Kingdom of Awsan in the context of "Tell (archaeology)"

Arabs (Arabic: عَرَب) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Before the spread of Arabic language in the wake of the Arab conquests, "Arab" largely referred to the Semitic inhabitants—both settled and nomadic—of the Arabian Peninsula and the Syrian Desert. In modern usage, it includes people from across the Greater Middle East that share Arabic as a native language.

Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years. In the 9th century BCE, the Assyrians made written references to Arabs as inhabitants of the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Arabia. Throughout the Ancient Near East, Arabs established influential civilizations starting from 3000 BCE onwards, such as Dilmun, Gerrha, and Magan, playing a vital role in trade between Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean. Other prominent tribes include Midian, ʿĀd, and Thamud mentioned in the Bible and Quran. Later, in 900 BCE, the Qedarites enjoyed close relations with the nearby Canaanite and Aramaean states, and their territory extended from Lower Egypt to the Southern Levant. From 1200 BCE to 110 BCE, powerful kingdoms emerged such as Saba, Lihyan, Minaean, Qataban, Hadhramaut, Awsan, and Homerite emerged in Arabia. According to the Abrahamic tradition, Arabs are descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael.

Qataban (Qatabanian: 𐩤𐩩𐩨𐩬, romanized: QTBN, lit. 'Qatabān') was an ancient Yemenite kingdom in South Arabia that existed from the early 1st millennium BCE to the late 1st or 2nd centuries CE.

It was one of the six ancient South Arabian kingdoms of ancient Yemen, along with Sabaʾ, Maʿīn, Ḥaḍramawt, Ḥimyar and Awsān.

Ḥaḍramawt (Hadrami: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, romanized: ḤḌRMT; Sabaic, Minaic, Qatabānic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩥𐩩, romanized: ḤḌRMWT) was an ancient South Semitic-speaking kingdom of South Arabia (ancient Yemen) which existed from the early 1st millennium BCE till the late 3rd century CE in the area currently named after it in the region of the Ṣayhad desert.

The kingdom of Ḥaḍramawt was one of the six ancient South Arabian kingdoms of ancient Yemen, along with Sabaʾ, Maʿīn, Qatabān, Ḥimyar, and Awsān. Little is known about Ḥaḍramawt compared to the other early South Arabian states.

The ancient history of Yemen or South Arabia is especially important as one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a feature recognized by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who described Yemen as Eudaimon Arabia (better known in its Latin translation, Arabia Felix) meaning Fortunate Arabia or Happy Arabia. Between the eighth century BCE and the sixth century CE, it was dominated by six main states which rivaled each other, or were allied with each other and controlled the lucrative spice trade: Saba', Ma'īn, Qatabān, Hadhramaut, Kingdom of Awsan, and the Himyarite Kingdom. Islam arrived in 630 CE and Yemen became part of the Muslim realm.

The centers of the Old South Arabian kingdoms of present-day Yemen lay around the desert area called Ramlat al-Sab'atayn, known to medieval Arab geographers as Ṣayhad. The southern and western Highlands and the coastal region were less influential politically. The coastal cities were however already very important from the beginning for trade. Apart from the territory of modern Yemen, the kingdoms extended into Oman, as far as the north Arabian oasis of Lihyan (also called Dedan), to Eritrea, and even along coastal East Africa to what is now Tanzania.