Lihyan (, LiḥyÃÂn; Greek: Lechienoi), also called DadÃÂn or Dedan, was an ancient Arab kingdom that played a vital cultural and economic role in the north-western region of the Arabian Peninsula and used Dadanitic language. The kingdom flourished for at least a century and a half, at some point between the 5th and 1st centuries BC. The Lihyanites ruled over a large domain from Yathrib in the south and parts of the Levant in the north.
In antiquity, the Gulf of Aqaba was called the Gulf of Lihyan, a testimony to the extensive influence that Lihyan acquired. The term "Dedanite" usually describes the earlier phase of the history of this kingdom since their capital name was Dedan, which is now called Al-'Ula oasis located in northwestern Arabia, some 110 km southwest of Teima, both cities located in modern-day Saudi Arabia, while the term "Lihyanite" describes the later phase. Dadan in its early phase was "one of the most important caravan centers in northern Arabia". It is also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.
The Lihyanites later became the enemies of the Nabataeans. The Romans invaded the Nabataeans and acquired their kingdom in 106 AD. This encouraged the Lihyanites to establish an independent kingdom to manage their country. This was headed by the King Han'as, one of the former royal family, which governed Al-Hijr before the Nabataean expansion.
The term Dedan () appears in ancient texts exclusively as a toponym (name of a place), while the term Lihyan (lḥyn) appears as both a toponym and an ethnonym (name of a people). Dedan appears initially to have referred to the mountain of Jabal al-Khuraybah. In Minaean language inscriptions, the two terms appear together, the former indicating a place and the latter a people. Nonetheless, in modern historiography, the terms are often employed with a chronological meaning, Dedan referring to the earlier period and Lihyan the later of the same civilization.
The adjectives "Dedanite" and "Lihyanite" were often used in the past for the Dadanitic language and script, but they are now most often used in an ethnic sense in analogy with the distinction between "Arab" and "Arabic".
DadÃÂn represents the best approximation of the original pronunciation, while the more traditional spelling Dedan reflects the form found in the Hebrew Bible.
Scholars have long grappled to establish a reliable timeline for the kingdoms of Lihyan and Dadan; numerous attempts were made to construct a secure chronology, but none of them so far came to fruition. This important chapter in the region's history remains fundamentally obscured. The main source of information regarding the date of the Lihyanite kingdom emanates from the collection of inscriptions within the precinct of DadÃÂn and its contiguous environs. Thus, when attempting to piece together the history of the kingdom, previous historians have heavily relied on epigraphic records and sometimes scant archaeological remains due to the lack of comprehensive excavations. The absence of specific references to well-dated external events in these local inscriptions has made it challenging to establish a definitive and uncontested chronology. In the pursuit of a resolution, two notable chronologies were formulated: a short one proposed by W. Caskel, now discarded in contemporary scholarship, and a longer chronology put forward by F. Winnett, which is widely adopted despite the acknowledged chronological dearth.
In his long chronology, F. Winnett agrees with Caskel that the Lihyanites succeeded an earlier, lesser-known local dynasty whose members were referred to as âÂÂking of DadÃÂnâÂÂ, which he places its beginning in the 6th century BC. The Lihyanites, on the other hand, appeared in the 4th century BC and disappeared in the 2nd century BC. To date the beginning of the Lihyanite kingdom, a key inscription discovered north of DadÃÂn is widely considered, which reads: nrn bn ḥá¸Ârw t(q)á¹ b-þym gà ¡m bn à ¡hr wÿbd fḥt ddn brþ[y]... (). Notably, the inscription likely concluded with the name of a king, under whom Gashm b. Shahr and ÿAbd held their positions. Significantly, Winnett observed that the text references a governor (fḥt) of DadÃÂn, without any mention of Lihyan, indicating that the Lihyanite kingdom did not exist at that time, given that DadÃÂn is widely considered the capital of their realm. Moreover, based on the appearance of the word fḥt (from Aramaic pḥt; ), which is understood as a title known only from the time of the Achaemenid empire, the inscription was dated by Winnett to the Achaemenid period and interpreted to be an allusion for a Qedarite rule over DadÃÂn and elsewhere in northern Arabia as agents of the Achaemenid administration in the region. Winnett identified Gashm b. Shahr with Geshem the Arab who opposed Nehemiah's reconstruction of Jerusalem in 444 BC and accordingly narrowed the dating of the text to the second half of the fifth century BC. Later scholars supported this dating by equating both Dadanitic Gashm and Biblical Geshem with Geshem, father of Qainà « king of Qedar, who is mentioned on a votive bowl from Tall al-Maskhà «á¹Âah, in Sinai, dated around c. 400 BC. If we accept these two main assumptions â the interpretation and tentative dating of the text to the Achaemenid period and the equation of Gashm b. Shahr with Geshem the Arab and Geshem father of Qainà « â then we have a likely limit in the second half of the fifth century BC after which the Lihyanites must have emerged as an independent kingdom, possibly due to the fragmentation of the Qedarite realm. Such assumptions, however, are tenuous; for Achaemenid presence in northern Arabia is more difficult to ascertain since pḥt is shown to be used in Aramaic well before the Achaemenid period and was customary for regional governors in the Assyrian empire centuries prior. This fḥt could very well be a Qedarite governor of DadÃÂn on behalf of the Neo-Babylonian ruler Nabonidus after the kings of both TaymÃÂþ and DadÃÂn were slain in his enigmatic Arabian campaign (c. 552 BC). Indeed, only during Nabonidus' brief tenure in Tayma was the Hijaz explicitly under foreign control. It is in this time when the Aramaic term pḥt was likely introduced for officials in the region. As for the latter assumption, it has been criticised by several scholars, pointing out the frequent use of the name gà ¡m in northern Arabia does not warrant this identification.
Overall, what we can discern is that the Lihyanite kingdom most likely came into being after the arrival of Nabonidus in north-west Arabia in 552 BC, as 'king of DadÃÂn' is still mentioned during his Arabian campaign. Although no more precise terminus post quem can be provided to us by the Dadanitic inscriptions, they do grant us, however, the means to estimate the minimum duration of the Lihyanite kingdom. This estimation can be arrived at by simply summing the regnal years of all the 'kings of Lihyan' mentioned in the Dadanitic corpus. At present, our knowledge encompasses at least twelve such kings with a combined reign spanning 199 years. Consequently, this calculation establishes a terminus post quem for the kingdom's end. If we establish that the kingdom could not have come into existence before 552 BC, it logically follows that its downfall could not have transpired before 353 BC. Therefore, the earliest conceivable time range for the kingdom of Lihyan falls between the mid-sixth and the mid-fourth centuries BC.
Situated in Wadi al-'Ula within modern al-ÿUla, al-Khuraybah is believed to be ancient DadÃÂnâÂÂa significant hub of culture and commerce in ancient northwest Arabia. It thrived in the 1st millennium BC, fostering through the development of long-distance trade along the âÂÂIncense Road,â acting as an important and strategic trade link connecting ancient South Arabia with Egypt, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. DadÃÂn served as the capital for two successive kingdoms: the local kingdom of DadÃÂn, in the early/mid-1st millennium BC, and the larger kingdom of Lihyan, which ruled over a broader domain in northwest Arabia.
Biblical accounts refer to DadÃÂn as early as the sixth century BC, mentioning its âÂÂcaravansâ and âÂÂsaddleclothâ trade. At this time, DadÃÂn is a place of undoubted significance, as it was also mentioned by Nabonidus in his Arabian campaign, where he claimed to have defeated âÂÂking of DadÃÂnâ (à ¡arru à ¡a Dadana). However, neither the kingâÂÂs identity nor how Nabonidus dealt with him are known. ItâÂÂs plausible that he had him killed as he did to it-ta-a-ru (Yatar), king of TaymÃÂþ. Only few Dadanite kings are knownâÂÂtwo funerary inscriptions of interest are that of Kabirþil b. Mataÿþil, who is called âÂÂking of DadÃÂnâ (mlk ddn), and Mataÿþil b. Dharahþil, who may have been his father. ItâÂÂs possible that Kabirþil inherited his position from his father Mataÿþil, in a dynastic tradition of paternal succession. While Mataÿþil was not explicitly referred to as âÂÂking of DadÃÂnâÂÂ, a Dadanitic inscription found on the top of Ithlib mountain asks for the protection of both Mataÿþil and DadÃÂn by a man named Taim b. Zabëda, suggesting his likely kingship. More recently, a Dadanitic inscription discovered in a secondary context near the main temple at al-Khuraybah introduces another king, âÂÂÿÃÂṣë, king of DadÃÂnâ (ÿṣy mlk ddn), and has a dedication to a deity named ṬaḥlÃÂn. ÿÃÂṣë might have been the son of Mataÿþil and the brother of Kabirþil. These internal and external sources were taken as an indication of the existence of a âÂÂwell-organized stateâ in the region before the mid-1st millennium BC.
Despite weighty chronological challenges, itâÂÂs evident that the kingdom of DadÃÂn was succeeded in al-ÿUla by the kingdom of Lihyan. It is not clear, however, when this transition occurred. The earliest reference to Lihayn appears in a Sabaic document recounting the travels of a Sabaean merchant to Cyprus through DadÃÂn, the âÂÂcities of JudahâÂÂ, and Gaza. Yadaÿþël BayÃÂn, the king of Sabaþ, later tasked him with a diplomatic mission to various lands of Arabia: á¸Âkrm (unknown), Lḥyn (LiḥyÃÂn), þbþs (unknown), and possibly Ḥnk (Qaryat Al-Faw?). Dated to the first half of the 6th century BC due to a mention of âÂÂwar between Chaldea and Ionia,â interpreted as a Neo-Babylonian campaign in Cilicia, the text treats Lihyan separately from DadÃÂn; this suggests that they might have been a tribe at that time, conceivably part of the Qedarite federation, not yet established as a kingdom with DadÃÂn as its capital.
LihyanâÂÂs emergence as a kingdom is traditionally dated to the 4th century BC on the basis of a widely considered key inscription (JSLih 349) which mentions a fḥt (from Aramaic pḥt; lit.âÂÂ'governor') of DadÃÂn and a prominent figure named Gashm b. Shahr. Since the word fḥt is understood as title known only from the time of the Achaemenid empire, the inscription was dated to the Achaemenid period and interpreted to be an allusion for a Qedarite rule over DadÃÂn and elsewhere in northern Arabia as agents of the Achaemenid administration in the region. Identifying Gashm b. Shahr with Geshem the Arab, Winnett narrowed the dating to the second half of the 5th century BC. He also noted that the inscription references a governor (fḥt) of DadÃÂn without any mention of Lihyan, indicating that the Lihyanite kingdom did not exist when the text was written. Hence, the inscription is commonly regarded as a terminus post quem for the emergence of the Lihyanite kingdom. Nevertheless, these assumptions pose two main challengesâÂÂthe first being that the word fḥt (governor) actually occurs in Aramaic well before the Achaemenid period. It might denote a Neo-Babylonian governor during Nabonidusâ reign, perhaps even a Lihyanite official, as suggested by an inscription recently published from TaymÃÂþ mentioning a pḥt in the service of a Lihyanite king. Although suggesting a provincial governor in the royal capital seems unusual, still, there is a possibility that Lihyan was a nomadic or itinerant tribe who employed governors in the oases they controlled; this, however, cannot be proved, but a graffiti from DadÃÂn-TaymÃÂþ shows, at the very least, that the Lihyanite kings used to travel between their domains. The second challenge arises with the association of Gashm b. Shahr with biblical Geshem the Arab. Given the widespread occurrence of the name gà ¡m in northern Arabia, this association is doubtful and does not provide a reliable basis for dating the text. Therefore, not only is JSLih 349 not necessarily connected to an alleged Achaemenid suzerainty over DadÃÂn, but it also lacks a definitive date.
Considering the acknowledged scarcity of any secure chronological anchors, current academics generally adhere to the traditional date for the establishment of the Lihyanite kingdom. It is imperative to remember, however, that discussions are still ongoing over the historical reconstruction of this kingdom. Recent archeological digs over the past ten years have allowed this long-held historical timeline to be contested. According to M. C. A. Macdonald, J. Rohmer and G. Charloux persuasively argued for a revised chronological scheme where the Lihyanite kingdom lasted from the late 6th to the mid-3rd century BC in light of the new finds.
Like DadÃÂn, TaymÃÂþ was a rich and fertile oasis, hosting a small, obscure kingdom until Nabonidus swept through northwestern Arabia in c. 552 BC; eliminating the kings of both TaymÃÂþ and DadÃÂn, he also went to conquer other important trading centers on the incense roadâÂÂFadak, Ḫaybar, Yadiÿ, and Yaṯrib. Subsequently, Nabonidus settled in TaymÃÂþ for ten years, relocating his court and administration, thereby making TaymÃÂþ the de facto capital of the Neo-Babylonian empire. Why Nabonidus would choose to reside in TaymÃÂþ baffled his contemporaries, and it continues to perplex scholars even today. To date, no convincing explanation has been provided to justify the necessity for a Babylonian monarch to stay there, and for so long.
At some stage after this event, TaymÃÂþ came to be ruled by the kings of LihyanâÂÂan insight brought forth only recently as a result of the excavations conducted by the Saudi-German Joint Archaeological Project at TaymÃÂþ since 2004. Their cooperative efforts revealed new Aramaic inscriptions dated according to the reign of multiple Lihyanite kings, representing the first records of Lihyanite rulers outside of DadÃÂn; those rulers are: an unnamed king, who was the son of a certain individual named psg, likely the same psgw à  ahrà « with asserted ties to the kings of Lihyan, signifying the ascendancy of psgw family at DadÃÂn and TaymÃÂþ; ÿUlaym/Gulaym à  ahrà «; Lawá¸ÂÃÂn (I), confirmed through an inscription by his governor Natir-Il commemorating the construction of a city gate under his rule; and Tulmay, son of Han-þAws, mentioned in four inscriptions (years 4, 20, 30, and 40) from the temple of TaymÃÂþ. Notably, references to regnal years spanning five decades (excluding the second decade) might suggests the regular commemoration of the Lihyanite kingâÂÂs rule through repeated visits to TaymÃÂþ. At least three, over life-size, royal statues were unearthed in the temple of the city. It may have served as a reminder of the king during his absence. These statues, along with their parallels in DadÃÂn, reflect a standardized regional artistic style in depicting rulers within specific architectural contexts, conveying the leading role of DadÃÂn as a regional power.
While the Lihyanites' control over TaymÃÂþ has become clear, the period in which this occurred is largely unknown. Following Nabonidusâ departure, it is assumed that the Achaemenids succeeded him as rulers of the city; this assumption of a one-and-a-half-century Achaemenid rule over the oasis is based solely on a single piece of evidenceâÂÂthe âÂÂTaymÃÂþ stoneâÂÂ. Discovered in 1884 by C. Huber and J. Euting, the steleâÂÂs front features an Imperial Aramaic inscription detailing the introduction of a new deity, á¹£lm hgm, the designation of its priest, and the allocation of properties for the temple. The text, as translated by P. Stein, reads:
Neo-Babylonian influences are clearly visible in the iconography of this stele, which dates to the 22nd year of a monarch whose name disappeared. Assigning it to Nabonidus, who ruled no more than 17 years (556âÂÂ539), however, is impossible. Therefore, scholars generally place the stele in the Achaemenid era, where three kingsâÂÂDarius I (522âÂÂ486), Artaxerxes I (465âÂÂ424), and Artaxerxes II (405âÂÂ359)âÂÂreigned for a minimum of 22 years each. According to J. Naveh palaeographic considerations, the stele should be dated to the end of the 5th or early 4th century BC. Hence, a date under Artaxerxes II, in 383 BC, is typically preferred. Building upon this, P. Stein initially posited that the Achaemenids held direct sway over TaymÃÂþ until the initial half of the 4th century BC, with the Lihyanite kingdom emerging or expanding àto TaymÃÂþ only thereafter. Newly discovered epigraphic evidence has prompted the latter author to lean towards an earlier date for the stele, around 500 BC, which opens up the possibility of a reduced duration of Achaemenid suzerainty in the oasis. Regardless of dating uncertainties, the key question revolves around whether the TaymÃÂþ stone refers to a foreign king; C. Edens and G. Bawden proposed, more than 30 years ago, that the missing name might be that of a local ruler. They overlooked the idea that it could represent a Lihyanite king, given the absence of documented Lihyanite rule over TaymÃÂþ back then. Since itâÂÂs now evident that the Lihyanites ruled TaymÃÂþ, this possibility demands serious consideration. At least three Lihyanite kings reigned for 22 years or more:hnþs bn tlmy (22 recorded regnal years), lá¸Ân bn hnþs (35 years) and tlmy bn hnþs (42 years).
Only one inscription from TaymÃÂþ, the so-called âÂÂal-ḤamrÃÂþ stele,â can relatively assist us in understanding when the Lihyanites came to rule the city. This, in turn, helps us understand when the Lihyanite kingdom itself emerged. It stands out as the sole inscription mentioning the Lihyanite dynasty that was found in a clear archaeological setting, discovered on a cultic platform within the early shrine of the Qaá¹£r al-ḤamrÃÂþ complex. The steleâÂÂs lower half bears an inscription that reads: [à ¡nt ... bbr]t tymþ (2) [h]qym pá¹£gw à ¡hrw br (3) [m]lky lḥyn hÿly by[t] (4) á¹£lm zy rb wmrḥbh w (5) [h]qym krsþþznh qdm (6) á¹£lm zy rb lmytb à ¡nglþ (7) wÃ¾à ¡ymþ þlhy tymþ (8) lḥyy nfà ¡ pá¹£gw (9) à ¡hrw wzrÿh mrþ [yþ] (10)[w]l[ḥ]yy npà ¡h zy [lh] ().
The inscription celebrates the construction of a temple dedicated to the deities á¹¢alm, à  ingalÃÂ, and ÃÂà ¡Ã«mÃÂ. It was commissioned by an individual named pá¹£gw à ¡hrw, who asserts a connection of a particular kind to the kings of Lihyan. His name, pá¹£gw, is a North Arabic name attested in Palmyrene and Safaitic (pá¸Âg), while his fatherâÂÂs name, à  ahru, is a general Arabic name that was recurring in the dynasty of Lihyan. This à  ahru is considered the grandson of à  ahru, father of Geshem the Arab, thus is labelled à  ahru II. The reappearance of the name in inscriptions and coins found in Palestine, Transjordan, and northern Arabia is seen as a result of papponymy, a practice common to the Qedarite and Lihyanite dynasties; it is assumed that the kings of Lihyan were directly descendant from the kings of Qedar.
Some parts of the text are difficult to read. F. M. Cross has read the third line and last word of the second line as: br [m]lk {z} lḥyn (âÂÂson of the king of LihyanâÂÂ), while others have read it as: br [m]lky lḥyn (âÂÂson of the royal official of LihyanâÂÂ). Although the text does not explicitly mention Lihyanite control over TaymÃÂþ, pá¹£gw à ¡hrw was likely the governor (pḥt) of the city on behalf of the Lihyanite king. In any case, the text proves the existence of the Lihyanite kingdom when it was writtenâÂÂwhich probably extended to TaymÃÂþâ before the mid-4th century BC as indicated by radiocarbon dating of bone samples from the main phase of the shrine where the stele was found in a clear archaeological setting. Indeed, the stele exhibits a distinct Egyptian influence through iconography, featuring motifs like the Udjat eye and the winged sun-disk. Similarly, al-ḤamrÃÂþ cube, found in the same context, also displays strong Egyptianising elements. However, by examining the archaeological context of these findings, it becomes evident that the Egyptian influence predates the Hellenistic period. In fact, there are no clear signs of contact with Egypt in TaymÃÂþ during the last three centuries BC. This observation casts more doubt on the notion that the kingdom of Lihyan coexisted with the Ptolemies. While Lihyanite sculptors drew inspiration from Egyptian models, it's plausible that these models predate the Ptolemaic era.
Some authors assert that the Lihyanites fell into the hands of the Nabataeans around 65 BC upon their seizure of Hegra then marching to Tayma, and finally to their capital Dedan in 9 BC. Werner Caskel suggests that the Nabataean annexation of Lihyan was around 24 BC; this is based on two factors. The first, Cascel relied on Strabo's accounts of the disastrous Roman expedition on Yemen that was led by Aelius Gallus from 26 to 24 BC. Strabo made no mention of any independent polity called Lihyan. The second is an inscription which mentions the Nabataean king Aretas IV found on a tomb in Hegra (dated around 9 BC). It suggests that the territories of Lihyan were already conquered by the Nabataeans under his reign (that of Aretas IV.) Nearly half a century later, an inscription from a certain Nabataean general who used Hegra as his HQ mentions the installation of Nabataean soldiers in Dedan the capital of Lihyan.
The Nabataean rule over Lihyan ended with the annexation of Nabatea by the Romans in 106 AD. Although the Romans annexed most of the Nabataean Kingdom, they did not however reach the territories of Dedan. The Roman legionaries that escorted the caravans stopped 10 km before Dedan, the former boundary between Lihyan and Nabatea. The Lihyanites restored their independence under the rule of Han'as ibn Tilmi, a member of the former royal family that predated the Nabataean invasion. His name is recorded by a craftsman who dated his tomb by carving the fifth year of Han'as ibn Tilmi reign.
The term "king of Dedan" (mlk ddn) occurs three times in surviving inscriptions, along with the phrases governor (fḥt) and lord (gbl) of Dedan. The term "king of Lihyan" (mlk lḥyn) occurs at least twenty times in Dadanitic inscriptions.
The Lihyanite kingdom was a monarchy that followed a heredity succession system. The kingdom's bureaucracy represented by the Hajbal members, similar to the people's council in our modern time, used to aid the king in his daily duties and took care of certain state affairs on behalf of the king. This public nature of the Lihyanite legal system is shared with that of south Arabia.
The Lihyanite rulers were of great importance in the Lihyanite society, as religious offerings and events were generally dated according to the years of king reign. Sometimes regnal titles were used; such as Dhi Aslan (King of the Mountains) and Dhi Manen (Robust King). Also religion played a significant role and was, along with the king, a source of legislation. Under the king there was a religious clergy headed by the Afkal, which appears to be inherently passed position. The term was borrowed by the Nabataeans directly from the Lihyanites.
Other state occupations that were recorded in Lihyanite inscriptions was the position of Salh (Salha for a female); mostly occurs before the name of the supreme Lihyanite deity Dhu-Ghabat (meaning the delegate of Dhu-Ghabat). The Salh was responsible for collecting taxes and alms from the followers of the god. Tahal (a share of the taxes) which equals one tenth of the riches was dedicated to the deities.
Post-Nabataean Lihyanite kings were less powerful in comparison to their former predecessors, as the Hajbal exercised greater influence on the state, to the point where the king was virtually a figurehead and the real power was held by the Hajbal.
Dedan was a prosperous trading centre that lay along the northâÂÂsouth caravan route at the northern end of the Incense Road. It hosted a community of Minaeans.
According to Ezekiel, in the 7th century Dedan traded with Tyre, exporting saddle cloths.
The Lihyanites worshipped Dhu-Ghabat and rarely turned to other deities for their needs. Other deities worshipped in their capital Dedan included the god Wadd, brought there by the Minaeans, and al-Kutba'/Aktab, who was probably related to a Babylonian deity and was perhaps introduced to the oasis by the king Nabonidus.