Sheba Revealed

During the late 1940s, British governance of the Western Aden Protectorate was being tentatively extended by a handful of hardy officials whose reputation for incorruptibility and even-handedness went before them. Of these the young Nigel Groom was one. Posted to the almost inaccessible Wadi Bayhan in 1948, he was to spend nearly two years amongst the people of what in antiquity had been Qataban, once part of biblical Sheba. The Bayhanis and their neighbours, whose ancient, pre-Islamic lineage was evident all around in the imposing remains of cities, irrigation works and formal inscriptions, exerted a powerful fascination on the young Political Officer which has never since waned. As representative of a distant government, Groom naturally met with an ambivalent reception from the local people, many of whom lived in areas that were still uncontrolled and unadministered. His book recounts a young official’s brave efforts to influence obstinate rulers and to demonstrate, to clans and tribes who for centuries had settled disputes by violence, the benefits of the rule of law. His doubts and moral dilemmas, his personal relationships, and the pitfalls of inexperience amongst the intricacies of a tribal society, are honestly described, and add depth, dramatic tension and occasional hilarity to the tale.