Ancient Yemen - Himyarite Kingdom AR Quinarius Amdan Bayyin

Another one knocked off my type set:

Himyarite Kingdom (AKA Arabia Felix, Homerites)
AR Quinarius, Raidan mint
c. 100 AD
Male head right with braided hair and diadem(?), surrounded by "torc"
Smaller male head right, Sabaean "MDN BYN" above, "RDYN" below, "Y-N-D" monogram to left and tamgha-like symbol to right
14mm, 1.21g





Himyar came about around 110 BC when several south Arabian tribes banded together to settle and farm several of the oases scattered across the South Arabian desert. They were reportedly excellent farmers, building a massive dam to collect rain water to yield a constant and reliable water source for their crops. Along with subsistence crops, they were among the largest manufacturers in the world of the coveted incenses, frankincense and myrrh.

Demand for the spices and incenses allowed their economy to boom, and they attempted several times to expand across the whole region, successfully conquering Sheba in 25 BC. The Roman conquest of Egypt under Augustus secured their income flow, and they also used their good relations with Rome to act as trade intermediaries in the African ivory trade.

Historically polytheistic, they adopted Judaism as their state religion in c. 380, apparently in a political bid to appear more civilized to the Byzantines and Sassanians, while remaining neutral by adopting neither Christianity nor Zoroastrianism. The kingdom collapsed in 525 after failing to repel an invasion from the Aksumite kingdom. Their script survives today as the Ge'ez script of Ethiopia.