al balid is estimated to have hit its peak around the twelfth or thirteenth century , which obviously makes it far too recent to be sabaean or in any way attached directly to the queen of shebas empire , but what i do remember is my colleague saying there are strong indications the city may be far older than what has largely been uncovered ; maybe even as old as the iron age , which in that case , would place its roots before the birth of christ and therefore back into the times of the queen of sheba and king solomon .