1/Foss, Gills and the 6th century AD World System crisis

Tue, 17 Sep 1996 16:30:21 +0300
Korotaev A. (andrei@rsuh.ru)

FOSS, GILLS AND THE 6TH CENTURY AD WORLD SYSTEM CRISIS

Daniel Foss and Barry Gills have drawn recently our attention
to the 6th century AD World System crisis and the role of
epidimics in it. I agree with Daniel that the role of epidimics
seems to have been extremely important here, but I am afraid
that this is rather a secondary (notwithstanding all its
importance) factor, though I would look for at least one of its
primary causes not quite in the same direction as Barry does.

Naturally, I would start with South Arabia.

Part 1. SOUTH ARABIAN PUZZLE

I was for many years a bit puzzled by a strangely quick
collapse of the South Arabian Empire of the Kings of Saba and
dhu:-Rayda:n and Hadramawt and Yamanat and Their Arabs in the
Highland and the Coastal Plain in the second half of the 6th
century AD.

Yes, at the beginning of this century South Arabia experienced
a series of rather turbulent events: dhu:-Nuwa:s coup, violent
persecutions of the Christians, Ethiopian invasions and
conquest, rebellion (successful) of the Ethiopian soldiers
deployed in Yemen, their leader (Abraha) getting the royal
power &c. Then, however, under Abrahas rule the Empire seems
to have stabilized and achieved reasonable florescence by the
end of the 40s: Abraha managed to organize the successful
repairs of the famous Ma:rib Damm (`Rmn), campaigns to Central
and Northern Arabia &c.

And then in the second half of the Century the Empire simply
collapses without any apparent reason. The study of this
collapse is further complicated by the fact that the
catastrophe appears to have been so profound that the written
texts seem to have stopped to be produced in South Arabia -
since the 7th decade of the 6th century (this decade including)
we have no authentic dated South Arabian texts up to the
Islamic Age - which stands in a sharp contrast with the
comparatively well documented first 5 decades of the Century.

The collapse seems to have been so profound that when in the
70s Khusraw [I] Parwe:z reluctantly sent (as a sort of
punishment) a few hundred convicted criminals to conquer Yemen
(considering this such an adventure that it would be wiser not
to risk with the proper troops), they (the convicted criminals)
did manage to conquer it.

Of course, this has something to do with the 6th century AD
World System crisis. But in which way? I think I know the
answer. But, as I have to go to the classes now I shall give it
in my next posting. Yet before this I would be glad to get to
know any suggestions of the others.

Yours,

(Dr) Andrey Korotayev, Senior Research Fellow
Oriental Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
(Sector of Theoretical Problems of Oriental History)
12 Rozhdesrvenka, Moscow 103753, RUSSIA
Fax: (7) (095) 975 2396; E-MAIL: andrei@rsuh.ru