Imagine a kingdom, distant in time and space, whose merchants supported a society based not on gold or iron but on the soft fragrant wealth of perfume, spices, and incense. Such was the land of ancient Arabia, whose queen, the fabled Queen of Sheba, journeyed across the desert to visit the biblical King Solomon and whose traders sold the Egyptians the exotic substances they needed to mummify their dead. As goods were carried vast distances from the Far East all the way to Rome, Arabia stood proudly at the crossroads.
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