Altsuedarabische Texte auf Holzstaebchen: Epigraphische und Kulturhistorische Untersuchungen

摘要

The last 30 years or so has seen the discovery of exciting (the word sensational may not be inappropriate) new material from Yemen: letters and documents that shed new light on everyday life in pre-Islamic Yemen. They add immensely to our understanding of Sabaic, and ancient South Arabia's other languages. The texts challenge the classification of Semitic languages and the rhymed religious hymns anchor the Qur'an more firmly in its Arabian environment. At the same time, these new documents provide important new insight into the history and the origin of the western alphabet.