Sheba

Sheba (also Saba, Arabic: سبأ) is a kingdom mentioned in the Old Testament and in the Qur'an ; the actual location of the nation is still unknown, however. The nation makes its appearance in the form of the Queen of Sheba , who visits King Solomon . According to some traditions she either wed or had an affair with Solomon, eventually returning home with their child . The location of Sheba has thus become closely linked with national prestige as various royal houses have claimed descent from Sheba and Solomon. Sheba is also one of the children of Joktan . Long the most vigorous claimant has been Ethiopia where Sheba was traditionally linked with the ancient Axumite Kingdom . As Ethiopia has remained a Christian state the connection to Sheba has been an important one, especially to the royal family. Recent archeological evidence has not supported the Ethiopian claim, however, and today scholars believe that at best Sheba controlled some coastal regions of Ethiopia while being centered on the southern end of the Arabian peninsula , in the current location of Yemen . Modern scholars tend to think a link to the Sabaeans of Arabia is the most probable, but the Sabeans did not rise until well after the mythical Queen of Sheba was meant to have lived, leaving many to believe traditional accounts of the wealth and power of Sheba to have been greatly exaggerated. Ruins in many other countries including Somalia , Sudan , Egypt , and Iran have been credited to Sheba, but with only minimal evidence.

Sheba ( Arabic : سبأ, Sabaʼ , Hebrew : שבא , Sh'va , Ge'ez , Amharic , Tigrinya : ሳባ, Saba ) was a kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures ( Old Testament ) and the Qur'an .

A Sabaean priestess, who intercedes with the sun goddess on behalf of the donor. Probably 1st century AD Sheba ( / ˈ ʃ iː b ə / ; Ge'ez : ሳባ, Saba , Arabic : سبأ, Sabaʾ , South Arabian , Hebrew : שבא , Šəḇā) was a kingdom mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures ( Old Testament ) and the Qur'an . Sheba features in Ethiopian, Hebrew and Qur'anic traditions. Among other things it was the home of the biblical " Queen of Sheba " (named Makeda in Ethiopian tradition and Bilqīs in Arabic tradition). Modern archaeological studies support the view that the biblical kingdom of Sheba was the ancient Semitic civilization of Saba in Southern Arabia, in Yemen , between 1200 BC until 275 AD with its capital Marib . The Kingdom fell after a long but sporadic civil war between several Yemenite dynasties claiming kingship, resulting in the rise of the late Himyarite Kingdom . Similar description in the Hebrew Bible is found in Strabo's writings and Assyrian annals about the Sabaeans Their civilization stretched as far as Aqaba with small colonies to protect the trade routes, these colonies included Yathrib and the central Arabian kingdom of Kindah and northern Ethiopia where archaeologists found an ancient temple dedicated to the Sabaean chief god El-Maqah The study of the history and culture of this kingdom is still patchy, especially the chronology of historical events and kings.

Biblical Kingdom Sheba ( / ˈ ʃ iː b ə / ; Ge'ez : ሳባ, Saba , , Sabaʾ , South Arabian 𐩪𐩨𐩱 S-b-ʾ, , Šəḇā) is a kingdom mentioned in the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament ) and the Quran . Sheba features in Jewish , Muslim , and Christian, particularly Ethiopian Christian , traditions. It was the home of the biblical " Queen of Sheba ", who is left unnamed in the Bible, but receives the names Makeda in Ethiopian and Bilqīs in Arabic tradition. The predominant scholarly view is that the biblical narrative about the kingdom of Sheba was based on the ancient civilization of Saba in South Arabia , in contradiction to several local traditions from different countries. Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman write that "the Sabaean kingdom began to flourish only from the eighth century BCE onward" and that the story of Solomon and Sheba is "an anachronistic seventh-century set piece meant to legitimize the participation of Judah in the lucrative Arabian trade". The British Museum states that there is no archaeological evidence for such a queen but that the kingdom described as hers was Saba , "the oldest and most important of the South Arabian kingdoms". Kenneth Kitchen dates the kingdom to between 1200 BCE and 275 CE with its capital, Ma'rib . The kingdom fell after a long but sporadic civil war between several Yemenite dynasties claiming kingship, resulting in the rise of the late Himyarite Kingdom . David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition . Documentation for Ancient Arabia .

Biblical Kingdom For other uses, see Sheba (disambiguation) . Sheba ( / ˈ ʃ iː b ə / ; Šəḇāʾ ; Sabaʾ ; Ge'ez : ሳባ Saba ) is a kingdom mentioned in the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament ) and the Quran . Sheba features in Jewish , Muslim , and Christian traditions, particularly the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo tradition. It was the home of the biblical " Queen of Sheba ", who is left unnamed in the Bible, but receives the names Makeda in Ethiopian and Bilqīs in Arabic tradition. According to Josephus it was also the home of the biblical " Princess Tharbis " said to have been the first wife of Moses when he was still a prince of Egypt. Slab with an inscription about the political activities of the kings of Sheba. From Yemen, 2nd century CE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul There are competing claims of where this kingdom was, with modern scholars placing it in the regions of South Arabia and the Horn of Africa . Encyclopedia Britannica posits that the biblical narrative about the kingdom of Sheba was based on the ancient civilization of Saba ( Old South Arabian : 𐩪𐩨𐩱 S-b-ʾ ‍ ) in South Arabia. This view is echoed by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman who write that "the Sabaean kingdom began to flourish only from the eighth century BCE onward" and that the story of Solomon and Sheba is "an anachronistic seventh-century set piece meant to legitimize the participation of Judah in the lucrative Arabian trade ". David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition .