stelae axum s.butler3_1
One of the Stelae of Axum. Axum was once a part of one of the most powerful Kingdoms in the world, but yet almost nobody has heard of it. Its influence, built on the incense trade routes, was far reaching and it was hugely wealthy. The most famous ruler of this period was the Queen of Sheba who is said to have borne a son to King Solomon of Jerusalem. That son, Menelik I, was the first in the line of Ethiopian emperors that is supposed to have stretched unbroken to 1974 and the fall of Haile Selassie. It’s also said that when Menelik visited his father in Jerusalem that he stole the Ark of the Covenant (which had long protected the Jews) and brought it to Ethiopia. It’s a nice story, but unfortunately it isn’t true (and Ethiopians will argue forever with you over this!). The story of Sheba’s meeting with Solomon doesn’t get it’s first mention until the writing of the Kebra Negast (the ‘Glory of Kings’ and Ethiopia’s national epic) in the 13th century and it only takes a short look at the history of Ethiopia to see that the line was broken many times since then. As for Sheba, well again, nobody actually knows if she even existed as no evidence has ever come to life indicating her existence. And Axum being the centre of a powerful Kingdom? Well again, this depends on who you ask. Yemenis claim that Sheba came from Marib and that Marib ruled Axum (and recent evidence suggests this is more likely) though the truth is probably more that they were equal partners in a huge trading empire and were the capitals of their respective regions of the same Kingdom. And the story of the Ark? Again it isn’t mentioned in Ethiopian texts until the Middle Ages which seems quite strange, but that’s not to say that it’s not in the small chapel in Axum. And anyway, if the people believe it’s there then that makes it real.
stelae axum s.butler3_1
One of the Stelae of Axum. Axum was once a part of one of the most powerful Kingdoms in the world, but yet almost nobody has heard of it. Its influence, built on the incense trade routes, was far reaching and it was hugely wealthy. The most famous ruler of this period was the Queen of Sheba who is said to have borne a son to King Solomon of Jerusalem. That son, Menelik I, was the first in the line of Ethiopian emperors that is supposed to have stretched unbroken to 1974 and the fall of Haile Selassie. It’s also said that when Menelik visited his father in Jerusalem that he stole the Ark of the Covenant (which had long protected the Jews) and brought it to Ethiopia. It’s a nice story, but unfortunately it isn’t true (and Ethiopians will argue forever with you over this!). The story of Sheba’s meeting with Solomon doesn’t get it’s first mention until the writing of the Kebra Negast (the ‘Glory of Kings’ and Ethiopia’s national epic) in the 13th century and it only takes a short look at the history of Ethiopia to see that the line was broken many times since then. As for Sheba, well again, nobody actually knows if she even existed as no evidence has ever come to life indicating her existence. And Axum being the centre of a powerful Kingdom? Well again, this depends on who you ask. Yemenis claim that Sheba came from Marib and that Marib ruled Axum (and recent evidence suggests this is more likely) though the truth is probably more that they were equal partners in a huge trading empire and were the capitals of their respective regions of the same Kingdom. And the story of the Ark? Again it isn’t mentioned in Ethiopian texts until the Middle Ages which seems quite strange, but that’s not to say that it’s not in the small chapel in Axum. And anyway, if the people believe it’s there then that makes it real.