Axum

Axum was the capital of a powerful ancient kingdom that adopted Christianity in the fourth century. The Kebra Nagast establishes Ethiopia as a second Zion, chosen by God to receive the Ark from Solomon's son Menelik I.

The Kingdom of Axum rose in the first century CE to become one of the great powers of the ancient world—a trading empire connecting Africa, Arabia, and the Mediterranean. In the fourth century, the court converted to Christianity through Frumentius, a Syrian shipwreck survivor who became the first bishop. King Ezana made Christianity official and built the first Church of St. Mary of Zion. But Ethiopian tradition reaches further back: according to the Kebra Nagast, the Queen of Sheba traveled from Ethiopia to meet King Solomon, was impressed by his wisdom, and conceived his son Menelik. When Menelik visited his father in Jerusalem, his companions took the Ark of the Covenant. God revealed to Solomon in a dream that he should not pursue it—the Ark's departure was divine will. Ethiopia had become the new Zion. This tradition, compiled in the fourteenth century but drawing on older sources, legitimized the Solomonic dynasty that ruled Ethiopia until Haile Selassie's fall in 1974. Whether historical fact or theological claim, the narrative shapes Ethiopian identity.