Queen of Sheba's gift? Evidence of genetic mixingThe genetic evidence is interesting, but hardly surprising. There would have been some trade between the two regions and you know how it is with traveling salesmen. But evidence of interbreeding between the populations of Ethiopia and Israel/Syria doesn't exactly count as proof, or even evidence, of a romantic liaison between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba as narrated in the thousand-year-old Ethiopian national epic, the Kebra Negast. True, the article doesn't quite say it does, but it also neglects to mention the very late date of the Ethiopian traditions, and the nonspecialist reader will likely come away with that impression.
Genome study ties Ethiopia to Syria, Israel and other lands outside of Africa
By Stephanie Pappas (MSNBC)
updated 6/21/2012 2:50:25 PM ET
The Queen of Sheba's genetic legacy may live on in Ethiopia, according to new research that finds evidence of long-ago genetic mixing between Ethiopian populations and Syrian and Israeli people.
The Queen of Sheba, known in Ethiopia as Makeda, is mentioned in both the Bible and the Quran. The Bible discusses diplomatic relations between this monarch and King Solomon of Israel, but Ethiopian tradition holds that their relationship went deeper: Makeda's son, Menelik I, the first emperor of Ethiopia, is said to be Solomon's offspring.
Whether this tale is true or not, new evidence reveals close links between Ethiopia and groups outside of Africa. Some Ethiopians have 40 percent to 50 percent of their genomes that match more closely with populations outside of Africa than those within, while the rest of the genomes more closely match African populations, said study researcher Toomas Kivisild of the University of Cambridge.
"We calculated genetic distances and found that these non-African regions of the genome are closest to the populations in Egypt, Israel and Syria," Kivislid said in a statement.
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Tracing the genomic changes, the researchers found that the non-African and African genes first mingled about 3,000 years ago rather than during more recent times, the researchers reported Thursday in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
That timeline confirms what linguistic studies have suggested about links between the Middle East and Ethiopia during this time period, the researchers wrote. It also matches records and tales of the reign of the Queen of Sheba from about 1005 to 955 B.C., when trade routes were established and a royal son, perhaps, was born. Relations between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East would continue for centuries.
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Follow the "Kebra Negast" link above for many background links on the Queen of Sheba.