Saba in 218 B.C.

Saba — c. 218 BC · The Kingdom of the Incense Road.

The kingdom of Saba — the Sheba of scripture and legend — is the foremost of the South Arabian caravan states, ruling the highlands and desert margins of what is now Yemen from its capital at Marib. Its wealth flows from the incense trade: frankincense and myrrh, gathered in the aromatic lands of the far south, are gathered at Marib and sent north by camel along the great incense road to the kingdoms of the Mediterranean. The foundation of that prosperity is water — the Great Dam of Marib, which tames the seasonal torrent of the Wadi Dhana to irrigate a vast oasis. In 218 BC Saba contends with Qataban, Hadramawt and Ma’in for mastery of the incense routes.

Far to the south of the warring Hellenistic kingdoms, beyond the deserts of Arabia, lies the land the Greeks call Eudaemon Arabia — “Arabia the Blessed.” Here the Sabaeans of Mariaba grow rich on a trade no rival can reach: the frankincense and myrrh that the temples of the whole ancient world burn by the ton. The incense is gathered, taxed and sent north by caravan; the gold and silver of three continents flow back. The kings of Saba, once styled mukarrib (“federator”) of the tribes and now malik (“king”), rule from Marib behind the wall of the Great Dam, and worship Almaqah, lord of the moon, in the pillared oval of the temple of Awwam.