Makeda

Makeda

The imperial family of Ethiopia claims its origin directly from the offspring of the Queen of Sheba by King Solomon.^[7] The Queen of Sheba (ንግሥተ ሣብአnəgəśtã Śāb'ã), is named Makeda (ማክዳ Mākədā) in the Ethiopian account.

The Queen of Sheba from medieval manuscript «Bellifortis» by Conrad Kyeser (c. 1405), Prague school.

Story

An ancient compilation of Ethiopian legends, Kebra Negast ('the Glory of Kings'), is dated to seven hundred years ago and relates a history of Makedaand her descendants. In this account King Solomon is said to have seduced the Queen of Sheba and sired her son, Menelik I, who would become the first Emperor of Ethiopia.

The narrative given in the Kebra Negast - which has no parallel in the Hebrew Biblical story - is that King Solomon invited the Queen of Sheba to a banquet, serving spicy food to induce her thirst, and inviting her to stay in his palace overnight. The Queen asked him to swear that he would not take her by force. He accepted upon the condition that she, in turn, would not take anything from his house by force. The Queen assured that she would not, slightly offended by the implication that she, a rich and powerful monarch, would engage in stealing. However, as she woke up in the middle of the night, she was very thirsty. Just as she reached for a jar of water placed close to her bed, King Solomon appeared, warning her that she was breaking her oath, water being the most valuable of all material possessions. Thus, while quenching her thirst, she set the king free from his promise and they spent the night together.

Other Ethiopian accounts make her the daughter of a king named Agabo or Agabos, in some legends said to have become king after slaying the mythological serpent Arwe; in others, to have been the 28th ruler of the Agazyan tribe. In either event, he is said to have extended his Empire to both sides of the Red Sea.

The tradition that the Biblical Queen of Sheba was a ruler of Ethiopia who visited King Solomon in Jerusalem, in ancient Israel, is supported by the first century AD. Roman (of Jewish origin)historian Flavius Josephus, who identified Solomon’s visitor as a "Queen of Egypt andEthiopia".

While there are no known traditions of matriarchal rule in Yemen during the early first millennium BC, the earliest inscriptions of the rulers of Dʿmt in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea mentionqueens of very high status, possibly equal to their kings.

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source: Wikipedia.org

 you can find the full article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Sheba