Everyone has heard the name. It sounds like spice, gold, and desert winds. But when you actually try to pin down who is the Queen of Sheba, things get messy. Fast. Most people think of her as a footnote in a Sunday school lesson or maybe a character in a cheesy 1950s Hollywood epic. She’s the woman who showed up at King Solomon’s doorstep with a mountain of gold and a list of "hard questions."
She wasn't just a visitor. She was a powerhouse.
Think about the logistics for a second. We are talking about a woman leading a massive caravan across thousands of miles of brutal terrain just to fact-check a guy's reputation. That’s not a casual trip. That is a geopolitical power move. Depending on who you ask—a rabbi, an imam, or an Ethiopian historian—her name changes, her backstory shifts, and her legacy grows. She is Makeda. She is Bilqis. She is the nameless Queen of the South.
The Biblical Meeting: More Than Just a Social Call
In the Hebrew Bible, specifically in 1 Kings 10, the narrative is pretty straightforward. The Queen hears about Solomon’s fame and his relationship with God. She wants to see if the hype is real. She arrives in Jerusalem with camels bearing "spices, and very much gold, and precious stones."
It’s easy to read this as a simple meet-and-greet. It wasn't.
Solomon controlled the trade routes. Sheba (likely modern-day Yemen or Ethiopia) was the source of frankincense and myrrh—the high-tech commodities of the ancient world. If Solomon’s kingdom was expanding, she needed to know if he was a partner or a threat. When they met, she "communed with him of all that was in her heart."
She tested him with riddles. This was a standard practice among ancient monarchs to measure intellect and worthiness. Solomon passed. He answered everything. In return, he gave her "all her desire, whatsoever she asked." Some scholars, like those looking at the text through a diplomatic lens, suggest this was the first recorded trade agreement between the Levant and the Horn of Africa.
💡 You might also like: Virgo Love Horoscope for Today and Tomorrow: Why You Need to Stop Fixing People
She left breathless. The text says there was "no more spirit in her" because she was so overwhelmed by his wisdom and the opulence of his court.
The Ethiopian Perspective: Makeda and the Solomonic Dynasty
If you go to Ethiopia, the answer to who is the Queen of Sheba is much more definitive. To them, she is Queen Makeda. Her story isn't just a legend; it’s the literal foundation of their national identity.
The Kebra Nagast (The Glory of Kings) is a 14th-century account that fills in the gaps the Bible left out. In this version, the relationship between Makeda and Solomon wasn't just professional. It was romantic. Solomon, being a bit of a trickster, supposedly tricked her into breaking a vow so he could sleep with her.
When she returned to Sheba, she was pregnant. She gave birth to a son named Menelik I.
- The Royal Connection: Menelik eventually traveled back to Jerusalem to meet his father.
- The Great Heist: According to the tradition, Menelik’s companions stole the Ark of the Covenant and brought it back to Ethiopia.
- The Legacy: This established the Solomonic dynasty, which ruled Ethiopia until 1974 when Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed.
Think about that. An entire empire’s legitimacy rested on the shoulders of this one woman’s journey. For Ethiopians, she isn't a myth. She’s the mother of the nation. They claim the Ark still sits in a chapel in Aksum. Whether you believe that or not, the cultural weight is staggering.
Bilqis in the Quran: A Story of Submission
Islam offers a third, equally fascinating layer. In the Quran, she is Bilqis. Her story appears in Surah An-Naml (The Ant).
📖 Related: Lo que nadie te dice sobre la moda verano 2025 mujer y por qué tu armario va a cambiar por completo
The story starts with a hoopoe bird. The bird returns to King Sulayman (Solomon) and tells him about a woman ruling over a people who worship the sun. Sulayman, who could talk to animals and command jinns, sends her a letter. He’s basically telling her to stop worshipping the sun and submit to the one true God.
Bilqis is portrayed as a wise, consultative leader. She doesn't just rush into war. She tells her advisors, "Kings, when they enter a country, despoil it." She tries to send him gifts first to butter him up. He rejects them.
The most famous part? The glass floor.
When she finally visits Sulayman, she enters a palace with a floor made of shimmering glass. She thinks it’s a pool of water and lifts her skirts to keep them dry. Sulayman informs her it’s just glass. This moment of "seeing through" deception leads her to realize her own spiritual blindness. She converts. In many Islamic traditions, she eventually marries Sulayman.
The Archaeological Mystery: Where Was Sheba?
So, where was this place? Archaeologists have been arguing about this for a century.
The most likely candidate is the Kingdom of Saba in modern-day Yemen. The Sabeans were masters of water engineering. They built the Great Dam of Marib, a marvel that turned the desert into a lush garden. They grew wealthy by taxing the incense trade.
👉 See also: Free Women Looking for Older Men: What Most People Get Wrong About Age-Gap Dating
In the 1950s, archaeologist Wendell Phillips led an expedition to Marib to excavate the Mahram Bilqis (Temple of the Moon God). They found massive pillars and complex inscriptions. However, political instability in Yemen has made further research nearly impossible.
Then there’s the Ethiopia claim. The city of Aksum has ruins that date back millennia.
Could both be true? Honestly, probably. The Red Sea wasn't a barrier back then; it was a highway. It’s entirely possible that a single kingdom spanned both sides of the water, or that the "Queen of Sheba" represented a specific lineage of queens (the Candaces) who ruled the region.
Why the Queen of Sheba Still Matters Today
We live in a world obsessed with powerful women, yet we often overlook the one who started it all. She wasn't a queen because she married a king. She was a sovereign in her own right. She had her own money, her own army, and her own intellectual curiosity.
She represents the bridge between the Mediterranean and Africa. She’s a figure that belongs to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam simultaneously.
Common Misconceptions
- She was a temptress: Nope. While later European art painted her as a "femme fatale," the original texts emphasize her wisdom and her wealth.
- She didn't exist: While we lack a "Queen of Sheba" birth certificate, the wealth of the Sabean kingdom and the consistency of the oral traditions across different cultures suggest a real historical figure inspired the legends.
- She was just a visitor: She was a diplomat. Her visit was likely about trade routes for frankincense, which was worth its weight in gold.
How to Explore Her Legacy Further
If you’re interested in diving deeper into the history of the Queen of Sheba, you shouldn't just stick to the Bible. The history is layered like an onion.
- Read the Kebra Nagast: You can find modern translations (like the one by E.A. Wallis Budge). It’s a wild ride of ancient mythology and Ethiopian pride.
- Look into the Sabean Inscriptions: Research the work of Dr. Joy McCorriston and other archaeologists who have mapped the incense routes in Yemen.
- Visit a Museum: The British Museum and the Louvre have incredible artifacts from the Sabean period that show just how advanced her "mythical" kingdom really was.
- Listen to Handel’s "Solomon": If you want the Western "high art" version, the "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" is a classic piece of music that captures the energy of her entrance.
The Queen of Sheba is more than just a name in a book. She is a reminder that history isn't just written by the "winners"—it’s also written by the travelers, the seekers, and the people brave enough to ask the hard questions.
Next steps for your research:
Start by comparing the three primary texts: 1 Kings 10, Surah An-Naml, and the Kebra Nagast. Note the differences in her character—from a silent seeker of wisdom to a powerful mother of a dynasty to a consultative political leader. This reveals more about the cultures writing the stories than the woman herself. Then, look into the "Incense Route" maps to understand why her kingdom was the Wall Street of the ancient world.