# Ghumdan Palace in Sana'a (c. mid-3rd century CE (disputed))

URL: https://allhistories.com/yemen/timeline/250-ghumdan-palace-in-sana-a
Location: Sana'a
Themes: Palaces, Sana'a

Ghumdan Palace stood in the old city of Sana'a opposite the eastern doors of what is now the Great Mosque. Its date is uncertain: one summary gives the mid-third century CE with a question mark, and other proposals place it in the second or first century. Medieval tradition credited the foundations to Shem, son of Noah, or to later Sabaean builders. The tenth-century writer al-Hamdani described a palace of twenty storeys with bronze lions and a water clock, but modern estimates generally give six to ten storeys. Whether it was the world's first skyscraper is claimed by some, not established. It was the residence of the last Himyarite kings. According to reports it was destroyed in the seventh century by the caliph Uthman, who feared it could become a rebel stronghold, and some materials were used in the Great Mosque. Its tower style is thought to have influenced Sana'a's tower houses. Only a mound of ruins now marks the site, within the UNESCO-listed Old City of Sana'a. At this point in the timeline (c. 250 CE), Saba was ruled by a succession of kings (sabaean kings Tha'ran Ya'ub Yuhan'im to Yasir Yuhan'im) whose individual reigns the king list does not date (175 – 275 CE).

## Why it matters
Ghumdan symbolises the grandeur of Himyarite Sana'a and its multi-storey building tradition.

Ruler at the Time: [Kings of Saba nos. 77–87 (dates not given)](https://allhistories.com/yemen/rulers/kings-of-saba-nos-77-87-dates-not-given)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Ghumdan Palace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghumdan_Palace)
- [Wikipedia — Sanaa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanaa)