Rom - Weltreich und Vielvölkerstaat, offenbar ohne ethnische Konflikte! Wie begriff man Identität in der Antike? Kleidung ist ein Schlüssel, um das zu untersuchen: Sie dient zur sozialen Verortung, zur Bestimmung der Herkunft und ist Zeichen gesellschaftlicher oder religiöser Zugehörigkeit.

The first article in this volume presents 17 bronzes that came to light among the ruins of an enwalled settlement atop the Jabal al-‘Awd, a nearly 3000-meter high mountain located some 50 km east of Ibb. The figural bronzes encompass Egyptian or Greek-Roman kinds, but also those obviously produced in South Arabia that display the influence of works from the Mediterranean sphere. Residences of rulers and palaces are a well-known occurrence among ancient civilizations. This applies to ancient South Arabia as well, whence a number of such complexes are found, for example, the palace of Gumdan in Sana’a. The description of Gumdan, as documented by al-Hamdani for instance, shows great similarity with the rock paintings at Djarf al-Yahudi, a basolt promontory located ca. 50 km east of Sana’a. The second contribution in this tome provides a description of these rock paintings and compares them with the documentation made by al-Hamdani.