Ancient South Arabia’s systemic connections with Mesopotamia, Africa, South Asia and the Mediterranean Region

Andrey Korotayev

National Research University Higher School of Economics
Russian State University for the Humanities

In the first part of this paper I review some mathematical models of the world-system development that suggest that a set of societies characterized by systematic diffusion of technological innovations can be regarded as a true system. The findings of the first part are used to demonstrate that the South Arabian civilization can be regarded as a part of the Afroeurasian world-system from the time of the emergence of this civilization in the late 2nd millennium BCE. The paper further discusses the evidence on the systemic connections between South Arabia and Africa, Mesopotamia, South Asia, and the Mediterranean Region.