The Queen of Sheba, referred to in the Bible, the Quran, and Ethiopic history, was the ruler of Sheba, which modern archeology places in present-day Yemen.

Biblical account

According to the Bible, the (unnamed) queen of the land of Sheba heard of the great wisdom of King Solomon of Israel and journeyed there with gifts of herbs and spices for the king, as recorded in First Kings 10. The queen was awed by Solomon's wisdom, that she tested with riddles, and wealth, and pronounced a blessing on Solomon's God. He also gave her gifts, and she returned with them to her own country.

Quranic account

The Quran mentioned the Queen of Sheba by name, though Arab sources name her Bilqis. The story is similar to the one in the Bible. The Quranic narrative has Solomon getting news of a kingdom ruled by a queen, and worshipping the sun. He sends a message threatening an invasion. After some gifts are exchanged, the queen arrives at his court, and accepts monotheism and worshipping God alone. See also Similarities between the Bible and the Qur'an.

Ethiopian account

The Imperial family of Ethiopia claims its origin directly from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who is named Makeda in the Ethiopian account. The Ethiopian epic history of kings, the Kebra Negast is supposed to record the history of Makeda and her descendants. King Solomon is said in this account to have seduced the Queen, and sired a son by her, who would eventually become Menelik I, the first Emperor of Ethiopia. Ancient communities that evolved into the modern Ethiopian state were formed by the migration of southern Arabians across the Red Sea and intermarrying with local peoples. Indeed the ancient Ethiopian kingdom of Axum ruled much of Southern Arabia including Yemen until the rise of Islam, and the Amharic and Tigrean languages of Ethiopia are Semitic languages. Evidence of ancient Southern Arabian communities in modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea are widespread, including artifacts, and ancient Sabenean inscriptions. Nothing specific to Makeda has been unearthed so far, but a large bathing pool near Axum and the ruins of an ancient palace are often associated with her by locals (although the palace is thought to be of a much later construction). The posibility that the Southern Arabian and Ethiopian versions of the Queen of Sheba being one and the same is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Modern Arab view

Some modern Arab academics have placed the Queen of Sheba not in Yemen, as older Arab sources did, but rather as a ruler of a trading colony in North west Arabia, established by South Arabian kingdoms. Modern archeological finds do indeed confirm the fact that such colonies existed, with south Arabian script and artifacts, although nothing specific to Bilqis have been uncovered so far.

See also: Minean