Queen Makeda -TheTrue Name of the Ethiopian Queen, the Wife of King Solomon Of Judea

In 960 B.C., the nation that is now called Ethiopia, came back upon the center of the stage of history. Ethiopia was then represented by a queen, who in some books is referred to as "Makeda. "She is better known to the world as the Queen of Sheba. In his book, "World's Great Men of Color," J.A. Rogers, gives this description: "Out of the mists of three thousand years, emerges this beautiful story of a Black Queen, who attracted by the fame of a Judean monarch, made a long journey to see him."

 
 
Makeda, according to lore and legend, is the mysterious and majestic Queen of Sheba, and the beloved of King Solomon of Judea. However, according to the  Old Testament , she is portrayed as a chaste and unnamed queen of the land of Sheba heard of the great wisdom of King Solomon of Israel and journeyed there with gifts of spices, gold, precious stones, and beautiful wood and to test him with questions, as recorded in First Kings 10:1-13 (2 Chronicles 9:1–12).
 

 
Pre Christian
 
It is related further that the queen was awed by Solomon's great wisdom and wealth, and pronounced a blessing on Solomon's deity, Solomon reciprocated with gifts and "everything she desired," whereupon the queen returned to her country.  Makeda was apparently quite rich, however, as she brought 4.5 tons of gold with her to give to Solomon (1 Kings 10:10).
 
 
There is no hint of love or sexual attraction between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The two are depicted merely as fellow monarchs engaged in the affairs of state.  Note that  the Songs of Solomon (the shortest book in the Bible with only 117 verses) are amongst the most beautiful odes to love between a man and a woman ever written. Makeda’s name is never mentioned.
  
 
Together they had a son, Menelik I, who would become the first Emperor of Ethiopia. Based on a text The Kebra Nagast, a royal chronicle compiled in Abyssinia in the 14th century, this ancestry reestablished the Solomonic line.  In 1270, with Emperor Yekuno's declaration to be the lineal descent Menelik, all succeeding Ethiopian rulers confirmed they have full filial and ruling rights by birth to Yekuno Amlak and, by that means, to King Solomon and Queen Makeda.
 
 
 
Piero della Francesco
 
In  many  versions of the Old Testament and in subsequent art, Queen Makeda was whitewashed. She was a beautiful powerful black woman who converted to Judaism, out of love, and  traditional Western  culture have never acknoweldged this. It is also believed that one of the ten lost tribes of Israel are the "Falashas", a group of Ethiopian Jews who live today as in Biblical times.

 
Perfumer Shelley Waddington is the first  to name a fragrance after Makeda  This perfume magically evokes the love between King Solomon and Makeda , the fragrance is hand blended as in the days of old; Makeda's heart of Jasmine Sambac, base of Oud,and cedarwood ("The beams of our house are cedar, King James 1.17') clearly evoke the passion, sexuality and royalty of its noble namesake.
 
– Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief





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50 comments

  • What a beautiful piece of corrective historical writing. Here's to Shelley's creativity in blending an originary perfume for this magnificent and beloved queen. It sounds gorgeous. Cannot wait to try it!!
    Marlene

  • Thank you for illuminating this powerful woman and her precious gifts of fragrance,  Michelyn. 

  • shelley's lovely  perfumes always come with their roots in  the society and history -and those are never the made up "stories" written by a creative director of some "advertisement & PR agency". so, every perfume she makes not only becomes a reason of a unique olfactory pleasure, but also contributes to our knowledge of things, strengthening the bond between emotion and reason.

    thx to shelley for her creation and to michelyn for putting things in a lovely combination of text and images.

  • The historical research into the cultural “whitewashing” and de-sensualization of the beautiful sonnets created by King Solomon for his regal African Jewish wife, and Shelley’s Makeda, the first to name a fragrance that paid homage to the true name of a powerful Ethiopian Queen was a beautiful collaboration and a joy to write.

  • shelley’s lovely  perfumes always come with their roots in  the society and history -and those are never the made up “stories” written by a creative director of some “advertisement & PR agency”. so, every perfume she makes not only becomes a reason of a unique olfactory pleasure, but also contributes to our knowledge of things, strengthening the bond between emotion and reason.

    thx to shelley for her creation and to michelyn for putting things in a lovely combination of text and images.

  • chayaruchama says:

    Thank you for the journey, Shelley !
    I live for this sort of writing……

  • Lovely story. Congratulations to Shelley for creating something gorgeous and unique for a much misunderstood, and maligned, woman.
     
    j

  • Thank you for this great insite, very interesting, Michelyn.
    I  would love to read more on Makeda (any recommendation?)…now I must find Shelly's perfume, too.

  • Beautifully written, I just love it when the work we do is put into its historical context. Living through the smoke is a fantastic journey, especially when connected to the past. It helps us to better understand who we are, what we should be doing………simply transformative. It is the reason I am a perfumer at all! Thanks Michelyn for having me along for the ride. Makeda is a great representation of Malkuth.

  • Very nice job Shelley, it sounds like a very interesting fragrance, coinciding with just as interesting a story, and Oud is not an easy material to work with…I know Shelley for years now and know that every fragrance she creates, she puts a little bit of her heart and soul in too…keep up the good work!

  • This is just what  would expect from Shelley; authenticy matched with beauty.  Thanks to both ladies for a lovely presentation!

  • thanks to both ladies for the experience.  Michelyn, your words are magic…and Shelley; having watched you grow and create, i know what goes into your creations.  thanks for another experience…in cultural scentology(if there is such).  much love, xxxxooooo

  • What a profound  and wonderful way to meet the women in history; novels in a bottle.  I look forward to smelling this one Shell!  … and who is the next woman we get to learn about in the way?

  • What an interesting story and perfume from an amazing perfumer. Congratulations Shelley!. I'd love to smell that perfume some day!

  • Shelley,
    what a great story – the historic background and the connection to your perfume's are really cool and interesting. Thank you!

  • i have been reading a novel written by Doreen Virtue called Angels of King Soloman….it tells of the relationship of the King and Queen in depth….a must have realy had me engrossed…infact i have read it over three times………

  • Thanks,information like this is important to our young women of color,to lift their heads up high and say that we are just what God say we are"We Are Fearfully And Wonderfully Made,& full of all kind of POWER,Thanks again.

  • Grreat job..the book from babylon to timbuktu goes into detail about solomon and sheba as well.. Gotta damn near give the “elitists” credit though, to whitewash and Ethiopean …

  • Please also see :: Deutoronomy 28* Leviticus 26* Psalms 83* Psalms 137* Obadaih* Revelations 2:9 & 3:9 * and then research the “Trans Atlantic Slave Trade” ..I would really  appreciate it to all that would be willing to do thatt..

  • Wonderful story always wanted to know what ny name meant I’m lucky my moms best friend named me after the queen of Sheba

  • thank you for the labor spent in identifying WHO the Queen of Sheba was. I’ve always wondered what name she went by, and even more so now that I’m correctly being taught and learning from the Bible.
    As for the perfume, I’d love to try it. Where may I be able to find it?

    Laurie

  • Peggy Arthur says:

    Beautiful piece of history. this story has always been a favorite. I have always said that, we as a people, are chosen.

  • Raymond Phiri (South Africa) says:

    After reading this history about Makeda “Queen of Sheba” it made me enjoy the song by Les Nubians – Makeda. Thanks for the great article

  • This is a great story to tell over and over again. Awesome to know of the black lady in the book of Songs of Solomon, and the origin of Ethiopian Jews today.

  • Wow at least I’ve come to know my originality as Iam the grand son of Queen of Sheba tribe called Falashas, ok we scattered from Ethiopia to east Africa till great lake regions we as Tutsi tribes from Rwanda, basoni from Burundi, Bahima from Uganda, Bahema from D.R.Congo we Banyamurenge from D.R.Congo wawawaw may God be Praised for having known my tribe when it was renewed in 960 B.C
    THANKS
    PRINCE

  • David Storm says:

    Thank You for location the True Name of the Queen of Sheba! Its information that We All Should Know!

  • I named my daughter Makeda as I want her to know her roots but when I read this beautifully written story it makes me happy that I bought the perfume . Thanks

  • OMG! i never knew this my. name is Macda! my parents were born and raised in Ethiopia and Eritrea (before they separated). Thank you for sharing this piece of history it has truly made my day <3

  • Thank you so much for sharing this, my name is MACDA too! My parents were born in Eritrea and Ethiopia (before they separated) and the children there pronounce my name Makeda , so we have the same name i find this interesting. although my mother told me i was named after a queen i would maybe not have known it was queen Sheba had you not shared this piece of history so thank you !

  • This is a perfect piece of history. Thank you Shelley for creating the perfume and my name is Makeda and it is wonderful that I can share a name with a true Afrikan Queen.

  • nkululeko hlongwa says:

    continue writing about Queens of Africa its wise of you and its interesting . hopefully next time you will write about another queen of Africa like Queen Nandi . we need more people like you to tell the next generation about our AFRICA . RISE AFRICA

  • ELENA M THOMSON says:

    THIS IS FASCINATING!!! IM ANGRY THAT AS A FORMER HISTORY TEACHER. IVE NEVER KNOWN THE TRUE STORY OF THE NOBLE QUEEN. MY FRIEND NAMED HIS FIRST EVER PET PUPPY WHO IS MIDNIGHT BLACK AFTER THIS LEGENDARY ROYAL. I WAS INSPIRED TO LOOK HER UP AND IM GLAD I SAW THIS POST. BRAVO AND THANK YOU

  • Without History how can we really know who we are or where we come from………this was so refreshing…..Black….Bold and Beautiful to all Black woman……Thanks

  • Today I was reading about a young perfumer Alexandre Helwani. He named is perfume Makeda. Reading this piece I think he might have read it too. When I went online your article was one of the first. Beautiful writing and you have a passion for truth telling. I never heard of Cafleurbon but will read it more if you publish articles like this. አመሰግናለሁ