Makeda, Queen of Sheba is one of the most well-known and greatest mysteries in the ancient world. She intrigues many with her legendary voyage to seek wisdom by meeting King Solomon of Israel, said to be the wisest man to ever live. According to legend, the beautiful, intelligent, and extremely wealthy Makeda was the queen who put King Solomon's wisdom to the test with numerous riddles, but there is much more to this nebulous figure than her relationship with King Solomon.

Early Life Mystery

There is insufficient information pertaining to the early life of Makeda. As her name implies, the Queen of Sheba is thought to have come from either Sheba (Saba), a kingdom in southwestern Arabia now known as Yemen, or the Kingdom of Axum in Ethiopia, or possibly both, according to modern scholars. Both countries claim her to this day, but Ethiopia has a stronger claim. Even though Ethiopia is a considerable distance from Israel, there is a lot of evidence that the two countries have a lot of interaction. There's also the possibility that she wasn't from Ethiopia, but rather Nigeria.

The Biblical Riddler

Africa and Arabia boast in their plethora of wealthy kings and queens. The biblical figure, Makeda, was no exception to this. Her exorbitant voyage to seek wisdom from the Judean monarch, King Solomon, exemplifies the Queen's wealth, opulence, and power. Her thirst for knowledge led her to travel to Israel.

The queen arrived in a massive caravan, which was laden with precious stones, gems, and tons of gold. She journeyed there on 800 camels, mules and donkeys. She arrived bearing gifts of precious stones, amber, beautiful rare woods, myrrh, 120 talents of gold and silver as well as large quantities of exotic spices. King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba exchanged many expensive gifts and she tested his wisdom with difficult and complicated riddles, to which he answered impressively. The account of her visit at Solomon's court appears in the Bible in I Kings 10:1–14 and a similar repetition of this account appears in 2 Chronicles 9:1–12. The passage states:

"When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. "

The queen stayed at Solomon’s court for 6 months and supposedly on the last night of her stay the king tricked her into sleeping with him which resulted in them having a son together. His name was Menelik, but King Solomon changed it to King David, the name of King Solomon's legendary father. His father later elevated his son to the position of king. Ethiopians today believe she is the mother of their first Emperor, Menelik I, and the ultimate maternal ancestor of Ethiopia's ruling dynasty.

She Worshipped the Sun

She is thought to have worshipped the sun and possibly other celestial objects because she ruled over a kingdom that did. This is further evidenced in the Qur'an's Chapter 27 where a messenger bird declares:

“I have come to thee from Saba with sure tidings. I found a woman ruling over all of them; she has been granted everything and she has a wondrous throne. I found her and her worshipping the sun, instead of Allah.”

After being mesmerized by King Solomon's wisdom and relationship with God, she soon converted her Sun worship to Judaism. It's also possible that this ties in with Ethiopia's strong Jewish heritage.

Image taken from Biblical Archaeology

Her Legendary Legacy and Lasting Power

Makeda is mentioned in a number of sacred religious texts revered by Christians, Muslims, and Jews. She's also mentioned in non-scriptural works like the Talmud and Midrash, as well as Ethiopian literature. Her life is immortalized in the numerous film adaptations of her life.

This legend of beauty and power continues to inspire many cultures to this day. The Queen of Sheba lingers in the imaginations of people far beyond her time and debated geographical location centuries after her death.

References

Encyclopedia.com. 2018. Queen Of Sheba | Encyclopedia.com. [online] Available at: <https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-and-religion/biblical-proper-names-biographies/queen-sheba> [Accessed 4 February 2021].

Fulaba | Exclusive Jewelry from African High Culture. 2015. Makeda - Queen of Sheba - Fulaba | Exclusive Jewelry from African High Culture. [online] Available at: <https://www.fulaba.com/makeda-queen-of-sheba/> [Accessed 3 February 2021].

geni_family_tree. n.d. Queens & Women Warriors of Africa genealogy project. [online] Available at: <https://www.geni.com/projects/Queens-Women-Warriors-of-Africa/14190> [Accessed 4 March 2021].

LLC, M., 2012. The Queen of Sheba - Travel To Eat. [online] Travel To Eat. Available at: <https://traveltoeat.com/the-queen-of-sheba/> [Accessed 3 February 2021].

Makeda, Q., n.d. Queen Makeda Quotes. [online] QuoteMountain.com. Available at: <https://www.quotemountain.com/quotes/authors/queen-makeda-quotes> [Accessed 7 March 2021].

Grunge.com. 2020. The True Story Of The Queen Of Sheba. [online] Available at: <https://www.grunge.com/181752/the-true-story-of-the-queen-of-sheba/> [Accessed 18 February 2021].

Grunge, 2021. The True Story Of The Queen Of Sheba. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvDbpTpstes> [Accessed 18 February 2021].