a sceptre (Ghirshman 1962:66, fig. 79)). This form of staff does notcite Roman vexillae, sceptrae, hastae or otherRoman insigniae, such as the more commonknobbed Roman and Byzantine staff, but isa different sign of authority. The churchadopted the cross as a symbol around theearly fourth century AD (Ries 2003: 161–62), which coincides closely with the datingof the first Christian symbols painted on

amphorae of ‘Aqaba type and the cross of the crowned man excavated from Z. afar (Yule2013b: fig. 6.2). If only fortuitously, the Z. afar staff cross resembles that of the RussianOrthodox church (W. Raunig pers. comm.).

Many late Aksumite coin types depict a cross mounted on a staff, but all differ somewhatfrom that of the crowned man (Munro-Hay 1999: types 568–628). Most depict an elongatedMaltese or Latin cross with splayed ends. While not a Latin cross, that of the crowned figureclosely resembles the thin crosses from the sixth-century mosaics at Madaba (Jordan), morespecifically from the eastern hall outside the border of the Hypolytus hall (Piccirillo 1993:23–24, 57, fig. 10). The present author does not consider these crosses on staffs to be merelya technical convention of mosaic. The three Christian personifications of the cities Rome,Madaba and Gregoria all hold this same distinctive emblem. It is not the case that there areno crosses in Old South Arabia, inasmuch as several have been published in inscriptions andimages (Zarins et al. 1983: pl. 39A & B; Yule 2007: 106, fig. 69; Robin pers. comm.). Theyare most numerous as dipinti painted on transport vessels (e.g. Paribeni 1907: figs. 59 &60; Yule 2013a: fig. 63). Maltese crosses fixed on a similar narrow staff have come to light inearly medieval Central Asia (Klimkeit 1990: 84, fig. 39). A mere coincidental resemblanceto the main Christian symbol in this time frame is not an acceptable explanation. Althoughthe iconography of Madaba seems pagan at first glance, Late Antique Christian imagery

Figure 10. Crowns depicted on Aksumite coin types (redrawn from Munro-Hay 1999) ( c© P. Yule).


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itself evolves from pagan imagery. In this Late Antique Christian context the resemblanceto a Christian cross can hardly be accidental. This is all the more so since such crosses andlater staff crosses on coins dominate during the period under discussion (Figure 8).

ConclusionsThe relief image of the crowned man from Z. afar adheres roughly to early Byzantine orAksumite stylistic canons. Contemporaries would probably have deemed a clear resemblancewith the crown of Justinian I (AD 527–565) to be inappropriate. Nor does the crownedfigure wear Byzantine jewellery, a sign of patronage and rank. It seems to be a hybridof H. imyarite-Aksumite origin inspired by distant Byzantine vestments. There can be noquestion that Byzantine rulers such as Justinian I actively sponsored missionary activity andsent materials and skilled labourers in order, for example, to build the early cathedral in S. an‘a’(al-T. abarı I, 2, 935; de Goeje 1897–1901). If one accepts the Christian association for thecrowned man relief, then its dating becomes more certain. After the Aksumites vanquishedthe H. imyarites in AD 525 they attempted to establish a Monophysite Christian regimeat Z. afar. Evidence for Aksumite reconstruction of Z. afar comes in the form of inscriptionswritten in Old Ethiopic (Ge‘ez) found on the site (Muller 2012). These occur in southernArabia only after the Aksumite victory. Christian imagery and the fertility imagery of thetwig bouquet are consonant with what one would expect for a coronation depiction in anagrarian society.

During the fifth and sixth centuries, settlement and population in Arabia decreaseddrastically in size (Schiettecatte 2011: 293, fig. 140; Yule 2013b: 252). The ‘Justinian’pandemic of 541–543 decimated Arabia and seems to have been the final element that ledto the downfall of the H. imyarite kingdom and essentially terminated the dominance ofZ. afar. Between the Aksumite victory of 525 and the pandemic lies the regency of Sumuyafa‘Ashwa’ (c. 531–535). This puppet king would have had to represent both royalties—Aksumite and H. imyarite. An attribution of the crowned man to his successor, Abraha, isless likely because he moved the capital to S. an‘a’ at the cost of Z. afar—a sign of disfavourwith the latter. While the foregoing arguments cannot prove the date of the relief, theyarguably provide the best fit for the available evidence. An alternative terminus is far lessclear, but would lie perhaps a century earlier.

AcknowledgementsThanks go to the German Research Society which supported the fieldwork from 2006 to 2011, and the FritzThyssen Foundation (2002 to 2005). The General Organisation of Antiquities and Museums enabled thefieldwork. A variety of colleagues served as discussion partners: Nadia Ali (Aix-en-Provence), Sabina Antonini(Perugia), Werner Daum (Berlin), Rodolfo Fattovich (Naples), Barbara Finster (Bamberg), Rachel Hachlili(Tel Aviv), Basema Harmaneh (Bergama), Sarah Japp (Berlin), Alexei Lidov (Moscow), David Phillipson(Cambridge), Daniel T. Potts (Sydney), Walter Raunig (Munich), Christian Robin (Aix-en-Provence), SabineSchrenk (Bonn), Piotr Scholz (Lodz), Irfan Shahid (Washington, D.C.), Reinhard Stupperich (Heidelberg),Steffen Wenig (Berlin) and Stephan Westphalen (Heidelberg). The travelling exhibition H. imyar—ein vergessenesReich in Sudarabien (H. imyar—a forgotten empire in South Arabia) resulted from a two-semester seminar whichprovided an opportunity to explore questions with the participants such as the comparisons discussed above. Iam deeply grateful for this opportunity. Walter Muller (Marburg) kindly corrected the linguistic aspects and is


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heartily thanked for his sustained support. The two anonymous referees for Antiquity did much to improve avariety of aspects, for which I am beholden to them.

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Received: 16 November 2012; Accepted: 4 January 2013; Revised: 15 February 2013


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A Late Antique Christian king from Z.af¯ar, southern Arabia

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