sabei

Sabei, also spelled Sabaean, refers to the ancient South Arabians who inhabited the region of what is now Yemen and parts of southwestern Saudi Arabia, and to the language they spoke. The Sabaeans flourished in a kingdom centered in the highlands and along the southern littoral, with archaeological remains and inscriptions attesting to their political and economic influence from at least the 8th century BCE. Their most famous hydraulic achievement is the Marib Dam, whose complex irrigation system supported intensive agriculture and urban growth in a desert environment. Sabaean trade networks linked the interior with Red Sea ports and the broader incense and spice routes of the ancient world.

Language and script are key aspects of Sabei identity. The Sabaean language belongs to the South Arabian branch of the Semitic language family and is known from inscriptions carved in the Sabaean script, one of the oldest South Arabian writing systems. The script was used for monumental inscriptions, religious texts, and administrative records, and it contributed to the broader development of writing in the region.

By late antiquity, the Sabaean polity declined and was assimilated into the Himyarite Kingdom, with linguistic and cultural shifts that ultimately led to the predominance of Arabic in the area. The Sabaean language gradually fell out of daily use, though it left a lasting imprint on epigraphy, toponymy, and Yemeni cultural history. In popular tradition, the Sabaeans are sometimes associated with the Queen of Sheba, a symbolic link that highlights their historic role in South Arabian civilization.