Internal structure of Middle Sabaean bayt

The Middle Sabean bayt , clan community, appears to have been a very complex and highly stratified social entity. It seems possible to identify its following main components: [1] the clan nucleus, consisting of [1a] the “leading group” (“patriarch/s” and his/their brothers and sons), [1b] their partrilineal close senior (’ hy ‐) and junior ( bny ‐) relatives, [1c] their distant patrilineal relatives ( d ‐' c dr ), as well as their [1d] unmarried daughters ( bnt ) and [1e] children ( wld;‘wld ); it also seems possible to identify within the “clan nucleus” sub‐groups of “senior” and “junior” adults; [2] the wives of the members of the “clan nucleus” who would normally come from other clan communities and who would form a distinct sub‐group within the system of the Middle Sabean bayt (in general, it seems possible to suppose the existence of the “male” and “female” halves of the bayt ); together the above‐mentioned sub‐groups constituted the “free” part of the bayt (’ hrr ); its other important part was formed by [3] its “unfree” members (’ dm ; though most Middle Sabean‘ dm appear to have lived by their own autonomous bayts ); within large noble bayts an important role seems to have been played by maqtawīs , “personal assistants”, of the bayts ’leaders.