Himyarites

Himyarites (by the classics called Homeritetn or Homeirites), an Arabian people, claiming to be descend ants of Himyar, a grandson of Saba, one of the mythical fathers of the Arabians, who is said to have been a prince in South Arabia about 3000 before Mohammed's time. They established in that part of Arabia some very flourishing towns, including Saba and Aden (Athana), the former noted more especially from its mention in the Bible, and extended their dominion nearly over the entire coast of South Africa. At the time of Constantine the Great this people inclined to Christianity, but in 529 they were subjected by the Ethiopians, and were obliged to forsake their Christian faith. About seventy years later the Persians took the most important cities from the Himyarites, and in A.D. 629 they were subjected to the Mohammedans, and embraced Islamism. The Himyarites had a language of their own, SEE ARABIC LANGUAGE, the so called Himyaritic, of which traces have lately been found in the ancient remains to which the Oriental scholar Gesenius, and, later, Rodiger, have given much study. Of late Osiander has undertaken this task, and apparently has been much more successful. The results of his investigations are found in Zeitschrift der deutschen Morgenln'd. Gesellsch. (vol. x and 19:Lpz. 1856 and 1865). — Brockhaus, Conv. Lex. 7, 929. SEE JEWS.