Sheba

QUEEN OF SHEBA AND BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP 63
while their geographic position also encouraged sea trade with East Africa
and India.
The inhabitants of the rapidly encroaching deserts adopted a nomadic
existence, while the settled agricultural areas of the southern Arabian
highlands developed prosperous urban areas. Trade commodities were
highly varied. Sabaea produced gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Red
Sea area (Somalia and South Arabia) were home to many different kinds of
aromatic plants. Chief among them were the oleo gum resins frankincense
and myrrh, as valuable as gold, from the botanical family Burseraceae.
Frankincense (genus Boswelli) varied from yellowish-brown to an almost
colorless state and was burned throughout the ancient world for religious
ceremonies and funerals. Myrrh (genus Commiphora), a reddish gum resin,
was equally in demand for a vast range of medicinal purposes and
embalming the dead. Myrrh was and is still used as a local anesthetic, an
aphrodisiac paste, and to treat snakebite, gum disease, stomach and chest
ailments, scurvy, internal parasites, malaria, and wounds. It has proven anti
bacterial and fungal properties and is reputed to strengthen teeth. 4 Today
the most prized frankincense comes from Dhofar on the Yemen-Oman
border and it is likely the case was the same in the remote past. Myrrh is
found in the same area but today the bulk is harvested in Somalia, Kenya,
and Ethiopia. The marks of ancient but now abandoned camel caravan
routes can still be seen throughout southern Arabia. The use of camels
provided a safer transport alternative for traders who had lost so many
cargoes at sea because of piracy or the northern winds that blew across the
Arabian Gulf and Red Sea for most of the year. Spices, perfumes, and
precious stones passed through from India, and their volume was such that
the Hebrew of Solomon’s time adopted several Indian words including,
according to Chaim Rabin, what seems to be ancient Tamil 5 for trade
goods in this period. From Dhofar the routes stretched west to Shibam,
Shabwa, Tumna, and Marib and then north through Najran to Medina,
Taima and Petra; and north across the Rub al Khali to the Arabian Gulf and
Mesopotamia. Large caravan cities developed at strategic centers such as
Najran and Taima, where traders could obtain fresh water supplies, food,
fodder, and stable government.
Royal houses were often associated with different religions. In the
southern Saudi city of Najran there are a number of unexcavated
archaeological sites significantly predating Islam. Among them is a wall
exhibiting a giant snake. Although visitors are forbidden to inspect this area,
where a major pagan pilgrim shrine once existed as well as a Christian