The Book of the Himyarites

Traditions of the expansion of Christianity into Arabia and the interactions of Christians with Jews there are variously told in both Christian and Muslim sources. This volume presents for the first time the fragmentary Syriac text with an English translation of The Book of the Himyarites. Moberg’s lengthy introduction provides copious details on the lone manuscript of the book (eight facsimiles of which are provided), first recognized in 1920, and surveys both Muslim and Christian sources dealing with the traditions of Christianity in Arabia. An appendix to the introduction provides a list of proper names occurring in the book, which are generally given together with the South Arabian and/or Arabic forms of the names; Moberg prefaces this appendix with a discussion of orthography based on the Syriac forms. The book will be of great interest to historians of Arabia, scholars of eastern Christianity and hagiography, and Syriac scholars.