so, literally, people like us have not seen its like.Islamic IndexPhilosophy of HistoryHome PageCopyright (c) 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D. All Rights ReservedYEMEN, 1230 BC-1962 ADThe State of at-Tababi'aal-Harith ar-Raish1230-1105 BCAbrahah Dhul Manar1105-922Afrikis ibn Abrahah922-758al-'Abd Dhu al-Adh'ar758-733al-Hedhed ibn Sharahil733-658Balkis (Bilqis) bint al-Hedhed "Queen of Sheba"?658-638Nashir an-Ni'am638-553Shammar Yar'ish553-516Abu Malik516-461Tubba' ibn al-Akran461-408Dhu Jaychan408-338al-Akran ibn Abu Malik338-175Kalikarib175-140Ass'ad Abu Karib140-20Hassan ibn Tubba'20 BC-50 AD'Amr ibn Tubba'50-113'Abid Kilel113-187Tubba' ibn Hassan187-265Marthid ibn 'Abid265-306Wali'a ibn Marthid306-343Abrahah ibn as-Sabbah343-416Sahban ibn Muhrath416-431Hassan ibn 'Amr ibn Tubba'431-488Dhu Shanatir488-515Yusuf Ash'ar Dhu-NuwasKing of Himyar, 515-525convert to Judaism; Ethiopian invasion, 525-c.533Dhu Jadan525-533Ethiopian rule, 533-575; to Himyar, 575-577; to Persia, 577-631; to Islam, 629Yemen is an ancient and noteworthy center of civilization. It was long off the beaten track, at the entrance to the Red Sea, and rarely the focus, or the target, of major political events; but it certainly deserves more attention than it customarily receives. For instance, the recent and enormous (911 pages) Ancient History, from the First Civilizations to the Renaissance, by J.M. Roberts [Duncan Baird Publishers, London, 2004], contains nothing whatsoever about Yemen, and neither the name, nor "Saba," nor "Sheba," even appear in the index. This is a grotesque but not unusual oversight.If there were no ruins or no records, this neglect might be expected; but there are both. South Arabia, indeed, has its own derived version of the alphabet, which survives today in its Ethiopian version. As for inscriptions and literature, Joan Copeland Biella says, in her Dictionary of Old South Arabic [Harvard Semitic Museum Studies 25, 1982]:....thousands of texts in Sabaean, Minnaean, Qatabanian and H.ad.ramitic have been published, ranging in type from brief graffiti to substantial historical annals. [p.vii]One would never know this from treatments of ancient history like Roberts' book.The ruins are extensive and include unique structures, like the extraordinary Ma'rib Dam (Sadd Ma'rib in Arabic), built from cut stone in the Wadi Sadd (or Wadi Saba'). This was 1,800 feet long and was not alone, except in scale and fame, in the irrigation of the region. Much is left of the structure, including its spillway system. This should have rated as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Its final and catastrophic break, however, which entered into Islamic legend, represented the definitive decline of the area and also the uncertainties of Yemeni history, since the event cannot be well dated -- just between the 5th and the 7th centuries AD.The name of Yemen itself is of interest. The Romans called the area Arabia Felix, "happy" or "fortunate" Arabia, in contrast to Arabia Deserta, "desert" Arabia, and Arabia Petraea, "rocky" Arabia (where the Romans annexed the remarkable city of Petra). As it happens, Yemen in Arabic, Yaman, is from a verb, yamana, that can mean "to be lucky, fortunate." Yaman can also mean "right side or hand" and "south." This can be contrasted with sham, which can mean "north," "Syria," and "Damascus" but from a root that can also mean "evil omen," "ominous," "calamity," and "misfortune." The actual word for left in