Minaeans: Map & History
Ma'in was an ancient South Arabian kingdom in modern-day Yemen.
Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium
Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
Ma'in was an ancient South Arabian kingdom in modern-day Yemen. It was located along the strip of desert called Ṣayhad by medieval Arab geographers, which is now known as Ramlat al-Sab'atayn. Wadd was the national god of Ma'in. The spoken language was Minaic. The kingdom appears in the historical record in the 8th century BCE, and transition from a city-state to kingdom in the last quarter of the 7th century BCE. The date of the end of Ma'in is heavily disputed, but the most popular hypothesis places its demise in the 1st century CE.
Modern Countries Once Part of Minaeans
At its mapped extent, Minaeans covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Minaeans's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Minaeans in Depth
History
Ma'in appears in the 8th century BCE, not yet as a kingdom, settled in the town of Qarnawu (modern-day Jawf). This was one of many city-states of the Jawf region, and it shared with the other Jawf states its language, writing school, art, architecture, social and political institutions, and religion. The city-state was ruled over by a king selected from its influential families. Ma'in enjoyed peaceful relations with the more well-established Kingdom of Saba. Thanks to this, and the Sabaean defeat of the Nashshan kingdom in the 7th century BCE, Ma'in's power grew and the Minaeans were able to project their power into nearby territories, transforming them into a kingdom. Inscriptions from the Temple of Shaqab al-Manaṣṣa record the names of many of the kings from this period.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Ma'in (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Minaeans: Key Facts
| Capital | Qarnawu |
|---|
Facts from Wikidata Q1177379 (CC0).
Minaeans Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Minaeans appears, with the other states of the time.
Minaeans Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 214,510 km² in 116 BCE.
Minaeans: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Minaeans exist?
Minaeans is dated to 383 BCE – 26 BCE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
What was the capital of Minaeans?
The capital of Minaeans was Qarnawu.
How large was Minaeans at its peak?
At its peak in 116 BC Minaeans covered about 214,510 km².
How did the map of Minaeans change over time?
Minaeans appears on 3 dated world maps in the atlas, from 323 BCE to 100 BCE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.