Civilization and Religion
Ethiopia is generally considered Africa's oldest continuously
identifiable nation. The beautiful country covers well over a million
square kilometers; Ethiopia is about twice as large as Kenya or Texas,
or about five times as large as the United Kingdom.
Queen Makeda of Sabea (Sheba) would have been a member
of this dynasty; she ruled a vast area that included Yemen, and in her
reign Ethiopians traded with peoples as far as Palestine and India. Makeda
ventured to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon, by whom she bore a son, Menelik
(from Ibn-al-Malik, Son of the King).
The Old Testament makes no fewer than thirty references
to Ethiopia ("Cush" to the Hebrews). Moses wed an "Ethiopian"
woman (Numbers 12:1). According to tradition, the Ethiopian nation was
founded by Etiopik, great grandson of Noah, and Axum (Aksum) was founded
by Etiopik's son, Aksumai.
Thus was established the Solomonic dynasty, which tradition
identifies with various lines amalgamated into the dynasty that ruled
until 1974. It is believed that Menelik visited his father in Jerusalem
for three years as a young adult, learning the Mosaic law, and returned
to Ethiopia with the Ark of the Covenant. |
