Yemen, known to the Romans as Arabia Felix, aka "Happy Arabia," is the site of one of the most ancient civilizations in the Near East. The Qahtan dynasty, founded in 2300 BC, was succeeded by the kingdoms of Saba, Hadramaut, Awsan, Qataban, Ma'in, Himyar, Aksum and finally the Sassanids --the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire.
Several of these kingdoms were wealthy spice and incense traders who controlled the caravan routes across the southern Arabian peninsula. They supplied frankincense and myrrh, among other things. The Aksumite Empire, based in northern Ethiopia, is supposed to be the home of the Queen of Sheba and the final resting place of Noah's ark.
One interesting piece of trivia--now that the corrupt regime in Washington is trying to extend its "War on Terror" into Yemen--is that fact that the Qahtan Dynasty alone lasted about 31 centuries: 29 centuries longer than the United States has even been in existence, and America is already showing the unmistakable signs of terminal decline. There's nothing like history to put things in perspective.
