Qataban

Qataban was an ancient kingdom of South Arabia, one of the six principal states of ancient Yemen alongside Saba, Ma'in, Hadramawt, Himyar and Awsan. It lay around the Wadi Bayhan, and its capital was Timna, a walled city whose ruins include a famous South Arabian temple. Qataban developed into a centralised state in the late seventh or early sixth century BC, was subject to Saba for much of the sixth century, and regained independence in the late fifth century. It then became one of the dominant powers of the region, at times controlling territory as far as the Bab al-Mandab, and its kings adopted the titles mukarrib and malik. In the second century BC the secession of the Himyarites cost Qataban its south-western lands, and the kingdom declined. It finally disappeared in the late first century AD when Hadramawt and Himyar divided its territory. Its cities, inscriptions and temples are key sources for the history of ancient South Arabian religion and trade.