Saba’

Saba’, Hebrew Sheba, ancient kingdom of southwestern Arabia (now the Republic of Yemen) mentioned in the Bible, most notably in the story about the meeting between King Solomon and the queen of Sheba (see 1 Kings 10:1-13).

The inhabitants of Saba’, the Sabaeans, spoke a language in the Arabic group of the southern branch of the Semitic languages. The kingdom probably originated about the 10th century bc, and it was one of the most powerful states in southern Arabia until about 115 bc, when the Himyarites gained ascendancy. Its capital and chief city (7th century-2nd century bc) occupied the site of present-day Ma‘rib, east of Sana‘a (Sanaa), the capital of Yemen. At the height of its development, in the 8th century bc, the kingdom of Saba’ maintained colonies along trade routes leading to Palestine, and Ma‘rib was one of the wealthiest cities of ancient Arabia.