The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · ¶4

Note: It is this city of Merab that the Arabs say was the residence of Belkis, queen of Saba, who desired to see Solomon. A dam, by which the waters collected in its neighborhood were kept back, having been swept away, the sudden inundation destroyed this city, of which, nevertheless, vestiges remain. It bordered on a country called Adramout, where a particular aromatic plant grows: it is for this reason that we real in the history of the Roman expedition, that they were arrived within three days’ journey of the spice country.—G. Compare Malte-Brun, Geogr. Eng. trans. vol. ii. p. 215. The period of this flood has been copiously discussed by Reiske, (Program. de vetustâ Epochâ Arabum, rupturâ cataractæ Merabensis.) Add. Johannsen, Hist. Yemanæ, p. 282. Bonn, 1828; and see Gibbon, note. to Chap. L.—M.

Edward Gibbon · Project Gutenberg #731 (Milman edition) — public domain
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