other · religious

Kebra Nagast — The Glory of the Kings

c. 1225–1325 CE (compilation); traditions of great antiquity · Medieval Ethiopia (14th century CE compilation; earlier traditions) · Ethiopia (composed at Aksum; preserved in Ge'ez manuscripts)

The Council of the Three Hundred and Eighteen

1By the will and pleasure of God, we speak now of the greatness of kings,
2and of the glory of Zion, and of the exalted city of Aksum.
3The three hundred and eighteen orthodox fathers came together in the council of Nicea,
4and they arranged the order of the Church, and they set down its foundation.
5And they treated with each other, and Domitius, the Archbishop of Rome, said:
6"I have found in the treasures of the church of St. Sophia
7certain very ancient books which speak of the glory of Solomon and his son.
8"Let us read these things aloud."

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

9Now in the days of Solomon, king of Israel, there ruled in Ethiopia
10a queen whose name was Makeda, whom others call the Queen of the South.
11She heard of the wisdom and glory of Solomon,
12and she said: "This is a wonderful thing. I will go and see whether it is true."
13She loaded her camels with much treasure, with spices and precious stones,
14and she went up to Jerusalem, and came before Solomon.
15She asked him all the questions of her heart.
16He answered them all, and she saw the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
17and the meat of his table, and the ministering of his servants,
18and the ascent by which he went up to the house of the Lord.
19And there was no more spirit in her.
20And she said unto the king: "Blessed be the Lord thy God,
21which delighted in thee to set thee on the throne of Israel."

The Wisdom That Passed Between Them

22For six months the Queen of the South remained at Solomon's court.
23Every day she asked, and every day Solomon answered,
24and Makeda learned much of the knowledge of God and of the wisdom of the Hebrews.
25She was baptized in the God of Israel, and she abandoned the worship of the sun and the moon.
26At length she came to depart. Solomon gave her many gifts,
27and she gave to him what she had.

The Trick of the Water

28On the night before her departure, Solomon prepared a feast of highly seasoned meats,
29but no water was placed upon the table.
30After the feast, Makeda retired to her chamber,
31but her thirst was very great, and she rose in the night to find water.
32There was a jar of water beside Solomon's bed.
33She reached for it — and Solomon caught her hand.
34"Thou hast broken the oath thou madest," he said,
35"that thou wouldst take nothing from me by force."
36"Only water," said Makeda, "which is the property of all."
37"Nothing," said Solomon, "hath more value than water, for without water we die."
38And Solomon lay with her that night,
39and she conceived.

The Son of Solomon

40The Queen returned to Ethiopia, and there she brought forth a son,
41whom she named Bayna-Lehkem — "Son of the Wise Man."
42He grew tall and comely, and when he came to the age of manhood,
43Makeda told him of his father, and he said: "I will go and see him."
44He went up to Jerusalem, and Solomon received him with joy,
45and would have kept him at his side.
46But the young man said: "My mother sent me to be blessed and instructed,
47and then to return to her. Send me back."

The Removal of the Ark

48Then Solomon sent with his son the eldest sons of his nobles,
49that they might rule with him in Ethiopia.
50But these men could not endure to leave the Ark of the Covenant behind.
51By stealth they took it from the Temple, and they replaced it with a copy.
52When Bayna-Lehkem, whom his father named Menelik,
53came to know of this, he was afraid, for the deed had been done without his knowledge.
54But an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said:
55"Fear not. The glory of Zion has left Israel and has come to thee.
56The Ark of God shall dwell in Ethiopia from this day forth."

The Reign of Menelik

57Menelik returned to Ethiopia with the Ark and the sons of the nobles of Israel.
58He was crowned king in Aksum, and the Ark was placed there in a great church.
59He ruled Ethiopia in wisdom, having brought the wisdom of his father,
60and being of the seed of David.
61And from that day, the kings of Ethiopia have claimed descent from Solomon and Makeda,
62and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord dwells at Aksum,
63guarded by a single monk, who is chosen from among his brethren to keep it all his days.

notes

The Kebra Nagast ("Glory of the Kings") is the national epic of Ethiopia and the foundational document of the Solomonic dynasty that ruled from the 13th century until Emperor Haile Selassie's overthrow in 1974. It was compiled in Ge'ez (classical Ethiopic) during the late 13th and early 14th centuries, though drawing on much older traditions, and is regarded as second only to the Bible itself in Ethiopian religious literature. The core narrative — the visit of the Queen of Sheba (Makeda) to Solomon in Jerusalem, the conception of their son Menelik, his removal of the Ark of the Covenant from the Temple, and its transfer to Aksum where it is said to remain to this day, guarded by a single monk — provides the sacred charter for Ethiopian Christianity's claim to be the New Israel and the true guardians of the covenant. The text's influence extends well beyond Ethiopia. It is one of the central texts of the Rastafari movement, which venerates Emperor Haile Selassie as the modern culmination of the Solomonic line. The claim of the presence of the Ark at Aksum's Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion has never been independently investigated (only the appointed monk-guardian is permitted to see it), but is treated as literal historical fact by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Translation: E.A. Wallis Budge, "The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek," London: Oxford University Press, 1922. Public domain.

currently held: British Library Or. 818, and manuscripts held at Aksum and Debre Damo

ChristianAfricanEthiopian

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