She is known to the world by many names: Makeda in Ethiopian tradition, Bilqis in Arabic, and simply the Queen of Sheba in the Bible. She ruled a wealthy kingdom at the southern edge of the known world — the land of Saba, in present-day Yemen — a land of spices, gold, and the legendary Marib Dam. She was a pagan queen, a worshipper of the sun. But she had heard rumors of a king in the north — Solomon, son of David — whose wisdom surpassed all the wisdom of the East. So she gathered a great caravan — camels laden with spices, gold, and precious stones — and journeyed 1,500 miles across the Arabian Desert to Jerusalem. What she found there changed her, and her story has resonated for three thousand years. The Queen of Sheba appears in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament (where Jesus calls her "the Queen of the South"), the Quran, and the Ethiopian national epic, the Kebra Nagast. Her story is a tale of wisdom, wealth, and the search for truth — a powerful female ruler who came seeking knowledge and left with faith. And in the Ethiopian tradition, her union with Solomon produced a son — Menelik I — who would found the Solomonic dynasty that ruled Ethiopia until 1974 and who, according to legend, brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Axum, where it remains to this day.
Summary: The Queen of Sheba (c. 10th century BC) was the monarch of the ancient kingdom of Saba (Sheba) in southern Arabia (modern Yemen). According to the Hebrew Bible (1 Kings 10, 2 Chronicles 9), she traveled to Jerusalem to test Solomon's wisdom with "hard questions" (riddles). Impressed by his wisdom and the splendor of his kingdom, she blessed the God of Israel and gave Solomon vast gifts of gold and spices. In the Quran (Surah An-Naml), the hoopoe bird reports to Solomon about her sun-worshipping kingdom, and Solomon invites her to submit to God. After witnessing his miracles and the transport of her throne to Jerusalem, she converts. Ethiopian tradition identifies her as Makeda and holds that she bore Solomon a son, Menelik I, who brought the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia. The Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia claimed descent from this union.
📜 The Biblical Account
"When the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions." (1 Kings 10:1). So begins the biblical account. She arrives in Jerusalem with a magnificent retinue, camels carrying spices, gold, and precious stones. She speaks with Solomon about everything on her mind, and he answers all her questions — nothing is too difficult for him. Overwhelmed by his wisdom and the splendor of his court, she exclaims: "The report was true which I heard in my own land of your affairs and of your wisdom. I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me." She gives Solomon 120 talents of gold (over four tons) and a great quantity of spices. Solomon, in turn, gives her gifts. She returns to her land. In the New Testament, Jesus cites "the Queen of the South" as an example of faith, praising her for traveling from the ends of the earth to hear wisdom.
The Visit — Jerusalem, c. 950 BC
"She brought riddles wrapped in poetry. He answered with a wisdom that seemed to read the very source of the questions. She brought gold from the mines of Africa. He showed her a Temple of such magnificence that she was left breathless. By the time she departed, she had surrendered not just her wealth but her faith to the God of Solomon."
☪️ The Quranic Account: Bilqis and the Hoopoe
In Surah An-Naml, the hoopoe bird — absent from Solomon's military review — returns with news: "I have discovered what you have not discovered. I have come to you from Sheba with certain news. I found a woman ruling over them — she has been given of all things — and she has a magnificent throne. I found her and her people prostrating to the sun." Solomon sends a letter: "It is from Solomon: In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Be not arrogant toward me, but come to me in submission." The Queen consults her advisors, who offer military resistance. She wisely decides to send Solomon a gift, testing whether he can be bought. Solomon rejects the gift: "Will you provide me with wealth? What God has given me is better than what He has given you." He then commands that her magnificent throne be brought to Jerusalem — instantly, by a servant who possesses knowledge of the Book. When Bilqis arrives, Solomon asks: "Is your throne like this?" She is stunned — her throne, transported miraculously, a sign of Solomon's prophetic power. She enters the crystal palace (its floor of glass over water). Mistaking it for a pool, she lifts her dress, exposing her legs — which, according to some traditions, were covered with hair, a sign of her jinn ancestry. Solomon reassures her: "It is a palace paved with glass." Overwhelmed by these signs, Bilqis surrenders to faith: "My Lord, I have wronged myself. I submit, with Solomon, to God, Lord of the Worlds."
🇪🇹 The Ethiopian Tradition: Makeda and Menelik
In the Kebra Nagast (The Glory of the Kings), the Ethiopian national epic, the Queen of Sheba is named Makeda. She rules from Axum, in Ethiopia. After her visit to Solomon, she returns to Ethiopia pregnant with his son. The child is named Menelik (Bayna-Lehkem). When Menelik grows up, he travels to Jerusalem to meet his father. Solomon recognizes him, embraces him, and anoints him as king of Ethiopia. When Menelik returns to Ethiopia, he takes with him — secretly or with Solomon's blessing — the most sacred object in the world: the Ark of the Covenant. The priests of Jerusalem discover the theft, but Solomon accepts it as God's will. The Ark is installed in Axum, where, according to Ethiopian Orthodox tradition, it remains to this day in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. Every Ethiopian emperor from 1270 until 1974 claimed descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
📖 The Legacy: Wisdom, Power, and the Search for Truth
The Queen of Sheba is one of the few female figures to appear in the holy texts of all three Abrahamic faiths. She is not a passive figure — she is a sovereign, a seeker of wisdom, a ruler who asks hard questions and refuses to be intimidated. Her story bridges continents and traditions: Arabia and Africa, Judaism and Islam, Christianity and the Ethiopian Orthodox faith. She represents the search for truth that transcends national and religious boundaries. She came with gold and left with faith. Three thousand years later, the image of the Queen of Sheba — the exotic, wise, powerful monarch from the south — retains its power to captivate the imagination.