Ancient Arabian Peninsula 
Neolithic Period (5000-3000 BC)
There is no evidence that farming was practised in the Arabian Neolithic. The people were probably nomadic or semi-nomadic and the lifestyle may have been similar to that of the bedouin of recent times. Important differences are that cattle as well as sheep and goats were herded and that the camel had not yet been domesticated. Fishing was also very important as was gathering shellfish for eating. Hunting supplemented the diet. Building remains of this period are scarce probably because tents and other temporary structures are more suited to a mobile lifestyle. Arabian Neolithic sites frequently survive only as scatters of flint or as extensive shell mounds on the coast ...Painted pottery was not made by the Arabian Neolithic people though coarse red ware may have been manufactured by them in the Central Gulf region. The stone tools of the Arabian Neolithic are different from the Ubaid material -- tending to be made from shorter flakes which have been chipped on both sides. This local tool-kit is called the Arabian Bifacial Tradition ...
The Arabian-Ubaid Interaction
During the 6th and 5th millennium BC the peoples of Ubaid in Mesopotamia and the Arabian Neolithic met and interacted. This was first realised when numerous sites were identified in the Central Gulf region which contained pottery in the Ubaid style. These were mostly coastal sites and were mainly found in the northeastern province of Saudi Arabia though sites were also identified in Bahrain and Qatar. The majority were small and ephemeral but a handful were large with deep deposits and abundant pottery. This part of Arabia had enjoyed a close and integral relationship with Southern Mesopotamia. More controversially it was suggested that the Mesopotamian and Ubaidian related Arabian sites should be regarded as part of the same social and economic system ...
Bronze Age Period (3000-1300 BC)
This period shows the establishment of a population in Sharjah where agriculture and grazing flourished and increased. As the 3rd millennium BC draws near there is evidence for renewed contact with Southern Mesopotamia. From the late 4th millennium BC there are references in the earliest Mesopotamia texts to a place named Dilmun(Bahrain). Dilmun is mentioned along with two other places: Magan (Southeast Arabia) and Meluhha (Indus Valley). These city-states supplied southern Mesopotamia with a wide range of raw materials and exotic goods. These include timber -- stone -- and above all copper. In prehistoric times in southern Arabia we have evidence of human settlement for all major periods of the Stone Age so it can hardly be assumed that there was no continuous human settlement in Southern Arabia prior to the first millennium BC ...
Iron Age Period Onwards
From circa 1200 BC the region of the Southern Arabian Peninsula was ruled by three successive civilisations. The (1) Mineans (1200-650 BC) -- (2) Sabeans (Sheba) (1000 BC - 570 AD) -- (3)Himyarite (2nd to 6th centuries AD) brought with them the rudiments of what was to become the highly developed civilization of Southern Arabia. These three kingdoms all depended for their wealth on the spice trade. Aromatics such as myrrh and frankincense were greatly prized in the ancient civilised world and were used as part of various rituals in many cultures including Egypt Greece and Roman ...
In the 11th century BC land routes through Arabia were greatly improved by using the camel as a beast of burden and frankincense was carried from its production centre at Qana to Gaza in Egypt. The camel caravans also carried gold and other precious goods which arrived in Qana by sea from India ...
The chief incense traders were the Minaeans who established their capital Karna before they were superseded by the Sabeans in 950 BC. The Sabean capital was Marib where a large temple was built. The mighty Sabean civilization endured for about 14 centuries and was based not only on the spice trade but also on agriculture. The impressive dam built at Marib in the 8th century provided irrigation for farmland and stood for over a millennium. Some Sabean carved inscriptions from this period are still extant ...
The Himyarites established their capital at Dhafar and gradually absorbed the Sabean Kingdom. They were culturally inferior to the Sabeans and traded from the port of Muza on the Red Sea. By the first century BC the Romans had conquered the area ...
Old City of Sana'a (Yemen) © Editions Gelbart
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Sheba Region, (Arabian Peninsula)
Sheba, biblical name of a region, called in Arabic Saba, of S Arabia, including present-day Yemen and the Hadhramaut. Its inhabitants were called Sabaeans or Sabeans. According to some passages in Genesis and First Chronicles, Sheba, a grandson of Noah's grandson Joktan, was the ancestor of the Sabaeans. According to other passages in those books, however, Sheba was a descendant of Abraham. The Semitic colonization of Ethiopia was established (10th cent. BC) from Sheba. In that century the biblical queen of Sheba (called in Muslim tradition Bilqis; see Sheba, in the Bible) is said to have made her famous visit to Solomon.
Situated along the trade route from India to Africa, Sheba was known as a region of great wealth. Trade between Israel and Sheba is mentioned in First Kings. Elements of Sheba's culture, which was at its height between the 9th and 5th cent. BC (after the traditional dates for the reign of Solomon), is evidenced by the dam (since collapsed) near Marib, the capital of Sheba, and by the many inscriptions found there. Written in Himyaritic, a Semitic language, the inscribed characters derive from Phoenician writing. Ethiopia conquered (c.AD 525) Sheba. In 572, Sheba became a Persian province and, with the rise of Muhammad, fell under Islamic control and lost its separate identity.
Old City of Sana'a
Situated in a mountain valley at an altitude of 2,200 m, Sana’a has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years. In the 7th and 8th centuries the city became a major centre for the propagation of Islam. This religious and political heritage can be seen in the 103 mosques, 14 hammams and over 6,000 houses, all built before the 11th century. Sana’a’s many-storeyed tower-houses built of rammed earth (pisé) add to the beauty of the site.
Old City of Sana'a (Yemen) © Editions Gelbart
Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
Situated in a mountain valley at an altitude of 2,200 m, the Old City of Sana'a is defined by an extraordinary density of rammed earth and burnt brick towers rising several stories above stone-built ground floors, strikingly decorated with geometric patterns of fired bricks and white gypsum. The ochre of the buildings blends into the bistre-colored earth of the nearby mountains. Within the city, minarets pierce the skyline and spacious green bustans(gardens) are scattered between the densely packed houses, mosques, bath buildings and caravanserais.
Inhabited for more than 2,500 years, the city was given official status in the second century BC when it was an outpost of the Yemenite kingdoms. By the first century AD it emerged as a centre of the inland trade route. The site of the cathedral and the martyrium constructed during the period of Abyssinian domination (525-75) bear witness to Christian influence whose apogee coincided with the reign of Justinian. The remains of the pre-Islamic period were largely destroyed as a result of profound changes in the city from the 7th century onwards when Sana'a became a major centre for the spread of the Islamic faith as demonstrated by the archaeological remains within the Great Mosque, said to have been constructed while the Prophet was still living. Successive reconstructions of Sana'a under Ottoman domination beginning in the 16th century respected the organization of space characteristic of the early centuries of Islam while changing the appearance of the city and expanding it with a second city to the west. The houses in the old city are of relatively recent construction and have a traditional structure.
As an outstanding example of a homogeneous architectural ensemble reflecting the spatial characteristics of the early years of Islam, the city in its landscape has an extraordinary artistic and pictorial quality. Its many-storied buildings represent an outstanding response to defensive needs in providing spacious living quarters for the maximum number of residents within defensible city walls. The buildings demonstrate exceptional craftsmanship in the use of local materials and techniques. The houses and public buildings of Sana'a, which have become vulnerable as a result of contemporary social changes, are an outstanding example of a traditional, Islamic human settlement.
Described by historians, geographers and scholars of the early Islamic and medieval eras, Sana'a is associated with the civilizations of the Bible and the Koran.
Criterion (iv):Within its partially preserved wall, it offers an outstanding example of a homogeneous architectural ensemble, which design and detail translate an organization of space characteristic of the early centuries of Islam which has been respected over time.
Criterion (v): The houses of Sana'a, which have become vulnerable as a result of contemporary social changes, are an outstanding example of an extraordinary masterpiece, traditional human settlement.
Criterion (vi): Sana'a is directly and tangibly associated with the history of the spread of Islam in the early years of the Hegira. The Great mosque of Sana'a, built in year 6 of Hegira, is known as the first mosque built outside Mecca and Medina.The Old City of Sana'a has contributed to and played a major role in Yemeni, Arab and Islamic World history through the contributions of historical Yemeni figures including Al Hassan B. Ahmed Al Hamdany, Ahamed Al Razy and Al Shawkany.
Integrity (2011)
A significant proportion of all the attributes that express the Outstanding Universal Value are within the property. However, in certain quarters of the city, acceleration of new development is eroding its character. The visual integrity of the property is threatened by an increase in new modern hotels and telecommunication towers in the surrounding landscape.
The disappearance of the traditional juridical system or the application of new and supplementary ones, the accelerated social and economical changes, the rapid urban development within and around the city and the disappearance of open space as thebustans are gradually built over, are creating various unbearable pressures on the city and its inhabitants.
Authenticity (2011)
The attributes that carry Outstanding Universal Value are the overall design of the city and its buildings with their decorated façades, traditional building materials, and the open spaces (bustans, maqashe and sarah'at ) considered as part of the city's urban environment, together with the visual appearance of the city surrounded by mountains. The authenticity of these attributes is vulnerable to incorrect conservation practices and development. Associated intangible values relating to traditional socio-economic activities, including the very high percentage of home ownership, continue to be demonstrated.
Protection and management requirements (2011)
The protection of the Old City of Sana'a is ensured by the Antiquities Law of 1997 as well as the Building Law of 2002. Protection will be improved when the Historical Cities Preservation Law comes into force. The preparation of a Conservation Plan, and of an exhaustive inventory of buildings of the city and its surroundings have been completed. The General Organization for the Preservation of the Historic Cities of Yemen (GOPHCY) aims to develop the Conservation Plan in the next few years. It is also proposed to establish a Conservation Unit to involve all stakeholders, who will be encouraged to participate in the preparation of the city Management Plan process. GOPHCY, established in 1990, is an independent body set up to create an appropriate strategy for sustainable development. After the new Law enters into force, it will become the overall authority for management of the World Heritage property.
In its decision concerning inscription, the World Heritage Committee "recommended that an adequate buffer zone should be established around the old city." This recommendation should be implemented in order to improve the protection of the property which also needs clearly defined boundaries.
In the long term, it is intended to adopt a clear strategy for sustainable preservation and development of the Old City and to reach a better control of the setting as well as ensuring the balance between commercial and residential activities.
Old City of Sana'a (UNESCO/NHK)
News 
(7)
- Emergency Action Plan for the Safeguarding of Yemen’s Cultural Heritage announced Thursday, July 16, 2015
- World Heritage Committee announces 2016 meeting in Istanbul, 24 new sites inscribed in Bonn Wednesday, July 8, 2015
- Yemen’s Old City of Sana’a and Old Walled City of Shibam added to List of World Heritage in Danger Thursday, July 2, 2015
- The Director General of UNESCO condemns the destruction of historic buildings in the Old City of Sana’a, Yemen Friday, June 12, 2015
- UNESCO Director-General condemns airstrikes on Yemen’s cultural heritage Tuesday, June 2, 2015
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Urartu (Greek Ararat)
Centered in the mountainous region southeast of the Black Sea and southwest
of the Caspian Sea in the Lake Van (Sevan) area. Today the region is divided
among Armenia, eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran .....
of the Caspian Sea in the Lake Van (Sevan) area. Today the region is divided
among Armenia, eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran .....
The Ancient Civilization of Urartu
Boris B. Piotrovsky (1969)
Library of Congress # DS 156 U7 P573
Boris B. Piotrovsky (1969)
Library of Congress # DS 156 U7 P573
For three centuries Urartu was a formidable rival to Assyria. Though twice defeated by the Assyrians the Urartians several times prevailed in this contest and indeed --- though only by a few decades --- outlasted their rivals. But posterity dealt harhly with the memory of Urartu. The name was preserved in the Old Testament in the corrupted form Ararat ...
And the ark rested in the seventh month on the seventeenth
day of the month upon the mountains of Ararat
day of the month upon the mountains of Ararat
Ararat: sacred land or high land; the name of a country on one of the mountains of which the ark rested after the Biblical Flood subsided. The mountains mentioned were probably the Kurdish range of South Armenia. The word is rendered Armenia in the Authorized Version but in the Revised Version Land of Ararat. In Jeremiah 51:27 the name denotes the central or southern portion of Armenia. It is however generally applied to a high and almost inaccessible mountain which rises majestically from the plain of the Araxes (Aras River).
This part of Armenia was inhabited by a people who spoke a language unlike any other now known though it may have been related to the modern Georgian. About 900 BC they borrowed the cuneiform characters of Nineveh and from this time we have inscriptions of a line of kings who at times contended with Assyria. At the close of the seventh century BC the kingdom of Ararat came to an end and the country was occupied by a people who are ancestors of the present day Armenians ...
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