THE QUEEN OF SABA

When the Queen of Sheba met with King Solomon to ensure the safety of trade on the Perfume Routes, in the 10th century BC, Balkis, the Queen of Sheba arranged a meeting with Solomon, the Hebrew king.

The kingdom of Sheba (“Saba” means “mystery”) was located south of the Fertile Crescent. Its economy was mainly based on the cultivation of myrrh and frankincense for its main client: Egypt.

Frankincense is the resin extracted from boswellia carterii and boswellia serrata.

These trees were sacred and protected by snakes, flying dragons and were at the heart of many legends aimed at protecting this wonderful resin which, escaping from a wounded tree, gave the impression of crying white tears.
The human gaze could spoil the incense; as a result, only 3000 families who cultivated it could watch it, a privilege granted from father to son.
Long caravans of camels carried out the transport of incense from the kingdom of Sheba to the Mediterranean ports and to Egypt. The road in the desert was dangerous not only because of the climatic conditions but also because of ambushes and looting.

King Solomon was the absolute master of this route. In order to ensure the protection of the caravans of goods to and from the Kingdom, the Queen of Sheba set out to seduce Solomon. It was a difficult challenge because the man was overwhelmed with happiness, surrounded by 700 wives and 300 concubines. To flatter him, a huge convoy was organized, treating him with more myrrh, frankincense, gold and jewelry than he had ever dreamed of.
Solomon fell under the spell of the queen who returned triumphantly to her kingdom not only with guaranteed peace on the incense route but also with an annual supply contract to Solomon's kingdom.

It was not until the XNUMXth century BC. AD that the Nabataeans replace the Sabeans in this caravan trade. Their capital, Petra, was a very important stopover before arriving in the major Mediterranean ports.

Lords of the desert, the Nabataeans controlled the perfume routes and the transport of spices from the southern Arabian desert to the Roman Empire, covering a distance of about 1800 km. It took about 80 days for the camels to cross these immense desert landscapes.