Haram (Yemen)

Ḥaram (Old South Arabian ḥrm-m, with mimation Ḥaramum) is an ancient city in the north of al-Jawf in modern-day Yemen, at about 1100 metres above sea level. It is bordered by the Yemen Highlands to the north, in the west by the ancient Kaminahu (present day Kamna), in the east by the ancient Qarnāwu (modern Ma'īn) and in the south by the Ghayl, otherwise known as the village of al-Ḥazm.

In early times Ḥaram was a city state, which however by the early 7th century BCE (according to the so-called “Long Chronology”) was already a vassal of the Kingdom of Saba’ to the south and of its ruler Karab El Watar. During the war of Saba’ against Awsān and the city states of Nashan and Nashq, the Ḥaramite king Yadhmurmalik supported Saba’ with an army under the leadership of one General Hanba from the clan of Naʿman. It is from this time that the temple of Banāt ‘Ād dates, it is situated in front of the gates of Ḥaram, and contains many dedicatory inscriptions, including some to the Ḥaramite god Mutibbnatyan. At the time of the founding of the Kingdom of Ma’īn at the latest, the capital of which, Qarnāwu, was only 6 kilometers away, Ḥaram lost its importance. After the end of the Minaean Kingdom, it regained its importance for a while under Sabaean rule. It is not clear just when Ḥaram was abandoned.