Name of Queen

[amlhabibi2000]

What was the name of the Queen of Sheba?

Who was she?

Did she become Muslim or something else?

What was her religion?

What kind of woman was she?

Did she marry Solomon?

[queenofsheba]

What a coincidence! She's my idol, I wrote a short story about her. I mainly follow the Ethiopian version, based on the "Kebra Negast" (=Glory of the Kings, 14th century AD)

Originally Posted by amlhabibi2000

What was the name of the Queen of Sheba?
Makeda

Who was she?
The queen of Sheba, currently Yemen, Eritrea and north Ethiopia. She lived around 1000BC


Did she become Muslim or something else?
She accepted the God of Solomon, so she became jewish. She introduced monotheism in Africa.

What was her religion?
Originally polytheist, but then judaism.

What kind of woman was she?
Very beautiful

Did she marry Solomon?

No, but she had a child from him: Menelik I, king of Sheba. According to the Ethiopian version, he stole the Ark of the Covenant and it would still be in Ethiopia today. Emperor Haile Selassie still considered himself to descent from Menelik I.

[juantoo3]

Kindest Regards, queenofsheba!

What was the name of the Queen of Sheba?
Makeda

Who was she?
The queen of Sheba, currently Yemen, Eritrea and north Ethiopia. She lived around 1000BC


Did she become Muslim or something else?
She accepted the God of Solomon, so she became jewish. She introduced monotheism in Africa.

What was her religion?
Originally polytheist, but then judaism.

What kind of woman was she?
Very beautiful

I hear too, that she was also was also wise and valued Solomon's teachings.

Did she marry Solomon?
No, but she had a child from him: Menelik I, king of Sheba. According to the Ethiopian version, he stole the Ark of the Covenant and it would still be in Ethiopia today. Emperor Haile Selassie still considered himself to descent from Menelik I.

I vaguely recall hearing something to this effect, but I never heard the details. I did hear that the Ark was a gift from Solomon, always a curious thing to me since the Temple was supposed to have been built to house the Ark. About stealing the Ark, since no one was to touch it, and it had such cultural and religious significance to Israel, for this to be true it would be a very difficult thing to pull off. I am curious if you can elaborate on the details of this story?

[Vladislav]

Hi! I've got a question too!

Is there any connection between queen of Sheba and the place called Zemargad?

[queenofsheba]

Originally Posted by juantoo3

I vaguely recall hearing something to this effect, but I never heard the details. I did hear that the Ark was a gift from Solomon, always a curious thing to me since the Temple was supposed to have been built to house the Ark. About stealing the Ark, since no one was to touch it, and it had such cultural and religious significance to Israel, for this to be true it would be a very difficult thing to pull off. I am curious if you can elaborate on the details of this story?

Menelik was born in Sheba, but visited Israel when he was 21. Solomon tried to persuade him to become the next king of Israel, but this made his other son Rechabeam jealous. They came to an agreement: Menelik would leave Israel along with all the eldest sons of Levi (=priests).
Menelik reminded Solomon that he had given permission to his mother to choose whatever present she liked. Instead of choosing gold or other expensive gifts, Makeda had told Menelik to choose the Ark of the Covenant. Finally, it was Azarya, son of the highpriest who took the Ark with the group to Sheba. Menelik only found out about it during the trip.

Whether this story is true or not, is impossible to say, but many Ethiopians believe that the Ark is in the small chapel behind the church of Saint Mary of Zion in Axum, north Ethiopia. Only one person is allowed to see it: the Guard of the Ark.
If you want to read more about it and see a photo of the chapel, follow this link:
http://sacredsites.com/africa/ethiop..._ethiopia.html

[queenofsheba]

Originally Posted by Vladislav

Is there any connection between queen of Sheba and the place called Zemargad?

This is a tough question, but I found something: Lilith was the first wife of Adam. Later she was replaced by Eve and became a kind of demonic figure. Lilith had many names, which probably means she often came back in history with a different, demonic identity. One of her identities was "Queen of Zemargad" and another was "Queen of Sheba". I have no idea where Zemargad is, but I don't think it's the same as Sheba. The queen of Sheba was considered demonic because she was polytheistic: other gods were seen as disguises of satan. After accepting monotheism, the queen of Sheba lost her demonic qualities.
It's very complicated, I think a lot of this comes from the talmud and the kabbala.

[juantoo3]

Kindest Regards, queenofsheba!

Thank you for your post, it was very interesting. As was the website.

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by amlhabibi2000

Did she become Muslim or something else?

The Queen of Sheba would have had to have been very long-lived in order to have become a Muslim. She lived in the 10th century BC, while Islam was not founded until the 7th century AD. Hope that helps.

[juantoo3]

Kindest Regards, littlemiss!

Long time no hear from! Pleasure to have you back!

[Nogodnomasters]

The story of the Queen of Sheba has the distinct flavor of "urban legend." Most likely it was a popular myth incorporated into a story of Solomon.

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by Nogodnomasters

The story of the Queen of Sheba has the distinct flavor of "urban legend." Most likely it was a popular myth incorporated into a story of Solomon.

Perhaps, but circumstantial evidence and actual documented history weighs against this thought.

No archaeological evidence has ever been unearthed or uncovered that suggests or supports that the Queen of Sheba ever visited King Solomon. There are, however, records of the ancient country of Sheba, which date from 715 BCE. Sheba was sometimes called Saba, meaning "Host of Heaven," and "peace," and is thought to be what is now the country of Yemen in the South West corner of Arabia where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean.

The historian Josephus said of the Queen of Sheba, "she was inquisitive into philosophy and on that and on other accounts also was to be admired." He also identified her as Nikaulis, Queen of Ethiopia and Egypt.

When the temple at Jerusalem had been completed, by the wisdom of King Solomon and assisted by the strength of Hiram, King of Tyre and the beautifying skill of Hiram Abiff, the monarchs of the neighboring countries sent their ambassadors bearing precious gifts to King Solomon to congratulate him upon the completion of his great and holy work. But the sovereign of a more distant country —the Queen of Sheba—was not be content to send an embassage. She, herself, would go up to Jerusalem, so that her own eyes might see the magnificent Temple, and her own ears might hear the wisdom of King Solomon, whose fame was spread abroad throughout the then known world. It is most likely that the Queen of Sheba's mission was for the purposes of trade and the gifts exchanged were to open up trade relations. One must realize that the kingdom over which Solomon ruled was far more extensive than the Israel we think of in today's world. King David, Solomon's father, had won from the Edomites a strategic port and a great tract of surrounding land where the desert stopped at the narrow waterway leading to Arabia and Africa. This port at the head of the gulf of Akabah was called Ezion-geber, and provided access to Ophir, the port of the great Arabian or East African gold land. David ruled from Syria to Egypt. For four hundred miles north to south, and 100 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea, David's sovereignty connected the three continents.

The Sabaeans quickly realized that opening new sea-lanes would decrease use of overland routes and various oases from which Sheba's court derived revenue. Natural historian Pliny records: "...all along the route they keep on paying, at one place for water, at another for fodder or the charges for lodging... so that expense mount up to 688 denarii per camel before the Mediterranean coast is reached" It was necessary to consolidate commercial ties, thus there was a mutual exchange of presents, which was a well established diplomatic procedure at that time. This is thought to be the real motive of the queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon, which was both political and economic, and would have been a very prudent and wise thing for a country's leader to do.

v/r

Q

[I, Brian]

The visit from the Queen of Sheba is also apparently covered in the II Targum of Esther, a Jewish apocryphal work from around the second century, which is possibly a basis for the Quranic account.

[Devadatta]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

Perhaps, but circumstantial evidence and actual documented history weighs against this thought.

No archaeological evidence has ever been unearthed or uncovered that suggests or supports that the Queen of Sheba ever visited King Solomon. There are, however, records of the ancient country of Sheba, which date from 715 BCE. Sheba was sometimes called Saba, meaning "Host of Heaven," and "peace," and is thought to be what is now the country of Yemen in the South West corner of Arabia where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean.

The historian Josephus said of the Queen of Sheba, "she was inquisitive into philosophy and on that and on other accounts also was to be admired." He also identified her as Nikaulis, Queen of Ethiopia and Egypt.

Hi Q. The bible as history is controversial and will no doubt remain so. I admit to being close to the sceptical end on this question. But you appear to have some done some serious reading on this, so I'm curious to know what you consider the most reliable sources on this - sources assessible to believers, non-believers and everyone in between. Note: this is not a challenge, but an honest question from someone who has not much looked into this question but has come across a lot of wild & wooly claims.

Cheers.

[Quahom1]

Originally Posted by Devadatta

Hi Q. The bible as history is controversial and will no doubt remain so. I admit to being close to the sceptical end on this question. But you appear to have some done some serious reading on this, so I'm curious to know what you consider the most reliable sources on this - sources assessible to believers, non-believers and everyone in between. Note: this is not a challenge, but an honest question from someone who has not much looked into this question but has come across a lot of wild & wooly claims.

Cheers.

Hello Devadatta,

No problem. First thing I did was read the biblical story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. I took note of the details that I considered of interest, such as her proving Solomon with hard questions, she traveled by caravan, brought 120 talents of gold, and more spices than Israel ever saw. I also noted that Solomon in the end gave her her every desire.

Second: I looked up the history of Sheba, and discovered there was such a place. It was also called Saba, and the people were a semitic race called Saabiens. The area was originally what is now the south west part of Arabia or Yemen. I discovered that there are records of Saba that go as far back as the 700s BC. These sources were taken from the encyclopedia, world history, and other references of secular construct.

Third: I remembered reading something from our friend Canuck about Sheba and Etheopia, so I started looking at Etheopian history (again in the encylopedia and world history references), and discovered there was a Sheba there as well as a Queen, preceeded by five kings (which I found interesting due to the fact that the arabian societies tended to be matriarchal back then). I also discovered that that area was in fact rich in gems, precious stones, gold and spices. Spices were worth their weight in gold practically!

Fourth: I checked to see just how influential Solomon's kingdom was at the time of this alleged story. It was quite vast, and with Solomon having a fleet of merchant ships (built for him as a result of the friendship between David and the King of Cyrus). I also looked for information about Solomon through Freemason references (there is a whole lot of information on Solomon through the Freemasons).

Finally, I sat and put the pieces together. Trade agreements were as important then as they are now, between nations. Why wouldn't the monarch of a nation dependent on trade, not want to strike a bargain with such an influential and apparently prosperous nation as Israel? Especially when Israel had the means to carry on trade more efficiently by sea than a nation with only camel caravans? And why wouldn't one leader want to meet such a one of fame as Solomon?

I did not think to go to the Qu'ran for reference as Brian notes, because I presumed that since Islam would not come to the forefront until 1200 years later, there would be no reference (which was a mistake on my part).

Oh, and I did find it interesting to note. One of the favorite past times of the well do do (in all areas of the middle east back then), was to tell stories and present riddles (Sheba proved Solomon with hard questions).

...What flows out for seven, remains in for nine, has two spouts for draught, but only one eats?

Though there is no hard evidence that the actual story is true, there is nothing about the story to the contrary of actual life or the needs of the nations to support eachother, as described at that time.

Hence my opinion that the story of The Queen Sheba and Solomon is not legend, but infact true to one degree or another.

NGNM just piqued my curiosity with his remark, so I decided to investigate.

Oh, I'm not so certain about the Ark of the covenant being taken to Sheba, however, once the temple was built, there would be no need for the Ark of the covenant, so perhaps it is true.

v/r

Q

[Nogodnomasters]

Originally Posted by Quahom1

Perhaps, but circumstantial evidence and actual documented history weighs against this thought.

No archaeological evidence has ever been unearthed or uncovered that suggests or supports that the Queen of Sheba ever visited King Solomon. There are, however, records of the ancient country of Sheba, which date from 715 BCE. Sheba was sometimes called Saba, meaning "Host of Heaven," and "peace," and is thought to be what is now the country of Yemen in the South West corner of Arabia where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean.

The historian Josephus said of the Queen of Sheba, "she was inquisitive into philosophy and on that and on other accounts also was to be admired." He also identified her as Nikaulis, Queen of Ethiopia and Egypt.

When the temple at Jerusalem had been completed, by the wisdom of King Solomon and assisted by the strength of Hiram, King of Tyre and the beautifying skill of Hiram Abiff, the monarchs of the neighboring countries sent their ambassadors bearing precious gifts to King Solomon to congratulate him upon the completion of his great and holy work. But the sovereign of a more distant country —the Queen of Sheba—was not be content to send an embassage. She, herself, would go up to Jerusalem, so that her own eyes might see the magnificent Temple, and her own ears might hear the wisdom of King Solomon, whose fame was spread abroad throughout the then known world. It is most likely that the Queen of Sheba's mission was for the purposes of trade and the gifts exchanged were to open up trade relations. One must realize that the kingdom over which Solomon ruled was far more extensive than the Israel we think of in today's world. King David, Solomon's father, had won from the Edomites a strategic port and a great tract of surrounding land where the desert stopped at the narrow waterway leading to Arabia and Africa. This port at the head of the gulf of Akabah was called Ezion-geber, and provided access to Ophir, the port of the great Arabian or East African gold land. David ruled from Syria to Egypt. For four hundred miles north to south, and 100 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea, David's sovereignty connected the three continents.

The Sabaeans quickly realized that opening new sea-lanes would decrease use of overland routes and various oases from which Sheba's court derived revenue. Natural historian Pliny records: "...all along the route they keep on paying, at one place for water, at another for fodder or the charges for lodging... so that expense mount up to 688 denarii per camel before the Mediterranean coast is reached" It was necessary to consolidate commercial ties, thus there was a mutual exchange of presents, which was a well established diplomatic procedure at that time. This is thought to be the real motive of the queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon, which was both political and economic, and would have been a very prudent and wise thing for a country's leader to do.

v/r

Q

There is no archaelogical evidence an Iron Age United Monarachy even existed, let alone a queen who visited one.

Queen Sobeknefru or Nefrusobek the sister-wife of Amenemhet IV could have been contemporaries of Hammurabi, a wise parable writer who happened to rule the great Canaanite city states as did Solomon, except we have evidence he existed. This is most likely the queen referred to by Josephus, although her reign was short and no such visit was recorded.

Senusret III conquered Shechem in the MountEphraim region. This was also in the MB era. This would have been the pharaoh who conquered Gezer and then ceded it back to "Solomon." There is no IronAge Egyptian record of any pharaoh who conquered Gezer and gave it back as the Bible claims. His successors maintain peaceful relations with Asians and hired many as workers, perhaps this was the tribute Egypt gave to "Solomon."

MB II was known as the age of the Great Canaanite City States. The Iron Age in Canaan was considered a "dark age" with mostly a rural population.