Sheba
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[[Image:Middle East Shem-Ham.jpg|thumb|The [[Middle East]] through the eyes of the ancient [[Israelites]], reconstructed according to the [[documentary hypothesis]].]] '''Sheba''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''שבא''', ''Sh'va'', [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: سبأ, ''Saba'', [[Maltese language|Maltese]]: ''Xeba'', [[Ge'ez]], [[Amharic language|Amharic]], [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]]: ሳባ, ''Saba'') was a southern kingdom mentioned in the [[Tanakh|Jewish scriptures]] ([[Old Testament]]) and the [[Qur'an]]. The actual location of the historical kingdom is disputed between southern [[Arabia]] and eastern [[Africa]]; the kingdom may have been situated in either present-day [[Ethiopia]] or present-day [[Yemen]], or both.
==Biblical tradition==
Sheba is mentioned several times in the [[Hebrew Bible|Bible]]. For instance, in the [[Table of Nations]] ([[Genesis]] 10:7), Sheba, along with [[Dedan]], is listed as a descendant of [[Noah]]'s son [[Ham, son of Noah|Ham]] (as sons of [[Raamah]] son of [[Biblical Cush|Cush]]). In Genesis 25:3, Sheba and Dedan are listed as names of sons of [[Jokshan]], son of [[Abraham]]. Another Sheba is listed in the Table of Nations (Genesis 10:28) as a son of [[Joktan]], another descendant of Noah's son [[Shem]].
In [[Ethiopian Orthodox]] tradition, the last of these three Shebas (Joktan's son) is considered the primary ancestor of the original [[Semitic]] component in their [[ethnogenesis]], while [[Sabtah]] and [[Sabtecah]], sons of Cush, are considered the ancestors of the [[Cushitic]] element.
[[Judaism|Jewish]]-[[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[historian]] [[Josephus]] describes a place called Saba as a [[wall]]ed, royal city of [[Ethiopia]], which [[Cambyses]] afterwards named [[Meroe]]. He says "it was both encompassed by the Nile quite round, and the other rivers, [[Astapus]] and [[Astaboras]]" offering protection from both foreign armies and river [[flood]]s. According to Josephus it was the conquering of Saba that brought great fame to a young [[Egypt]]ian [[Prince]], simultaneously exposing his personal background as a slave child named [[Moses]].<ref>Josephus, ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'' II.10</ref>
The ''[[Kitab al-Magall]]'' ("Book of the Rolls", considered part of [[Clementine literature]]) and the ''[[Cave of Treasures]]'' mention a tradition that after being founded by the children of Saba (son of Joktan), there was a succession of sixty female rulers up until the time of [[Solomon]]. The Biblical tradition of the "[[Queen of Sheba]]" (named ''Makeda'' in Ethiopian tradition and ''Bilqis'' in Islamic tradition) makes its first appearance in world literature in ''1 Kings 10'', describing her as travelling to Jerusalem to behold the fame of [[King Solomon]].
Owing to the connection with the Queen of Sheba, the location has thus become closely linked with national prestige, as various royal houses have claimed descent from the Queen of Sheba and [[Solomon]]. The most vigorous claimant has been [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]], where Sheba was traditionally linked with the ancient [[Axumite Kingdom]].
==Islamic origins==
The [[Qur'anic]] Queen of Sheba, Bilqis, was a ruler who visited [[Solomon]] after receiving a letter from him inviting her to submit to [[God]]. The letter read, "In the Name of [[Allah]], the Most Beneficent, and Most Merciful: be you not exalted against me, but come to me as [[Muslims]] (true believers who submit with full submission)" (27:30-31 [[Quran]]). After visiting with King [[Solomon]] the Queen of Sheba said, "My Lord! Verily, I have wronged myself, and I submit (in [[Islam]]), together with Sulayman, to [[Allah]], the Lord of the [[Alamin]] (mankind, [[jinns]], and all that exists)" (27:20-44 [[Quran]]).
==Archeological considerations==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=February 2008}}
Evidence is mounting of a region in northern [[Tigray]] and [[Eritrea]] which called itself Saba. As yet, most scholars would call it Ethiopian Saba, and indicate that it supports the assumption that Sabean culture existed both in Ethiopia and Yemen, without one colonizing the other.
Linguistic evidence points to a close historical relationship between the two sides of the [[Red Sea]], as [[South Semitic]] languages are found only in two places: southern Arabia (modern Yemen and [[Oman]]), and the Horn of Africa (modern [[Eritrea]] and [[Ethiopia]]).
Some scholars tend to think a link to the [[Sabaeans]] of southern Arabia, who inhabited the same region, is probable. However, others such as Ethiopisant [[Donald Levine]] argued in ''Wax and Gold'' in favor of one Ethiopian tradition that "Sheba ''is'' [[Shewa]]!"
Ruins in many other countries, including [[Ethiopia]], [[Somalia]], [[Yemen]], [[Sudan]], [[Egypt]], [[Eritrea]], and [[Iran]], have been credited as being Sheba, but with only minimal evidence. There has even been a suggestion of a link between the name "Sheba" and that of [[Zanzibar]].
According to [[Marco Polo]], Saba is the location of the tombs of the three Magi.
==Bibliography==
*Alessandro de Maigret. ''Arabia Felix'', translated Rebecca Thompson. London: Stacey International, 2002. ISBN 1-900988-07-0
*[[Andrey Korotayev]]. ''Ancient Yemen''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-19-922237-1.
*Andrey Korotayev. ''Pre-Islamic Yemen''. Wiesbaden: [[Harrassowitz]] Verlag, 1996. ISBN 3-447-03679-6.
==See also==
*[[Books of Kings|First Kings]]
*[[Book of Genesis|Genesis]]
*[[Sabaeans]]
*[[Eritrea]]
*[[Ethiopia]]
*[[Islamic view of the Queen of Sheba]]
*[[King Solomon]]
*[[Queen of Sheba]]
*[[Rulers of Sheba]]
*[[Rulers of Saba and Himyar]] - a reconstruction of the lineage of the rulers of Saba and Himyar based on extant inscriptions. Based on the work of Dr. Javad Ali.
*[[Books of Chronicles|Second Chronicles]]
*[[Yemen]]
*[[Qataban]]
==External links==
*[http://www.newu.uci.edu/article.php?id=3141"Queen of Sheba mystifies at the Bowers"] - UC Irvine news article on Queen of Sheba exhibit at the Bowers Museum
*[http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197802/a.dam.at.marib.htm "A Dam at Marib"] from the 'Saudi Aramco World' online - March/April 1978
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1082648.stm Queen of Sheba Temple restored (2000, BBC)]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]
[[Category:arabia]]
[[Category:East Africa]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible places]]
[[Category:History of Yemen]]
[[Category:History of Ethiopia]]
[[Category:History of Eritrea]]
[[ar:مملكة سبأ]]
[[ca:Saba]]
[[da:Saba]]
[[de:Saba (Antike)]]
[[es:Reino de Saba]]
[[eo:Reĝlando Ŝeba]]
[[fa:سبا]]
[[fr:Royaume de Saba]]
[[it:Regno di Saba]]
[[he:שבא]]
[[hu:Szabá]]
[[nl:Sheba]]
[[ja:シバ王国]]
[[no:Saba]]
[[pl:Królestwo Saby]]
[[pt:Sabá (reino)]]
[[ru:Сабейское царство]]
[[fi:Saba]]
[[sv:Saba]]
[[uk:Сабейське царство]]
[[zh:示巴王國]]