Makeda Queen of Sheba (960 B.C.)

She gave the king 120 talents of gold, and of spices very great store and precious stones; there came no more abundance of spices as these which the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon."(Kings 10:10) The Biblical passage refers to the gifts Makeda presented King Solomon of Israel on her famed journey to visit the Judean monarch. But Makeda's gift to Solomon extended beyond material objects. She also gave him a son, Menelik. The boy's remarkable resemblance to his grandfather prompted Solomon to re-christen Menelik. Solomon later re-named his son after his own father, the legendary King David. Menelik is the founder of Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty. It is Menelic who is believed to be responsible for the Ark of the Covenant being taken to Ethiopia-which, according to the Kebra Nagast, became "the second Zion."