The Story Of The First Son Of King Solomon and Queen Sheba Who Became First Emperor of Ethiopia

The Bible and history go hand in hand to some extent. To some, the book was compiled by those who were gifted in the art of storytelling, while to others, the stories within it aren’t at all a fairytale, but a description of the current world by those who lived in the moment. You may belong to these sets of people but one thing remains obvious, some parts of the Bible are historically accurate and have been proven to hold weight in tracing historical events. One of the many stories that have been said to be quite true and of historical value is that of the Biblical King Solomon and one of his many wives called Queen Sheba. These two were linked by love and by politics and their relationship brought about an alliance between great nations. 

However, their relationship wasn’t just purely political at the onset, it became even more political when one considers the fact that their son, perhaps the first and only son, became the first emperor of the Ethiopian Kingdom and some parts of Africa. This young lad who was as a result of the most important alliance in ancient biblical history was called Menelik I. 

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Menelik I or Menilek as he is sometimes referred to was the very first emperor Ethiopian had. In fact, he was instrumental in reuniting a better part of Africa into nations and he did this with his power as emperor of the then most powerful African nation. According to Kenra Nagast, a record that is now at least 4,000 years old, Emperor, Menelik was inaugurated as emperor of Ethiopia during the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia. 

As you may have noticed, the title, Solomonic Dynasty affirms that there was a time in history when the king of Israel, Solomon had a significant reach in Ethiopia. This perhaps makes sense that his son, Menelik would be the first emperor of the kingdom.

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What do we know about Menelik?

Well, according to the medieval Ethiopian book of the Kebra Nagast which was translated to Geéz in 1312 CE, Menelik was referred to as Ibn Al-Hakim, “son of the wise”. This book indirectly refers to King Solomon as the father of Menelik. Of course, Solomon’s wisdom was greatly revered and he was a wealthy and powerful king. But above all, he was wise. 

According to the book, Menelik was conceived after King Solomon seduced or shall I say, Convinced his visiting mother, Queen Sheba to sleep with him. After leaving for Ethiopia, the Queen realized she was pregnant and decided to raise her son, as a Jew in Ethiopia, with the knowledge of the Jewish heritage. Though he would meet his father at intervals the journey to meet with his father in Jerusalem officially begun when he was in his twenties. 

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As a father would do, Solomon often begged for Menelik to stay and rule over Israel but it became clear that Menelik was more interested in ruling and restoring peace and wealth to Ethiopia. In a bid to protect him and make things a lot easier for him, Solomon sent several Israelites with Menelik, including soldiers, to go with him. Though they were sad that this instruction by the King was an exile for them from the land of their fathers, they simply could not do much. 

It is also said that King Solomon gave the ark of the covenant to his son Menelik who became its custodian. This fueled the rumor and assessments that the missing ark of the covenant could be in this area. Menelik Became King of Ethiopia after the death of his mother. One who built a great system and list of structures. 

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