Tamna

Posted at Mar 17/2007 11:18PM:
Reem: The capital of Kataban/ Qataban in Yemen was situated at the center of South Arabia in Wadi Bayhan on the edge of the Emty quarter, which made it a strategic place for agricultural irrigation, for being part of the incense trade, and for the collection of taxes from the caravans ain return for protections and defense. The city was surrounded with a wall inscribed on it the laws of the city and the trade regulations. Archaeologocal excavations in Tamna show the natural, social, and economical similarities that the city shares with the surrounding south Atrabian cities: Sheba, Ma’een and hadramout.

Posted at Mar 19/2007 09:27AM:
ian: Not the wall was inscribed but rather a stella in the center of the town which declared the rules of engagment of the market. This became a marker of how vital trade was to the emergence of these small city states.