Currently the home to Bedouin tribes, there are few roads leading into this region.  This center of archaeological discovery was the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Saba (Sheba), and also hosts the ruins of Baraqish from 400 B.C.  

Ma'rib was probably inhabited much earlier than written records indicate.   In the 8th Century B.C. a great dam was built here, then called Maryab.  The dam is now one of the most interesting remaining sites in Ma'rib, with only the north and south gates remaining.  

In about 500 B.C., Sabaean rulers fortified their capital with a wall which succeeded in protecting it from many enemies, including Roman invaders in 25 B.C.  Yet, continous attacks from the Himyarites left Saba weakened, and it ultimately fell in the 2nd Century A.D. to highlanders.  

Temple of the Moon is one of the most famous sites in Yemen, and certainly one of the most common images used to depict Ancient South Arabia.  It is the six pillars, with the last one broken, that archaeologists are working on currently to determine its actual function in Sabaean religious life.  The 'Arsh Bilqis, the Thrown of Sheba (Bilqis is the Sheba in Arabic) is how  the local people refer to it.  

The 'Arsh Bilqis,also known as the temple of the moon.

 The road leading into old Ma'rib

 A Sabaean Tablet

Another view of 'Arsh Bilqis

Ruins of the Gate of the Great Dam

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Pre-Islamic Culture
Early Islam in South Arabia