rib (Jfushfarnk, s. v.), or the country in the Yemen, of which the city was Ma-rib" {Marasid, s. v.). Near Seba was the famous dike of El-'Arim, said by tradi- tion to have been built by Lidinian the '.\dite, to store water for the inhabitants of tiie place, and to avert the descent of tiie mountain torrents. The catastrophe of the rupture of tliis dike is an important point in .\rab history, and marks the dispersion in the 2d century of the Joktanite tribes. This, like all we know of Seba, points irresistibly to the great importance of the city as the ancient centre of Joktanite power. Although Uzal (which is said to be the existing San'a) has been sup- posed to be of earlier foundation, and Zafiir (Sejjhar) was a royal residence, we cannot doubt that Seba was the most important of these chief towns of the Yemen. Its value, in the eyes of the old dynasties, is shown by their struggles to obtain and hold it; and it is narrated tiiat it passed several times into the hands, alternate- ly, of the so called Himyerites and the people of Ha- dramaut (Hazarmaveth). Eratosthenes, Artemiilorns, Strabo, and Pliny speak of Mariabii ; Diodoriis, Aga- tharchides, Stephaiuis Byzant. of «SV/6« ('2aliai [Stejih. Byzant.J; Srr/Jdc [Agath.]) ; Ptolemy (vi, 7, § 30, 42), and Pliny (vi, 23, § 34) mention Edfii]. But the tirst all say that Mariaba was tiie metropolis of the Sa- baii; and we may conclude that both names applied to the same place — one the city, the other its palace or fortress (though probably these writers were not aware of this fact) — unless, indeed, the form Sabota (with the variants Sabatha, Sobatale, etc.) of Pliny (//. A^. vi, 28, § 32) have reference to Shibam, capital of Hadramaut, and the name, also, of another celebrated city, of which the Arabian writers (Mardsid, s. v.) give curious ac- counts. The classics are generally agreed in ascribing to the Sabsei the chief riches, the best territory, and the greatest numbers of the four principal peoples of the Arabs which they name — the Saba'i, Atramita? ( = Ha- dramaiit), Katabeni ( = Kahtan — Joktau), and JMiiu^i (for which see Diklaii). See Bochart {I'/iuleg, xxvi). and Miiller {Geog. Mia.\ p. 186 sq.
The history of the Sab^ans has been examined by M. Caussin de Perceval (Ess<i{ sin- l' Hist, des A rahes) ; but much remains to be adjusted before its details can be received as trustworthy, the earliest safe chronological point being about the commencement of our ajra. An examination of the existing remains of Sabfean and Him- yeritic cities and buildings will, it cannot be doubted, add more facts to our |)resent knowledge; and a further acquaintance with the language, from inscriptions aid- ed, as i\I. Fresnel believes, by an existing dialect, will probably give iis some safe grounds for placing the build- ing or a^ra of the dike. In the art. Arabia it is stated that there are dates on the ruins of the dike, and the conclusions are given which De Sacy and Caussin have drawn from those dates and other indications respecting the date of the rupture of the dike, which forms, then, an important point in Arabian history; but it must be placed in the 2d century of our a>ra, and the older ;era of the building is altogether unfixed, 'or, indeed, any date before the expedition of yElius Gallus. The ancient buildings are of massive masonry, and evidently of Cushite workmanshi]) or origin. Later temples and palace-temples, of which the Arabs give us descriptions, were probablj- of less massive character; but Sabaian art is an almost unknown and interesting subject of in- (piiry. The religion celebrated in those temples was cosmic; but this subject is too obscure and too little known to admit of discussion in this place. It may be necessary to observe that whatever connection there was in religion between the Sabieans and the Saiiians. there was none in name or in race. Kespecting the lat- ter the reader may consult Chwolson's S.tidner, a work . that may be recommended with more confidence than the same author's Xalntlha'dn Agi-iculture. See Nk- HAIOTH. Some curious papers have also ap|ieared in the Journal of the German Oriental Society of Leipsic. by Dr. Osiandcr.
SHEBA
628
SHEBANIAH
3. (Sept. ^a(3d V. r. 2a/3ai and ^a/iav.) Elder of the two sons of Jokshan, one of Abraham's sons bv Keturah (Gen. XXV, 3 ; 1 Chron. i, 32). B.C. cir. 1980." He evi- dently settled somewliere in Arabia, probably on the eastern shore of the Arabian Gulf, where his posteritj' appear to have become incorporated with the earlier Sabieans of the Joktanic branch.
4. (Sept. 2o/3t6 v. r. 'Afiti ; Josephus 2o/3a7oe, A nt. vii, 11, 7.) The son of Bichri, a Benjamite from the mountains of Ephraim (2 Sam. xx, 1-22), the last chief of the Absalom insurrection. B.C. 1023. He is described as a "man of Belial," which seems [see Shimei ] to have been the usual term of invective cast to and fro between the two parties. But he must have been a person of some consequence, from the immense effect produced by his appearance. It was, in fact, all but an anticipation of the revolt (tf Jeroboam. It was not, as in tlie case of Absalom, a mere conflict between two factions in the court of Judah, but a struggle, arising out of that conflict, on the part of the tribe of Benjamin to recover its lost ascendency — a struggle of which some indications had already been manifested in the excessive bitterness of the Benjamite Shimei. The occasion seized by Sheba was the emulation, as if from loyalty, between the nt)rthern and southern tribes on David's return. Through the ancient custom he summoned all the tribes " to their tents;" and then and afterwards Judah alone remained faithful to the house of David (ver. 1, 2). The king might well say " Sheba the son of Bichri shall do us more harm than did Absalom" (ver. 6). What he feared was Sheba's occupation of the fortified cities. This fear was justified by the result. Sheba traversed the whole of Palestine, apparently rousing the popula- tion, Joab following him in full |>ursuit, and so deeply impressed with the gravity of the occasion that the murder even of the great Amasa was but a passing in- cident in the campaign. He stayed but for the moment of the deed, and "pursued after Sheba the son of Bich- ri." The mass of the army halted for an instant by the bloody corpse, and then they also " went on after Joab to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri." It seems to have been his intention to establish himself in the fortress of Abel-Beth-maacah — in the northernmost ex- tremity of Palestine — possibh^ allied to the cause of Absalom through his mother, Maacah, and famous for the prudence of its inhabitants (ver. 18). That pru- dence was put to the test on the present occasion. Joab's terms were the head of the insurgent chief. A woman of the place undertook the mission to her city, and proposed the execution to her fellow-citizens. The head of Sheba was thrown over the wall and the insur- rection ended. — Smith. See David.