Baraqish

Barāqish or Barāgish or Aythel (Arabic: براقش) is a town in north-western Yemen, 120 miles to the east of Sanaa in al Jawf Governorate on a high hill. It is located in Wādī Farda(h), a popular caravan route because of the presence of water. It was known to the Greeks and Romans as Athlula (or Athrula), from the ancient Sabaean yθl (probably vocalized Yathill).^[1][2]

Baraqish براقش‎ Yathill
Town
Baraqish Location in Yemen
Coordinates: 16°0′N 44°48′E / 16.000°N 44.800°E / 16.000; 44.800
Country	Yemen
Governorate	Al Jawf Governorate
Time zone	UTC+03:00 (Yemen Standard Time)

Coordinates: 16°0′N 44°48′E / 16.000°N 44.800°E / 16.000; 44.800

Barāqish was inhabited as early as the Bronze Age, one generation building their houses on the ruins of the earlier ones. In the main area of the site, there still remain the ruins of a dome, a mosque, a well and tower, as well as many pottery shards and pieces of glass. People lived in the town up to the 1960s, but it has since been abandoned, and is at present occupied by the military.

History and Archaeology

History

Its origins are very archaic, possibly 1000 BCE, but it reached its peak of importance in about 400 BCE when it became the capital of the Minaean Kingdom.

Paleolithic ceramic finds indicate the area was inhabited from at least the 10th century BC.

The city itself was dominated by Saba in the 6th century BC.^[3] and is mentioned in a document of Yitha'amar Bayyin II, mentioning a rebellion in the city.^[4]

The Minaean kingdom eventually established itself in the 5th century BC, and the city is cited in a document dated to 343 BC. However, the Minean kingdom was recaptured by the Saba kingdom in the 2nd century BC.

The city was the capitol of the Minaean kingdom until they shifted their capital to Qarnāwu at some time. However, and Yathill remained a sort of religious center for them.

Under the Minean kingdom it was an important stop on the incense route.^[5] The ancient city of Yathill was surrounded by a wall 14 meters high, much of which is still visible today; this wall had 57 towers and two gates.^[6] Inscriptions mention that the wall was rebuilt by the Sabaeans in 450 BCE. The city was retaken by the Saba in the 2nd century BC.

The city was taken by the Romans under Aelius Gallus, Augustus's general.^[7] They left quickly, however, due to disease and poor water. According to Strabo^[8] and Cassius Dio,^[9] Gallus was under orders from Augustus to quell tribes to the north. The tomb of a Roman cavalryman, P. Cornelius, has been found there.^[10]

The city was taken by Hadhramaut in 242.^{[citation needed]}

Archaeology

The ruins of a temple in the southern part of the city are considered by archaeologist to have been dedicated to the god Athtar. There is a necropolis near this temple, which contains numerous grave stelae. The temple is very typical of the Minaean style and consists of 16 columns and beams. There are also a number of ancient inscriptions in the South Arabian alphabet through the city.

There is another temple in the center of the city but only four of its columns are still erect.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

The city is mentioned in a number of Minaean language temple stelae across southern Arabia.^[16]

From 1989-90 and 2003-07, a team of Italian archaeologists excavated a temple with its roof intact in Baraqish. Inside they found a number of stone tables or altars with bulls' heads at each end, which are believed to have been a sanctuary to a god of healing.^[17]

In 2015, the city was reported as being badly destroyed when the Saudi Arabian military, supported by the US and Britain, bombed the site of Baraqish, which was occupied by Houthi forces.^[18][19][20]

References

1. Cass. Dio 53.29.8; Strabo 820.
2. UNESCO Director-General deplores destruction of parts of ancient city of Baraqish, calls for protection of Yemen's heritage.
3. Charles Aithie, Patricia Aithie: Yemen: jewel of Arabia. Stacey International, 2001, p152.
4. Walter W. Müller: Skizze der Geschichte Altsüdarabiens. In: Werner Daum: Jemen. Umschau, Frankfurt/Main, ISBN 3-7016-2251-5, p50.
5. UNESCO Director-General deplores destruction of parts of ancient city of Baraqish, calls for protection of Yemen's heritage.
6. UNESCO Director-General deplores destruction of parts of ancient city of Baraqish, calls for protection of Yemen's heritage.
7. Hermann von Wissmann: Zur Archäologie und Antiken Geographie von Südarabien, (siehe Lit.), p10.
8. Strabo: Geographica (xvi . 4 . 22).
9. Cass. Dio 53.29.8
10. Rich, J.W. (1990): Cassius Dio: the Augustan Settlement (Roman History 53-55.9), p165
11. UNESCO Director-General deplores destruction of parts of ancient city of Baraqish, calls for protection of Yemen's heritage.
12. in Arabian archaeology and epigraphy 10(1):58-68 · May 1999.
13. Jean-François Breton, Plan of Nakrah temple in Barâqish (Robin, 1998).
14. Alessandro de Maigret, THE EXCAVATIONS OF THE TEMPLE OF NAKRAH AT BARĀQISH (YEMEN) Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies Vol. 21, Proceedings of the Twenty Fourth SEMINAR FOR ARABIAN STUDIES held at Oxford on 24th - 26th July 1990 (1991), pp. 159-172
15. Yemen suffers cultural.
16. Greg Fisher, Arabs and Empires Before Islam (Oxford University Press, 2015 ) p 100-101.
17. Alessandro de Maigret: The Excavations Of The Italian Archaeological Mission At Barâqish (Republic Of Yemen). In: Newsletter Archeologia (CISA). No. 0, p.50–90 Retrieved 20 April 2017
18. Unesco beklagt schwere Schäden an Jemens Kulturerbe .
19. Noah Browning und Mohammed Ghobari , "History a casualty in Yemen's war as bombs smash ancient sites", 15 May 2015.
20. Satellite-Based Damage Assessment of Cultural Heritage Sites 2015 Summary Report of Iraq, Nepal, Syria & Yemen June 2016.

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