Austrian Orientalist Kläuser and Ancient Yemeni Inscriptions: A Historical Study

Abstract

The current study discusses the Austrian orientalist Glaser, his life, how he collected and translated the ancient Yemeni inscriptions, and his exploratory journeys to the southern Arabian Peninsula, which had a significant impact on understanding the history of Yemen in general and the southern kingdoms in particular. These consisted of four successful journeys through which he was able to gather a lot of writings, inscriptions, and geographical maps that provided valuable information about the kingdoms of southern Arabia. I also covered his inscriptions, in which the ancient Yemenis documented their history and important events, known as the Musnad script or the South Arabian script, which pertained to Saba, Qataban, and Awsan. These inscriptions addressed various aspects of their political, religious, social, economic, and military lives, and here lies their importance, as these inscriptions are not merely texts but represent documented historical evidence of daily life, social relations, and political systems.