60 years before the appearance of Islam. Languages Old South Arabian comprised a number of languages; the following are those that have been preserved in writing (the dates follow the so-called long chronology). Besides these, at least Razihi may be a surviving Old South Arabian language. Sabaean: the language of the kingdom of Saba and later also of Ḥimyar; also documented in the Eritrean kingdom of Da'amot; very well documented, ca. 6000 Inscriptions Old Sabaean: 8th until 2nd century BC. Middle Sabaean: 1st century BC until the 4th century AD (the best documented language) Ḥaramitic: the language of the area to the north of Ma'īn Central Sabaean: the language of the inscriptions from the Sabaean heartland South Sabaean: the language of the inscriptions from Radman and Ḥimyar "Pseudo-Sabaean": the literary language of Arabian tribes in Najrān, Haram and Qaryat al-Fāw Late Sabaean: 5th and 6th centuries AD. Minaean: (also called Madhabian): the language of the city states in al-Jawf − with the exception of Haram − especially the later sparsely populated state of Ma'in (recorded from the 8th until 2nd century BC). Inscriptions have also been found outside Ma'īn in the commercial colonies of Dedan and Madā'in Ṣāliḥ, in Egypt and also on Delos. (ca. 500 inscriptions) Qatabānian: the language of the kingdom of Qatabān, recorded from the 5th century BC until the 2nd century (barely 2000 inscriptions) Awsānian: the language of the kingdom of Awsān, poorly recorded (ca. 25 inscriptions, 8th/ 1st century BC until about the 1st century AD). Indistinguishable from Qatabānian. Other varieties such as the language of the tribe of Radmān Hadramautic (or Ḥaḑramitic): the language of Ḥaḑramaut, with an additional inscription from the Greek island of Delos. 5th century BC until the 4th century AD, with ca. 1000 inscriptions. Written records Old South Arabian was written in the Old South Arabian script, a consonantal abjad deriving from the Phoenician alphabet. Compared with other parts of the ancient world, Palestine for instance, the number of surviving inscriptions is very high. Something in the region of 10,000 inscriptions exist. The Sabaean lexicon contains about 2,500 words. Categories of written records Inscriptions in stone Votive inscriptions, which often preserve historical accounts of the events that led to the dedication Inscriptions on buildings: give the names of the person who commissioned the work and the historical circumstances among other things Laws and legislation Protocols and deeds Inscriptions written for