Program 2 in Gus Casely-Hayford’s survey of African history for the BBC centers on Ethiopia, and the claim that the Ethiopian emperors can trace direct descent to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (“Sheba” being the ancient kingdom of Saba in what is now Yemen).
Both Wikipedia and Britannica Online say that modern scholars now discount the claim that the Aksumite Empire was founded by Sabaens (specifically that Emperor Menelik I was the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba). It is more ancient than that, though carvings in the Sabean language have been found in Aksum and elsewhere in Ethiopia dating back to around 700 BC. Casely-Hayford manages to ignore this as it rather dents his story. However, he does a decent job of demonstrating a continuous cultural history from Aksumite times to the present day.
Of particular interest are the incredible rock churches of Lalibela, which are every bit as impressive, if not quite as elegant, as Petra. The ancient Ethiopians excavated huge holes in their mountains, leaving the shells of the churches behind.
Also very impressive is the 17th Century castle of Emperor Fasiladas in the city of Gondar.
And yes, the name of that city is sometimes spelled “Gondor”.
A nice coincidence of names, but no more than that. JRRT was explaining as long ago as 1971 that, as far he recalled, he’d never heard of the Ethiopian city when he named his Numenorean kingdom.
Thanks, I figured you would know.
Our guide in Aksum claimed not only that Emperor Menelik I was the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, but also that the ancient city of Aksum was a hundred kilometers square, that every Biblical landmark from Israel to Assyria was named after an Ethiopian original, that there was a tunnel from Aksum under the Red Sea to Yemen, and that the Ten Commandments were originally given to Noah on diamond tablets in an unknown language. A surprisingly entertaining tour, all things considered.
(Pics of the trip on Flickr, if you’re interested.)
The main castle was built in the late 1630s and early 1640s on the orders of Fasilidas. The Emperor, who was greatly interested in architecture – St Marys in Axum was another of his works – was also responsible for seven churches, a number of bridges, and a three-story stone pavilion next to a large, sunken bathing place, rectangular in shape, which is still filled during the Timkat season with water from the nearby Qaha river.