"Then Sam Ibn Noohj (Shem, son of Noah), discomfitted by life in the north, headed south in search of a better living environment. He reached the land of Yemen, and there he chose to build his home on top of Mount Ghamdan in the fields of Sana'a." So goes the legend of the founding of Sana'a, proclaimed to be the oldest living city on earth. It is this legend that gives Sana'a its popular name, Madinat Sam (Shem's city). Ancient references call Sana'a by still another name: Azal, or Uzal (referred to in Genesis 10:27) which is the name of one of the sons of Yaqtun, son of A'ber, son of Shalekh, son of Arflzhshed, son of Sam, son of Nooh (Noah).
Regardless of the founding person and date, Sana'a did not attain much significance before the time of Christ. One century after Christ, the Himyarite king Sha'ram Auter built the first wall around the city. During the second century after Christ, the Himyarite king Ely Sharh Yahdhub rebuilt the great Ghamdan Palace, which ever since has been the symbol of power in the city. Although growing in importance, Sana`a never became Yemen's capital city until the coming of the last Himyarite king, Yusuf Asar Yath-ar (commonly known as Dhu Nuwas), at the end of the fifth century. Since the time of this Jewish Yemeni king, Sana'a has remained the capital city, except for short periods of time at sporadic intervals.
With the fall of the Eastern Yemeni civilizations (Ma'een, Saba, Himyar, and others), the desert caravan trade route passing through Hadhramaut, Shabwa, Marib, and northward toward Mecca was replaced by the trade routes of the coastal plains (the Tihama) and the mountain routes passing through Zhafar, Sana'a, Sa'adah, and northward toward Mecca. As a result, a major market developed in Sana`a within the chain of annual Arab markets.
Thus, the first market of the year started in Dowmat al-Jandal, in what is today Jordan, then moved southeast to Jaher (today's Al-Hafoof, in Saudi Arabia), then went south to Suhar wa Duba', and further south to Shire Muhra in Hadhramaut, turned east to Souq Aden, and then headed north to Souq Sana'a, and finally came to Souq O'kaz, which was still further north. The duration of each market season varied from one region to another but generally runs two to six weeks.
Sana'a's market and storage facilities quickly eclipsed most of the others to the extent that the city became the destination of all astute merchants and serious scholars. Thus, the famous phrase repeated by Arab travelers states, "One must arrive in Sana'a, however long the journey, though the hardy camel droop, leg-worn on the way."
With the coming of Islam, Sana'a attained full bloom. In addition to its political and commercial importance, Sana'a also became the center for theology and scientific research. Among the disciples of the prophet Muhammad who taught in Sana'a were Muadh Ibn Jabal, Wabre Ibn Yahnus Al-Khuza'I, Farwat Ibn Musaik Al-Muradi, and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. Yemen also produced its share of ulama, scholars and poets like Wabh Ibn Munabbih, Abdul-Razzaq Al-Sana'ani, Al-Hasan Ibn Ahmed AlHamdani, A'lqamat Dhi Jidan, Waddah Al-Yaman Abdul-Khaliq Ibn Abi Attalh Ashihabi, Bishr Bin Abi Kibar Al-Blawi, and many others.
During the Sulaihi rule of Yemen in the eleventh century, King Ali bin Muhammad Assulaihi reconstructed the circumference wall of Sana'a and established
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