The center organized a scientific seminar entitled "Kingdom of Ma'in in the Jawf of Yemen…Its International Relations and Historical Role". In the lecture, Professor Mounir Arbach, Professor at the National Center of Scientific Research at Lyon University, France, and member of the Editorial Board of "Athirat Magazine". The lecture was introduced by Professor Mohammed Maraqten, editor-in-chief of "Athirat Magazine". The lecture aims at highlighting the ancient civilizations of Arabia. The lecturer explained that Arabia witnessed, in the early first millennium BC., radical and significant changes with transforming from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. These were represented in domesticating camels, which played a major role in flourish of the trade of Frankincense and Incense, using alphabetic Script in recording events, the emergence of Political entities in the north and south of Arabic, south Yemen, and Jawf of Yemen. He mentioned that in the eighth century BC., there were five independent microstates: Ma'in, Haram, Inbba, Kamna, and Nashan. Ma'in tribe was an independent one, just as other tribe in Jawf of Yemen. The tribe was in allay with Nashan and Sheba. It had its own pantheon. It played a major role in the trade of Incense due to its geographical position; therefore, it allied also with the two tribes of Najran Oasis; Amir and Mahamar. This incited kings of Sheba to launch a military campaign against Ma'in and its allies in Najran Oasis, but this campaign couldn't prevent Ma'in Kingdom from controlling the trade of Incense. Furthermore, it established trading stations in the village of Faw and in Al-‘Ula in Northern Arabia. The traders of Ma'in reached as far as Gaza, Tyre, Sidon, Egypt, and Delos Island in Greece. They traded also with Mesopotamia and with the civilizations Magan and Dilmun in Eastern Arabia. The Ma'in Kingdom collapsed at the hands of the Romans during their campaign against Southern Arabia in the year 25 BC., thus this kingdom vanished from the political scene.
