Queen of Sheba
The Queen of Sheba
Legendary ruler mentioned in the Bible, the Quran, and Ethiopian tradition. She is said to have visited King Solomon in Jerusalem, drawn by his wisdom. An iconic figure of exchange between ancient Arabia, Africa, and the Near East.
Key Facts
- Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (1 Kings 10) as a queen who came to test Solomon's wisdom, around 950 BC
- Referenced in the Quran (Surah An-Naml) under the name Bilqīs
- Ethiopian tradition identifies her as Makeda, ancestor of Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty
- Her kingdom is located either in Yemen (Kingdom of Saba/Sheba) or in East Africa
- A symbol of the meeting of civilizations and the pursuit of knowledge in three major monotheistic traditions
Works & Achievements
A hydraulic masterpiece of the Kingdom of Sheba, this dam irrigated thousands of hectares in the Marib region (present-day Yemen). Its collapse in the 6th century CE, mentioned in the Quran (Surah Saba), is presented as divine punishment and marks the end of the kingdom's prosperity.
A large oval temple dedicated to the moon god Almaqah, the patron deity of the Kingdom of Sheba. Its ruins are among the most impressive of Sabaean civilization and have earned the site its popular nickname linked to the Queen of Sheba.
Ethiopia's national epic recounting the story of Makeda, Queen of Sheba, and her son Menelik I, the legendary ancestor of Ethiopian emperors. This sacred text establishes the Solomonic dynastic legitimacy and remains a central spiritual document for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The Queen of Sheba is one of the few women implicitly named in the Quran, under the name Bilqis. Her story of conversion and submission to God became a model in medieval Islamic literature and inspired countless theological commentaries and poetic works.
A corpus of inscriptions in ancient South Arabian script, carved on stelae and monuments in present-day Yemen, attesting to the real existence of the Kingdom of Sheba, its rulers (mukarribs), and its institutions. These archaeological sources provide a partial historical foundation for the legend.
A four-act opera premiered in Vienna, depicting the Queen of Sheba's romantic fascination with one of Solomon's favorites. This work illustrates the enduring power of the figure in 19th-century European imagination and her place in the grand Romantic operatic repertoire.
Anecdotes
According to the First Book of Kings (chapter 10), the Queen of Sheba undertook an extraordinary journey from her distant kingdom to Jerusalem to test the wisdom of King Solomon with riddles. She arrived with a caravan laden with spices, gold, and precious stones — riches so magnificent that the Bible notes the like had never been seen before in Israel. Impressed by Solomon's answers, she publicly acknowledged the greatness of his wisdom.
In the Quran (Surah An-Naml, verse 44), Solomon had a palace built with a floor of transparent glass laid over a pool of water. When Queen Bilqis — the Arabic name for the Queen of Sheba — crossed this hall, she lifted her robe thinking she was walking on water. The scene symbolizes both Solomon's mastery of construction and her own openness to recognizing what she does not yet understand, just before her conversion to monotheism.
The Ethiopian epic Kebra Nagast (14th century) tells that the queen, known as Makeda, had a son by Solomon: Menelik I. As an adult, Menelik traveled to Jerusalem to meet his father, then brought back to Ethiopia the Ark of the Covenant — the sacred chest containing the Tablets of the Law. This tradition forms the basis of the dynastic legitimacy claimed by Ethiopian emperors, who traced their lineage to the Solomonic line well into the 20th century.
In certain medieval Jewish traditions (Midrash Mishle and the Alphabet of Ben Sira), the Queen of Sheba is linked to Lilith, a demonic figure with bird-like feet. Solomon is said to have discovered her supernatural nature through the glass floor, which revealed her inhuman limbs. This blending of the biblical queen with figures from folklore reflects the enduring fascination surrounding a character who sits at the boundary between myth and history.
Islamic tradition portrays Bilqis as a queen who worshipped the sun before her encounter with Solomon. In the Quran, it is a hoopoe — Solomon's messenger bird — that brings the king news of a kingdom ruled by a powerful woman. Bilqis ultimately submits to God after witnessing a series of wonders, becoming a model of enlightened conversion in classical Islamic literature.
Primary Sources
The queen of Sheba, having heard of the fame of Solomon, came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones.
She has a magnificent throne. I found her and her people prostrating to the sun instead of prostrating to Allah. She said: My Lord, I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
And Makeda, queen of Ethiopia, heard tell of the wisdom and glory of Solomon, king of Israel. She set out with a great retinue and journeyed to him. She put questions to him, and he answered them all.
A woman who was queen of Egypt and Ethiopia had a passionate love of wisdom and virtue. She came to visit Solomon, bringing gifts of gold and spices, to test for herself the reputation of his wisdom.
The queen of Sheba posed seven riddles to Solomon. She said to him: If you solve them, I will believe you to be wise; if not, you are like everyone else. And Solomon answered all her questions; there was not one he could not answer.
Key Places
The ancient capital of the Kingdom of Sheba, Marib was home to the famous Great Dam and the Temple of Awwam (known as the 'Throne of Bilqis'). This archaeological site is the leading candidate for the location of the kingdom from which the Queen of Sheba is said to have come.
It is in Jerusalem, in the palace and Temple of Solomon, that the legendary encounter is said to have taken place according to the Bible and the Quran. The city is the symbolic heart of the story — a place of wisdom and revelation for a queen who traveled from afar.
According to the Kebra Nagast, the Queen of Sheba (Makeda) ruled from Aksum, and it is there that her son Menelik I is said to have brought back the Ark of the Covenant. The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Zion in Aksum is believed to house the Ark according to Ethiopian tradition.
This great lunar temple dedicated to the deity Almaqah, located near Marib, is traditionally called the 'Throne of Bilqis' by local populations. It is one of the most significant surviving monuments of Sabaean civilization.
In religious narratives, Sheba refers to a kingdom at the crossroads of the Arab, African, and Mediterranean worlds — a place of wealth, wisdom, and mystery. Its exact location is disputed between Yemen and Ethiopia, reflecting the legendary dimension of the figure herself.