GRMT


GRMT was the son of the Aksumite King `DBH, described in South Arabian texts as the "son of the nagashi". Like his predecessor BYGT, also called the "son of the najashi", it is not known whether the title meant that they were crown princes or simply generals. Early in his father's reign, the wars that had flared up in South Arabia during GDRT's reign were rekindled. Shamir Yuhahmid of dhū Raydān and Himyar requested `ĐBH's help after having lost some power to two allied pretenders to the throne of Saba' and dhū Raydān. `DBH sent GRMT to South Arabia, where two Epigraphic South Arabian inscriptions mention his actions. He was involved in fighting using both Aksumite and Tihama tribes on the side of Shamir, but was eventually defeated by the Sabaean king `LŠRH YḤḌB. Aksumite control in parts of western Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia does not seem to have ended however, as GRMT continued war activities around Najran.

Name

Like BYGT and GDRT, the final T on GRMT could possibly be peculiar to South Arabian form. Though the vocalization of his name is still uncertain, it is connected to the Ge'ez root g-r-m. The root g-r-m has a few related meanings, such as "terror", "majesty", and to be "admirable," "become formidable," or "be frightful", as well as a number of other related and similar meanings. "Gärima," the name of one of the Nine Saints who came to Ethiopia in the 5th-6th centuries AD, is a very possible vocalization for GRMT, as it is relatively close to GRMT's time period.