Queen of Sheba
A caravan of camels bearing spices and gold arrived in Jerusalem during the reign of Solomon, the fourth King of Israel. The Hebrew Bible records this event without naming the visitor. 1 Kings 10:2 describes her retinue as very great, carrying precious stones and an abundance of spices never seen again. Scholars date the final form of this account to the Babylonian Captivity around 550 BCE. An anonymous redactor labeled Dtr2 compiled the text then. This revision served to glorify Solomon while maintaining a critical tone toward his later idolatry. The term riddles used in 1 Kings 10:1 is an Aramaic loanword indicating late composition. No inscription from South Arabia mentions a female ruler from that era. The story likely existed before the Deuteronomistic history was written.
Modern historians identify Sheba as one of the South Arabian kingdoms located in modern-day Yemen. Inscriptions found in southern Arabia do not mention female rulers. Assyrian documents from the 8th-7th century BC confirm Arabian queens existed in northern regions. Wendell Philips excavated the temple of the goddess Balqis at Marib in the 1950s. American archaeologists discovered ruins near Sana'a in 2005 dating back three millennia. Peter Stein argues archaeological evidence indicates the Sabean kingdom emerged by the 10th century BC. Other scholars claim the first traces of the Sabean monarchy appear 150 years after Solomon's death. Harry St John Philby believed legends about her originated from Northern Arabia and blended with stories of Zenobia, queen of Palmyra who lived in the 3rd century CE. The residence of the kings of Sheba was the city of Marib which confirms traditional versions of her origin.
Jewish tradition offers conflicting views on the Queen of Sheba. Josephus identified her as queen of Egypt and Ethiopia bringing balsam to Israel. The Talmud states that calling malkath Sheba a woman is mistaken because it means the kingdom of Sheba. A Yemenite manuscript called Midrash ha-Hefez attributes nineteen riddles to her. Christian mystics interpreted the Song of Songs as a literal basis for speculations about her marriage to Solomon. Origen wrote a voluminous commentary on the Song of Songs making this interpretation appear early. Some medieval Christians identified the queen with the sibyl Sabba. Islam describes her as Bilqis ruling over people who worshipped the sun. The Quran recounts how she sent ambassadors to King Solomon before visiting him personally. Muslim commentators like Al-Tabari claim her name derives from pilegesh meaning concubine.
The most extensive version of the legend appears in the Kebra Nagast translated from Arabic in 1322. This Ethiopian national saga claims Menelik I was the child of Solomon and Makeda. The 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia dates Makeda's reign from 1013 to 982 BC using the Ethiopian calendar. Edward Ullendorff holds that Makeda is a corruption of Candace, title of several Ethiopian queens from Meroe or Seba. Prince Kasa wrote to Queen Victoria in 1872 stating the book contains laws of all Ethiopia. Emperors stressed the importance of the Kebra Negast throughout history. One tradition states Ethiopian Jews trace their ancestry to Menelik I son of King Solomon. Another historical opinion suggests Falashas descend from Jews who settled in Egypt after the first exile. They penetrated into Sudan then moved into western parts of Abyssinia. Some provinces of Ethiopia bear the name Shewa which may preserve memory of its ruler.
Twelfth century cathedrals at Strasbourg, Chartres, Rochester and Canterbury include stained glass windows depicting her visit. Romanesque art features an enamel depiction of a black woman at Klosterneuburg Monastery dated 1181. Nicholas of Verdun created the altarpiece where Regina Saba appears alongside hexameter verses. A window in King's College Chapel Cambridge shows the Queen standing in water before Solomon. Renaissance artists continued the analogy between her visit and adoration of the Magi. Lorenzo Ghiberti designed bronze doors for the Florence Baptistery featuring relief scenes. Benozzo Gozzoli painted frescoes in Pisa showing her arrival. Piero della Francesca created two panels in Arezzo around 1466 linking palace beams to crucifixion wood. Hieronymus Bosch produced a Triptych of the Adoration of the Magi circa 1510 continuing this tradition. These visual works transformed textual accounts into enduring cultural symbols across Europe.
Giovanni Boccaccio called the Queen Nicaula in his work On Famous Women published centuries ago. He described her palace on Meroe located in the Nile river. Christine de Pizan listed her among dignified female pagans in The Book of the City of Ladies. Christopher Marlowe referred to her as Saba when Mephistopheles persuaded Faustus about wise women. Gérard de Nerval wrote Voyage to the Orient detailing travels through the Middle East with artistic license. His tale told in a Turkish cafe involved King Soliman's love for Balkis who loved Adoniram instead. Léopold Sédar Senghor used the fable to widen views of Negritude and Eurafrique in 1976. Rudyard Kipling identified Balkis as beloved of Solomon in Just So Stories including great wisdom. Jonathan Stroud portrayed her as vain in The Ring of Solomon fourth book of Bartimaeus Sequence. Modern popular culture often invokes her sarcastically against inflated entitlement. Film adaptations range from Betty Blythe in 1921 to Halle Berry in 1995. Music composers like Handel created oratorios featuring her arrival while others composed operas or songs.
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Common questions
Who was the Queen of Sheba according to the Hebrew Bible?
The Hebrew Bible records a caravan bearing spices and gold arriving in Jerusalem during the reign of Solomon without naming the visitor. Scholars date the final form of this account to the Babylonian Captivity around 550 BCE.
Where is the kingdom of Sheba located today?
Modern historians identify Sheba as one of the South Arabian kingdoms located in modern-day Yemen. The residence of the kings of Sheba was the city of Marib which confirms traditional versions of her origin.
What does the Kebra Nagast say about the children of Solomon and Makeda?
The most extensive version of the legend appears in the Kebra Nagast translated from Arabic in 1322 claiming Menelik I was the child of Solomon and Makeda. One tradition states Ethiopian Jews trace their ancestry to Menelik I son of King Solomon.
When did the 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia date Makeda's reign?
The 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia dates Makeda's reign from 1013 to 982 BC using the Ethiopian calendar. Edward Ullendorff holds that Makeda is a corruption of Candace title of several Ethiopian queens from Meroe or Seba.
Which artists created works depicting the Queen of Sheba in European cathedrals?
Twelfth century cathedrals at Strasbourg Chartres Rochester and Canterbury include stained glass windows depicting her visit. Renaissance artists continued the analogy between her visit and adoration of the Magi with Lorenzo Ghiberti designing bronze doors for the Florence Baptistery featuring relief scenes.