Мариб: Еменнің ежелгі астанасы және қазіргі ахуалы

Marib (مَأْرِب; Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 Mryb/Mrb) is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Sabaʾ (سَبَأ), which some scholars believe to be the ancient Sheba of biblical fame. It is about east of Yemen's modern capital, Sanaa, and is in the region of the Sarawat Mountains. In 2005 it had a population of 16,794. However, in 2021, it had absorbed close to a million refugees fleeing the Yemeni Civil War.

The Sabaean kingdom was based around Marib, with territory in northern Yemen. The Sabaean kings made their capital at Marib, and built great irrigation works such as the Marib Dam, whose ruins are still visible. The Marib Dam supported a flourishing culture for more than a thousand years. They also built castles and temples in the area, including, most notably the temples of Almaqah at Awwam and Barran. Saba was known for dealing in the lucrative frankincense trade. The Sabaeans were a seafaring people and were known to have influence and a population in the Northeast African kingdom of Dʿmt, across the Red Sea in Eritrea and Abyssinia, the only other source of both frankincense and myrrh. In 25 BC, Aelius Gallus of Rome led an expedition to Marib, laying siege to the city. He suffered major losses and was forced to retreat to Egypt.

The site of ancient Marib was largely abandoned during the 20th century. Although a small village remains, the multi story mud brick buildings of the historic city are largely in ruins. The modern town of Marib is about north of the center of the ancient city.

In 1982, floods ravaged the country. In response, the President of the U. A. E., Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, financed the construction of the current dam of Marib in 1984. The Sheikh himself was reportedly descended from people who migrated from the area of Marib to what is now the U. A. E.

According to Al Jazeera, by 7 April 2015, Houthi forces had been expelled from the majority of Marib Governorate by Saudi backed tribesmen. The governor of Marib told Al Jazeera that forces allied to President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Gulf coalition were "perusing the last pockets of Houthis" in the province. The city of Marib is just from the capital, and the province adjoins the predominantly Sunni provinces of Al Jawf, Al Baydha and Shabwa, where the Houthis' control is unlikely to hold if attacked. In particular, Al Jawf to the north would provide a route towards the Houthi's Saada stronghold. The coalition began moving supplies to Marib in March 2015, using land routes from Saudi Arabia through Hadramout and Shabwa provinces. In August 2015, coalition forces started flying more reinforcements to Marib using a small airport in the tiny town of Safer, 60 km east of Marib city. Loyalist military sources said further reinforcements including tanks, armoured vehicles, rocket launchers and Apache helicopters arrived August 2015. The town serves as a base for the state run Safer Exploration and Production Operations Company and other foreign companies working in Yemen's vital energy sector. The main gas pipeline south also runs through the town, which is controlled by the pro Hadi military commander Abdullah Al Shaddadi. The nearest Houthi presence was in Baihan in Shabwa province, away." More than 100 Yemeni government soldiers were killed in a drone and missile attack on a military camp near Marib on 18 January 2020, leaving over a hundred more soldiers injured and killing at least 5 civilians. The Houthis were suspected and accused of carrying out the attack, although they denied responsibility. Five foreign mine clearance experts were killed in an explosion inside the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance MASAM on 20 January 2019. One of the experts was a resident of South Africa of British descent. Other members of the team were from Colombia and unspecified countries in Africa. On 27 May 2020, a Houthi missile attack targeted the headquarters of the army command of the Saudi backed government in Marib Governorate killing eight soldiers including the Chief of Staff of the Republic of Yemen Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Sagheer bin Aziz's son and nephew. On 22 February 2021, the Houthis launched an offensive on Marib Governorate in late February with the aim of capturing Marib city. After making steady advances in the governorate, the Houthis launched a three direction assault on the city with occasional ballistic strikes. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 140,000 displaced refugees from western Marib fled fearing the Houthis' advance. On 30 November 2021, Marib was described as "the city at the heart of Yemen's dirty war" by the BBC News. It has absorbed close to a million refugees fleeing the war in other parts of Yemen. Marib is the start of the Marib Ra's Isa oil pipeline , with a capacity of per day. In addition, oil derivatives markets have witnessed relative stability in Marib, as fuel products are produced and refined locally and cover local needs in the governorate. This stands in sharp contrast to other areas around Yemen which at times suffer from a shortage of oil derivatives and wild price fluctuations. In Marib, petrol and cooking gas are almost always available at official prices, while gas tankers leave the governorate to the capital Sana’a and other governorates on a daily basis.

Marib has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWh).