Awsan

Kingdom of Awsan Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩥𐩯𐩬; Arabic: أوسان
8th century BC–7th century BC
Capital	Ḥajar Yaḥirr
Common languages	Old South Arabian
Religion	Arabian paganism
History
• Established	8th century BC
• Disestablished	7th century BC
Succeeded by Saba'
Today part of	Yemen

Part of a series on the
History of Yemen
Timeline
Ancient history Kingdom of Awsan (c. 800 – c. 700 BC) Kingdom of Saba' (c. 1200 – c. 275 CE) Kingdom of Ḥaḑramawt (c. 1000 – c. 290 BCE) Kingdom of Qatabān (c. 1000 – c. 200 AD) Kingdom of Ma'in (c. 600 – c. 150 BCE) Kingdom of Ḥimyar (c. 110 – c. 525 CE) Axumite Yemen (c. 517 – c. 570 ) Sasanian Yemen (c. 570 – c. 630 )
Islamic history First Islamic state (c. 622 – c. 632) Rashidun Caliphate Umayyad Caliphate Abbasid Caliphate Ziyadid dynasty Najahid dynasty Sulayhid dynasty Ayyubid dynasty Rasulid dynasty
Modern history Ottoman Eyalet Qasimid state Aden Protectorate Ottoman vilayet Mutawakkilite Kingdom Unified Yemen (1990-present)
Related topics Portuguese Socotra Yemeni unification 1994 Civil War Yemeni revolution Civil war (2014–present) COVID-19 pandemic Red Sea crisis
Yemen portal
v t e

The Kingdom of Awsan, commonly known simply as Awsan (Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩥𐩯𐩬, romanized: ʾwsn; Arabic: أوسان, romanized: ʾAwsān), was a kingdom in Ancient South Arabia, centered around a wadi called the Wadi Markha. The wadi remains archaeologically unexplored.^[1] The name of the capital of Awsan is unknown, but it is assumed to be the tell that is today known as Hagar Yahirr (locally named Ḥajar Asfal), the largest settlement in the wadi. Hagar Yahirr was 15 hectares and surrounded by an irrigated area of nearly 7,000 hectares, indicating that it was a formidable power in its time.^[2] The main god of Awsan was called Balu (blw).^[1]

The Kingdom of Awsan experienced two main periods of activity. The first began in the 8th century BC, and in this time, Awsan was militarily allied with the Kingdom of Saba and, together, launched campaigns against common enemies. In the late 7th century BC, this alliance changed into a rivalry and Saba, under Karib'il Watar, obliterated Awsan, then ruled by a king named Murattaʿ. The later kingdom of Awsan experienced a resurgence around or after the 2nd century BC, its independence waning and waxing against Qatabanic control of the area.^[3]