Makeda, the Queen of Sheba [Ethiopia]
The
Queen of Sheba (
Ge'ez: ንግሥተ ሳባ
Nigista Saba,
Hebrew: 'מלכת שבא
Malkat Shva,
Arabic: ملكة سبأ
Malikat Sabaʾ), refers in
Ethiopian history, the
Hebrew Bible, the
New Testament, and the
Qur'an to the woman who was the ruler of the ancient kingdom of
Sheba. The location of the historical kingdom may have included both
Ethiopia and
Yemen.
Known to the Ethiopian people as
Makeda (ማክዳ
mākidā), this queen has been called a variety of names by different peoples in different times. To
King Solomon of
Israel she was the
Queen of Sheba. In Islamic tradition she was
Bilqis. The Roman historian
Josephus calls her,
Nicaula. She is thought to have lived in the
10th century BC.