Zabibe (also transliterated Zabibi, Zabiba,[1] Zabibah; Akkadian: 𒍝𒁉𒁉𒂊 Zabibê) was a queen of Qedar who reigned for five years between 738 and 733 BC. She was a vassal of Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria, and is mentioned in the Annals of Tiglath-Pileser III among a list of monarchs who paid tribute to the king in 738 BC.[2][3] The title accorded her is queen of the Aribi (Arabs).[4] Israel Eph'al argues that, until the time of Assurbanipal, the title "king or queen of the Arabs" in Assyrian manuscripts was a general one accorded to leaders of the nomadic Bedouin tribes of the Syrian desert.[4] So, he infers that Zabibe would have been properly titled "queen of the Qidri" (Qedarites). Zabībah is an ancient Arabic name, likely derived from zabīb (arabic: زبيب), meaning "raisin".[5] She was succeeded by another queen, Samsi, who also reigned for five years.

Zabibe
Queen of Qedar
Reignc. 750s–735 BCE
PredecessorUnknown
SuccessorPossibly Samsi
Bornc. early 8th century BCE
ReligionNorth Arabian polytheism

References

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  1. ^ Avraham Negev, Shimon Gibson Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land · 2005 p 41 "Zabiba, Queen of Arabia, paid tribute to Tiglath - Pileser III . Sargon II recorded how he subdued the Arabs “ who live far away, ” exiling some to distant * Samaria and imposing on the others a tax of gold powder, precious stones"
  2. ^ Eph'al (1982): 82.
  3. ^ Trevor Bryce The World of The Neo-Hittite Kingdoms 2012 p27 "Zabibe, queen of the Arabs - This, the only reference we have to an Arabian queen called Zabibe, belongs within the context of agreements which both the Assyrians and the Babylonians made with Arabian nomads 'to maintain important trade ..."
  4. ^ a b Eph'al (1982): 83.
  5. ^ Eph'al (1982): 82, n247.

Bibliography

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  • Ephʻal, Israel (1982). The Ancient Arabs: Nomads on the Borders of the Fertile Crescent 9th-5th Centuries B.C. Brill. ISBN 978-965-223-400-1.
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