| THE SOUTHERN ARABIAN KINGDOMS. From about 1000, the Hadrami tribe ruled the Wadi Hadramaut from Shabwa and controlled the production of frankincense. The Mineans lived along the eastern foothills of the Sarat Mountains, with a capital at Ma`in. Minean edicts were issued in the name of both their king (malik) and a council of nobles and priests. Saba was the wealthiest and most advanced of the South Arabian kingdoms. At its capital Marib, as well as at Sirwah, Yithil, and Sana, there were palaces and temples to the tribal god Ilmaqa. The king had more power than at Ma`in, although there was a tribal council. Some scholars connect the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1–13) with a Saba in the north, but the consensus is that she came from Southern Arabia. Sargon II (721–706) received tribute from King Ita'amra and Sennacherib from Karib'il (685). | 1 |
| THE SABEAN EMPIRE. The greatest Sabean king was Karib'il Watar (c. 420), who conquered Ma`in, Hadramaut, Awsan, and Qataban and took the title mukarrib, something like “emperor.” The succeeding mukarribs engaged in massive building projects, like the stone dam at Mar'ib, which distributed the waters of the Wadi Dhana for agriculture. The Sabean kingdom declined in the 3rd century and control over the desert trade shifted north to the Kingdom of Nabatea. (See The Middle East and North Africa, 500–1500) | 2 |
