… occurs in the archives of Dur-Sharrukin (today’s Khorsabad), the capital of Assyrian King Sargon II (721-705 BC). It dates from around 715 BC. It mentions king Sargon II exacting tribute from “Pir’u king of Musuri, Shamsi queen of the Arabs (a-rib-bi in the original text), Itamra king of Saba, the kings of the coast and the desert I received gold, products (?) from the mountain, precious stones, ivory, all kinds of perfumes, horses, and camels as their tribute.” The same tablet mentions “the distant Arabs, dwellers of the desert, who did not know learned men or scribes, who had not brought tribute to any king”. In other words, these Arabs are the Bedouins. Horses? Yes! Horses as tribute from the Queen of the Bedouins to the allmighty Assyrian king! (There is some speculation as to whether “Pir’u king of Musuri” is one of the Pharaohs of Egypt). Of course, a large number of earlier ancient Middle Eastern sources mentions horses, but this one is the earliest one where the mention of horses is paired with a mention of the ” dwellers of the desert”. Perhaps the coolest thing is that these Arab Bedouins were ruled by a woman. I…