Treasures of the Queen of Sheba is a story about a mysterious ring. Queen of Sheba - great love stories

The mysterious Queen of Sheba January 13th, 2014

I am the one whose name is famous everywhere,
Under the roar of harps and lyres the 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 reputed 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 a large 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 another attempt The French attempted 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 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 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. The 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 of researcher Immanuel Velikovsky, the creator of the non-academic “revisionist chronology”, based on these data, the Queen of Sheba is Queen Hatshepsut (XV century BC according to traditional chronology 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 there was a crown decorated with ostrich feathers, and on her little finger there was a ring with an Asterix stone, which is unknown 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 the 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. From 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 home country, is the official start date 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 thing 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.

The name of the captivating and mysterious Queen of Sheba is mentioned in a large number of written sources: the Old Testament, Kabbalah, Koran, as well as in many Ethiopian, Persian and Turkish legends. But before today Almost no scientific evidence has been found as to whether such a queen lived during the time of Solomon. Doubts remain as to whether the Queen of Sheba was a reality or a myth.

The image of this woman is associated with a seductive beauty who, according to legend, came to King Solomon to test his wisdom. For quite a long time, everything connected with her name was only speculation and guesswork. It was only recently that archaeologists in remote areas of Yemen discovered one of the most significant finds of our time. In the Rub al-Khali desert, approximately nine meters underground, the ruins of a temple were discovered, in which, according to experts, documentary evidence of the actual existence of this queen was found.

According to legend, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba first met when the wise king, having heard about the rich kingdom of Sabaean, which was ruled by the most beautiful and smartest woman. invited her to visit. He wanted to see for himself her magnificence and wit. The queen's beauty and intelligence captivated Solomon. He was so shocked by her that he came to the conclusion that only a connection with the devil could allow her to be so amazing. Solomon even decided that instead of legs she should have had hooves, like the devil himself.

Mentions the country of Sheba, in which the Queen of Sheba lived. He describes it as a land rich in incense, spices, precious stones and gold. Scientists believe that this country was located on the territory of South Arabia. However, there is no evidence that the Queen of Sheba ever ruled in this territory.

American archaeologist Wendell Phillips believes that there is no doubt about the reality of the existence of this legendary woman. However, his expedition, which he launched in Marib to find evidence of his hypothesis, was prevented by the Yemeni authorities.

The main source of information about the legendary queen is the Third Book of Kings, the tenth chapter of which contains a biblical episode describing events in which her name is mentioned.

Another authoritative scientist, Sir Ernest A. Wallis Budge, is also confident that the Queen of Sheba is not just a myth. According to his version, Sheba was located on the shores of the Red Sea, which makes it possible to identify it with Ethiopia. According to another group of researchers, she was the queen of Egypt.

The eastern beauty arrived in Jerusalem to meet Solomon, bringing with her a caravan of gifts. She prepared the most for the king difficult questions and was captivated by his wisdom.

Source texts can be interpreted in different ways. All of them were compiled at different times, many contained facts rewritten several times from different books, so the issue of trust in the information given in them is quite controversial.

Most researchers agree that, most likely, the Queen of Sheba ruled the lands of the Kingdom of Aksum, located in the Red Sea region (the territory of either Yemen or the Sheba state was Marib - a city in It is believed that the reign of the eastern queen falls on the 10th century BC .

In May 1999, Nigerian and British archaeologists discovered the supposed burial site of this royal person. The earthen mound on it was 45 feet high and 100 miles long. But it is still unknown whether the Queen of Sheba is actually buried there.

Today, the mystery about her remains unsolved. It is quite possible that the story of Solomon’s acquaintance with the beauty was written many centuries after the death of the sage in order to emphasize his royal greatness. It can also be assumed that the image of Sheba, like Tomiris (queen of the Saks), became a collective image that embodied the features of a wise female ruler. Or perhaps behind this name there is a real woman, whose real name has never reached us. Who knows?

QUEEN OF SHAB

Queen of Sheba

The mysterious Queen of Sheba is well known from the biblical legend, which talks about her solemn meeting with King Solomon. In the Islamic world she is revered as the powerful Queen Balqis, or Bilqis, and in the Ethiopian tradition as Maheda. In the annals of ancient history, of the powerful female rulers, only Cleopatra received the greatest popularity, and so little is known about the mysterious Queen of Sheba that historians and archaeologists are not even sure whether she really existed. However, recent archaeological research has shed light on this mysterious historical figure. In the Bible, in the Third Book of Kings, the Queen of Sheba is referred to simply as the “queen of the east.” There are no clarifications about her origin, only the story of how the queen, having heard about the glory of Salomon, left her home and went with a caravan loaded with spices, gold and precious stones to Jerusalem. According to biblical tradition, she intended to verify the veracity of the rumor about Solomon's wisdom by preparing difficult questions for him. Struck by his wisdom and the greatness of the royal court, she presented him with expensive gifts, and Solomon offered her countless treasures and “everything she desires.” Then the queen returned to her native land. This is a brief summary of the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in the Bible. However, stories about the queen are also found in other sources. In the legends of Jews and Muslims, the already well-known parable of Solomon and Sheba is embellished with some predominantly fantastic details. The Jewish historian Joseph (1st century) believed that Sheba was the queen of Egypt and Ethiopia. Arabic folklore and the Koran contain more amazing stories about the Queen of Sheba. Thus, the Koran tells how Solomon learned from the hoopoe bird about a rich kingdom ruled by a certain queen, and its inhabitants revere the Sun. King Solomon, along with the bird, sent that queen an invitation to honor him and pay tribute, warning that if she refused, he would destroy the kingdom. Sheba accepted such a strange invitation and was converted by Solomon to another faith, accepting faith in the one true God.

For hundreds of years, scientists have wondered whether there is any truth to these legends. The main problem is the lack of information about the Queen of Sheba: there is no mention of this great queen either in extra-biblical sources or in historical chronicles. However, her image appears in many cultures, so it is difficult to imagine that the story about her turned out to be fiction. Modern archaeologists believe that if Sheba was a real historical figure, then the ancient lands she ruled could have been the Aksumite kingdom in Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia) or the Sheba (Sabaean) state (modern Yemen), and possibly both, since they are separate from each other only a strip of the Red Sea of ​​15 miles. This assumption is based on the fact that among the gifts for Solomon was incense, which grows only in the lands of these two kingdoms and in nearby Oman. As for the date of her reign, the consensus among scholars is that it was 950 BC. e. However, is there any evidence that the Sabaean state and Aksum were rich kingdoms ruled by an amazing queen, as stated in the Bible? There is evidence of the sale of incense and incense in the Middle East and Egypt in the 3rd millennium BC. e. The Kingdom of Sheba was a prosperous trading state that controlled the caravan routes that carried incense and spices across the desert to perfume the temples of the Mediterranean and further afield. The capital of the Kingdom of Sheba was Marib, a city built on the southern edge of the Arabian Desert, in the dry delta of Wadi Adana. The inhabitants of these dry lands in 750–600. BC e. They built a dam, with the help of which they retained the water that flowed down from the mountains during the monsoon rains, irrigated the lands around the city with it and grew grain.

In 2002, Los Angeles-based documentary filmmaker, photographer, and amateur archaeologist Nicholas Clapp published Sheba: Across the Desert in Search of the Legendary Queen. Clapp hypothesized that the Queen of Sheba was the famous Queen Bilqis of Yemen. She ruled the Kingdom of Sheba, which was perhaps the most delightful and prosperous of the five ancient states of those times in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. Clapp also believed, despite the biblical account, that Sheba was in fact a more powerful ruler than Solomon, who, according to the scholar, was more of a local ruler. The reason for the long journey that Bilquis made with her retinue to Jerusalem was important negotiations about establishing a trade route that passed through the lands of Solomon. It was assumed that the king would promote trade in spices and incense brought from afar. Thus, Sheba's trip to Israel (described in the Bible) may be an interpretive memory of one of the first major trade missions in world history.

A temple was named in honor of Bilqis, which was recently discovered nine miles from the ruins of the capital of the Sheba kingdom of Mariba. The Bilquis Temple, or Temple of the Moon God, according to the head of the project, professor of archeology at the University of Calgary Dr. Bill Glanzman, was sacred place. In 1200 BC. e. - 550 AD e. Pilgrims came here from all over Arabia. This huge egg-shaped temple was about 900 feet in circumference, although most of it ancient monument now hidden by sands. Among the items found there were bronze and plaster statues, as well as large number animal bones, which indicates sacrifices were carried out in this sanctuary. Some written evidence about the Kingdom of Sheba was preserved in Assyrian texts of the 8th–7th centuries. BC uh... where it talks about the kings of Saba Yathiamara and Karibiel in connection with payments and gifts from the Kingdom of Sheba, including precious stones. These gifts are reminiscent of those that Sheba presented to King Solomon. However, we are talking about kings, not queens, and there is no specific mention of the Queen of Sheba here at all. It is not mentioned in numerous Sava sources, including inscriptions from the Bilqis temple. Another problem concerning the origin of the biblical queen who lived in the 10th century. BC e., is that Saba, apparently, was a prosperous state at that time. Undoubtedly, Solomon was a famous and influential ruler in the history of that time, but why is the Queen of Sheba spoken of only in connection with him? To some scholars, the biblical story appears to be a fictional episode, written hundreds of years after Solomon's reign to highlight the glory of the great king and his legendary wisdom.

Christians in Ethiopia, located on the opposite shore from the Sabaean state of a narrow strip of the Red Sea (now the Bab el-Mandeb Strait), have a legend that is part of the historical epic about the kings “Kebra Negast”. It says that the Ethiopians were descendants of the founder of the Ethiopian royal dynasty - the son of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon Menelik I. According to legend, Menelik traveled to Jerusalem to see his father Solomon, and he begged his son to stay and become king after his death. Menelik refused his offer and secretly, under the cover of darkness, went home, taking the most valuable royal relic - the Ark of the Covenant. Soon Menelik brought the ark to Axum, in northern Ethiopia, where it is still in the treasury, in the courtyard of the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. The book Kebra Negast says that Maheda (as Sheba is called in it) was born in 1020 BC. e. in the port city of Ophir, which is mentioned in the Bible. Scientists believe that he was in Yemen. Maheda was educated in Ethiopia and, when in 1005 BC. e. her father died and became queen. At that time, Maheda was 15 years old. She ruled the country for 40 years, although some sources speak of a six-year reign.

In May 1999, a team of Nigerian and British archaeologists discovered massive shafts in the rainforests of Nigeria. Researchers have suggested that these places were the center of one of the most famous African kingdoms and the possible burial place of the Queen of Sheba. Today the monument from Eredo is the largest in Africa. It consists of a protective ditch and earthen embankment 45 feet high and 100 miles long. Locals they say that Bilikisu Sangbo (another name of the Queen of Sheba) built the largest protective structure of the kingdom in Eredo. Every year, pilgrims come to this place, believing that her grave is located here. These lands have ancient history trade in gold and ivory and may be associated with the commercial activities of the Queen of Sheba, but today there is no direct archaeological or textual evidence linking the name of Sheba with Aksum. It should be noted that although the name of the queen is mentioned in legends, in fact the structure appeared 1000 years after the estimated time of her reign in the 10th century. BC e.

Despite the doubts of archaeologists and historians regarding the existence of the Queen of Sheba, the image of a powerful, wise and beautiful woman has been inspiring artists, storytellers and producers for hundreds of years for new creations. The image of the Queen of Sheba had a great influence on the art of the Renaissance, and later cinema, giving birth to brilliant Hollywood epics. The story of the Queen of Sheba has been a favorite theme of cinema throughout its existence. Some of the most famous films were: the silent film by J. Gordon Edwards “The Queen of Sheba” (1921) starring Betty Blyth, which told the story of the unhappy love of King Solomon of Israel for the Queen of Sheba; the film “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” (1959) starring Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida; “The Queen of Sheba and the Atomic Man” (1963), “Solomon and the Queen of Sheba” (1995), in which the image of a dark-skinned Sheba was created for the first time by Halle Berry.

To date, although there is so little evidence, there remains the possibility that the Queen of Sheba was real historical character, as it appears to us in the Bible and in legends of later times. There were certainly powerful female rulers in ancient Arabia. Possibly further research and excavations at the site ancient kingdom Savsky will be able to find information about the real woman hiding behind the image of Savskaya. And the inhabitants of mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, ignoring the data of archeology and history, just like 2000–3000 years ago, still retell the legend of the Queen of Sheba.