Old South Arabian

Consonantal alphabet of ancient southern Arabian kingdoms (Saba, Minaean, Hadramaut). Used from the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. Direct ancestor of Ethiopic Ge'ez, and associated with the Queen of Sheba of the Old Testament. Thousands of inscriptions from these frankincense and myrrh trade kingdoms survive in Yemen's desert — now threatened by the ongoing civil war.