SABZEANS

ancient inhabitants of S§. Arabia; mentioned in the Old Testament, Genesis 10, in the reference to the pedigree of Sheba; 1 Kings 10, the visit of the Queen of Sheba. Pa ages in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Job refer to the trading capacity of the S’s. Pliny and other cla ical writers extol the people of Yemen for their wealth and nobility and their great qualities as merchants. Dated inscriptions, coins, and cuneiform inscriptions afford the best information concerning the S's. Five cent’s B.C. they were a highly developed race of traders—the route from Egypt to the Far East pa ing through Yemen. The language was Semitic, akin to Arabic and Ethiopic. It is held by some authorities that the Pheenicians learnt the use of the alphabet from the 98’s.