the name of the tribal union of the Sabaean people; also, the name of the Sabaean state, the kingdom of Saba, which was located in southern Arabia, in what is now the Yemen Arab Republic.
Some indirect evidence suggests that the Saba tribal union existed as early as the tenth century B.C.; however, the Sabaean state arose no later than the eighth century B.C. The city of Marib was the residence of the rulers—mkrbs and kings—of the kingdom of Saba.
According to classical authors, the kingdom of Saba was an important trade intermediary between India and Qataban, Ha-dhramaut, the countries of the east coast of Africa, and the Mediterranean states. In the middle of the first millennium B.C., it subjugated all the other states of southern Arabia. In the beginning of the first century B.C., a considerable part of the kingdom was conquered by the Himyarite kingdom. Late in the second century A.D., the combined forces of Saba, Aksum, and Hadhramaut routed the Himyarite army and made the Himyarite kingdom a dependency of Saba. In the early fourth century, the lands of the kingdom of Saba passed to the Himyarite state, and the kingdom ceased to exist.