Arabia Felix

Arabia Felix, in ancient geography, the comparatively fertile region in southwestern and southern Arabia (in present-day Asir and Yemen), a region that contrasted with Arabia Deserta in barren central and northern Arabia and with Arabia Petraea (“Stony Arabia”) in northwestern Arabia, which came under the suzerainty of imperial Rome. The Greeks and Romans chose the name because of the area’s pleasant climate and reputed riches in agricultural products and in spices. The emperor Augustus (reigned...