The morning sun rose over Marib, casting long shadows across the queen’s palace as the caravan assembled below. Thousands of camels, donkeys, and servants prepared for the trek across Arabia, their backs laden with frankincense, myrrh, ebony, and gleaming gold.
It was not just a political mission.
This was an expedition of splendor, designed to awe even the mighty Solomon. The queen herself, adorned in flowing silks and crowned with jewels, led the procession—not as a passive monarch, but as a queen who had command over wealth, wisdom, and the winds of fate.
Through the sweltering heat of the Rub’ al Khali desert, past the oases of Najran and the bustling markets of Damascus, her caravan moved like a river of gold across the sands.
Whispers in the Wind
News of her approach raced ahead of her caravan. In Jerusalem, rumors spread: A foreign queen with wealth beyond imagination is coming to meet Solomon. They say she speaks in riddles, and no question is beyond her grasp. They say she commands the incense routes of the East.
Solomon, ever curious, prepared his court, golden banners were hung, his palace floors polished until they shone like mirrors and his counselors debated: would this queen come as a challenger or as a friend?
A Meeting Written in the Stars
When the Queen of Sheba finally arrived, the people of Jerusalem lined the streets, astonished by the sight. Never before had such a grand procession crossed their gates.
She was not what they expected.
Not an old woman wrapped in silk, nor a warlike ruler but a young, striking woman, her eyes sharp as desert stars, her presence commanding.
In Solomon’s court, beneath cedar beams and golden walls, the queen stepped forward and so began the exchange of riddles, wisdom, and wonder.
The Battle of Wits
She tested Solomon with questions no king could easily answer:
"What rises in the morning, speaks at noon, and is silent at night?",
"What is the softest thing in the world, yet can pierce the hardest rock?"
Solomon, calm and amused, answered them all:
"The sun."
"Water."
And in return, Solomon spoke of the cosmos, of justice, of love and law. The court fell silent as two of the world’s greatest minds spoke not like rulers of distant lands, but like equals.
More Than Trade
The Queen did not just come to test him; she came to learn and to trade. They spoke of alliances, exchanged rare woods, spices, and treasures.
Some say their talks lasted days, others claim something deeper bloomed between them a friendship, perhaps love, hidden behind royal decorum.
Whatever passed between them, one thing is certain: when the Queen of Sheba departed Jerusalem, she left with more than she came with new knowledge, new allies, and perhaps, a new story in her heart.
A Queen Returns
The journey back to Sheba was slower, heavier with gifts and thoughts but her kingdom awaited.
Trade routes thrived, temples flourished, and her people whispered of the queen who traveled far, spoke with kings, and returned unchanged in power, but forever altered in spirit.
Next Time: Queen of Sheba Final Part — Legacy of a Forgotten Empire
Empires rise and fall, but stories endure. What did Sheba leave behind, and how do her people remember her today?
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