« Sabaʾ and the Sabaeans », dans Queen of Sheba, Treasures from Ancient Yemen, edited by St John Simpson, London (The British Museum Press), 2002, pp. 51-58. Catalogue de l’exposition Yémen du British Museum.

CHAPTER Saba' and the Sabaeans CHRISTIAN ROBIN T he name of Saba' enjoys remarkable fame; in countries of Judaeo-Christian or Muslim cul­ ture there is an immediate association with an exotic and mysterious queen, evoked both in the Bible and the Qur'ân. Sabà is not a mythical location, as a kingdom with this name really did exist in ancient Yemen (fig. 13). The present exhibition offers the opportunity to put forward what is known about this mysterious kingdom and to consider the reasons for its fame. THE REDISCOVERY OF HISTORICAL SABA' Thousands of texts inscribed on stone or wood or cast in bronze and discovered at archaeological sites throughout Yemen indicate that ancient South Arabia was divided into a number of kingdoms. Sabà was the most important of these. European scholars derived the terms 'Sabaean' and 'Sabaeans' from the name Saba', to describe the language and the inhabitants of the kingdom. 1 At the heart of the Sabaean territory was the Wâdï Ohana, a watercourse that flows from the Yemeni highlands towards the desert interior where it vanishes into the sands of the Ramlat as-Sab'atayn. Mârib was the capital of this kingdom and was situated at the pre­ cise point where the wâdi emerges from the moun­ tains, a location which was particularly favourable for developing oasis agriculture. Each spring and summer, torrential rains over the mountains filled the wâdïs with run-off water. The torrent slowed after emerging from the mountains and could, with a certain amount of organisation, be directed into irrigation channels. The soil was easily prepared for the cultivation of crops, as it was relatively flat and lacked natural vegeta­ tion because of the dry climate. The territory of Sabà initially comprised the region of Mârib but during the reign of the most famous ruler, Karib'ïl Watâr, son of Dhamar'ali, or 'Karib'ïl the Great' (c. 700-680 Be), the terri tory was expanded to include a large part of south- west Arabia. Later, the territory was restricted to the regions of Mârib and �ana' â', the secondary capital founded in the first century AD. The kingdom of Sabà existed from the beginning of South Arabian civilisation: the oldest stone inscriptions, which date to the eighth century BC, already refer to it in the form of royal titles such as the 'mukarrib ofSabà', hence this period is also known as the 'mukarrib period'. The title 'mukarrib' or ' federator' was more prestigious than that of 'king' and seems to have been reserved for sovereigns who exercised a certain hegemony over other tribes or kingdoms; the term continued to be used until the beginning of the first century AD. These first texts were very short and commemorated the dedication of religious offerings or the building of walls or other con­ structions, whereas earlier inscriptions are limited to single words incised or painted on pottery which were apparently used to identify the contents, the owners or the destinations and reveal at best very little about tribal affiliations or dialect. Thus what is known about the history of the king­ dom of Sabà is based on the archaeological remains and thousands of inscriptions which date from between the eighth century BC and AD 275, the latter being the approximate date when Saba' was annexed by its neighbouring kingdom J:Iimyar. There are two sorts of inscriptions. The first type are primarily care­ fully executed texts, indelibly inscribed in stone or cast in bronze, which were designed to be on public display. The overwhelming majority of these texts commemorate the performance of rituals (to remind the deities about the merits of the donor; see cat. 206) and the realisation of works (to establish property rights; see cat. 120); several outline particular laws, rules or bans. The second type comprises texts in cur­ sive script, incised on wooden sticks or palm branches and primarily used to record correspondence and per­ sona! contracts (see cat. 205). The use of language, the particular gods that are invoked, the tribes and 51 QUEEN OF SHEBA: TREAS URES FROM ANCIENT YEMEN füan Sihi 'Amrir. fillibâmKawkabin, al-Hâmid • 'Ataq Naqb al-Hajar 4 IV q ::r:: • • J. a/-lawdh fi Shuka'• DAHAS • Ta'izz Mouza • Mawza' G V L F OF ADEN o._, FIG. 13 Map of ancien t souchern Arabia. (Drawn ryA. Searight) 52 locations that are mentioned, the rituals and the calendar of events identify a Sabaean text. However, the language itself is not sufficient to establish whether a South Arabian inscription is Sabaean as the kingdom of l:fimyar also used this language between 110 BC and AD 570. These local sources are complemented by a few references to .Sabà in the Bible and in Assyrian documents and more substantial texts about Arabia by certain Classical authors. Used cogether, these allow a reconstruction of the outline of the history of Sabà which can be divided into two broad periods. 2 The first period - the 'mukarribate' - lasted from the eighth co the first centuries BC and was dominated by a caravan economy with links co the markets of the Near East, mostly at Khindanu on the Middle Euphrates (ninth to eighth centuries Be), later at Gaza during the Persian period, and then finally at Petra during the Hellenistic period. Sabà was a theocratic monarchy held together by the common cuit of the god 'Almaqah who was offered special tribute during a pilgrimage in July. The Sabaeans also venerated four other deities: the gods 'Athtar and Hawbas and che goddesses dhac-l:fimyam ___ .___.__.___.____.1 ',>O 1on and dhat-Ba'danum. Important resources were derived from aromacics gathered in the deserts of southern Arabia, such as frankincense, which was largely grown in the l:façlramawc, and myrrh, as well as valuable commodities from India and Africa, such as ivory, tortoiseshell and precious woods, for which Sabà acted as the intermediary in the overland trade. The chronology of this period is scill under discussion. Many South Arabian inscriptions cannot be closely dated as they mention people whose identities are obscure or they fail to cite any externally datable events. In addition, a!though many sovereigns are known, their relative and absolute chronology still remains elusive. This is largely because it is difficu!t to distinguish a mukarrib or king by his homonyms. Until around the end of the first century AD, ail the Sabaean rulers bore rides consisting of a name followed by an epithet, each chosen from six and four possible alternatives. The names included Dhamar'alï, Karib'ïl, Sumhü'alay, Yada"il, Yakrubmalik and Yitha'amar and the epithets included Bayan, Dharih, Watar and Yanüf. Furthermore, the archaeological chronology is also uncertain, as the dates mostly rest on scylistic analysis SABA' AND THE SABAEANS of the inscriptions - a study known as palaeography and the results are usually only approximate. The first Sabaean period came to a brutal end when Rome, which had conquered Syria in 63 BC and then Cleopatra's Egypt in 30 BC, diverted the lucrative over­ land trade network from the kingdom of Saba' . Rome even attempted to conquer southern Arabia by sending an expedition from the north in the form of two legions plus auxiliary troops, including 1,000 Nabataean camel-riders and 500 Jewish archers, under the command of the Egyptian prefect, Aelius Gallus. Marib was besieged in c. 26-25 BC but owing to sick­ ness and heat exhaustion the Roman army retreated after only a week. 3 Then from the south the Romans took control of the naval intermediaries between E gypt and India, redirecting the overland aromatics trade to maritime routes, despite the unfavourable winds; the port chosen for the collection of the South Arabian commodities was Qani' in the l:Ia4ramawt, far from the Sabaean territory.4 These events severely weakened the kingdom of Sabà and its vulnerability provoked a major dynastie change, with the accession of l:limyar to the Sabaean throne. The second Sabaean period, from the first to the third centuries AD, was marked by a shift in the balance of power, during which the highland tribes usurped the inhabitants of the oasis on the desert margin. The l:limyarite kings exercised power for a century from Raydan, the citadel of the city of Z,afar, and took the title 'King of Saba" and dhü-Raydan' with the word 'Saba" used first in order to underline the legitimacy of their daim to the Sabaean throne. Sabà liberated itself between c. AD 100 and 275, the period during which l:limyar and Saba' had sovereigns that each carried the title 'King of Sabà' and dhü-Raydan' and, after 275, was subsequently reincorporated under I:Iimyarite con­ trol. The chronology is relatively certain and precise for this second period. Sorne inscriptions are dated accord­ ing to eras for which the approximate dates are known. The general order of the kings of this period has been established with the aid of numerous texts that highlight the major events of each reign, and the homonyms become rare with the appearance of new names. Thus often the margin of error is less than a decade compared to the first period, when the error is often in the order of a century. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SEARCH FOR SABA' The kingdom of Sabà was discovered in the middle of the nineteenth century during the expedition of the French pharmacist, Th. Joseph Arnaud. Having served the Egyptian regiment in Arabia, and then the Imam in $ana'a', Arnaud was persuaded by the French Consul at Jeddah to return to Yemen in order to study the South Arabian inscriptions. Arnaud arrived at $ana'a' on 9 July 1843 and through his connections was able to join a car­ avan that was travelling to the east on 12 July. He returned to $ana'a' on 25 July, having visited the ancient monuments of Marib, notably the dam, the great temple of 'Almaqah and the ruins at $irwal:i. Arnaud managed to copy a total of fifty-six inscriptions.5 Thereafter, the archaeological exploration of Saba' was renewed by an expedition led by Joseph Halévy (1827-1917) and organised under the auspices of the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres of Paris. Halévy undertook a long and dangerous voyage through eastern Yemen, which took him to the Jawf, Najran and Marib. He discovered numerous archaeo­ logical sites and copied 686 inscriptions, the publica­ tion and study of which marked the true beginning of South Arabian studies. Halévy was accompanied on his voyage by Hayyïm Habshüsh, a Jewish resident of $ana'a', who was never mentioned by name in the reports. Hayyïm Habshüsh later made himself known by producing his own version of the expedition, in which he claimed the credit for the mission's success. 6 A third explorer, the Austrian Eduard Glaser (1855-1908), also played an important role in the advance of Sabaean studies. Glaser made four missions to Yemen between 1882 and 1894, during the Ottoman occupation of the country. This explorer and scholar produced extraordinary results in a number of fields, especially in epigraphy, archaeology, ethnogra­ phy, cartography and astrology. 7 Glaser visited the regions north of $ana'a' and travelled to Marib dis­ guised as a Muslim doctor of religious science, under the name of faqïh Husayn, son of 'Abd Allah al-Biraqï from Prague. The first archaeological excavation in Yemen took place in 1927-8 when the explorer Carl Rathjens and geographer Hermann von Wissmann uncovered the small temple at al-Huqqa, 23 km north-north-west of $ana'a'. 8 The second archaeological excavation was conducted in 1937-8 by the British archaeologist Gertrude Caton-Thompson at the Sayïn temple at I:Iuray4ah, in association with geologist Elinor Gardner and the famous explorer Freya Stark (1893-1993).9 No excavations were conducted at Marib itself until the winter of 1951/2 when the American Foundation for the Study of Man (AFSM), led by its director and founder Wendell Phillips, excavated the peristyle hall of the Mal:iram Bilqïs; however, this mission was unfortu­ nately curtailed because of insecurity in the region. 10 It was not until the 1970s, with the end of the civil war in North Yemen (1962-8) that Sabaean archaeol­ ogy began again in earnest. The research was initially in the form of surveys which were undertaken by Soviet (1969-71), French (1971-) and German 53 Q UEE N OF SHEB A: TR EASU RES FR O M A NC IEN T YEM EN 14 View ofM arib. (Photo: A. Porter/AFSM) T OP FI G . ABOYE FI G . 15 Aerial view of the Awwam temple or MaJ:iramBilqîs, Marib. (Photo: A. Porter/AFSM) 54 archaeologists (1971-). The Arnericans and Italians excavated the first archaeological soundings; large-scale excavations which took place at Marib and Sirwa~ were commenced in the 1980s by the German Archaeological Institute in Sana'a' (DAI). 11 TH E EV ID ENCE FO R S A BA' The archaeological remains at Marib, which is first called Maryab in the inscriptions and was only known as Marib from the end of the second century AD , SirwaJ:i and in the Jawf are very important in the understanding of the Sabaean kingdom. Marib was by far the largest ancient ciry in southern Arabia - indeed, possibly the only real ciry- with a stone enclosure wall chat contained an area of some 110-20 hectares (fig. 14). 12 Outside the perimeter of the ciry were two gardens, an irrigation system including the enormous Marib dam, sluices and canais, and two temples dedicared to the Sabaean national deiry 'Almaqah (fig. 15). Many other structures are mentioned in the inscriptions , such as the royal palace of Saba' and a sixth-century church, but these have not yet been discovered. The most famous monument at Marib is undoubtedly the great dam on the Wadï Dhana, ·7 km upsueam from the city (fig. 16). This construction made it possible to irrigate up to 10,000 hectares . In its final stage, which dated to the fifth to sixth century AD, this dam consisted of a thick mudbrick retaining wall measuring 650 m long and 15 m high with two stone sluices anchored in the bedrock on the north and south banks. The inscriptions dating between the mid-fourth century AD and AD 558 mention a series of four repairs to the dam which was finally destroyed between 558 and the death of Mu~ammad in AD 632 according ro the Qur 'an (34: 15/16). Marib had played a central role in the history of southern Arabia for as long as the Sabaean kingdom remained SABA' AND THE SABAEANS :, ~ - . -~. ~ -. . ~ 16 View of the dam, Marib. (Photo:St J. Simpson) ABOY E FIG . RIGHT FIG . 17 Caleite-alabaster inscription, As-Sawda', Aranyada' temple, early 7th cencury BC (car.27). ·- .... independent, which was until around AD 275. The ciry rhen came under l:fimyarite control and rapidly declined. The pagan temples were abandoned in the rhird quarrer of the fourth century, when the l:fimyarite dynasry converted co Judaism. The most spectacular monument ac the walled ciry of ~irwâ):i, 35 km west of Mârib, is a temple dedicated co "Almaqah master of the Ibex'. The temple enclosure wall is semi-ova l in plan and is alm ost entirely intact. Long inscriptions describing the achievements of Karib'ïl the Great (or Karib'ïl Watâr, son of Ohamar'alï) were discovered inside the temple which has now been excavated by the German Archaeo logical Institute (fig. 17). Sorne 8 km north-east of ~irwâ):i are the calcite-alabaster mines of al-Makhdara where huge quantities of rock have been quarried from the mountain. In the Jawf - a vase tecronic fault co the wesrnorrh-west of Mârib - a number of rowns were Sabaean rhroughour ail or most of rheir hiscory. These are characterised by rheir remarkable enclosure walls and extramural temples. The enclosed areas are relatively modest and measure some 15 hectares ac the most. A sancruary site consisring of several religious complexes lies in the foothills and slopes of Jabal al-Lawdh and marks the northern limit of the Sabaean terri tory during the lare period. 55 QUEEN OF SHEBA: TREA SU R ES FROM AN C IENT YEMEN The highlands around $ana'â ' were Sabaean from cheir origin bue the regions have very few remains because, as chey have always been occupied, the ancienc structures have been descroyed chrough reuse of building macerials. The principal Sabaean monument in $ana'â' was the Ghumdân palace, the earliesc reference co which daces co the beginning of the chird century AD. The number of floors, the richness of ics decoracion and the clepsydra (wacerclock) were celebraced by the poecs. 13 Foremosc among the palaces ofYemen and having the mosc remarkable hiscory and the mosc widespread repucacion is Ghumdân ... Ghumdân was cwency scoreys high, one on top of the ocher.... Ac each of the palace's four corners scood a copper statue of a lion. These were hollow so chat whenever the wind blew chrough chem a voice similar co the accual roaring of lions would be heard (al-Hamdani 8.5, 15, 22-5). Ghumdân, probably sicuaced norch of the Grand Mosque , was descroyed under che caliph 'Uchmân (AD644-56). THE FIG . 18 The stela of Abraha. (The National Museum, $ana a' ) 56 SABAE AN MOD EL Sabà occupied a special place in South Arabian civilisation. Sabaean remains are wichouc doubc more numerous and of a becter qualicy relative co chose of ocher kingdoms, bue chis is noc the only reason for che kingdom 's fame. A number of factors underline the important role chat Saba' played. The firsc due is chat the mosc ancienc South Arabian inscriptions corne from Mârib or sites in che surrounding area. The second indication rescs in the face chat che Sabaean onomascics were used chroughouc souchern Arabia. Sabaean was the only language used in souchern Arabian nomenclature , parcicularly in the case of persona! names including a possessive pronoun or a factitive verb, which are grammatical forms chat are presenced differencly in Sabaean compared co Minaean , Qacabanian or Hadrami, the ocher main South Arabian languages. A chird due is found in the language of the mosc ancienc inscriptions from Qacabân and the 1:-Iaçlramawt which use verbal and pronominal forms borrowed from Sabaean inscriptions, indicacing chat Sabaean served as the basis for the formulation of chese documents. Saba' nor only acced as the mode! for writing , nomenclature and language bue the kingdom also srrongly influenced the architecture of the encire region . The same architectural forms are found chroughouc South Arabia: palaces, cicy enclosure walls and privace houses of a certain dace only presenc very minor variations in appearance and structure, and polygonal columns , square capicals wich dencicular and incised decoracion and marginally drafced and pecked limescone masonry were popular everywhere. The iconographie and decoracive repercoire also pcovides a good example of Sabaean influence: che same motifs of the ibex, crescenc moon and star, and dencils were widely used. There is no doubc chat the ancienc South Arabians, as well as che firsc Abyssinian kingdoms, considered Saba' co be the birthplace of South Arabian civilisation . The name of Sabà was a source of legicimacy and prestige. There is a perfecc example from 1:-Iimyaricehiscory of SABA' AND THE SABAEANS the esteem in which Saba' was held. When l:fimyar first separated from Qatabân in c. 110 BC, the tribe rejected Qatabanian and adopted the Sabaean language (which was different to l:fimyarite); still more astonishing was the fact that the kings of l:fimyar placed Sabà at the beginning of their royal titles, before dhü-Raydân, the dynastie palace of the l:f imyarites. The last l:f imyarite kings, who ruled in the fifth and sixth centuries AD, did their utmost to preserve the city ofMarib, the capital of Sabà, from decline and abandonment by maintaining the great dam and the irrigation network, despite terrifie difficulty, revoit and disease, as recorded on the stela of Abraha (fig. 18). 14 Neighbouring Arab tribes from the desert also held Sabà in the same regard. Having discussed the evidence for a Sabaean origin of South Arabian civilisation, it is important to consider how cultural unification came about in ancient south­ ern Arabia. Initially there was a tension between the diverse political, social, cultural and linguistic systems on the one hand and an imitation of the Sabaean mode! on the other, whereas the earliest South Arabian inscrip­ tions demonstrate that there were a number of South Arabian states of greatly varying size, with their own institutions, divine panthea, calendars and individual languages. Nevertheless, unity could be seen through some shared traits, such as the use of the same script, iconography and architectural styles as well as the same typology and phraseology for similar inscriptions. Between the eighth century BC and the beginning of the Common Era, the South Arabian kingdoms were inclined to affirm their own particular idiosyncrasies. Qatabân, for example, developed an original type of elegandy styled calcite-alabaster statuary. With the emergence of l:fimyar (c. 110 Be), followed by the dis­ appearance of the kingdoms ofMa'în (around the end of the first century BC) and Qatabân (c. AD 175), this tendency was radically reversed and South Arabia began to unify. The principal reason for this change was the rise to power of l:fimyar, which annexed vast territories and unified the whole of South Arabia in c. AD 290. Political unity was accompanied by the use of a single calendar and administrative language, henceforth Sabaean. As it was extremely difficult to cultivate a common faith on the remains of paganism, the J:Iimyarite dynasty chose a new religion; the kings as individuals adopted Judaism and chose a more toned-down version of monotheism for the state reli­ gion in the years following AD 384. Greater contacts with the outer world resulred in the rapid increase in Hellenistic-Roman influence in art and architecture, which also acred to unify the region culmrally. At the same cime, the individual became as impor­ tant as the clan or tribe, a fact witnessed by the increasingly persona! contents of the dedicatory inscriptions. In the political domain the narure of power was radically modified. The South Arabian kingdoms in the ancient period based their collective identity on their allegiance to a great deity and in the practice of communal rimais. After the ascendance of J:Iimyar, the cernent chat bound the political entities was no longer the sharing of a small number of religious practices but the allegiance to a prince. The perception of time was even modified and a new linear system was slowly imposed, beginning with the appearance of three eras with the years counted from a chosen point in time. By the fifth century AD the Yemen had every sign of a true nation .with a strong central power, a unified language (Sabaean) and writing system (South Arabian), a common artistic expression and a domi­ nant religion Qudaism, largely practised by the ruling classes), after some 1,400 years of historical develop­ ment. The political unification and cultural homo­ geneity under the l:f imyarites was without doubt not as deep rooted as the ruling classes would have wished, as was generally the case in the empires of Late Antiquity. Failure began to loom large on the horizon. An ecological crisis devastated the irrigation agricul­ ture on the plain. In order to involve J:Iimyar in its war against the Persians, Byzantium encouraged proselytis­ ing Christians, who managed to divide the country and provoke a victorious military intervention from Abyssinia in c. AD 525-30. These wars and the great epidemic of the years AD 547-8 decimated the l:f imyarite population. The l:f imyarites, having liber­ ated themselves from the Abyssinians only to fall under the control of the Sasanian Empire in c. AD 570, found their kingdom divided into small principalities. The collapse of the l:f imyar regime had significant consequences: without it the foundation, by Mul:iammad of the first Islamic Stace at al-Madina in AD 622, would not have been possible. THE ORIGINS OF SABA' As previously discussed, Sabà seems to have been the birthplace of the South Arabian civilisation, but this is not to say chat the Sabaean architectural style, writing and iconographie repertoire were developed in cultural isolation. Saba' was pardy indebted to its Egyptian and Near Eastern neighbours for its inspiration. There is no doubt, for instance, chat South Arabian writing was derived from the consonant-based writing of the Near East, of which proto-Sinaitic and Ugaritic are two different examples. The carving and working of stone was doubtless influenced by techniques devel­ oped in Egypt. The methods of cultural and technological transfer that operated from the Near East towards the southern 57 QUEEN OF SHEBA: TREASURES FROM ANCIENT YEMEN Arabian peninsula are not well known. Long-distance commercial exchange probably developed from a very early date. The first products that were exchanged were metals, precious stones and al! sorts of rare commodi­ ties including aromatic gums and resins, which the Egyptians (from the third millennium Be) and then the Near Easrerners and Greeks (from the first cen­ turies of the first millennium BC) used in cu!tic and funerary rituals, perfumes and pharmaceuticals. The commerce was initially a 'down-the-line' system, with­ out the producers or consumers ever meeting, but very quickly the !ure of profit would have brought certain enterprising individuals into direct contact.The use of the came! as a beast of burden, from the beginning of the first millennium BC, would have permitted the regular transport of aromatic products from southern Arabia to the Near East. Perhaps the earliest mention of the Sabaeans and long-distance came! caravan trade in historical texts may be dated to the middle of the eighth century BC. This Assyrian text describes the seizure of a caravan by the governor of Sukhu and Mari near the city of Khindanu on the middle Euphrates. The caravan was accompanied by 100 people from Tayma' (locared in north-west Arabia) and Saba' and consisted of 200 camels carrying myrrh, wool, iron, alabaster and blue- or purple-dyed cloth. The caravan was apprehended for the non-payment of tolls as they travelled homeward. The rext lists some of the commodities which may have been traded in exchange for southern Arabian products.15 This document as well as other Assyrian texts from the same period and the references to Sabà in the Bible, show that an important trade network developed under Sabaean control.This trade certainly put Sabaean mer­ chants in contact with the people of the Near East and they doubtless became the means by which cultural and technological influences spread from the north to the south.The first use of the came! as a beast of burden and the appœrance of writing and monumental stone buildings in southern Arabia are loosely synchronised, but that is not to say that Sabà suddenly appeared in the eighth cemury BC. The kingdom had a long evolu­ tion; irrigation agriculture may have been practised as early as the third millennium BC in the oasis of Mârib. The prestige of Saba' in South Arabia was no doubt linked to its central role in the beginning of South Arabian civilisation. It was also the resu!t of the politi­ cal supremacy that Saba' achieved towards the end of the eighth century BC. The prime mover in the increase of Sabaean power was the previously mentioned mukarrib Karib'ïl the Great. In eight military cam­ paigns, Karib'ïl the Great not only annihilated the rival kingdom of Awsân but also successfully conquered the whole of western Yemen and imposed his supremacy 58 over the remaining independent kingdoms, notably Qatabân and the J:ia9ramawt. An offering made in his name in Mesopotamia permits the dating of his reign to the end of the eighth and the beginning of the seventh century BC. 16 The exploits of Karib'ïl the Great are known, thanks to a detailed account of his reign engraved on two superimposed 7-m long limestone blocks. The inscrip­ tions were carved towards the end of his life and were placed in the centre of the sanctuary at �irwâl)..19 After Karib'ïl Sabà maintained its hegemony for more than a century, until the emergence of the Qatabanian power. THE PARADOX OF THE FAME OF SABA' Curiously, the fame of Saba' was never based on the reasons discussed above but instead on fables and scories. Saba' gradually became known through Greek and Roman authors, who referred to the southern half of the Arabian Peninsula as 'happy Arabia' (see p.33). These authors circulated extravagant tales about the prosperity and luxurious lifestyle of the South Arabians. The poet Horace echoed this idyllic image: ' ... with desire today for the fortunate treasures of the Arabs, you prepare a harsh campaign against the kings of the Sabaean land, still ignorant of defeat'. 18 The fame of Sabà was mostly derived from the Bible. According to the First Book of Kings (10:1-13) an anonymous Queen of Saba' arrived in Jerusalem to visit King Solomon, who is traditionally dated to the tenth century BC. 19 Having heard about the fame of Solomon, the queen wanted to confirm for herself whether the king was as wise and his kingdom as flourishing as was rumoured.The biblical author reported that the queen arrived with a very great came! caravan laden with quan­ tities of aromatics, 120 talents of gold and precious stones, and left enlightened. This story was intended to give the reign of King Solomon the aura of a golden age, a propaganda tool that was used with considerable success. The story lent itself particularly well to anecdo­ tal expansion and permitted the Abyssinians to establish a link with the kingdom oflsrael. The story of the Queen of Sabà is also recounted in the Qur'ân. Curiously enough, this rendition depends entirely on the biblical story and Jewish amplifications and does not contain any addirional information drawn from local Arab sources. The Arab Islamic tradi­ tions which relate to pre-Islamic Arabia confirm that from the beginning of Islam, the memory of Sabà was almost complerely erased. It only took a few decades for the people of southern Arabia to forger what the tide 'King of Sabà' signified, a tide which had been used by the Abyssinian kings ofYemen as lare as the year 560. EDITED BY ST JOHN SIMPSON TREASURES FROM ANCIENT YEMEN THEBRITISHMUSEUMPRESS Sponsoredby BAR(IA YS © 2002 The Trustees of The British Museum First published in 2002 by The British Museum Press A division of The British Museum Company Led Designed by Harry Green Typeset in Garamond Printed in Spain by Grafos SA, Barcelona 46 Bloomsbury Street, London WC 1B 3QQ A catalogue record for chis book HALF TITLE See cat. 142. is available from the British Library T ITLE PAGE See fig. 14, p. 54. lSBN 0 7 141 1151 1 ABOYE See fig. 12, p. 37. Contents Acknowledgemencs page6 Sponsor's Foreword page7 Foreword CIIAPTER 6 TRADE, INCENSE AND PERFUME Nigel Groom page88 CATALOGUE ENTRIES 99-118 by theMinister ofCulture in the Republic ofYemen Concribucors page8 page95 CHAl'TER 7 AGRICU LTURE AND THE COU NTRYSIDE page10 TonyJ. Wilkinson page102 CATALOGUE ENTRIES 119-23 I NTRODUC T I ON YEMEN, THE LAND page108 CHAPTER 8 OF THE QUEEN OF SABA' YusufM Abdullah page11 ARTS, CRAFT S AND INDU STRIES William D. Clanzman page110 CATALOGUE E TRIES 124-87 CHAPTER 1 page117 THE QUEEN OF SHEBA I N WESTERN POPU LAR CU LTURE 1850-2000 ARCH I TEC T URE Lloyd Lleweflyn-jones page12 CATALOGUE ENTRIES 1-10 CHAPTER 9 page23 jean-François Breton. page142 CATALOGUE ENTRIES 188-98 page148 CIIAPTER 10 CHAPTER 2 LEGE OS OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA LANGUAGES AND WRJTING Fabrizio A. Pennacchietti page31 François Bron page153 CATALOGUE ENTRIES11-23 page39 CATALOGUE ENTRIES 199-205 CHAPTER 1 1 CHAPTER 3 SABA' AND THE SABAEANS RE LIGI ON Christian Robin page51 Alexander Sima page161 CATALOGUE ENTRIES 24-37 page157 page59 CATALOGUE ENTRIES 206--42 page166 CHAPTER 12 CHAPTER 4 KINGS, KINGDOMS AND CHRONOLOGY DEAT!! AND fU NERARY PRAC TICES Robert Hoyland page 67 Burkhard Vogt page180 CATALOGUE ENTRIES 38-87 page73 CATALOGUE ENTRIES243-317 CHAPTER 5 Noces page208 BEFORE SHEBA Bibliography page 210 Christopher Edens page80 CATALOGUE ENTRIES 88-98 page86 Concordance page216 Index page220 page187