Dʿmt (Unvocalized Ge'ez: ደዐመተ, DʿMT theoretically vocalized as ዳዓማት, *Daʿamat[2] or ዳዕማት, *Daʿəmat[3]) was an Ethio-Sabaean[4] kingdom located in present-day Eritrea and the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia. The exact dates of its existence remain unknown. However, a timeframe spanning from the end of the 8th century BC to the 6th century BC is a hypothesis.[5] Few inscriptions by or about this kingdom survive, and very little archaeological work has taken place. As a result, it is not known whether Dʿmt ended as a civilization before the Kingdom of Aksum's early stages, evolved into the Aksumite state, or was one of the smaller states united in the Kingdom of Aksum, possibly around 150 BC.[6]
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Given the presence of a large temple complex, the capital of Dʿmt may have been present-day Yeha, in Tigray Region, Ethiopia.[1] At Yeha, the temple to the god Ilmuqah is still standing.[7]
The kingdom developed irrigation schemes, used plows, grew millet, and made iron tools and weapons.[citation needed]
Some modern historians including Stuart Munro-Hay, Rodolfo Fattovich, Ayele Bekerie, Cain Felder, and Ephraim Isaac consider this civilization to be indigenous, although Sabaean-influenced due to the latter's dominance of the Red Sea, while others like Joseph Michels, Henri de Contenson, Tekle-Tsadik Mekouria, and Stanley Burstein have viewed Dʿmt as the result of a mixture of Sabaeans and indigenous peoples.[8][9] Some sources consider the Sabaean influence to be minor, limited to a few localities, and disappeared after a few decades or a century, perhaps representing a trading or military colony in some sort of symbiosis or military alliance with the civilization of Dʿmt or some other proto-Aksumite state.[10][11]
Archaeologist Rodolfo Fattovich believed that there was a division in the population of Dʿmt and northern Ethiopia due to the kings ruling over the 'sb (Sabaeans) and the 'br, the 'Reds' and the 'Blacks'.[12] Fattovich also noted that the known kings of Dʿmt worshipped both South Arabian and indigenous gods named 'str, Hbs, Dt Hmn, Rb, Šmn, Ṣdqn and Šyhn.[12]
After the fall of Dʿmt, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller unknown successor kingdoms. This lasted until the rise of one of these polities during the first century BC, the Aksumite Kingdom.[13]
The following is a list of four known rulers of Dʿmt, in chronological order:[9]
| Term | Name | Consort name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dates from ca. 700 BC to ca. 650 BC | |||
| Mlkn Wʿrn Ḥywt | ʿArky(t)n | contemporary of the Sabaean mukarrib Karib'il Watar | |
| Mkrb, Mlkn Rdʿm | Smʿt | ||
| Mkrb, Mlkn Ṣrʿn Rbḥ | Yrʿt | Son of Wʿrn Ḥywt, "King Ṣrʿn of the tribe YGʿḎ [=Agʿazi, cognate to Ge'ez], mkrb of DʿMT and SB'" | |
| Mkrb, Mlkn Ṣrʿn Lmn | ʿAdt | Son of Rbḥ, contemporary of the Sabaean mukarrib Sumuhu'alay, "King Ṣrʿn of the tribe YGʿḎ, mkrb of DʿMT and SB'" |
