Page 81 - Perished Nations

"Fortunate Arabia". In South Yemen, four peoples have existed before our
time who are named "Fortunate Arabs" by the Greeks. These are the
Hadramites, Sabaeans, Minaeans and Qatabaeans. These four peoples
reigned for a while together in territories close to each other.
Many contemporary scientists say that ‘Ad entered into a period of
transformation and then re-appeared on the stage of history. Dr. Mikail H.
Rahman, a researcher at the University of Ohio, believes that the people of
‘Ad are the ancestors of the Hadramites, one of the four peoples who lived
in South Yemen. Appearing around 500 BC, the Hadramites are the least
known among the people called "Fortunate Arabs". These people ruled
over the region of South Yemen for a very long time and disappeared total-
ly in 240 AD at the end of a long period of decline.
The name of Hadrami hints that those may be the descendants of ‘Ad.
The Greek writer Pliny, living at the third century BC, referred to this tribe
as "Adramitai" - meaning the Hadrami. 23 The termination of the Greek
name is a noun-suffix, the noun being "Adram" which immediately sug-
gests that it is a possible corruption of "Ad-i Iram" mentioned in the Qur’an.
The Greek geographer Ptolemy (87-150 AD) showed the south of the
Arabian Peninsula as the place where the people called "Adramitai" lived.
This region has been known by the name of "Hadhramaut" until recently.
The capital city of the Hadrami State, Shabwah, was situated at the west of
the Hadhramaut Valley. According to many old legends, the tomb of the
Prophet Hud (as), who was sent as a messenger to ‘Ad, is in Hadhramaut.
Another factor which tends to confirm the thought that the Hadramites
are a continuation of ‘Ad, is their wealth. The Greeks defined the
Hadramites as the "richest race in the world…". Historical records say that
the Hadramites had gone very far in the agriculture of frankincense, one
of the most valuable plants of the time. They had found new areas of usage
for the plant and widened its usage. The agricultural production of the
Hadramites was much higher than present-day production of this plant.
What has been found in the excavations made in Shabwah, which is
known to have been the capital city of the Hadramites, is very interesting.
In these excavations which started in 1975, it was extremely difficult for

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