Development of civilizations, peoples, wars, empires, legends. Leaders, poets, scientists, rebels, wives and courtesans.

T. Zakharova
Ancient Persia was a fearless, formidable, unforgiving empire, unrivaled in conquests and wealth, headed by extraordinary, ambitious and powerful rulers. Since its inception in the 6th century. BC before the conquest by Alexander the Great in the 4th century. BC for two and a half centuries, Persia occupied a dominant position in the Ancient World. Then, after 100 years of Greek domination, the era of the Parthian and New Persian kingdoms began, which opposed Rome, Byzantium, and the Islamic world for more than 7 centuries.

T. Zakharova
An ancient city, the spiritual ancestor of most “civilized” religions. Trilithon, a miracle of three stones, each weighing more than 800 tons. Was the megalithic platform of the Temple of Jupiter built specifically for the temple or intended for other, currently unknown purposes?

T. Zakharova
The most mysterious woman of the ancient world - a beauty or a demon? Smart ruler or cunning intriguer? Beloved wife or insidious seductress? The great books of the ancients tell in different ways about the exciting legend that has become a symbol of femininity, mystery and greatness.

T. Selyaninova
Three generations of rulers, diplomats, philosophers, writers. Three generations that influenced the destinies of Moldova, Russia, Turkey. Ambitious plans, fulfilled hopes, cruel disappointments. Love and politics, family and state priorities.

T. Zakharova
Before the appearance of the lighthouse, the history of architecture did not know of examples when a structure that had a technical purpose became an object of universal veneration and even worship. In the Middle Ages, the ruins of an ancient lighthouse were built into the Turkish fortress of Qait Bay and still exist there today. It has now been converted into an Egyptian military fort. Therefore, it is impossible even for archaeological scientists to get to the remains of the lighthouse.

T. Selyaninova
A well-known family and love affair with the participation of royalty, deceived wives, faithful mistresses and the like. Why did the magical marriage break up? Was he really that happy to begin with? Cinderellas and prince hunters - take note.

A. Veshchagina
Eager for various unusual things and inquisitive, humanity finds correlations between the position of the stars in the sky now and the dynamics of rising prices for wheat in Ancient Rome during the time of Caesar. And every slightly different, eye-catching, remarkable date becomes a source of inspiration for those who like to create statistical calculations and conduct comparative analyses. February 29 is one of the regularly occurring days when such calculations and research become especially relevant.

T. Zakharova
Women's Day was conceived primarily as a day of emancipation, a day of holding rallies and various political actions. The main idea was to organize simultaneous performances by women in different countries. And those who took part in these performances were primarily female revolutionaries, participants in workers’ internationals. They campaigned not for spring, love and beauty, but for their rights to work, rest, decent pay and equal rights with men.

T. Zakharova
“Historians believe that in ancient times Maslenitsa was associated with the day of the spring solstice, but with the adoption of Christianity it began to precede Lent and depend on its timing. The Russians did not skimp on this holiday with a generous feast and unbridled fun. And people called Maslenitsa “honest ", "broad", "gluttonous", and even "ruiner."

K.Shuvalov
Humanists sought to saturate their minds and lifestyles with the experience of antiquity, gradually moving from simply borrowing this experience to developing a new belief that identified human knowledge with virtue. Spirituality and the universality of man turned into a pure cult of knowledge.

K.Shuvalov
Currently, the Christian Church recognizes only four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These texts were called canonical and introduced into the New Testament in 325 during the first Council of Nicea, convened with the support of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great.

K.Shuvalov
The civilizations of antiquity are significant for us not only as predecessors of Christianity, but because of their own values ​​preserved from them. The value orientation of any person or people is carried out not on faceless good and evil, love and hate, but on their personification, the activities of their predecessors, especially the great ones, in accordance with these values.

K.Shuvalov
The Middle Ages posed a problem to people: what is more important - the earthly or the spiritual, the heavenly? Of course, as in all everyday matters, there is some compromise between extremes, changing from people to people and over time. Absolutization of the spiritual - asceticism - in general is a brake on earthly life and can only be the lot of those who have chosen this path. The absolutization of the earthly leads either to political discord and moral depravity. Where is the golden mean?

“The queen of the south will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, here is greater than Solomon” (Matthew 12:42).

When turning to the Holy Scriptures, one can often come across names and personalities that are shrouded in mystery and are a mystery to a significant number of readers. One of such personalities is the Queen of Sheba, or, as Jesus Christ speaks of her, the Queen of the South (Matthew 12:42).

The name of this ruler is not mentioned in the Bible. In later Arabic texts she is called Balqis or Bilqis, and in Ethiopian legends she is called Makeda.

The Queen of Sheba is named after the country where she ruled. Saba or Sawa (sometimes the Sheba variant is also found) is an ancient state that existed from the end of the 2nd millennium BC to the end of the 3rd century AD in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, in the area of ​​​​modern Yemen (but at the very beginning of its history it had a colony in Ethiopia). The Sabaean civilization - one of the oldest in the Middle East - developed in the territory of Southern Arabia, in a fertile region rich in water and sun, which is located on the border with the Ramlat al-Sabatein desert, apparently in connection with the resettlement of the Sabaeans from northwestern Arabia , associated with the formation of the Trans-Arabian “Path of Incense”. A huge dam was built near the capital of Saba, the city of Marib, thanks to which a huge, previously barren and dead territory was irrigated - the country turned into a rich oasis. In the initial period of its history, Saba served as a transit point for trade: goods from Hadhramaut arrived here, and caravans departed from here to Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt (Isa. 60:6; Job 6:19). Along with transit trade, Saba received income from the sale of locally produced incense (Jer. 6:20; Ps. 71:10). The country of Sheba is mentioned in the Bible in the books of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, as well as in the book of Job and Psalms. However, very often some Bible researchers point to the location of Saba not in southern Arabia, but also in northern Arabia, as well as in the territory of Ethiopia, Egypt, Nubia, and even in southern Africa - the Transvaal.

The story of the Queen of Sheba in the Bible is closely connected with the Israeli king Solomon. According to the biblical narrative, the Queen of Sheba, having learned about the wisdom and glory of Solomon, “came to test him with riddles.” Her visit is described in the 10th book of the Second Book of Kings, as well as in the 9th chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles:

“And she came to Jerusalem with very great wealth: the camels were loaded with spices and a great abundance of gold and precious stones; and she came to Solomon and talked with him about everything that was in her heart. And Solomon explained to her all her words, and there was nothing unfamiliar to the king that he did not explain to her.

And the Queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and the food at his table, and the dwelling of his servants, and the order of his servants, and their clothing, and his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings, which he offered in the temple of the Lord. And she could no longer restrain herself and said to the king: “It is true that I heard in my land about your deeds and about your wisdom; but I did not believe the words until I came, and my eyes saw: and behold, not even half of it was told to me; You have more wisdom and wealth than I heard. Blessed are your people and blessed are these your servants, who always stand before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who has deigned to place you on the throne of Israel! The Lord, out of His eternal love for Israel, made you king, to do justice and justice.

And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never before had such a multitude of incense come as the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon” (1 Kings 10:2-10).

In response, Solomon also gifted the queen, giving “everything she wanted and asked for.” After this visit, according to the Bible, unprecedented prosperity began in Israel. 666 talents came to King Solomon per year, which is about 30 tons of gold (2 Chron. 9, 13). The same chapter describes the luxury that Solomon was able to afford. He made himself a throne of ivory, overlaid with gold, the splendor of which surpassed any other throne of that time. In addition, Solomon made himself 200 shields of beaten gold and all the drinking vessels in the palace and Temple were gold. “Silver was worth nothing in the days of Solomon” (2 Chronicles 9:20) and “King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom” (2 Chronicles 9:22). Solomon undoubtedly owes such greatness to the visit of the Queen of Sheba. It is noteworthy that after this visit, many kings also desired a visit to King Solomon (2 Chron. 9, 23).

Among Jewish commentators on the Tanakh, there is an opinion that the biblical account should be interpreted in the sense that Solomon entered into a sinful relationship with the Queen of Sheba, which resulted in the birth of Nebuchadnezzar hundreds of years later, who destroyed the Temple built by Solomon. (and in Arabic legends she is already his immediate mother). According to the Talmud, the story of the Queen of Sheba should be considered an allegory, and the words “Queen of Sheba” (“Queen of Sheba”) are interpreted as “מלכות שבא” (“Kingdom of Sheba”), which submitted to Solomon.

In the New Testament, the Queen of Sheba is called “the queen of the south” and is contrasted with those who do not want to listen to the wisdom of Jesus: “The queen of the south will arise in judgment with the people of this generation and will condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, here is greater than Solomon” (Luke 11:31), a similar text is also given in Matthew (Matthew 12:42).

Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria in his interpretation of the Gospel of Luke writes: “by the “queen of the south” understand, perhaps, every soul, strong and constant in goodness.” They indicate that the meaning of this phrase is this - on the Day of Judgment, the queen (along with the pagan Ninevites mentioned below in Luke, who believed thanks to Jonah) will rise up and condemn the Jews of the era of Jesus, because they had such opportunities and privileges that these believing pagans did not have, but they refused to accept them. As the blessed Jerome of Stridon noted, they will be condemned not according to the power to pronounce a sentence, but according to their superiority in comparison with them. The superiority of the Ninevites and the Queen of Sheba over the disbelieving contemporaries of Christ is also emphasized by John Chrysostom in his “Conversations on the Book of Matthew”: “because they believed the lesser, but the Jews did not believe the greater.”

She was also given the role of “bringing souls” to distant pagan peoples. Isidore of Seville wrote: “Solomon embodies the image of Christ, who built the house of the Lord for the heavenly Jerusalem, not of stone and wood, but of all the saints. The Queen from the South who came to hear the wisdom of Solomon should be understood as the church who came from the farthest borders of the world to hear the voice of God.”

A number of Christian authors believe that the arrival of the Queen of Sheba with gifts to Solomon is a prototype of the Magi’s worship of Jesus Christ. Blessed Jerome, in his interpretation of the “Book of the Prophet Isaiah,” gives the following explanation: just as the Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, so the Magi came to Christ, who is God’s wisdom. This interpretation is largely based on the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah about the offering of gifts to the Messiah, where he also mentions the land of Sheba, and reports gifts similar to those presented by the queen to Solomon: “Many camels will cover you - dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; they will all come from Sheba, bring gold and incense and proclaim the glory of the Lord” (Isa. 60:6). The New Testament wise men also presented baby Jesus with incense, gold and myrrh. The similarity of these two subjects was even emphasized in Western European art; for example, they could be placed on the same spread of a manuscript, opposite each other.

In interpretations of the biblical Song of Songs, typological Christian exegesis traditionally views Solomon and his illustrious beloved Shulamite as images of the groom-Christ and the bride-Church. The imposition of this interpretation on the Gospel story, in which Jesus and his followers are compared with Solomon and the Queen of the South, led to a convergence of the images of the Queen of Sheba and the Shulamite Church of Christ. Already in Origen’s “Discourses on the Song of Songs” they are closely intertwined, and the blackness of the Shulamite (Song. 1, 4-5) is called “Ethiopian beauty.” This rapprochement is developed in medieval commentaries on the Song of Songs, in particular by Bernard of Clairvaux and Honorius of Augustodunn. The latter directly calls the Queen of Sheba the beloved of Christ. In medieval Latin Bibles, the initial C on the first page of the Song of Songs (Latin: Canticum Canticorum) often included an image of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. At the same time, the image of the queen as the personification of the Church was associated with the image of the Virgin Mary, which, apparently, became one of the sources of the emergence of the iconographic type of Black Madonnas - this is how in Catholic religious art and veneration paintings or statues depicting the Virgin Mary with the face of an extremely dark shade, for example, the Czestochowa Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The extremely scarce historical information about the Queen of Sheba has led to the fact that her personality is overgrown with a huge number of legends and conjectures. She was also credited with allegedly having hairy legs and having webbed goose feet. Her interactions with Solomon have also been mythologized. So, we have come down to several versions of the riddles that she supposedly asked King Solomon.

However, one thing is the most important and indisputable fact in the story of the Queen of the South - it was she who became the prototype of those non-Jewish pagans who, having come to listen to the apostles preach about Christ, believed and filled the Church with new saints and righteous people, and spread Christianity throughout the globe.

Egor PANFILOV

The mysterious Queen of Sheba January 13th, 2014

I am the one whose name is famous everywhere,
To the roar of harps and lyres there is ringing;
I will remain in eternal tales
Singers from all countries and all times.
For my mind, power and strength
All who know me serve me.
I am Saba. I pray to the luminary
Have an all-conquering day.

Mirra Lokhvitskaya

Edward Slocombe. "Queen of Sheba".

The Queen of Sheba belonged to the family of Sabaean priest-kings - the Mukarribs. According to Ethiopian legend, the Queen of Sheba's childhood name was Makeda. She was born around 1020 BC in the country of Ophir, which stretched across the entire eastern coast of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the island of Madagascar. The inhabitants of the land of Ophir were fair-skinned, tall and virtuous. They were known as good warriors, herded herds of goats, sheep and camels, hunted deer and lions, mined precious stones, gold, copper and knew how to smelt bronze

Still from the film “Queen Sheva”

The capital of Ophir, the city of Aksum, was located in Ethiopia. At the age of fifteen, Makeda went to reign in South Arabia, in the Sabaean kingdom, where she became the Queen of Sheba. She ruled the kingdom for about forty years.
Her subjects said that she ruled with the heart of a woman, but with the head and hands of a man. The capital of the Sabaean kingdom was the city of Marib. The Koran says that the Queen of Saba and her people worshiped the Sun.

"Saint Makeda, Queen of Sheba" modern icon

Hypotheses and archaeological evidence

Relatively recently, scientists have established that the solar deity Shams played an important role in the folk religion of ancient Yemen. Legends say that the queen originally worshiped the stars, the Moon, the Sun and Venus. She had the honorary title of high priestess of planetary conciliarity and organized “Cathedrals of Wisdom” in her palace. She was also the high priestess of a certain southern cult of tender passion. Only after traveling to King Solomon did she become acquainted with Judaism and accept it.

A story about the birth of the queen, her accession to the throne, her visit to Jerusalem and the conception of her son (Ethiopian “comic”)

According to the descriptions of ancient authors, the rulers of Saba lived in marble palaces, surrounded by gardens with flowing springs and fountains, where birds sang, flowers fragrant, and the aroma of balsam and spices spread everywhere. The pride of the Sabaean kingdom was a giant dam west of Marib, which held water in an artificial lake. Through a complex system of canals and drains, the lake watered peasant fields, as well as fruit plantations and gardens at temples and palaces

“Queen of Sheba.” Miniature from a medieval German manuscript.

The length of the stone dam reached 600, and the height - 15 meters. Water was supplied to the canal system through two ingenious gateways. It was not river water that was collected behind the dam, but rainwater, brought once a year by a tropical hurricane from the Indian Ocean. The Koran states that the irrigation system was destroyed by heaven as punishment for paganism. In reality, the catastrophe was caused by the Romans, who plundered the city and destroyed the floodgates as punishment for the desperate resistance of the inhabitants of Marib.

Miniature for Boccaccio’s book “Illustrious Women”, France, 15th century.

Scientists have been trying to penetrate the city of Marib, where the legendary Queen of Sheba ruled in time immemorial. However, its very location remained a secret for a long time, carefully kept by local Arab tribes and Yemeni authorities.

“The Queen of Sheba on the Throne”: Persian miniature of the 16th century

In 1976, the French made another attempt to penetrate the treasured city. They corresponded with the Yemeni authorities for seven long years until they obtained permission for one person to visit the ruins, who was only allowed to inspect them. And then they decided to send a Parisian photographer from the magazine “Figaro” to Marib, who knew how to shoot with a hidden camera.

Movie poster from 1921

He managed to see and photograph massive columns of destroyed temples and palaces, as well as several sculptures dating back to the period of the 6th-4th centuries BC. Some were made of marble, others of bronze, and others of alabaster.
Some figures had clearly Sumerian features, others Parthian. All of them were inside the ruins, leaning against the stones. The photographer was able to capture a kind of safe conduct engraved on the stone: “The people of Marib built this temple under the auspices of their gods, kings and all the people of the state of Saba. Whoever damages these walls or takes away the sculptures will die himself, and his family will be cursed.”

Solomon and Sheba. Parma, Diocesan Museum

Just after shooting this text, the photographer was asked to leave. The recording was made on a fragment of a bas-relief inside the building, of which only the foundation remains. Inside it, people in rags were scurrying about, putting halves of bricks into bags.

The photographer got the impression that Europeans are not allowed into Marib not because it is declared a sacred place for Muslims, but because it is the private quarry of some local feudal clan. According to the Figaro photojournalist, he managed to photograph only a hundredth part of what was possible. He admitted that such work is akin to racing a motorcycle through the halls of the Louvre.

Piero della Francesca - 2a. Procession of the Queen of Sheba

Researchers note that the Queen of Sheba's visit to Jerusalem may have been a trade mission related to the Israeli king's efforts to settle on the Red Sea coast and thereby undermine the monopoly of Saba and other south Arabian kingdoms on caravan trade with Syria and Mesopotamia.

Piero della Francesca - Legend of the True Cross - Queen of Sheba - in the reception hall with Solomon

Assyrian sources confirm that southern Arabia was engaged in international trade as early as 890 BC. e., so the arrival in Jerusalem of the time of Solomon of a trade mission of a certain South Arabian kingdom seems quite possible.

Solomon and Sheba, stained glass window in Strasbourg Romanesque Cathedral

Meeting of Sheba and Solomon, stained glass window in Cologne Cathedral

There is, however, a problem with the chronology: Solomon lived from approximately 965 to 926. BC e., and the first traces of the Savean monarchy appear about 150 years later.

Ruins of the Sun Temple in Marib. Built in the 8th century BC. e., existed for 1000 years

In the 19th century, researchers I. Halevi and Glaser found the ruins of the huge city of Marib in the Arabian Desert.

Ruins of ancient Marib

Among the inscriptions found, scientists read the names of four South Arabian states: Minea, Hadhramaut, Qataban and Sawa. As it turned out, the residence of the Sheba kings was the city of Marib (modern Yemen), which confirms the traditional version of the origin of the queen from the south of the Arabian Peninsula.

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba-portico.Gates of Heaven

Detail “Gates of Heaven”

Inscriptions discovered in southern Arabia do not mention rulers, but from Assyrian documents of the 8th-7th centuries BC. e. Arabian queens are known in the more northern regions of Arabia. In the 1950s, Wendell Philips excavated the temple of the goddess Balqis at Marib. In 2005, American archaeologists discovered the ruins of a temple in Sana'a near the palace of the biblical Queen of Sheba in Marib (north of Sana'a). According to US researcher Madeleine Phillips, columns, numerous drawings and objects dating back 3 millennia were found.

Yemen - the territory from which the queen probably came

Ethiopia - a country where her son may have ruled

Researchers associate the emergence of the legend about the son of the Queen of Sheba in Ethiopia with the fact that, apparently, in the 6th century BC. e. The Sabaeans, having crossed the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, settled near the Red Sea and occupied part of Ethiopia, “capturing” the memory of their ruler with them and transplanting it to new soil. One of the provinces of Ethiopia is called Shewa (Shava, modern Shoa).

In Amiens Cathedral, medallions with scenes from the legend of Sheva

There is also a fairly widespread point of view according to which the homeland of the Queen of Sheba or her prototype was not South, but North Arabia. Along with other North Arabian tribes, the Sabaeans are mentioned on the stele of Tiglath-pileser III.

Fresco de "Salomón y la Reina de Saba" in the Escorial Library

These northern Sabaeans, in a number of ways, can be associated with the Sabaeans (Sabeans) mentioned in the book of Job (Job 1:15), Sheba from the book of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 27:22), as well as with Abraham’s grandson Sheba (Gen. 25 :3, cf. also Gen. 10:7, Gen. 10:28) (the name of Sheba’s brother Dedan mentioned nearby is associated with the oasis of El-Ula north of Medina).

Queen of Sheba in front of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, Salomon de Bray (1597-1664)

According to some researchers, the Kingdom of Israel first came into contact with the northern Sabaeans, and only then, perhaps through their mediation, with Saba in the south. Historian J. A. Montgomery suggested that in the 10th century BC. e. The Sabaeans lived in Northern Arabia, although they controlled trade routes from the south

Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, also became the “godmother” of Xena, the warrior princess, in the 20th century.

The famous explorer of Arabia, H. St. John Philby, also believed that the Queen of Sheba came not from South Arabia, but from North Arabia, and legends about her at some point mixed with stories about Zenobia, the warlike queen of Palmyra (modern Tadmur, Syria), who lived in the 3rd century AD. e. and converted to Judaism.

Casa de Alegre Sagrera, Salomó i de la Reina Sabà

"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Pietro Dandini

Jewish Kabbalistic tradition also considers Tadmur to be the burial place of the evil she-devil queen, and the city is considered a sinister haven of demons

"King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Frans Franken

Frans Frankena

In addition, there are parallels between Sheba and another eastern autocrat - the famous Semiramis, who also fought and was engaged in irrigation, who lived around the same time - in the 9th century. BC e., which can also be traced in folklore. Thus, the writer of our era Meliton retells the Syrian legend in which the father of Semiramis is called Hadhad. In addition, Jewish legend made the queen the mother of Nebuchadnezzar and Semiramis his wife

“The Queen of Sheba on her Knees before King Solomon”, Johann Friedrich August Tischbein

One of Vasco da Gama's companions suggested that the Queen of Sheba came from Sofala, the oldest documented harbor in the Southern Hemisphere, a coast that, according to his assumptions, was called Ophir. In this regard, John Milton mentions Sofala in Paradise Lost. By the way, later in these places the Portuguese will undertake expeditions in search of the gold mines of the Queen of Sheba.

“Solomon receives the Queen of Sheba”, artist of the Antwerp school, 17th century

Other versions

Josephus in his work “Jewish Antiquities” gives a story about the visit of Solomon by the queen, “who reigned at that time over Egypt and Ethiopia and was distinguished by her special wisdom and generally outstanding qualities.” Arriving in Jerusalem, she, as in other legends, tests Solomon with riddles and admires his wisdom and wealth. This story is interesting because the historiographer mentions completely different states as the queen’s homeland.

General view of the Temple of Hatshepsut

According to the reconstruction based on these data by researcher Immanuel Velikovsky, the creator of the non-academic “revisionist chronology”, the Queen of Sheba is Queen Hatshepsut (XV century BC according to the traditional chronology of Ancient Egypt), one of the first and most influential rulers of the 18th dynasty of pharaohs (New Kingdom), whose father, Thutmose I, annexed the country of Kush (Ethiopia) to Egypt.

Hatshepsut

As Velikovsky noted, in Deir el-Bahri (Upper Egypt), the queen built for herself a funerary temple modeled on the temple in the land of Punt, where there is a series of bas-reliefs depicting in detail the queen’s expedition to the mysterious country, which she calls “Divine”, or, in other words, translation, "God's Earth." Hatshepsut's bas-reliefs depict scenes similar to the biblical description of the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon.

"Solomon and Sheba", Knupfer

Historians do not know exactly where this land was located, although there is currently a hypothesis that the land of Punt is the territory of modern Somalia. In addition, it can be assumed that the names “Savea” (in Hebrew Sheva) and “Thebes” - the capital of Egypt during the reign of Hatshepsut (ancient Greek Θῆβαι - Tevai) - are unambiguous.

Sabaean stele: a feast and a camel driver, with an inscription in Sabaean at the top.

British writer Ralph Ellis, whose theories have been questioned by scientists, suggested that the Queen of Sheba could be the wife of Pharaoh Psusennes II, who ruled Egypt during the life of Solomon, and whose name in Egyptian sounded like Pa-Seba-Khaen-Nuit .

Edward Poynter, 1890, "The Queen of Sheba's Visit to King Solomon"

Attempts have also been made to draw an analogy between the Queen of Sheba and the Chinese goddess Xi Wang Mu - the goddess of Western paradise and immortality, the legends about which arose around the same era and have similar features

"Arrival of the Queen of Sheba", painting by Samuel Coleman

The journey of Bilqis (as the Queen of Sheba is called in later Arabic texts) to Solomon became one of the most famous biblical stories. She set off on a seven-hundred-kilometer journey with a caravan of 797 camels.

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, Giovanni Demin, 19th century

Her retinue consisted of black dwarfs, and her security escort consisted of tall, light-skinned giants. On the queen's head was a crown decorated with ostrich feathers, and on her little finger was a ring with an Asterix stone, which is unknown to modern science. 73 ships were hired to travel by water.

Piero della Francesca. Queen of Sheba Meeting with Solomon. Fresco, - San Francesco In Arezzo, Italy

In Judea, the queen asked Solomon tricky questions, but all the ruler’s answers were absolutely correct. Historians note that almost most of the queen’s riddles were based not on worldly wisdom, but on knowledge of the history of the Jewish people, and this really looks strange coming from a sun worshiper from a distant country, by the standards of that time.

"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" by Konrad Witz

In turn, Solomon was captivated by the beauty and intelligence of Bilqis. The Ethiopian book Kebra Negast describes that upon the arrival of the queen, Solomon “showed great honor to her and rejoiced, and gave her abode in his royal palace next to him. And he sent her food for morning and evening meals."

"Solomon and the Queen of Sheba", painting by Tintoretto, c. 1555, Prado

According to some legends, he married the queen. Subsequently, Solomon's court received horses, precious stones, and jewelry made of gold and bronze from hot Arabia. The most valuable at that time was fragrant oil for church incense. The queen also received expensive gifts in return and returned to her homeland with all her subjects.

“Queen Bilqis and the Hoopoe.” Persian miniature, ca. 1590–1600

According to most legends, she ruled alone from then on. But from Solomon, Bilqis had a son named Menelik, who became the founder of a three-thousand-year dynasty of emperors of Abyssinia. At the end of her life, the Queen of Sheba returned to Ethiopia, where by that time her grown-up son ruled.

The Queen of Sheba gallops to Jerusalem. Ethiopian fresco

Another Ethiopian legend tells that for a long time Bilqis kept the name of his father secret from her son, and then sent him with an embassy to Jerusalem, saying that he would recognize his father from the portrait, which Menelik was supposed to look at for the first time only in the temple of God Yahweh.

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, detail. Ottoman master, 16th century.

Having reached Jerusalem and coming to the temple for worship, Menelik took out a portrait, but instead of a drawing he was surprised to find a small mirror. Looking at his reflection, Menelik looked around at all the people present in the temple, saw King Solomon among them and, based on the similarity, guessed that this was his father...

A riddle for scientists

Meanwhile, recently an incident helped us get closer to solving a number of mysteries of Ancient Arabia. Less than ten years ago, a whole group of mining engineers from Europe, the USA and Saudi Arabia was invited to work in Yemen.

Several archaeologists were quietly included in this purely technical team. The first thing they discovered was an abundance of forgotten oases and ancient settlements. The desert, fanned by eastern legends and sultry winds, was not lifeless everywhere in ancient times.

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, anonymous artist, 15th century, Bruges

There were pastures, hunting grounds, and mines for precious stones. Among other things, a small stone sculpture resembling an ancient Indo-European Mother Goddess was discovered, which puzzled scientists. How did ritual sculpture get to the southern regions? However, many ceramic shards with specific ornamental decorations were clearly of the Indo-European type, close to the Sumerian.

The Queen of Sheba kneels before the Life-Giving Tree, fresco by Piero della Francesca, Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo

In northern Yemen, archaeologists have found ten sites with slag dumps. Based on the smelting furnaces, they determined that high-quality copper ore was processed there and bronze was made. Ingots from Saba went to African countries, Mesopotamia and even to Europe. All this proved that the successful metallurgists were not Bedouins, but sedentary tribes of a different ethnic origin.

Giovanni Demin (1789-1859), "Solomon and the Queen of Sheba"

Interesting facts

Both versions of the queen's name, Bilquis and Makeda, are relatively common female names - the first, respectively, in Islamic Arab countries, the second among Christians in Africa, as well as among African Americans who emphasize their African identity and are interested in Rastafarianism.

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Rubens

September 11, the day of the return of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon to her native country, is the official date of the beginning of the New Year in Ethiopia and is called Enkutatash.

Queen of Sheba, Raphael, Urbino

The third most senior order in Ethiopia is the Order of the Queen of Sheba, established in 1922. Among the holders of the order were: Queen Mary (wife of the English King George V), French President Charles de Gaulle, US President Dwight Eisenhower

Engraving illustration of Nicaula, Queen of Sheba and Solomon

Pushkin's ancestor Abram Petrovich Hannibal, according to one version, was from Ethiopia and, according to him, belonged to a princely family. If this family, which is quite acceptable, had any marital ties with the ruling dynasty, then “the blood of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon” flowed in Pushkin’s veins

In Somalia, coins with the image of the Queen of Sheba were minted in 2002, although no legends associate her with this country.

Ethiopian church, frescoes

A rare species of Yemeni gazelle is named “Bilqis gazelle” (Gazella bilkis) in honor of the Queen of Sheba

Akopo Tintoretto, Solomon and Sheba.

In French cuisine, there is a dish named after the queen - gâteau de la reine Saba, chocolate pie.

The stone sculpture is a copy of the statue of the Queen of Sheba Cathedral in Reims.

Two asteroids are named in honor of the queen: 585 Bilkis and 1196 Sheba.

Kingdom of Sheba, Lloraina

One of the tourist sites in Ethiopia - the ruins of Dungur in Axum - is called (without any reason) "the palace of the Queen of Sheba." The same is shown in Salalah in Oman.

Mindelheim (Germany), nativity scene in the Jesuit church, “Queen of Sheba”

In 1985, in a Mansi sanctuary near the village of Verkhne-Nildino, a silver dish with the image of David, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba was discovered, which was revered by the local population as a fetish. According to local legends, it was caught from the Ob River with a seine during fishing.