The Sabean colonisation of Africa was a process of
colonization by
Sabeans that occurred in the
Horn of Africa during the first millennium BC.[1]
History
One of the oldest
colonisation process in history occurred around 1000 BC, the
Sabeans of southern Arabia, with a civilization based on agriculture, began to colonize the highlands of northern
Ethiopia and
Eritrea.[2][3][4][5]
Impact and legacy
The Sabean occupation and influence allowed for Ethiopia to develop several civilizations like
D'mt as well as the
Kingdom of Aksum and left a very important mark in
Ethiopian history and culture, a team of German archaeologists also recently concluded that all fundamental characteristics of Aksumite society derived from earlier populations in the Near East and South Arabia.[6] Cultural transmission from the Sabean region to the
Horn of Africa extended beyond architecture and stone-masonry, reaching far into the sociopolitical, religious, and cultic spheres[7][8] The Sabean character of the pantheon is clearly evident in the worship of '
Almaqah, to whom, in addition to the Great Sabean Temple at
Yeha,[9] four other sanctuaries are known. Some of these are accompanied by the building dedications of Sabean stonemasons and can be identified archaeologically.[10] Many other archaeological sites of this period in Ethiopia where some inscriptions have also been found which were executed in a Sabean-Himyaritic script, near
Makalle, for example where a seated female figure was found with a South Arabian inscription on the pedestal which also makes reference to South Arabia.[11] Older inscriptions were found at
Yeha, which some scholars identify with Ava, a city built by Sabean colonists, and which apparently fell into decay after the building of
Aksum the "Sacred City of the Ethiopians."[12] Not only Yeha but also the ancient city of Aksum is considered by some scholars to have been founded by these Sabeans,[13] where old
Sabaic inscriptions have also been found.[14]
^Ireland, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and (1895).
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. p. 208. Some scholars consider the temple at
Yeha to be the work of these Sabean colonists.