A long period of drought in southern Arabia during the sixth century probably contributed to the social and political instability that later gave rise to Islam. This is the conclusion reached by a working group led by Dominik Fleitmann from the University of Basel based on climate data that indicate an unprecedented dry phase. As the team reports in the journal Science, the drought was most severe in the period from about 500 to 530. The climate catastrophe thus coincides precisely with the decline of the regional empire of Himyar, which preceded the rise of Islam in the region.
For the analysis, the working group combined precipitation data from several locations in the Middle East with new growth rates and isotopic data from stalagmites growing in the Hoti Cave in northern Oman. So far, such data on fluctuations in precipitation in southern Arabia have been lacking. Combined, the indicators show that from around the year 480, winter and spring rainfall decreased significantly. At the same time, the amount of rain in Anatolia increased significantly. According to the working group, this indicates that the rain-bringing storms were shifting northwards and passing Himyar.
The powerful Jewish kingdom was in the 1st century BC. BC on the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula near present-day Aden. At the height of its power after 270 AD, it ruled large parts of modern-day Yemen, as well as regions in Oman and Saudi Arabia – including the biblical kingdom of Sheba. At the beginning of the 6th century, however, it experienced a rapid decline; finally, in 525, the neighboring kingdom of Aksum conquered Himyar and installed a puppet king.
Paleoclimatologist Fleitmann’s working group argues that the drought set in motion a vicious circle of low yields and political instability, to which Himyar was particularly vulnerable. The kingdom’s agriculture was based on terraced fields and dams that collected and stored rainwater, but also required significant organization and effort. As a result, low yields weakened central authority, conflicts over water intensified, and structures could no longer be maintained – which made the situation even worse.