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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

By late antiquity, the Sabaean polity declined and was assimilated into the Himyarite Kingdom, with linguistic

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.
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.