The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-10-14
SOLOMON AND SHEBA'S SON?
Abyssinia's Royal Line Has a Won
drous Pedigree.

The strong probability that Menelek
| Emperor of Abyssinia, viii visit Jeru-
salem i'm 1900 raises anew the fascina-
ting problem OF the real or mythical de-
scent of the Abyssinian royal house
from Maqueda, Queen OF sheba, and
Solomon, the mighty Jewish potentate.
| The Abyssinians firmly believe and
steadily adhere TO both legends, If leg
ends they he, which most churchmen
| maintain is the case. With all due re-
spect TO clerical judgment, however,
the matter seems To be enveloped I'm
| obscurity, for It cannot be said that
the arguments against the Abyssihian
theory possesses anything approaching
to the finallty which their advocates
would have us understand.
AT the end of the fifteenth century
Portuguese adventures on the West
Coast OF Africa heard rumors OF pow
erful Christian ruler I'm the far Interior.
To Pedro de Covilhana belongs the
credit of being the first Western Eu-
ropean 10 have set foot on Abyssinian
soil. Unfortunately his records have
been lost. and il is TO Rev. DR.. AL
varez, who followed nearly fifty years
later Q520), that we are indebted for
/
about Abyssinia and it's traditions. The
information he brought back with him
is of unsurpassed interest. That part
OF his published records which deals
with the subject OF this article had best
be given in his own, words!
We stayed i'm Aquaxumo (probably
AXum) for eight months. This town
was the city, chamber and abode OF the
Queen Saba (Sheba is designated as a
province in old Ethiopian maps), who
took the camels laden with gold TO Solo
mon when he was building the temple
of Jerusalem. There is in this town a
very noble church, I'm which we found
a very great chronicle written in the
language of the country, and IL stated
in It's commencement how IL had been
written first i'm Hebrew and afterward
put into Greek, and from Greek into
Chaldee, and from Chaldee into the
Abyssinian tongue. in which II now is,
and il begins thus: How the Queen
Saba, hearing related the great and
rich works which Solomon had begun
in Jerusalem. she determined to go and
see them, and she loaded certain camels
with gold TO give for these works, and
on arriving near the city, and being
about 10 cross lake which they passed
by some bridge. she dismounted and
worshipped the beams. and said tmark
the alleged prophecy uttered 931 II. c.:
the timber on which the Saviour of the
world has TO hang" and she made a
circuit of the lake, and went to see
Solomon, and induced him to withdraw
those beams from there: and she came
to the works and offered her gifts, and
said: 'These works are not such as
they told me I'm richness and beauty.
because their beauty and richness have
no equal, so that they are greater than
what was related to me. so much so
that the tongues of men cannot tell
their nobility and richness and much !
grieve for the small gift which
brought. / will repair TO my country
and lordships, and / will send whatever
abounds. for the works, of gold and
blackwood 10 inlay"
The Notwithstanding to Alvarez
goes on to assert that King Solomon
was smitton with the beauty of his
fair visitor. She resided some time i'm
Jerusalem. and bore Solomon son,
called yariously Melimelek Ludolf),
Menilek Ola Chatre), etc. The young
man was brought up in the Jewish
court where he remained until he was
II, when, having rendered himself OBJ
poxious to the people-"he outraged the
people of Israel and all Judea"-a dep
utation waited upon Solomon and
begged the king TO send him back to
the mother, for we are not able 10 |
maintain him." |
Solomon, the chronicle tells us. "sent |
him very honorably, giving him the |
officers that are usual in IA kings |
and he made the journey to |
the country Of his mother. where he |
was a very great ruler. He ruled" |
says the chronicle, from sea to sea.
and had so ships I'm the Indian sea" |
The discoveries of Alvarez We're widely 1
reproduced i'm Europe, where they must |
have created considerable sensation
London Globe.