The Sabaeans arrived in the Sayhad area in two immigratory waves. One came from North- West Arabia either around 690 ВС or a century later. The other came from the Tigre area (later to become the kingdom of Aksum) in the sixth/fifth century ВС. The Sabaeans of this second wave had reached Tigre by a route up the Nile valley, and were accompanied in their migration by large numbers of Greek troops, who had absconded from Egypt under Psammetichus II (594-588 ВС), and also by Jews fleeing from Nebuchadnezzar's seizure of Jerusalem around 599. The latter (apparently) stayed in Ethiopia, forming the basis for the strong Old Testament tinge in Ethiopian Christian