'Ilumquh of the Sabeans
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Sabean jewelery in gold carnelian and onyx (Doe).
Statue, Sabean script, and a decorative panel in marble (Doe).
While her tomb and documents of her time have yet to come to light,
and remains of the tenth century BC are still largely unknown to
archaeology, the recovery of a small amount of contemporary evidence
together with a considerable amount of material from only three or
four centuries later enables us to reconstruct ageneral outline of the
Queen of Sheba's culture with considerable probability. She would have
lived surrounded by the accoutrements of an affluent civilization: a
thriving trade that brought unparalleled prosperity; an irrigation
agriculture that provided ample subsistence; a distinctive
architecture in stone that was second only to that of Egypt in
theancient Near East in its execution and variety of ornamentation; a
richness in metallurgy and stone carving as well as an abundance of
artists and artisans who pursued these vocations; a high degree of
literacy among the people, who had a keen appreciation of the
importance of a written language and of their beautiful alphabetic
script;and an art that is representational in a symbolic archaic
manner (Pritchard 40).
"The great civilization of South Arabia was little known to the Arabs
of Muhammad's time [although] any of the Arab tribes of Muhammad's day
still had a tradition that they had lived in South Arabia before
taking to thedesert when the old civilization declined." Some tribes
retained a memory of being settled there before conditions worsened,
apparently connected with the Marib dam bursting and a return to
nomadic life. Restorations were know to have been carried out in450
and 542 which puts a final date on the demise (Pritchard 1974 88).
Sura 34:15 states:"Certainly there was a signfor Saba in their abode;
two gardens on the right and the left; eat of the sustenance of your
Lord and give thanks to Him: a good land and a Forgiving Lord! But
they turned aside, so We sent upon them a torrent of which the rush
could not be withstood, and in place of their two gardens We gave to
them two gardensyielding bitter fruit and (growing) tamarisk and a few
lote-trees."
The hoopoe visits Nikaulis to entice her to Solomon (Lassner).
Sura 27:15-44 relates many of the episodes already found for examplein
the Targum Sheni, a further indication of the familiarity Muhammad had
with details of Jewish literature outside the Pentateuch. Rather than
Bilqis being portrayed as ademon, Solomon is portrayed as a great man
of God and master of the Djinn to whom Bilquis submits in
acknowledgement of al-Llah. The story of Solomon sending the Hoopoe in
a flock of bird to summon the Queen is told. The people of Sheba are
said to be sun-worshippers. Her throne is disguised and placed before
her as a test.She says "It is like it' evasively. As she walks on to
the palace: 44 "She though it a pool and uncovered her legs. Solomon
said 'It is a place paved with glass.' She said'I have wronged myself
to God, Lord of the worlds, with Solomon I make submission.' "
al-Lat, al-Uzza and Dhu Shara: the Deities of Nabatea
A second prominent Arab culture had sprung up from Southern Sinai
around 600 BC and from around 400 BC in the land of the Edomites in
Jordan. The Nabateans had a closerelationship with the Edomites as
they each claim a female line of descent from Ishmael, through
Bashemath one ofthe three wives of Esau and her sister Nabaioth
respectively (Browning 32), conditions favourable to integration. This
also gave the Edomites descentfrom Isaac through Esau. The son of Esau
and Bashemath was Ruel the Midianite father in Law of Moses.
Moon and Sun deities surmounted by the Eagle. Al-Uzza as Moon Goddess
commands the Zodiac surmounted by the moon and carrying a moon staff.
The temple of Manatu at Petra. Dionysian tragic mask with dolphins.
Grapefreeze (centre). Aretas IV and Shaqilat II (Glueck).
The Nabateans migrated from Arabia as shepherds and caravan traders
who benefited from horse breeding and settled adaptably to form rich
irrigated productive land with a prominent trade, centred on the
previously unpopulated area round Petra - 'a rose red city half as old
as time'. During the time of Jesus, Nabatea wasan independent Kingdom
with influence spreading to Damascus. Herod was involved in
hostilities withAretas IV the King of Nabatea because Herodias
displaced Aretas's daughter as Herod's wife. Although they were
annexed by the Romans they continued to be a significant Arab power to
the time of Muhammad.
Herodotus says of the Arabs: "They deem no other to be gods save
Dionysus and Heavenly Aphrodite … they call Dionysus Orotalt and
Aphrodite Alilat" (Negev 101).
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