Yemen’s Historical Vocation in the Red Sea & its historical background - by Prof. M. S. Megalommatis

The Yemenite coast from al Mokha to Aden in the ‘Periplus of the Red Sea’ 1. Mouza (today’s al Mokha) Administration After giving a brief description of Mouza in paragraph 21, the author of the Periplus of the Red Sea gives topographical details about the Himyarite kingdom of which part was Mouza. This is presented in two short paragraphs of the text, 22 and 23. The text reads as follows: “After three days inland trip, we reach Savve, the capital of Mofar Province, which extended all around. There, lives and has his palace the local administrator, Kholaibos. And after another nine days trip in the inland, we reach Safar, the capital of the entire country, where by law reigns Kharibael joining under his scepter the two peoples, the Himyarites and the nearby Sabaeans. He is a friend to the Roman emperors, thanks to the continuously exchanged embassies and presents“. 2. Sabaa and Himyar kingdoms merged It is noteworthy that for the author of the Periplus of the Red Sea, who writes around 70 CE, the two kingdoms,