A few years ago, to my surprise, I was told that the sarcophagus of Queen Helen of Adiabene, which was in the Louvre Museum, would be lent for a few months by France to be exhibited at the Israel Museum.
She was the queen of a country called Adiabiene, which corresponds to the Kurdish territories of today. According to Flavius Joseph, Ananias converted her towards the year 30 AD before he became a high priest.
Known for her generosity and being a benefactress for the poor of Jerusalem, she brought constant support to the Jewish people of Judea and Galilee.
During a famine, she sent ships to Alexandria in order to bring wheat and cereals to the victims.
The Talmud tells us that she followed the Jewish laws rigorously and that she made numerous gifts to the Temple of Jerusalem, including a golden candlestick for its door.
Helen died in her territory of Adiabene in the year 56-58.
Her body was brought back to Jerusalem and buried in the pyramidal tomb she had built during her life time, north of Jerusalem.
During an excavation in 1863, the French archaeologist Félicien de Saulcy discovered a large limestone tomb near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. He was convinced that it was the tomb of the great kings of the Bible David and Solomon, which explains the name “Tomb of the Kings”, but it turned out to be of Queen Helen.
This tomb was transferred to the Louvre in full agreement with the Ottoman archaeological authorities at the time.
This venerated Queen will remain forever engraved in the memory of the Jewish people.