The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek (Kebra Nagast)

Këbra Nagast This is what is found [written] in the Histories of the ancient Fathers of the Coptic Church. Praise be unto the Giver of understanding and wisdom to His creatures; may His mercy be upon us for ever!

III.—Legends of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in the Kur≤an and in Muhammadan Literature The author, or editor, of the Kur≤an devoted a considerable section of Surah XXVII to the correspondence that passed between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, and to their interviews. Among the many gifts that God bestowed upon Solomon were the understanding of the speech of birds, and knowledge of every kind. He was the lord of men, genii and birds. When he travelled through the air on his magical carpet of green silk, which was borne aloft by the wind according to the King’s direction, the men stood on the right of it, and the spirits on the left, and a vast army of birds of every kind kept flying over the carpet to protect its occupants from the heat of the sun. One day when he was reviewing the birds he perceived that the lapwing was absent, and he asked why she was absent, and threatened to punish her for not making her appearance with the other birds. Very soon after he had spoken the lapwing appeared, and she excused herself for her absence by saying that she had been looking upon a country that the king had never seen, and that she had seen Sâba, which was ruled over by a queen called “Bal˚îs,” who was very rich, and who sat upon a throne made of gold and silver and set with precious stones, eighty cubits long, forty cubits broad, and thirty cubits high. The queen and her people were idolaters and worshipped the sun, and they were under the influence of Satan, who had turned them from the right way. Thereupon Solomon wrote the following letter to the Queen of Sheba: “From the servant of God, Solomon, the son of David, unto xlviii