Makeda the queen of Sheba. Who was the legendary Queen of Sheba

“The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, here is greater than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

Addressing Holy Scripture, you can often find names and personalities that are shrouded in mystery and are a mystery to a significant number of readers. One of such personalities is the Queen of Sheba, or, as Jesus Christ speaks of her, the Queen of the South (Matthew 12:42).

The name of this ruler is not mentioned in the Bible. In later Arabic texts she is called Balqis or Bilqis, and in Ethiopian legends she is called Makeda.

The Queen of Sheba is named after the country where she ruled. Saba or Sawa (sometimes the Sheba variant is also found) is an ancient state that existed from the end of the 2nd millennium BC to the end of the 3rd century AD in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, in the area of modern Yemen (but at the very beginning of its history it had a colony in Ethiopia). The Sabaean civilization - one of the oldest in the Middle East - developed in the territory of Southern Arabia, in a fertile region rich in water and sun, which is located on the border with the Ramlat al-Sabatein desert, apparently in connection with the resettlement of the Sabaeans from northwestern Arabia , associated with the formation of the Trans-Arabian “Path of Incense”. A huge dam was built near the capital of Saba, the city of Marib, thanks to which a huge, previously barren and dead territory was irrigated - the country turned into a rich oasis. In the initial period of its history, Saba served as a transit point for trade: goods from Hadhramaut arrived here, and caravans departed from here to Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt (Is. 60:6; Job 6:19). Along with transit trade, Saba received income from the sale of locally produced incense (Jer. 6:20; Ps. 71:10). The country of Sheba is mentioned in the Bible in the books of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, as well as in the book of Job and Psalms. However, very often some Bible researchers point to the location of Saba not in southern Arabia, but also in northern Arabia, as well as in the territory of Ethiopia, Egypt, Nubia, and even in south africa- Transvaal.

The story of the Queen of Sheba in the Bible is closely connected with the Israeli king Solomon. According to the biblical account, the Queen of Sheba, having learned about the wisdom and glory of Solomon, “came to test him with riddles.” Her visit is described in the 10th book of the Second Book of Kings, as well as in the 9th chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles:

“And she came to Jerusalem with very great wealth: the camels were loaded with spices and a great abundance of gold and precious stones; and she came to Solomon and talked with him about everything that was in her heart. And Solomon explained to her all her words, and there was nothing unfamiliar to the king that he did not explain to her.

And the Queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and the food at his table, and the dwelling of his servants, and the order of his servants, and their clothing, and his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings, which he offered in the temple of the Lord. And she could no longer resist and said to the king: “It is true that I heard in my land about your deeds and about your wisdom; but I did not believe the words until I came and my eyes saw: and behold, not even half of it was told to me; You have more wisdom and wealth than I heard. Blessed are your people and blessed are these your servants, who always stand before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, Who was pleased to place you on the throne of Israel! Lord, by eternal love His own to Israel, he made you king, to do justice and righteousness.

And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a great abundance of spices, and precious stones; never before had such a multitude of incense come as the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon” (1 Kings 10:2-10).

In response, Solomon also gifted the queen, giving “everything she wanted and asked for.” After this visit, according to the Bible, unprecedented prosperity began in Israel. 666 talents came to King Solomon per year, which is about 30 tons of gold (2 Chron. 9, 13). The same chapter describes the luxury that Solomon was able to afford. He made himself a throne of ivory, overlaid with gold, the splendor of which surpassed any other throne of that time. In addition, Solomon made himself 200 shields of beaten gold and all the drinking vessels in the palace and Temple were gold. “Silver was worth nothing in the days of Solomon” (2 Chronicles 9:20) and “King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom” (2 Chronicles 9:22). Solomon undoubtedly owes such greatness to the visit of the Queen of Sheba. It is noteworthy that after this visit, many kings also desired a visit to King Solomon (2 Chron. 9, 23).

There is an opinion among Jewish commentators of the Tanakh that the biblical account should be interpreted in the sense that Solomon entered into a sinful relationship with the Queen of Sheba, as a result of which Nebuchadnezzar was born hundreds of years later, destroying the Temple built by Solomon. (and in Arabic legends she is already his immediate mother). According to the Talmud, the story of the Queen of Sheba should be considered an allegory, and the words “Queen of Sheba” (“Queen of Sheba”) are interpreted as “מלכות שבא” (“Kingdom of Sheba”), which submitted to Solomon.

In the New Testament, the Queen of Sheba is called “the queen of the south” and is contrasted with those who do not want to listen to the wisdom of Jesus: “The queen of the south will arise in judgment with the people of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, here is greater than Solomon” (Luke 11:31), a similar text is also given in Matthew (Matthew 12:42).

Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria in his interpretation of the Gospel of Luke writes: “by the “queen of the south” understand, perhaps, every soul, strong and constant in goodness.” They indicate that the meaning of this phrase is this - on the Day of Judgment, the queen (along with the pagan Ninevites mentioned below in Luke, who believed thanks to Jonah) will rise up and condemn the Jews of the era of Jesus, because they had such opportunities and privileges that these believing pagans did not have, but they refused to accept them. As the blessed Jerome of Stridon noted, they will be condemned not according to the power to pronounce a sentence, but according to their superiority in comparison with them. The superiority of the Ninevites and the Queen of Sheba over the disbelieving contemporaries of Christ is also emphasized by John Chrysostom in his “Conversations on the Book of Matthew”: “because they believed the lesser, but the Jews did not believe the greater.”

She was also given the role of “bringing souls” to distant pagan peoples. Isidore of Seville wrote: “Solomon embodies the image of Christ, who built the house of the Lord for the heavenly Jerusalem, not of stone and wood, but of all the saints. The Queen from the South who came to hear the wisdom of Solomon should be understood as the church who came from the farthest borders of the world to hear the voice of God.”

A number of Christian authors believe that the arrival of the Queen of Sheba with gifts to Solomon is a prototype of the Magi’s worship of Jesus Christ. Blessed Jerome, in his interpretation of the “Book of the Prophet Isaiah,” gives the following explanation: just as the Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, so the Magi came to Christ, who is God’s wisdom. This interpretation is largely based on the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah about the offering of gifts to the Messiah, where he also mentions the land of Sheba, and reports gifts similar to those presented by the queen to Solomon: “Many camels will cover you - dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; they will all come from Sheba, bring gold and incense and proclaim the glory of the Lord” (Is. 60:6). The New Testament wise men also presented baby Jesus with incense, gold and myrrh. The similarity of these two subjects was even emphasized in Western European art; for example, they could be placed on the same spread of a manuscript, opposite each other.

In interpretations of the biblical Song of Songs, typological Christian exegesis traditionally views Solomon and his illustrious beloved Shulamite as images of the groom-Christ and the bride-Church. The imposition of this interpretation on the Gospel story, in which Jesus and his followers are compared with Solomon and the Queen of the South, led to a convergence of the images of the Queen of Sheba and the Shulamite Church of Christ. Already in Origen’s “Discourses on the Song of Songs” they are closely intertwined, and the blackness of the Shulamite (Song. 1, 4-5) is called “Ethiopian beauty.” This rapprochement is developed in medieval commentaries on the Song of Songs, in particular by Bernard of Clairvaux and Honorius of Augustodunn. The latter directly calls the Queen of Sheba the beloved of Christ. In medieval Latin Bibles, the initial C on the first page of the Song of Songs (Latin: Canticum Canticorum) often included an image of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. At the same time, the image of the queen as the personification of the Church was associated with the image of the Virgin Mary, which, apparently, became one of the sources of the emergence of the iconographic type of Black Madonnas - this is how in Catholic religious art and veneration paintings or statues depicting the Virgin Mary with the face of an extremely dark shade, for example, the Czestochowa Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Extremely scarce historical information about the Queen of Sheba led to the fact that her personality became overgrown a huge amount legends and speculation. She was also credited with allegedly having hairy legs and having webbed goose feet. Her interactions with Solomon have also been mythologized. So, we have come down to several versions of the riddles that she supposedly asked King Solomon.

However, one thing is the most important and indisputable fact in the story of the Queen of the South - it was she who became the prototype of those non-Jewish pagans who, having come to listen to the apostles preach about Christ, believed and filled the Church with new saints and righteous people, and spread Christianity throughout the globe.

Egor PANFILOV

Giovanni Demin (1789-1859)

Solomon is a king and a philosopher, but first of all he was a man and nothing human was alien to him. Love that makes your heart beat faster. Love that has carried its charm through the centuries. The love of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The great, mysterious queen - and the wisest ruler. Solomon dedicated the Song of Songs to this mysterious beauty. She captivated the biblical ruler with her beauty and intelligence, taking with her a piece of Solomon’s soul to the Sabaean kingdom.

Makeda, Queen of Sheba Edward Slocombe

To test Solomon's wisdom, Bilquis asked him a series of questions: “If you guess it, I will recognize you as a sage; if you don’t guess it, I will know that you are an ordinary person.”. Convinced that he had far surpassed the glory of himself, she submitted to him along with her kingdom.

Apollonio di Giovanni

The Queen of Sheba's questions were as follows:

“Wooden well, iron bucket, scoops up stones, pours out water. What is this?" —Surma. (The antimony tube was made of reed, the pump handle was made of metal. The substance itself is used for tinting eyebrows and coloring eyeball represented a mineralogical melt; getting into the eye caused enhanced effect tear makers)

“It comes from the earth, is nourished by the earth, flows like water, and spills light. What is this?" -"Oil".

“A storm walks over its tops and groans and cries out sorrowfully; his head is like a reed; for the rich it is honor, and for the poor it is shame; for the dead there is honor, and for the living - shame; joy for the birds and sorrow for the fish. What is this?" -"Linen". (Flax is used to make both clothing for the rich and coarse clothing for the poor, a shroud for the dead and a rope for the gallows. Flax seeds serve as food for birds and fishing nets are made from flax.)

Claude Lorraine

According to the Midrash, the riddles were different:

Who has not been born and will not die? — God bless him.

What land has seen the sun only once? — The one that was covered by the waters on the day of creation, which parted only when Moses led the people of Israel along it - the bottom of the Red Sea.

What kind of fence is it with ten doors, when one of them is open, nine are closed; when nine open, one closes? — This fence is a woman's womb; ten doors - ten holes in the body: eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, holes for getting rid of impurities and the navel. When the fetus is in the womb, only the opening of the umbilical cord is open in its body, while the other openings are closed; when the child comes out of the womb, the navel closes and the other openings open.

What is motionless while alive, but is in motion after the top of its head is blown off? — The wood from which the ship is made.

What are the three things that were neither food, nor drink, nor air, but saved three from death? — Seal, rope and staff. This refers to the story of Judah and Tamar, where the three are Tamar and her two sons.

Three people entered the cave and five came out? — Lot, his two daughters and their two children.

The dead man is alive, the grave moves, and the dead man prays. What is this? — Jonah in the belly of the whale.

Who are the three who ate and drank on earth, but were not born of a man and a woman? — Three angels who appeared to Abraham.

Four entered the house of death and came out alive, but two entered the house of life and became dead? — Four: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah(youths in the fiery furnace Dan., two - Nadab and Abihu(sons of Aaron, who brought strange fire before the Lord, which He did not command them, for which Leo was burned to ashes).

Who are those who will be born but will not die? — The Prophet Elijah, who was taken to heaven alive by the Messiah.

What was not born, although it was given life? — Golden Taurus, (an idol made by Aaron at the request of the people, during the absence of Moses: “ I said to them: whoever has gold, take it off you. and they gave it to me; I threw it into the fire and this little calf came out»).

What, although produced by the earth, is made by man and is nourished by what comes out of the earth? — Wick.

Was the wife of two, gave birth to two and all four are children of the same father? — Tamar.

In a house full of death there is not a single dead person, but not a single one will come out alive? — The story of Samson and the Philistines(captive Samson, being tied during a feast to the pillars that supported the roof of the house, moved them and “ the house collapsed on the owners and on all the people who were in it" -Court.)

The queen ordered logs of cedar trees to be brought and asked Solomon to indicate where the top and bottom of the log were, from which end the branches grew and from which the roots. Solomon ordered the logs to be placed in the water. The end that sank to the bottom was the bottom from where the roots grew, and the one that rose above the surface of the water was the top.

Samuel Coleman

The queen presented Solomon with only 120 talents of gold, i.e. 3120 kilograms, and there was undoubtedly also a lot of incense and precious stones, since a whole caravan of camels brought it all.

Jacopo Tintoretto

In the Koran, as well as in oriental fairy tales, the queen's name sounds like Bilqis. In Ethiopia her name is Makeda. The Queen of Sheba occupies one of the central places in Ethiopian literature. The emperors of this country consider themselves descendants of the legendary queen.
According to Old Testament legends, the queen, having heard about the glory and power of the Jewish king Solomon, decided to go to him personally.

Pedro Berruguete

King Solomon, who was given the name Jedidiah at birth, meaning “Beloved of God,” ruled the state of Israel for forty years. He ruled Israel almost 1000 years before the birth of Christ at the very peak of the heyday of Jewish civilization, when the Egyptian civilization was already degenerating, and the Greek and Roman had not yet arisen. Most often, the years of his reign are called 972-932 BC, and this time is marked by relative calm and peace in Israel. No wonder in the royal name this ruler's name was Solomon (from the Hebrew word "shlomo" - peace). He ascended the throne when he was barely twenty years old, but already in the first years of his reign, the young ruler proved to the Israelis his wisdom, organizational skills and strength. He immediately strengthened Jerusalem, built a fleet, allocated large funds to develop trade with neighboring states, erected great temple, and also encouraged the development of science and literature.He was the third and last king. After him, the kingdom split into two - Israel and Judah, and stagnation and decay actually began.

Seal of Solomon on a Moroccan coin

Solomon's wisdom impressed the queen. According to the Bible, Makeda confirmed in admiration that the rumors about the king’s glory and wisdom were completely true; the rumor did not in the least exaggerate the ruler’s dignity.

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

Anonymous (Antwerp, 17th century)

Makeda herself was so beautiful that Solomon was enchanted. Rumors that reached the king said that the Queen of Sheba came from a family of genies. Her legs are a direct confirmation of this. The inquisitive king arranged a kind of test for the guest, receiving her in chambers with a crystal floor, under which fish swam in the pool. The queen, stepping on the glass, reflexively lifted the hem of her dress, momentarily exposing her legs to Solomon.

Northern Ethiopia has its own early Christian legend explaining the demonic origin of the donkey's hoof of the Queen of Sheba. Legend ascribes to her origins from the Tigrean tribe the name Etje Azeb(that is, the “Queen of the South,” by which the Queen of Sheba is called only in the New Testament). Her people worshiped a dragon or serpent, to which men sacrificed their eldest daughters: When her parents' turn came, they tied her to a tree where the dragon came for food. Soon seven saints came there and sat in the shade of this tree. A girl's tear fell on them, and when they looked up and saw her tied to a tree, they asked her if she was a person, and answering their further questions, the girl told them that she was tied to a tree to become a victim of the dragon. When the seven saints saw the dragon... they struck him with a cross and killed him. But his blood got on Ethier Azeb's heel, and her foot turned into a donkey's hoof. The saints untied her and told her to return to the village, but the people drove her out of there, thinking that she had escaped from the dragon, so she climbed a tree and spent the night there. The next day she brought people from the village and showed them the dead dragon, and then they immediately made her their ruler, and she made a girl similar to herself as her assistant.

Edward Poynter

Some legends indicate that the queen’s legs were completely ordinary.
According to another legend, the queen's legs were human, but too hairy for a woman.

Vlegel, Nikola. Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
The third legend claims that Makeda’s legs were crooked, hairy, and her feet were ugly curved. These are the legs that the jinn and their descendants had.
Despite everything, Solomon fell in love with the Queen of Sheba. Their romance was brief. It lasted only six months. The queen got ready to go home. Solomon generously gave her gifts and sent her on a long journey.

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino

Konrad Witz
Solomon spent all his days with her, talking about countries, the Universe, and God. He took Balcis around Jerusalem, showing the buildings and temples he had built, and the queen never ceased to be amazed at his scope and generosity.

R. Leinweber. Queen of Sheba and Solomon.

Edward Slocombe

The Queen of Sheba, returning to the Sabaean kingdom, gave birth to a son, Menelik. He became a great ruler in Ethiopia, considered the founder of the dynasty of Ethiopian (Abyssinian) kings who ruled for three thousand years.There is not a word in the biblical text about the alleged love affair between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. But such a connection is described in legends. It is known from the Bible that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, among which some legends include the Queen of Sheba.

Batisterio san giovanni Florence, Salomon meets the Queen of Saabe, on the Paradise Door of the Florence Baptistry

Solomon was considered the personification of wisdom, so a saying arose: “He who sees Solomon in a dream can hope to become wise” (Berachot 57 b). He understood the language of animals and birds. When conducting a trial, he did not need to interrogate witnesses, since at one glance at the litigants he knew which of them was right and which was wrong. For all that, Solomon was not distinguished by arrogance and, when it was necessary to determine leap year, he invited seven learned elders to his place, in whose presence he remained silent.

The Midrash says that on the steps of the throne there were 12 golden lions and the same number of golden eagles (according to another version 72 and 72) one against the other. Six steps led to the throne, on each of which were golden images of representatives of the animal kingdom, two different ones on each step, one opposite the other. At the top of the throne was an image of a dove with a dovecote in its claws, which was supposed to symbolize Israel's dominion over the pagans. There was also a golden candlestick with fourteen cups for candles. Above the candlestick was a golden jar of oil, and below was a golden bowl, on which were engraved the names of Nadab, Abihu, Eli and his two sons. 24 vines above the throne created a shadow over the king's head. With the help of a mechanical device, the throne moved according to Solomon's wishes. According to the Targum, all animals, using a special mechanism, extended their paws when Solomon ascended to the throne so that the king could lean on them. When Solomon reached the sixth step, the eagles lifted him up and seated him on a chair. Then a large eagle placed a crown on his head, and the rest of the eagles and lions rose up to form a shadow around the king. The dove descended, took the Torah scroll from the ark and placed it on Solomon's lap. When the king, surrounded by the Sanhedrin, began to examine the case, the wheels (ofanim) began to turn, and animals and birds uttered cries that made those who intended to give false testimony tremble.

Asknazi Isaac. Vanity of Vanities and all sorts of vanity. Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas

King Solomon reigned over all the high and low worlds. The disk of the Moon did not decrease during his reign, and good constantly prevailed over evil. Power over angels, demons and animals gave special shine to his reign. Demons brought him precious stones and water from distant lands to irrigate his exotic plants. Animals and birds themselves entered his kitchen. Each of his thousand wives prepared a feast every day in the hope that the king would be pleased to dine with her. The king of birds, the eagle, obeyed all the instructions of King Solomon. With the help of a magic ring on which the name of the Almighty was engraved, Solomon extracted many secrets from the angels. In addition, the Almighty gave him a flying carpet. Solomon traveled on this carpet, having breakfast in Damascus and dinner in Media.

Solomon's ring “Everything passes”, “This too will pass” , and lastly- "Nothing Passes"

Rules written on King Solomon's ring.

Passing by the church... -pray..., Passing by beggars..., - share...,
Passing by young people..., - don’t be angry..., Passing by old..., - bow down...,
Passing by cemeteries..., - sit down..., Passing by memory..., -remember...,
Passing by the mother..., - stand up..., Passing by relatives..., - remember...,
Passing by knowledge..., - take..., Passing by laziness..., - shudder...,
Passing by idle..., - create..., Passing by the fallen..., - remember...,
Passing by the wise..., -wait..., Passing by stupid..., - don't listen...,
Passing by happiness..., - rejoice..., Passing by the generous..., - take a bite...,
Passed by honor..., - keep..., Passing by duty..., - don’t hide...,
Passing by the words..., - hold..., Passing by feelings... - don't be shy...,
Passing by glory..., - don't bother..., Passing by the truth..., - don't lie...,
Passing by sinners..., - hope..., Passing by passion..., - go away...,
Passing by a quarrel..., - don’t quarrel..., Passing by flattery..., - shut up...,
Passing by conscience..., - be afraid..., Passing by drunkenness..., - don’t drink...,
Passing by anger..., - humble yourself..., Passing by grief..., - cry...,
Passing by the pain..., - take heart..., Passing by lies..., - don’t be silent...,
Passing by orphans..., - spend some money..., Passing by the authorities... - don’t believe it, ..

Passing by death..., - do not be afraid..., Passing by life..., - live...,
Passing by God... - open up

But during his reign, Solomon also made mistakes that led to the collapse of the state after his death.
Grandiose construction and fast economic development They demanded labor "and King Solomon imposed a duty on all Israel; the duty consisted of thirty thousand people." Solomon divided the country into 12 tax districts, obliging them to support the royal court and army. The tribe of Judah, from which Solomon and David came, was exempt from taxes, which caused discontent among representatives of the remaining tribes of Israel. Solomon's extravagance and craving for luxury led to the fact that he was unable to pay off King Hiram, with whom he entered into an agreement during the construction of the Temple, and was forced to give him several of his cities as debt.
The priests also had reasons for dissatisfaction. King Solomon had many wives of different races and religions, and they brought their deities with them. Solomon built temples for them where they could worship their gods, and at the end of his life he himself began to participate in pagan cults.
The Midrash (Oral Torah) says that when King Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh, the Archangel Gabriel descended from heaven and stuck a pole into the depths of the sea, around which an island was formed, on which Rome was subsequently built, conquering Jerusalem.

King Solomon's Mines

From the Old Testament we know that King Solomon possessed enormous wealth. It is said that every three years he sailed to the land of Ophir and brought back gold, mahogany, precious stones, monkeys and peacocks. Scientists have tried to find out what Solomon took to Ophir in exchange for these riches and where this country is located. The location of the mysterious country has not yet been clarified. It is believed that this could be India, Madagascar, Somalia.Most archaeologists are confident that King Solomon mined copper ore in his mines. IN different places"real mines of King Solomon" periodically appeared. In the 1930s it was suggested that the Solomon mines were located in southern Jordan. And only at the beginning of this century, archaeologists found evidence that, indeed, copper mines discovered on the territory of Jordan in the town of Khirbat en-Nahas could be the legendary mines of King Solomon.Obviously, Solomon had a monopoly on copper production, which gave him the opportunity to make huge profits

Most of us have probably heard this name, but few have a real idea of who she was, when she lived and whose queen she was. Today I will try to tell you about the mysterious Queen of Sheba:

The Queen of Sheba belonged to the family of Sabaean priest-kings - the Mukarribs. According to Ethiopian legend, the Queen of Sheba's childhood name was Makeda. She was born around 1020 BC in the country of Ophir, which stretched across the entire eastern coast of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the island of Madagascar. The inhabitants of the land of Ophir were fair-skinned, tall and virtuous. They were known as good warriors, herded herds of goats, sheep and camels, hunted deer and lions, mined precious stones, gold, copper and knew how to smelt bronze

Edward Slocombe. "Queen of Sheba".
Still from the film “Queen Sheva”

The capital of Ophir, the city of Aksum, was located in Ethiopia. At the age of fifteen, Makeda went to reign in South Arabia, in the Sabaean kingdom, where she became the Queen of Sheba. She ruled the kingdom for about forty years.
Her subjects said that she ruled with the heart of a woman, but with the head and hands of a man. The capital of the Sabaean kingdom was the city of Marib. The Koran says that the Queen of Saba and her people worshiped the Sun.

"Saint Makeda, Queen of Sheba" modern icon

Hypotheses and archaeological evidence

Relatively recently, scientists have established that the solar deity Shams played an important role in the folk religion of ancient Yemen. Legends say that the queen originally worshiped the stars, the Moon, the Sun and Venus. She had the honorary title of high priestess of planetary conciliarity and organized “Cathedrals of Wisdom” in her palace. She was also the high priestess of a certain southern cult of tender passion. Only after traveling to King Solomon did she become acquainted with Judaism and accept it.

A story about the birth of the queen, her accession to the throne, her visit to Jerusalem and the conception of her son (Ethiopian “comic”)

According to the descriptions of ancient authors, the rulers of Saba lived in marble palaces, surrounded by gardens with flowing springs and fountains, where birds sang, flowers fragrant, and the aroma of balsam and spices spread everywhere. The pride of the Sabaean kingdom was a giant dam west of Marib, which held water in an artificial lake. Through a complex system of canals and drains, the lake watered peasant fields, as well as fruit plantations and gardens at temples and palaces

“Queen of Sheba.” Miniature from a medieval German manuscript.

The length of the stone dam reached 600 and the height – 15 meters. Water was supplied to the canal system through two ingenious gateways. I wasn’t going behind the dam river water, and rain, brought once a year by a tropical hurricane from Indian Ocean. The Koran states that the irrigation system was destroyed by heaven as punishment for paganism. In reality, the catastrophe was caused by the Romans, who plundered the city and destroyed the floodgates as punishment for the desperate resistance of the inhabitants of Marib.

Miniature for Boccaccio’s book “Illustrious Women”, France, 15th century.

Scientists have been trying to penetrate the city of Marib, where the legendary Queen of Sheba ruled in time immemorial. However, its very location for a long time remained a secret, carefully kept by local Arab tribes and Yemeni authorities.

“The Queen of Sheba on the Throne”: Persian miniature of the 16th century

In 1976, the French made another attempt to penetrate the treasured city. They corresponded with the Yemeni authorities for seven long years until they obtained permission for one person to visit the ruins, who was only allowed to inspect them. And then they decided to send a Parisian photographer from the magazine “Figaro” to Marib, who knew how to shoot with a hidden camera.

Movie poster from 1921

He managed to see and photograph massive columns of destroyed temples and palaces, as well as several sculptures dating back to the period of the 6th-4th centuries BC. Some were made of marble, others of bronze, and others of alabaster.
Some figures had clearly Sumerian features, others – Parthian. All of them were inside the ruins, leaning against the stones. The photographer was able to capture a kind of safe conduct engraved on the stone: “The people of Marib built this temple under the auspices of their gods, kings and all the people of the state of Saba. Whoever damages these walls or takes away the sculptures will die himself, and his family will be cursed.”

Solomon and Sheba. Parma, Diocesan Museum

Just after shooting this text, the photographer was asked to leave. The recording was made on a fragment of bas-relief inside the building, of which only the foundation remains. Inside it, people in rags were scurrying about, putting halves of bricks into bags.
The photographer got the impression that Europeans are not allowed into Marib not because it is declared a sacred place for Muslims, but because it is the private quarry of some local feudal clan. According to the Figaro photojournalist, he managed to photograph only a hundredth part of what was possible. He admitted that such work is akin to racing a motorcycle through the halls of the Louvre.

Piero della Francesca - 2a. Procession of the Queen of Sheba

Researchers note that the Queen of Sheba's visit to Jerusalem may have been a trade mission related to the Israeli king's efforts to settle on the Red Sea coast and thereby undermine the monopoly of Saba and other South Arabian kingdoms on caravan trade with Syria and Mesopotamia.

Piero della Francesca - Legend of the True Cross - Queen of Sheba - in the reception hall with Solomon

Assyrian sources confirm that southern Arabia was engaged in international trade as early as 890 BC. e., so the arrival in Jerusalem of the time of Solomon of a trade mission of a certain South Arabian kingdom seems quite possible.

Solomon and Sheba, stained glass window in Strasbourg Romanesque Cathedral

Meeting of Sheba and Solomon, stained glass window in Cologne Cathedral

There is, however, a problem with the chronology: Solomon lived from approximately 965 to 926. BC e., and the first traces of the Savean monarchy appear about 150 years later.

Ruins of the Sun Temple in Marib. Built in the 8th century BC. e., existed for 1000 years

In the 19th century, researchers I. Halevi and Glaser found ruins in the Arabian Desert huge city Marib.

Ruins of ancient Marib

Among the inscriptions found, scientists read the names of four South Arabian states: Minea, Hadhramaut, Qataban and Sawa. As it turned out, the residence Sheba kings was the city of Marib (modern Yemen), which confirms the traditional version of the origin of the queen from the south of the Arabian Peninsula.

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba-portico.Gates of Heaven

Detail “Gates of Heaven”

Inscriptions discovered in southern Arabia do not mention rulers, but from Assyrian documents of the 8th-7th centuries BC. e. Arabian queens are known in the more northern regions of Arabia. In the 1950s, Wendell Philips excavated the temple of the goddess Balqis at Marib. In 2005, American archaeologists discovered the ruins of a temple in Sana'a near the palace of the biblical Queen of Sheba in Marib (north of Sana'a). According to US researcher Madeleine Phillips, columns, numerous drawings and objects dating back 3 millennia were found.

Yemen - the territory from which the queen probably came

Ethiopia - a country where her son may have ruled

Researchers associate the emergence of the legend about the son of the Queen of Sheba in Ethiopia with the fact that, apparently, in the 6th century BC. e. The Sabaeans, having crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, settled near the Red Sea and occupied part of Ethiopia, “capturing” the memory of their ruler with them and transplanting it to new soil. One of the provinces of Ethiopia is called Shewa (Shava, modern Shoa).

In Amiens Cathedral, medallions with scenes from the legend of Sheva

There is also a fairly widespread point of view according to which the homeland of the Queen of Sheba or her prototype was not South, but North Arabia. Along with other North Arabian tribes, the Sabaeans are mentioned on the stele of Tiglath-pileser III.

Fresco de "Salomón y la Reina de Saba" in the Escorial Library

These northern Sabaeans, in a number of ways, can be associated with the Sabaeans (Sabeans) mentioned in the book of Job (Job 1:15), Sheba from the book of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 27:22), as well as with Abraham’s grandson Sheba (Gen. 25 :3, cf. also Gen. 10:7, Gen. 10:28) (the name of Sheba’s brother, Dedan, mentioned nearby, is associated with the oasis of El-Ula north of Medina).

Queen of Sheba in front of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, Salomon de Bray (1597-1664)

According to some researchers, the Kingdom of Israel first came into contact with the northern Sabaeans, and only then, perhaps through their mediation, with Saba in the south. Historian J. A. Montgomery suggested that in the 10th century BC. e. The Sabaeans lived in Northern Arabia, although they controlled trade routes from the south

Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, also became the “godmother” of Xena, the warrior princess, in the 20th century.

The famous explorer of Arabia, H. St. John Philby, also believed that the Queen of Sheba came not from South Arabia, but from North Arabia, and legends about her at some point mixed with stories about Zenobia, the warlike queen of Palmyra (modern Tadmur, Syria), who lived in the 3rd century AD. e. and converted to Judaism.

Casa de Alegre Sagrera, Salomó i de la Reina Sabà

So, for example, it is said (by one of Muhammad’s biographers) that it was in Palmyra, in the 8th century. During the reign of Caliph Walid I, a sarcophagus was found with the inscription: “Here is buried the pious Bilqis, wife of Solomon...”.

"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Pietro Dandini

Jewish Kabbalistic tradition also considers Tadmur to be the burial place of the evil she-devil queen, and the city is considered a sinister haven of demons

"King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Frans Franken

Frans Frankena

In addition, there are parallels between Sheba and another eastern autocrat - the famous Semiramis, who also fought and was engaged in irrigation, who lived around the same time - in the 9th century. BC e., which can also be traced in folklore. Thus, the writer of our era Meliton retells the Syrian legend in which the father of Semiramis is called Hadhad. In addition, Jewish legend made the queen the mother of Nebuchadnezzar and Semiramis his wife

“The Queen of Sheba on her Knees before King Solomon”, Johann Friedrich August Tischbein

One of Vasco da Gama's companions suggested that the Queen of Sheba came from Sofala, the oldest documented harbor in the Southern Hemisphere, a coast that, according to his assumptions, was called Ophir. In this regard, John Milton mentions Sofala in Paradise Lost. By the way, later in these places the Portuguese will undertake expeditions in search of the gold mines of the Queen of Sheba.

Solomon receives the Queen of Sheba", artist of the Antwerp school, 17th century

Other versions

Josephus in his work “Jewish Antiquities” gives a story about the visit of Solomon by the queen, “who reigned at that time over Egypt and Ethiopia and was distinguished by her special wisdom and generally outstanding qualities.” Arriving in Jerusalem, she, as in other legends, tests Solomon with riddles and admires his wisdom and wealth. This story is interesting because the historiographer mentions completely different states as the queen’s homeland.

General view of the Temple of Hatshepsut

According to the reconstruction of researcher Immanuel Velikovsky, the creator of the non-academic “revisionist chronology”, based on these data, the Queen of Sheba is Queen Hatshepsut (XV century BC according to traditional chronology Ancient Egypt), one of the first and most influential rulers of the 18th dynasty of pharaohs (New Kingdom), whose father, Thutmose I, annexed the country of Kush (Ethiopia) to Egypt.

Hatshepsut

As Velikovsky noted, in Deir el-Bahri (Upper Egypt), the queen built for herself a funerary temple modeled on the temple in the land of Punt, where there is a series of bas-reliefs depicting in detail the queen’s expedition to the mysterious country, which she calls “Divine”, or, in other words, translation, "God's Earth." Hatshepsut's bas-reliefs depict scenes similar to the biblical description of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon.

"Solomon and Sheba", Knupfer

Historians do not know exactly where this land was located, although there is currently a hypothesis that the land of Punt is the territory of modern Somalia. In addition, it can be assumed that the names “Savea” (in Hebrew Sheva) and “Thebes” - the capital of Egypt during the reign of Hatshepsut (ancient Greek Θῆβαι - Tevai) - are unambiguous.

Sabaean stele: a feast and a camel driver, with an inscription in Sabaean at the top.

British writer Ralph Ellis, whose theories have been questioned by scientists, suggested that the Queen of Sheba could be the wife of Pharaoh Psusennes II, who ruled Egypt during the life of Solomon, and whose name in Egyptian sounded like Pa-Seba-Khaen-Nuit .

Edward Poynter, 1890, "The Queen of Sheba's Visit to King Solomon"

Attempts have also been made to draw an analogy between the Queen of Sheba and the Chinese goddess Xi Wang Mu - the goddess of Western paradise and immortality, the legends about which arose around the same era and have similar features

"Arrival of the Queen of Sheba", painting by Samuel Coleman

The journey of Bilqis (as the Queen of Sheba is called in later Arabic texts) to Solomon became one of the most famous biblical stories. She set off on a seven-hundred-kilometer journey with a caravan of 797 camels.

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, Giovanni Demin, 19th century
Her retinue consisted of black dwarfs, and her security escort consisted of tall, light-skinned giants. On the queen's head there was a crown decorated with ostrich feathers, and on her little finger there was a ring with an Asterix stone, which is unknown modern science. 73 ships were hired to travel by water.

Piero della Francesca. Queen of Sheba Meeting with Solomon. Fresco, - San Francesco In Arezzo, Italy

In Judea, the queen asked Solomon tricky questions, but all the ruler’s answers were absolutely correct. Historians note that almost most of the queen’s riddles were based not on worldly wisdom, but on knowledge of history Jewish people, and this really looks strange coming from a sun worshiper from a distant country, by the standards of that time.

"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Konrad Witz

In turn, Solomon was captivated by the beauty and intelligence of Bilqis. The Ethiopian book Kebra Negast describes that upon the arrival of the queen, Solomon “showed great honor to her and rejoiced, and gave her abode in his royal palace next to him. And he sent her food for morning and evening meals."

"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba", painting by Tintoretto, c. 1555, Prado

According to some legends, he married the queen. Subsequently, Solomon's court received horses, precious stones, and jewelry made of gold and bronze from hot Arabia. The most valuable at that time was fragrant oil for church incense. The queen also received expensive gifts in return and returned to her homeland with all her subjects.

“Queen Bilqis and the Hoopoe.” Persian miniature, ca. 1590–1600

According to most legends, she ruled alone from then on. But from Solomon, Bilqis had a son named Menelik, who became the founder of a three-thousand-year dynasty of emperors of Abyssinia. At the end of her life, the Queen of Sheba returned to Ethiopia, where by that time her grown-up son ruled.

The Queen of Sheba gallops to Jerusalem. Ethiopian fresco

Another Ethiopian legend tells that for a long time Bilqis kept the name of his father secret from her son, and then sent him with an embassy to Jerusalem, saying that he would recognize his father from the portrait, which Menelik was supposed to look at for the first time only in the temple of God Yahweh.

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, detail. Ottoman master, 16th century.

Having reached Jerusalem and coming to the temple for worship, Menelik took out a portrait, but instead of a drawing he was surprised to find a small mirror. Looking at his reflection, Menelik looked around at all the people present in the temple, saw King Solomon among them and, based on the similarity, guessed that this was his father...

A riddle for scientists

Meanwhile, recently an incident helped us get closer to solving a number of mysteries of Ancient Arabia. Less than ten years ago, a whole group of mining engineers from Europe, the USA and Saudi Arabia was invited to work in Yemen.

Several archaeologists were quietly included in this purely technical team. The first thing they discovered was an abundance of forgotten oases and ancient settlements. The desert, fanned by eastern legends and sultry winds, was not lifeless everywhere in ancient times.

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, anonymous artist, 15th century, Bruges

There were pastures, hunting grounds, and mines for precious stones. Among other things, a small stone sculpture resembling an ancient Indo-European Mother Goddess was discovered, which puzzled scientists. How did ritual sculpture get to the southern regions? However, many ceramic shards with specific ornamental decorations were clearly of the Indo-European type, close to the Sumerian.

The Queen of Sheba kneels before the Life-Giving Tree, fresco by Piero della Francesca, Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo

In northern Yemen, archaeologists have found ten sites with slag dumps. From the smelting furnaces, they determined that high-quality copper ore was processed there and bronze was made. Ingots from Saba went to African countries, Mesopotamia and even to Europe. All this proved that the successful metallurgists were not Bedouins, but sedentary tribes of a different ethnic origin.

Giovanni Demin (1789-1859), "Solomon and the Queen of Sheba"

Interesting Facts

Both variants of the queen's name, Bilqis and Makeda, are relatively common female names- the first, respectively, in Islamic Arab countries, the second - among Christians in Africa, as well as among African Americans who emphasize their African identity and are interested in Rastafarianism.

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Rubens

September 11, the day of the return of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon to her native country, is the official date of the beginning of the New Year in Ethiopia and is called Enkutatash.

Queen of Sheba, Raphael, Urbino
The third most senior order in Ethiopia is the Order of the Queen of Sheba, established in 1922. Among the holders of the order were: Queen Mary (wife of the English King George V), French President Charles de Gaulle, US President Dwight Eisenhower

Engraving illustration of Nicaula, Queen of Sheba and Solomon

Pushkin's ancestor Abram Petrovich Hannibal, according to one version, was from Ethiopia and, according to him, belonged to a princely family. If this family, which is quite acceptable, had any marital ties with the ruling dynasty, then “the blood of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon” flowed in Pushkin’s veins

In Somalia, coins with the image of the Queen of Sheba were minted in 2002, although no legends associate her with this country.

Ethiopian church, frescoes

A rare species of Yemeni gazelle is named “Bilqis gazelle” (Gazella bilkis) in honor of the Queen of Sheba

Akopo Tintoretto, Solomon and Sheba.

In French cuisine, there is a dish named after the queen - gâteau de la reine Saba, chocolate pie.

The stone sculpture is a copy of the statue of the Queen of Sheba Cathedral in Reims.

Two asteroids are named in honor of the queen: 585 Bilkis and 1196 Sheba.

Kingdom of Sheba, Lloraina

One of the tourist sites in Ethiopia - the ruins of Dungur in Axum - is called (without any reason) "the palace of the Queen of Sheba." The same thing is shown in Salalah in Oman.

Mindelheim (Germany), nativity scene in the Jesuit church, “Queen of Sheba”

In 1985, in a Mansi sanctuary near the village of Verkhne-Nildino, a silver dish with the image of David, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba was discovered, which was revered by the local population as a fetish. According to local legends, it was caught from the Ob River with a seine during fishing.

Queen of Sheba. Her beauty is legendary. One of them tells how King Solomon was so shocked by her beauty that he could not take his eyes off her. But along with this, the same King Solomon, believing that such exquisite beauty was a sign of the devil, decided to check what kind of legs the queen had.
The south of the Arabian Peninsula and the coast of the Persian Gulf, along with Mesopotamia and the Nile Valley, are considered the most ancient centers of civilization. Already in the 4th millennium BC. Arabians lived here, who were mostly Semites and spoke languages close and understandable to the peoples of Palestine and Syria.
Among the Arabians, primitive beliefs were preserved for a long time: the deification of heavenly bodies, stones, springs, and trees. The very nature of Arabia - vast lifeless deserts and valleys, scorching heat during the day and unbearable cold at night, sudden storms, mirages and treacherous sandy abysses capable of swallowing entire caravans - gave rise to fantastic beliefs about evil and good genies, spirits and other miracles. Over time, these ideas became firmly entrenched in the world of Arab fairy tales and legends.
Three millennia ago, on the territory of modern Oman and Yemen, there were ancient states, including the Sabaean kingdom, where the legendary Queen of Sheba ruled. In the legends of the Haggadah, the state of the Queen of Sheba is described as a magical land where sand is more expensive than gold, trees from the Garden of Eden grow, and people do not know war. The name of the legendary queen is mentioned both in the Old Testament and in the Koran, but nevertheless there is very little authentic information about her. In Muslim legends, the name of the Queen of Sheba is Bilqis. It is known that her father served, in today's terms, as prime minister in the mysterious kingdom of Ophir. Most likely, Bilqis received the powers of the queen only for the duration of her trip to Israel. According to Old Testament legend, the Queen of Sheba, having heard about the glory of King Solomon, came to Jerusalem to test him with riddles and was amazed at his wisdom. Of course, Bilquis came not only to “make riddles”: the Incense Road passed through the territories vassal to Israel - the route from Saba to Egypt, Phenicia and Syria. In order to negotiate free passage for caravans, she brought such generous gifts.

The Bible colorfully tells about the impressions of the Queen of Sheba from communication with Solomon: “It is true that I heard in my land about your works and wisdom. But I did not believe the words until I came and my eyes saw. it is not said; you have more wisdom and wealth than I have heard.”

Bilquis herself was so beautiful and regal that Solomon was also fascinated by the young queen. But during one of her first meetings with the Israeli king, a bad story happened, which is described in one of the books of the Talmud - Midrash. According to the beliefs of the ancient Semites, one of the characteristic features the devil - goat's hooves. Solomon feared that under the guise of a beautiful woman, the devil was hiding in his guest. To check if this was so, he built a pavilion with a glass floor, put fish there and invited Bilquis to go through this hall. The illusion of a real pool was so strong that the Queen of Sheba, having crossed the threshold of the pavilion, did what any woman instinctively does when entering the water - she lifted her dress. Just for a moment. But Solomon managed to see what was carefully hidden: the queen’s legs were human, but not at all attractive - they were covered thick hair. Instead of remaining silent, Solomon exclaimed loudly: he did not expect that such beautiful woman there may be such a disadvantage. This story is also found in Muslim sources. And yet, when Bilqis first appeared before Solomon, accompanied by her entire retinue, dozens of half-naked girls as a gift to the king and two panthers guarding her, he was amazed and could not resist her beauty and grandeur.
They say that even a thousand women many years later did not help Solomon forget her. Their short romance lasted for six months. All this time, Solomon did not part with her and constantly gave her expensive gifts. When it turned out that Bilqis was pregnant, she left the king and returned to the Sabaean kingdom, where she gave birth to a boy. As it turned out later, he was destined for a glorious fate. They, or rather Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, are considered in Ethiopian legends to be the ancestors of the three-thousand-year dynasty of emperors of Abyssinia.

The mysterious Queen of Sheba January 13th, 2014

I am the one whose name is famous everywhere,
To the roar of harps and lyres there is ringing;
I will remain in eternal tales
Singers from all countries and all times.
For my mind, power and strength
All who know me serve me.
I am Saba. I pray to the luminary
Have an all-conquering day.

Mirra Lokhvitskaya

Edward Slocombe. "Queen of Sheba".

Still from the film “Queen Sheva”

"Saint Makeda, Queen of Sheba" modern icon

Hypotheses and archaeological evidence

A story about the birth of the queen, her accession to the throne, her visit to Jerusalem and the conception of her son (Ethiopian “comic”)

“Queen of Sheba.” Miniature from a medieval German manuscript.

The length of the stone dam reached 600, and the height - 15 meters. Water was supplied to the canal system through two ingenious gateways. It was not river water that was collected behind the dam, but rainwater, brought once a year by a tropical hurricane from the Indian Ocean. The Koran states that the irrigation system was destroyed by heaven as punishment for paganism. In reality, the catastrophe was caused by the Romans, who plundered the city and destroyed the floodgates as punishment for the desperate resistance of the inhabitants of Marib.

Miniature for Boccaccio’s book “Illustrious Women”, France, 15th century.

Scientists have been trying to penetrate the city of Marib, where the legendary Queen of Sheba ruled in time immemorial. However, its very location remained a secret for a long time, carefully kept by local Arab tribes and Yemeni authorities.

“The Queen of Sheba on the Throne”: Persian miniature of the 16th century

Movie poster from 1921

He managed to see and photograph massive columns of destroyed temples and palaces, as well as several sculptures dating back to the period of the 6th-4th centuries BC. Some were made of marble, others of bronze, and others of alabaster.
Some figures had clearly Sumerian features, others Parthian. All of them were inside the ruins, leaning against the stones. The photographer was able to capture a kind of safe conduct engraved on the stone: “The people of Marib built this temple under the auspices of their gods, kings and all the people of the state of Saba. Whoever damages these walls or takes away the sculptures will die himself, and his family will be cursed.”

Solomon and Sheba. Parma, Diocesan Museum

The photographer got the impression that Europeans are not allowed into Marib not because it is declared a sacred place for Muslims, but because it is the private quarry of some local feudal clan. According to the Figaro photojournalist, he managed to photograph only a hundredth part of what was possible. He admitted that such work is akin to racing a motorcycle through the halls of the Louvre.

Piero della Francesca - 2a. Procession of the Queen of Sheba

Piero della Francesca - Legend of the True Cross - Queen of Sheba - in the reception hall with Solomon

Solomon and Sheba, stained glass window in Strasbourg Romanesque Cathedral

Meeting of Sheba and Solomon, stained glass window in Cologne Cathedral

There is, however, a problem with the chronology: Solomon lived from approximately 965 to 926. BC e., and the first traces of the Savean monarchy appear about 150 years later.

Ruins of the Sun Temple in Marib. Built in the 8th century BC. e., existed for 1000 years

In the 19th century, researchers I. Halevi and Glaser found the ruins of the huge city of Marib in the Arabian Desert.

Ruins of ancient Marib

Among the inscriptions found, scientists read the names of four South Arabian states: Minea, Hadhramaut, Qataban and Sawa. As it turned out, the residence of the Sheba kings was the city of Marib (modern Yemen), which confirms the traditional version of the origin of the queen from the south of the Arabian Peninsula.

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba-portico.Gates of Heaven

Detail “Gates of Heaven”

Yemen - the territory from which the queen probably came

Ethiopia - a country where her son may have ruled

In Amiens Cathedral, medallions with scenes from the legend of Sheva

Fresco de "Salomón y la Reina de Saba" in the Escorial Library

Queen of Sheba in front of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, Salomon de Bray (1597-1664)

Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, also became the “godmother” of Xena, the warrior princess, in the 20th century.

Casa de Alegre Sagrera, Salomó i de la Reina Sabà

"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Pietro Dandini

Jewish Kabbalistic tradition also considers Tadmur to be the burial place of the evil she-devil queen, and the city is considered a sinister haven of demons

"King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Frans Franken

Frans Frankena

“The Queen of Sheba on her Knees before King Solomon”, Johann Friedrich August Tischbein

“Solomon receives the Queen of Sheba”, artist of the Antwerp school, 17th century

Other versions

General view of the Temple of Hatshepsut

According to the reconstruction based on these data by researcher Immanuel Velikovsky, the creator of the non-academic “revisionist chronology”, the Queen of Sheba is Queen Hatshepsut (XV century BC according to the traditional chronology of Ancient Egypt), one of the first and most influential rulers of the 18th dynasty of pharaohs (New Kingdom), whose father, Thutmose I, annexed the country of Kush (Ethiopia) to Egypt.

Hatshepsut

"Solomon and Sheba", Knupfer

Sabaean stele: a feast and a camel driver, with an inscription in Sabaean at the top.

Edward Poynter, 1890, "The Queen of Sheba's Visit to King Solomon"

"Arrival of the Queen of Sheba", painting by Samuel Coleman

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, Giovanni Demin, 19th century

Her retinue consisted of black dwarfs, and her security escort consisted of tall, light-skinned giants. On the queen's head was a crown decorated with ostrich feathers, and on her little finger was a ring with an Asterix stone, which is unknown to modern science. 73 ships were hired to travel by water.

Piero della Francesca. Queen of Sheba Meeting with Solomon. Fresco, - San Francesco In Arezzo, Italy

In Judea, the queen asked Solomon tricky questions, but all the ruler’s answers were absolutely correct. Historians note that almost most of the queen’s riddles were based not on worldly wisdom, but on knowledge of the history of the Jewish people, and this really looks strange coming from a sun worshiper from a distant country, by the standards of that time.

"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Konrad Witz

"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba", painting by Tintoretto, c. 1555, Prado

“Queen Bilqis and the Hoopoe.” Persian miniature, ca. 1590–1600

The Queen of Sheba gallops to Jerusalem. Ethiopian fresco

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, detail. Ottoman master, 16th century.

A riddle for scientists

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, anonymous artist, 15th century, Bruges

The Queen of Sheba kneels before the Life-Giving Tree, fresco by Piero della Francesca, Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo

Giovanni Demin (1789-1859), "Solomon and the Queen of Sheba"

Interesting Facts

Both versions of the queen's name, Bilquis and Makeda, are relatively common female names - the first, respectively, in Islamic Arab countries, the second among Christians in Africa, as well as among African Americans who emphasize their African identity and are interested in Rastafarianism.

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Rubens

September 11, the day of the return of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon to her native country, is the official date of the beginning of the New Year in Ethiopia and is called Enkutatash.

Queen of Sheba, Raphael, Urbino

The third most senior order in Ethiopia is the Order of the Queen of Sheba, established in 1922. Among the holders of the order were: Queen Mary (wife of the English King George V), French President Charles de Gaulle, US President Dwight Eisenhower

Engraving illustration of Nicaula, Queen of Sheba and Solomon

In Somalia, coins with the image of the Queen of Sheba were minted in 2002, although no legends associate her with this country.

Ethiopian church, frescoes

A rare species of Yemeni gazelle is named “Bilqis gazelle” (Gazella bilkis) in honor of the Queen of Sheba

Akopo Tintoretto, Solomon and Sheba.

In French cuisine, there is a dish named after the queen - gâteau de la reine Saba, chocolate pie.

The stone sculpture is a copy of the statue of the Queen of Sheba Cathedral in Reims.

Two asteroids are named in honor of the queen: 585 Bilkis and 1196 Sheba.

Kingdom of Sheba, Lloraina

One of the tourist sites in Ethiopia - the ruins of Dungur in Axum - is called (without any reason) "the palace of the Queen of Sheba." The same thing is shown in Salalah in Oman.

Mindelheim (Germany), nativity scene in the Jesuit church, “Queen of Sheba”