Where was Sheba of biblical times, and what was the name of its queen who famously visited Solomon?

According to The Glory of Kings — often described as the Ethiopian national epic, copies of which are in the Bodleian Library — the Queen (also referred to as “Queen of the South” — see Gospels by Matthew and Luke) was called Makeda.

It is not clear if “Sheba” was in Ethiopia or somewhere in Arabia. The old Arabian kingdom named “Saba” is sometimes suggested, because of its wealth from trading in frankincense and myrrh. This is consistent with journeying by camel train, and avoids problems in crossing the Arabian Gulf/ Red Sea. It appears difficult to reconcile this Ethiopian story with some references in the Koran.

It is worth noting that one of Rider Haggard’s romances, Queen Sheba’s Ring, published in 1908, has a heroine — descended from the Queen of Sheba — named “Maqueda”.

John W. Selley, Portland, Dorset

Further to the location of Sheba and Bilquis, its queen: while working in the Sultanate of Oman I was taken on a visit to what is reputed to be her tomb at a mosque outside Salalah near the border with Yemen.

Mike Lawlor, Teddington, Middlesex

I lived in Aden, Yemen, for some years and the Queen of Sheba (Bilquis was her name) was almost a race memory there, and you can still see the water tanks that she ordered built on the sides of the mountain there to conserve what little rainfall they have. Her capital was about 150 miles upcountry from Aden in the so-called empty quarter. It is believed that she also owned property across the strait in Ethiopia. She used to bring slaves over and a small island in the bay of Aden is still called Slave Island.

Christine Goodall, Harborne, Birmingham

Why is Menzies pronounced “Mingis”?

This is the wrong question. The right question is: “Why is Mingis spelt Menzies?” In the Celtic alphabet, still seen, for example, on Irish road signs and in Highland Scotland, the letter “g” looks like a “z” with a tail. This could be the explanation, but there was a similar, possibly related, letter in old English and Scots called “yogh” which had a sound nearer to “y” and survives in the Scots name Dalzeil, pronounced “dee-ell”. Older spellings tend to survive in names, which is why so many common words have a double consonant when they appear as surnames such as Catt, Scarlett and Scott.

Derrick Watson, Greetham, Rutland

At school we read about European explorers accidentally wiping out thousands of natives with their common colds. Were the explorers not similarly defenceless against native diseases, and did they bring anything back?

The term “native diseases” is a misnomer. Europeans caught tropical diseases to which native inhabitants were resistant or immune. Very often the disease vectors were local, usually insects. So many travellers died of fever in West Africa, for example, that the area was nicknamed “The White Man’s Grave”. Though many caught these tropical diseases, they were not generally brought back to Europe to cause pandemics as the disease vectors were local. By bad luck, the natives’ diseases, particularly smallpox and measles, were acquired from Europeans and spread by contagion. They did not require vectors unique to Europe and therefore caused pandemics, especially in America.

The notable exception was syphilis. Though this disease may have previously existed in an attenuated form in Europe it was widespread in the pre-Columbian population of America. A virulent strain appeared in Italy 1494-95 soon after Columbus’s return, possibly brought to Naples by Spanish soldiers and mariners.

Russell Vallance, Rotherhithe, London SE16

When earlier forms of transport existed before the motor car, did the UK still have opposite rules to the rest of the world as to which side of the road to drive on?

Tom Eyre, Woodford, Cheshire

Do other countries mangle their languages to produce TXT 4U2C?

P. Grant-Wood, Edinburgh

Where is Clarence, to which the Duke was appointed?

Carolyn Henghan, Stubbington, Hampshire

Horse-riding jockeys look lean and without any excess fat. Do they live longer than average-sized males?

Cathy Hobbs, Bromley, Kent

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