Yemen

Ancient Kingdom of Saba

WHS Score 2.73 Votes 2 Average 3.5

The Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba, Marib comprise 7 archaeological sites representative of this ancient civilisation of South Arabia.

The Kingdom flourished from the 8th century BCE to the 3rd century CE and mainly relied on the trade of incense. The Landmarks contain the ruins of the Great Marib Dam, an ancient wonder of the world for its innovative irrigation system whose destruction was referenced in the Koran. The city of Marib was the largest and most populous in the kingdom and was surrounded by a 4.5km long wall. Outside the city are the remains of two Sabean temples, the oval temple of Awwam, known as the sanctuary of the Queen of Sheba, and the Barran temple, dedicated to the moon god Almaqah.

Community Perspective: having visited in 1996, long before the site became inscribed via the emergency procedure, Solivagant details its history and his visit to a region that held a reputation for kidnapping visitors.

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Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba, Marib (ID: 1700)
Country
Yemen
Status
Inscribed 2023 Site history
History of Ancient Kingdom of Saba
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • iii
  • iv
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Religious structure: Christian
  • Archaeological site: Near Eastern
Travel Information
No travel information
Recent Connections
View all (15) .
Connections of Ancient Kingdom of Saba
History
  • Queens and Empresses
    "mythical land of the legendary Queen of Sheba, known locally as Bilqis ... The tangible associations to Bilqis in the temples of Awām and Bar’ān may therefore be more of a mythical projection, referring to an idealised kingdom as a place of origin of Queen Sheba/Bilqis rather than the Kingdom of Saba in particular." (AB ev)
Damaged
  • Terrorist Attacks
    In July 2007 a suicide bomber killed 7 Spanish tourists at Marib temple itself.

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Damaged in War since WWII
    Some component parts have been deliberately damaged in targeted attacks, as is the case of the ancient city of Ma’rib and the northern bank of the Ma’rib dam (airstrike in 2015), as well as in the ancient city of Sirwah (bombing in 2018). (AB ev)
World Heritage Process
Human Activity
  • Writing systems
    The Sabaean people used an ancient Semitic tongue of their own, Sabaean or Himyaritic, which are what Ethiopian is based on. ... They left behind many inscriptions in the monumental ancient South Arabian script or Musnad, as well as numerous documents in the related cursive Zabūr script. (wiki) + "evidenced by numerous historical wall inscriptions" (AB ev)
  • Incense Route
    "The Sabaeans appear to have dominated the southern part of the incense trade while the Nabateans controlled the northern part" (AB ev)
  • Irrigation and drainage
    "An innovative irrigation system created to sustain agriculture and pastoral economy in the semi-arid environment of the ArabianPeninsula demonstrates the high level of hydrologicalengineering" (AB ev)
Constructions
  • Notable Dams
    Great Dam of Marib. Used for irrigation for some 2,500 years. Finally broke down in the year 570 or 575. "The Ma’rib dam irrigation system is said to be one of the oldest models for the emergence of advanced dam engineering." (AB ev)

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Canals
    From Dam: "The main drains and diversion canals are only the part of the overall irrigation network still visible." (AB ev)
  • Tower-houses
    On top of the tell are the remains of a cluster of traditional Yemeni tower houses (AB ev)
  • Tell
    "Ma’rib now survives as a tell overlooking what was the Northern Oasis and separated from what was the Southern Oasis by the Wadi Dhana." (AB ev)
Timeline
  • Built in the 7th century BC
    Heydays of city Marib and construction Dam / In the 7th century BCE, the political system in the kingdom changed with the transfer of the administrative control to the dynastic kings. Together with this transfer, religious practice changed, and the Moon God Almaqah became the state deity of the Sabaeans (AB ev)
Visiting conditions
WHS Names
  • Name changes
    Upon nomination, was on T List as “The Archaeological Site of Marib” + upon inscription where it was named "Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba in Marib Governorate"
News

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Recent Visitors
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Community Reviews

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First published: 08/04/22.

Solivagant

Ancient Kingdom Of Saba

Ancient Kingdom of Saba (Inscribed)

Ancient Kingdom of Saba by Solivagant

Only time will tell whether Marib, as a recent report suggests, really is a serious contender for inscription in 2023 - or even relatively soon thereafter, in a country riven by a long running civil and proxy war which shows no sign of ending and which is currently raging close by. We visited way back in April 1996 but it hasn’t yet been reviewed by any of the 3 “Community members” who have recorded a visit to it. The news of its possible nomination has stimulated me to do so despite the passage of so many years!

Marib was “capital” of the Semitic Sabaean Kingdom which ruled in southern Arabia from around 10th C BCE, reaching its peak between 7th/5th C BCE - the era of its great monuments including those of Ma’rib. Its wealth derived from agriculture, supported by dams such as that at Ma’rib, and trade including in frankincense. It had close links with Ethiopia and its script is related to the one used there to this day. It survived various vicissitudes through to the Common Era and was eventually overrun by Persians and Arabs. Its famed wealth was reflected in Judaic biblical stories and associated legends regarding the possibly legendary “Queen of Sheba”. These were carried through to and adapted by Islam in Surah 34 of the Quran (covering the destruction of the Marib Dam and conversion of the unnamed Queen of Saba by Solomon).

The first excavations at Ma’rib took place as recently as …

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