Marib

Related Category: Ancient History, Middle East

(mä´rĭb), ancient city, Yemen, SW Arabia, 140 mi (225 km) inland at an altitude of 3,900 ft (1,190 m). It was one of the chief cities, perhaps the capital, of Sheba. It was the site of a dam, built in the 6th cent. B.C., that was one of the great engineering feats of antiquity. The dam collapsed in the 6th cent. A.D., flooding the countryside.