Menelik I, King of Ethiopia

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Menelik I (originally named Ebna la-Hakim, "Son of the Wise"), first Jewish Emperor of Ethiopia, is traditionally believed to be the son of King Solomon of ancient Israel and Makeda, Queen of Sheba and ruled around 950 BC, according to traditional sources. Tradition credits him with bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia, following a visit to Jerusalem to meet his father upon reaching adulthood.

According to the Kebra Nagast, King Solomon had intended on sending one son of each of his nobles and one son each of each temple priest with Menelik upon his return to his mother's kingdom. He is supposed to have had a replica made of the Ark for them to take with them, but the son of Zadok the High Priest secretly switched the replica with the real Ark, and brought it into Ethiopia where it is said to remain to this day in the ancient town of Axum.

Upon the death of Queen Makeda, Menelik assumed the throne with the new title of Emperor and King of Kings of Ethiopia. According to legend, he founded the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia that ruled Ethiopia with few interruptions for close to three thousand years and 225 generations later ended with the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. However, the medieval incarnation of the Solomonic dynasty didn't come into power until 1270, claiming descent from the Kings of Aksûm, while their predecessors, the Zagwe dynasty, were said to not be of "the house of Israel" (i.e. of Solomon and Menelik). The claims of descent of the Aksûmite Kings preceding the Zagwe dynasty are uncertain, though early pagan inscription denote the King as "son of the unconquerable [god] Mahrem" (translated in Greek as Ares), while medieval Ethiopian sources ascribe them a similar claim of descent. This is consistent with the earliest records that testify that one half of Ethiopians followed the laws of Moses, while the other half worshipped pagan gods.

1st King of Ethiopia, from whom the Ethiopian Royal Family claims descent

Menelik I es, según el Kebra Nagast, el hijo de Salomón y la Reina de Saba. Según leyendas etíopes nació en la población de Hamasien en Eritrea. Su madre cuando volvió de Israel a Etiopía estaba en estado de Menelik I. Se dice de él que llevó el Arca de la Alianza a Etiopía cuando hizo un viaje a Israel para conocer a su padre. Según se cuenta, Salomón ofreció a Menelik de ser su sucesor y este se negó. A cambio, pidió regresar con gente de su corte para llevar a su tierra intelectuales y también sacerdotes, con lo que pretende alcanzar los logros de Salomón en su país. Salomón le hizo una copia del Arca de la Alianza también, para que pudiera llevársela a Etiopía. Menelik la substituyó por la real y se llevó la verdadera Arca a la capital, Axum, donde algunos cuentan que aún permanece, concretamente en la Iglesia de Santa María de Sión.

Al volver su madre lo nombró rey, convirtiéndose de esta forma en Menelik I, que proclamó al pueblo etíope "pueblo elegido de Dios".

The area under the direct rule of the Ethiopian Kings at one time included the highlands of modern Eritrea and the whole of Tigrai (note similarity to Tigris), extending southwards to Waag, Lasta and Damot in the Wallo province (note similarity to Waelso Province near the Black Sea) and thence westwards towards Lake Tana (Note similarity to Tanais on the sea of Azov). These name similarities are usually the result of migrations whereby migrating people give names to new features which are familiar to them. These names are likely Thebaid in origin.

Homer writes that there are two branches of the Kushite kingdom in the time period of 800 BC. One in Ethiopia with another in Asia. The Kushites peopled Arabia, India, Persia, and Palestine until they were overthrown by Aryans (Caucasians speaking Indo-European languages) and Semites.

According to some Hebrew and Ethiopian legends Menelik was accompanied homeward as a young man by several companions among whom were a son of Tzeduk (Zadok the Priest), and either Smendes III or his son. These companions were to guard the ark of the covenant (or in some legends, a copy of the ark). It is interesting to note that in the Kings lists of Dilmunat the first queen (wife of Melek) was named ʿArky(t)n. The legends of the Ark of the Covenant which Malik (Menelek) I took with him on his return may not have been the Ark of the Covenant itself but rather the daughter or granddaughter of Tzeduk the Priest who had become the wife of Melek I of Dilmunat under the covenant of Yehawe. Upon claiming the throne of Dilmunat, Melek established and named a new worship center Yeha, in honor of the new God and covenant brought with him from Judah.