[1] The date of the end of Ma'in is heavily disputed, but the most popular hypothesis places its demise in the 1st century CE.

Ma'in joined Yathill to form a confederation and established alliances with other South Arabian kingdoms.

Ruling over a small kingdom, they focused on commerce, neglecting the rounds of war and coin minting that their neighbours were engaged in.

[8] The caravans of Ma'in reached Central and Northern Arabia, Egypt, Palestine, Phoenicia, Mesopotamia and Greece.

At the same time, it had to begin contending with attacks by Sabaeans against its caravans, particularly on the route from Ma'in to Najran, but Saba ultimately suffered from this development.

The main evidence for this is a group of about seventy discovered monumental inscriptions beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Ma'in composed in the Minaic script, which was the written form of the Minaean language.

A study of these inscriptions shows that the Minaeans established communities in these far-flung regions to manage their international trade apparatus.

Their king was the only one involved in lawmaking, along with a council of elders, who in Ma'īn represented the priesthood as well as families of high social class.

The Minaeans were divided into groups of various sizes, led by a very high official called the kabīr, appointed once every two years, who was in charge of one or sometimes all of the trading posts.