Zurayids (266–316) Hamdanids (304–439) Mahdids (304–439) Tahirid state (266–316) Kathiri State (304–439) South Yemen (1967–1990) North Yemen (1962–1990) The Kingdom of Awsan, commonly known simply as Awsan (Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩥𐩯𐩬, romanized: ʾwsn; Arabic: أوسان, romanized: ʾAwsān), was a kingdom in Ancient South Arabia, centered around a wadi called the Wadi Markha.

The first began in the 8th century BC, and in this time, Awsan was militarily allied with the Kingdom of Saba and, together, launched campaigns against common enemies.

In the late 7th century BC, this alliance changed into a rivalry and Saba, under Karib'il Watar, obliterated Awsan, then ruled by a king named Murattaʿ.

[1] Together, Saba and Awsan undertook a successful military ventures against Qataban during the reign of the Sabaean king, Yatha' Amar Watar.

During the reign of the Sabaean leader Karib'il Watar, the Kingdom of Awsan was destroyed by Saba and its allies (cities from the Jawf including Nashshan and Haram[7]).

The summary of the second campaign in the inscription reads:[9]When he crushed Awsān, killed sixteen thousand [16000] of them, captured forty thousand [40000]; devastated *Wusr from Lagiʾatum to Ḥammān; burnt all the cities of *Anfum; put to the torch all the cities of Ḥabbān and of *Dhayb; 5 devastated their irrigated zones; laid waste to Ns¹m, the irrigated area of Rs²ʾy, and Girdān; crushed {Awsān} in Datīnat and burnt all its cities; obliterated *Tafīḍ, destroyed it, put it to the torch, and laid waste to its irrigated areas; overwhelmed {Awsān} until reaching the coast, burnt all of its ci[ties] which lie by the coast; crushed {Awsān} in *Wusr, until routing Awsān and *Murattiʿ um its king, inflicting as punishment {the delivery} of the council chiefs of Awsān to S¹mht and inflicting as punishment 6 massacre and captivity; brought back the looting of his palace Miswar and removed all the inscriptions which [Karib]ʾīl seized {‘inflicted as punishment’} in his palace Miswar and the inscriptions of his deities’ temples; ...[18 letters] ... his palace Miswar; has caused to enter among the offspring of *Almaqah and his allies—his freemen and his serfs—{people} of the various territories of Awsān and of its cities, assigned to *Almaqah and to Sabaʾ S¹rm and its provinces, and Ḥmdn and its provinces, provided with an enclosure the 7 cities of S¹rm, had their irrigated areas cultivated and established Sabaʾ there.There is also evidence that Saba, after defeating Awsan, divided the territory between two of its other allies at the time: Qataban and Hadhramaut.

[11] When the ability of Qataban to project control over the Wadi Markha declined, the Kingdom of Awsan experienced a resurgence and regained its autonomy for at least a few decades.

[12][13] Hagar Yahirr was the center of an exceptionally large city for South Arabia, influenced by Hellenistic culture, with temples and a palace structure surrounded by mudbrick dwellings, with a probable site for a souq or market and a caravanserai serving camel caravans.