Queen of Sheba

The Queen of Sheba on her way to Jerusalem – An Ethiopian fresco.

Definitely the most prominent lady of all times and for sure one of the most influential people the world has witnessed whose reign cut across most major religions in the world. The queen of Sheba has her name in most of the world’s books of life. This includes the Holy Bible, the Holy Quran and lots more.

The queen of Sheba has been recognised by numerous names such as Nigista Saba (Hebrew), Balqis (Islam), Malkat Shva (Arabic), Makeda (Ethiopia), Nicaule (Roman history) and to King Solomon of Israel, she was the Queen of Sheba.

Her empire, the ancient kingdom of Sheba stretched over what is  known as Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Yemen. All of whom till date claim ownership to one of the most famous beauties of all time, rivalled only by the likes of Cleopatra. She is the Great Queen of Sheba and worshiper of the Sun God who later adopted Abrahamic monotheism.-the believe in one God.

Although the above locations are the documented spans of the Sheba Empire, recent studies have indicated that the Queen may actually have ruled into Egypt, Sudan, Central African Republic as well as Kenya. Also, the documented defeat of the Roman Army by Nubian archers under the leadership of a Queen of Nubia identifies this lady figure as no other but the Queen of Sheba.

The Queen of Sheba is believed to be born on the 5th of January, 10th century BC in Yemen. Her birth place has been the source of controversy to her skin colour. However, History tells us that during her time, the people of Yemen were known to be black. Yemen had strong ties with Ethiopia hence at an early age, the Queen of Sheba left Yemen with her parents and was raised in Ethiopia.

The late Emperor Haile Selassie was the last of the rulers of Ethiopia leading to the end of the Solomonic dynasty which descended from the line of David.

Her rise to power was expected as she was of deep rooted lineage. Though mysterious, she is referenced to be from the line of Raamah, the son of Cush, the son of Ham, who was son of Noah. Other literatures have her to be related to Havilah, a descendant of Shem. Shem was another son of Noah. All accounts thus trace her back to Noah. It must be understood that Sheba was not her name but the name of the vast empire she reigned over. History could link both lineage accounts as there is a link in Havilah, as Havilah was also a descendant of Cush. The Origin of Havilah is believed to be in modern day Ethiopia. Accounts thus trace Abraham to be of Ethiopian origin as the bible clearly states the Jews migrated in search of the Promised Land and hence are not originally from present day Israel. This indicates Abraham’s skin colour and hence could indicate that the first Jews may have been blacks like their Egyptian counterparts. There is a verse of the Douay Bible (the most authentic version of the English Bible) which many believe was relating to the love between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. This indicated skin colour of either her or Solomon: “I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon.”(songs of Solomon 1:5).

To further buttress this, the ancient Roman historian, Tacitus, wrote that “many, again, say that they [the Israelites] were a race of Ethiopian origin” (Histories (Tacitus), Book 5, Paragraphs 2 and 3). Questions about her life have been left to controversy. Though some books depict the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Israel as a mare state visit, it is recorded that this lead to an intimate relationship between her and the then King of Israel Solomon, as the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia came into existence as a result of her intercourse which lead to the birth of her only recorded son, Minilik I, who ruled  Ethiopia, leading to the beginning of the Solomonic dynasty, a long chain of rulers of Ethiopia, which concluded in the reign of Ras Tafari, otherwise known as Haile Selassie or to give him his reggae name Jah. Hence the attribution of Ras Tafari to be of the lineage of David and hence a blood relative of Christ the Messiah otherwise known in the Holy Quran as Isa.