Pre Dynastic Qahtan (3rd millennium BC - 8th century BC)

According to some hypotheses, in the 3rd millennium BC the Arabs of the southern Arabian peninsula united under the leadership of Qahtan.^[3] The Qahtanis began building simple earth dams and canals in the Marib area in the Sayhad desert. This area would later become the site of the Dam of Marib. A trade route began to flourish along the Red Sea coasts of Tihama. An order of high priests appeared in South Arabian culture who are referred to as the Mukkaribs of the "Sabeans"^[4] represented by local tribal leaders who came to rule South Arabia and some parts of East Africa. This period witnessed the reign of the legendary Queen Bilqis mentioned in the Bible/Quran.[5] This period ended with the arrival of the alphabet in the 9th century BC. A variant of the Phoenician script, this will lead to the recording of the South Arabian history.