Existing comment:
Illustrious.
illustrious
This queen's fame stands the test of time.
According to the Kebra Nagast (The Glory of the Kings), a 14th-century recounting in Ge'ez of the Ethiopian royal line, Queen Makeda, ruler of the realm, traveled to Jerusalem in the 10th century B.C.E. to witness the fabled wisdom of King Solomon. While there, she bore a son by Solomon.
As a young adult, her son Menelik returned to Jerusalem to meet his father. Upon coming home, Menelik founded Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty (through which descent was traced until Emperor Haile Selassie's abdication in 1974) and is credited with bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia.
The importance of Queen Makeda to Ethiopia's history may be inversely proportional to the historically verifiable facts known about her -- making her, at least, a true legend in every sense of the word. |