Zabibe

Zabibe (also transliterated Zabibi, Zabiba, Zabibah) 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.^[1] The title accorded her is queen of the Aribi (Arabs).^[2] Israel Eph'al argues that, until the time of Assurbanipal, the title "queen of the Arabs" in Assyrian manuscripts was a general one accorded to leaders of the nomadic tribes of the Syrian desert.^[2] 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, meaning "raisin".^[3] She was succeeded by another queen, Samsi, who also reigned for five years.

References

1. Eph'al (1982): 82.
2. Eph'al (1982): 83.
3. Eph'al (1982): 82, n247.

Bibliography

• 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.

External links

• Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership (English) — edited by construction journalist Martin K. I. Christensen (Danish)