Land of Sheba

School of Nicolas Vleughels. Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. 1728–1729. France. Louvre Museum, Department of Paintings, inv. RF 1992 412.

The Queen of Sheba

According to the biblical narrative (2 Chronicles 9:1-12; 1 Kings 10:1-13), the Queen of Sheba learns of King Solomon’s wisdom and his close relationship with the Lord (Yahweh), so she travels to Jerusalem with a caravan bearing spices, gold, and precious stones. Upon arriving, she tests Solomon with “hard questions” or riddles, which he answers to her satisfaction. Impressed by his wisdom and wealth, she offers lavish gifts, praises the God of Israel, and returns to her own land.

The story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba is an iconic narrative of the biblical era. While the exact historical details and archaeological proof remain debated, tradition generally places the Queen of Sheba’s visit in the mid–tenth century BCE, aligning with Solomon’s reign.

The Kingdom of Saba

Saba’ was a real kingdom in ancient South Arabia, not a mythical locale. Archaeological and epigraphic evidence confirms its existence, with thousands of inscriptions on stone, bronze, wood, and pottery revealing that it was the most prominent South Arabian kingdom, centered in Mārib, Yemen. Its strategic location at the outlet of the Wādī Dhana enabled sophisticated irrigated agriculture, supporting its rise to regional dominance.

Founded as early as the 8th century BCE, the kingdom was initially ruled by leaders titled "mukarb"—a term denoting hegemony over other tribes, more prestigious than "king." Its influence peaked under Karib’īl Watār (c. 700–680 BCE) and contracted in later centuries.

The Sabaeans, were an ancient Semitic-speaking people based in modern-day Yemen, who flourished due to their strategic control of the incense trade (especially  frankincense and myrrh).

Today's coin of interest is a Sabaean AR unit (drachm), minted between the late 4th and mid-2nd centuries BC in Southern Arabia, that exemplifies the cultural and economic exchange between the Arabian Peninsula and the Hellenistic world. The Sabaeans' relied on Mediterranean trade and their currency reflects this interaction.

A 3rd - 1st Century BCE Coin of Saba

Southwest Arabia, Kingdom of Saba, Mid-3rd to 1st century BCE, heavier standard (~5.35g per nṣf) R Unit (15mm, 4.98g, 6h), imitating the types of Athens.

Obv: Head of Athena to right, wearing crested Attic helmet; "𐩬" (South Arabian - mark of value = drachm) on cheek.

Rev: Owl standing to right, head facing; in field to left, olive spray and crescent.

Ref: Coinage of Arabia Felix (Munro-Hay) 1.1ai (Plate LXI.1). Huth 170. Van Alfen, Studies, Group SII.B.1.

Note: From a German collection assembled during the second half of the 20th century.

Examples from Munro-Hay

Example from Huth in Caravan Kingdom (2010)

These coins imitates the widely recognized Athenian tetradrachm, featuring a helmeted Athena on the obverse with a South Arabian ‘𐩬’ (N denoting drachm) on the cheek, while the reverse depicts an owl standing right, head facing, with an olive spray and crescent to the left. The imagery on the Sabaean AR unit held significant symbolic meaning. Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, represented strategic prowess, a trait valued by both Greeks and Sabaeans. The owl, a traditional emblem of Athens, signified wisdom and stability in commerce.

Coin 170 from Huth belongs to a subset of Sabaean Athenian imitations that feature additional monograms, symbols, or letters—a significant departure from uninscribed issues. Dated roughly to c. 250–150 BCE, within the active period of South Arabian monetization and near the end of Minaean independence. Style and weight place is in the “heavier standard” phase (~5.3g for the unit), which postdates earlier Athenian-style coins in the region. The design imitates Athenian Old Style tetradrachms, but on a smaller scale (drachm-sized) and with distinctive South Arabian epigraphy.

While the models for this coin were borrowed from Athens, the value system, abbreviations, and epigraphic labels reveal a localized, well-developed monetary tradition that integrated coinage into both commerce and administration. The coins were subtly modified to reflect local standards. Two distinct weight standards emerged: an older ‘light’ standard (c. 4.2 g for the drachm) and a newer, ‘heavier’ standard (c. 5.35 g for the drachm). Over time, the Sabaeans abandoned the larger denominations and focused on smaller fractional issues, such as 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and even 1/16 units​.

Circulation of these coins within and even beyond Arabia is evidenced by hoards found at as-Surayra and al-Jawf, and by inscriptions detailing the use of these coins in contracts and donations. For the coins from al-Jawf see (Huth 2010).

Ruins of Old Ma'rib, Yemen. Photo by Dan (3-Feb-2008) via Flickr used under CC BY-SA 2.0 license.

The capital of Ma’rib

The Sabaean capital, Ma’rib, was an agricultural and commercial hub, boasting advanced irrigation systems and facilitating trade with the Near East, Africa, and the Mediterranean.

During this period, Hellenistic influences spread across the region, largely due to Alexander the Great’s conquests and the subsequent dominance of Greek culture in trade networks. The widespread circulation of Athenian coinage established a standard for commercial transactions, prompting the Sabaeans to produce imitative coinage to facilitate trade with Greek-speaking merchants.

Saba persisted until c. 275 CE, when it was annexed by the Ḥimyarite kingdom.

Bibliography

• The Monetary Terminology of Ancient South Arabia in Light of New Epigraphic Evidence. In: M. Huth/P.G. van Alfen (edd.), Coinage of the Caravan Kingdoms, New York 2010, pp. 303-343

• Robin, C. (2018). The Peoples Beyond the Arabian Frontier in Late Antiquity. In D. Graf (Ed.), The Roman Near East: From Pompey to the Arab Conquests (pp. 65-87). Cambridge University Press.

• “Die studies of the earliest Sabaean and Qatabanian coinages,” in M. Huth and P. van Alfen, eds., Coinage of the Caravan Kingdoms: studies in the monetization of ancient Arabia. New York: American Numismatic Society (2010), pp. 257-302.

• Christian Julien Robin, "Sabaʾ and the Sabaeans", In: Queen of Sheba, Treasures from Ancient Yemen, edited by St John Simpson, London (The British Museum Press), 2002, pp. 51-58. Catalogue of the Yémen exposition of the British Museum.

• Munro-Hay, Stuart. Coinage of Arabia Felix: The Pre-Islamic Coinage of the Yemen. Nomismata 5. Milan: Edizioni Ennerre, 2003.​

• Martin Huth, An important hoard of early South Arabian coins from the kingdom of Qataban (Swiss Numismatic Revue, vol. 78, 1999, pp. 37-51.

• Martin Huth, Monetary Circulation in South West Arabia between the Fourth and Second Centuries BCE: The al-Jawf Hoards of 2001 and 2002, in: M. Huth and P. van Alfen, Coinage of the Caravan Kingdoms: Studies in the Monetization of Ancient Arabia (ANS NS 25, New York 2010), pp. 83-105 + pl. 4-11.