The Macrobians were an ancient people and kingdom positioned in the Horn of Africa during the 1st millennium BC.
The Macrobians are mentioned by Herodotus as being a people that had mastered longevity, with the average Macrobian living until the age of 120. They were said to be the "tallest and handsomest of all men".
This may suggest relations with the Sabeans (Sebaim), who are similarly described in the Bible as "men of stature". The Macrobians were part of an expanse of related peoples, kinsmen of the Ancient Egyptians, that inhabited an area stretching from East Africa northward into Egypt and North Africa. At the same time, they were reported as being physically distinct from the general inhabitants of the region below the Sahara.
James Rennell associates the Macrobians with the Abyssinians and Schweinfurth and Lejean link them with the Makaberab.
Upon conquering Ancient Egypt, the Persian Emperor Cambyses II sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian King to entice his submission. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based at least in part on stature, replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to string it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire.
According to Herodotus, the Macrobians practiced an elaborate form of embalming. This, in turn, suggested a knowledge on their part of anatomy and, at the very least, a grasp of the basics of chemistry. The Macrobians preserved the bodies of the dead by first extracting moisture from the corpses, then overlaying the bodies with a type of plaster, and finally decorating the exterior in vivid colors in order to imitate the deceased as realistically as possible. They then placed the body in a hollow crystal pillar, which they kept in their homes for a period of about a year.
Macrobia was also noted for its gold, which was so plentiful that the Macrobians shackled their prisoners in golden chains
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrobians
