logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
54m 36s

The Queen of Sheba

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

In this episode, Greg Jenner is joined by Dr Jillian Stinchcomb and comedian Sadia Azmat to learn all about the legendary Queen of Sheba. From her first appearance in the Hebrew Bible, the Queen of Sheba has fascinated Jewish, Muslim and Christian writers. But do we know anything about her as a historical figure? And how has her story been told, used and reinterpreted throughout history? This episode traces the legends written about the Queen of Sheba across Europe, Africa and the Middle East from 600 BCE to today, exploring the ambiguous and contradictory depictions of her as a wise and powerful ruler, an exoticised and seductive woman, the founding member of an Ethiopian royal dynasty, and a possible half-demon!

Research by: Jon Mason Written by: Jon Mason, Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse

Up next
Nov 21
Kellogg Brothers (Radio Edit)
<p>Greg Jenner is joined in 19th-century America by historian Dr Vanessa Heggie and comedian Ed Byrne to learn all about the feuding Kellogg Brothers.</p><p>John and Will Kellogg were born into a large family in Battle Creek, Michigan, in the middle of the 1800s. Following a chil ... Show More
28 m
Nov 14
Alexandre Dumas (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined in 19th-century France by historian Professor Olivette Otele and comedian Celya AB to learn about acclaimed novelist Alexandre Dumas.Alexandre was born to an innkeeper’s daughter and a legendary Black general who fought for Napoleon. After his father’s death ... Show More
27m 56s
Nov 7
Empress Matilda (Radio Edit)
Greg Jenner is joined in twelfth-century England by Dr Gabrielle Storey and comedian Cariad Lloyd to learn all about Empress Matilda and the medieval civil war known as the Anarchy.A granddaughter of William the Conqueror, Matilda was born into England’s new Norman royal family. ... Show More
28m 14s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2020
Cleopatra
Join Greg Jenner in Ancient Egypt to meet the famous Queen Cleopatra. Learn all about her remarkable reign, the reason she was prevented from ruling alone, and why she once had to make an entrance wrapped in a duvet.Presented by Greg Jenner Produced by Abi Paterson Script by Gabb ... Show More
14m 44s
May 2023
King Midas
<p>As Shirley Bassey once said, "He's the man. The man with the Midas touch." But who was the man that's inspired stories from Greek myths to Bond bangers?</p><br><p>In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by archaeologist and classicist Professor Brian Rose to discuss the real ... Show More
50m 16s
Sep 2023
Anne of Bohemia
<p>Dr. Eleanor Janega continues <em>Gone Medieval</em>’s special series of podcasts about Medieval Queens with a look at Queen Anne of Bohemia, the first wife of England’s&nbsp;King Richard II.&nbsp;</p><br><p>Eleanor is joined by Kristen Gaiman, lecturer at the University of Tol ... Show More
38m 13s
May 2022
The Queen of Sheba
All three of the holy books from great monotheistic faiths share a similar story about a Queen from a land in the south who traveled to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon.  This queen, who is said to have come from a land called Sheba, held not only the fascination of Solomon but of ... Show More
11m 40s
Mar 2023
Katherine of Aragon: England's First Renaissance Queen
<p>In preparation for International Women's Day this Wednesday, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb takes a look at a Queen whose reputation has largely been shaped by her husband's midlife crisis. History does not see much further than Katherine of Aragon's so-called failure to provide ... Show More
34m 9s
Oct 2022
Henrietta Maria: The Most Hated Queen Consort?
<p>What does it take to get the reputation as one of the least popular queens in history?</p><br><p>Should we remember Henrietta Maria as the wife of the King executed by his subjects, the Catholic influencer and a serial adulterer? Or as a prankster, a patron of the arts and a m ... Show More
30m 55s
Nov 2023
Mary, Queen of Scots
<p>This is the story of the incredible rise and fall of Mary, Queen of Scots. She was queen of Scotland, she was queen of France, and she could have been queen of England. She led armies, lived as a fugitive, became embroiled in love affairs and spent nearly two decades in jail.< ... Show More
41m 55s
Sep 2022
Bad King James VI & I
<p>You might know him best as the longest reigning Scottish king, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, the father of Charles I, or the eponymous poster of the translation of the bible into English.</p><br><p>But King James VI of Scotland, and I of England, had some very questionable ... Show More
38m 43s
Jan 2021
Princesses of Amarna, Wives of Gods with Courtney Marx and ARCE
Recorded 2024. The daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti were not just "ornaments" for their parents. Like many princesses, they also participated in the religious rituals and royal pageantry of the Egyptian government. In this interview, Courtney Marx (MA, George Mason University ... Show More
1h 14m