The ‘Mesopotamian connection’. An overview of the South Arabian data relating to Mesopotamia (First millennium BC)

Although often considered peripheral, with a largely autonomous and conservative culture, South Arabia reveals certain elements of Mesopotamian inspiration, some of which are particularly evident in its figurative production. Some decorative motifs, such as sphinxes or winged genies, are seldom found represented within the South Arabian artistic language, which indicates that this combination was elaborated internally and continued to emerge occasionally all through the first millennium bc. This study intends to reconstruct part of the underlying scenario with the help of the historical sources that document direct contacts with Mesopotamia through a twofold itinerary, external and internal. First, the already well-known Neo-Assyrian sources are reviewed as they record the first contacts between Mesopotamia and the rising Sabaean supremacy in the south-western corner of the Arabian Peninsula around the eighth and seventh centuries bc. Secondly, the internal South Arabian epigraphic documentation will help to disentangle the multiple contacts between South Arabian kingdoms with several Levantine and Mesopotamian regions, which appear mainly stimulated by commercial ties.