14th-century text about the Solomonic dynasty in Ethiopia
Illustrations to the Kebra Nagast, 1920s
The Kebra Nagast, var. Kebra Negast (Ge'ez: ክብረ ነገሥት, kəbrä nägäśt), or The Glory of the Kings, is a 14th-century[1] national epic of Ethiopia, written in Ge'ez by Nebure Id Ishaq of Aksum. The text, in its existing form, is at least 700 years old and is considered by many Ethiopian Christians to be a historically reliable work.[2] It is considered to hold the genealogy of the Solomonic dynasty, which followed the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The text contains an account of how the Queen of Sheba (Queen Makeda of Ethiopia) met King Solomon and about how the Ark of the Covenant came to Ethiopia with their son Menelik I (Menyelek). It also discusses the conversion of Ethiopians from the worship of the Sun, Moon, and stars to that of the "Lord God of Israel". As the Ethiopianist Edward Ullendorff explained in the 1967 Schweich Lectures, "The Kebra Nagast is not merely a literary work, but it is the repository of Ethiopian national and religious feelings".[3]
It has been described as “an Abyssinian politico-religious epic” and "medieval-era mythology". Nadia Nurhussein wrote that "The Kebra Nagast gave textual authority to a then newly articulated mythology of Abyssinia’s long imperial history, legitimizing a “Solomonic” dynasty' that claimed to reach back three thousand years earlier to the union of King Solomon and the supposedly Ethiopian Queen of Sheba." It enabled the overthrow of the Zagwe Dynasty.[4]
^Hubbard 1956, p. 352.
^Foot & Robinson 2012.
^Ullendorff 1968, p. 75.
^Nurhussein, Nadia (7 June 2022). Black Land: Imperial Ethiopianism and African America. Princeton University Press. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-0-691-23462-5. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
The KebraNagast, var. Kebra Negast (Ge'ez: ክብረ ነገሥት, kəbrä nägäśt), or The Glory of the Kings, is a 14th-century national epic of Ethiopia, written in...
Mənilək) was the legendary first Emperor of Ethiopia. According to KebraNagast, a 14th-century national epic, in the 10th century BC he is said to have...
Menelik I; its definitive and best-known formulation is set forth in the KebraNagast. However, there is no historical evidence supporting the legends or Yekuno...
[Egypt], from thy going up towards Arthur [Assyria]." The 14th century KebraNagast says "And therefore the children of Ishmael became kings over Tereb,...
Ethiopia's history as recorded and elaborated in a 13th-century treatise, the KebraNagast, asserts descent from a retinue of Israelites who returned with Makeda...
the KebraNagast as a "pastiche of legends" created to legitimize Yekuno Amlak's seizure of power. David Northrup notes that the KebraNagast's imaginative...
of Solomon. The most extensive version of the legend appears in the KebraNagast (Glory of the Kings), the Ethiopian national saga, translated from Arabic...
constitutions, the concepts of Ethiopian government had been codified in the KebraNagast (which presented the concept that the legitimacy of the Emperor of Ethiopia...
from South Arabia. In the medieval Ethiopian cultural work called the KebraNagast, Sheba was located in Ethiopia. Some scholars therefore point to a region...
(سُلَيْمَان ٱلْحَكِيْم, "Sulaiman the Wise"). This story is adapted in the KebraNagast, but as a dispute adjudicated by a son of Sulaiman. The Quran narrates...
popular of these include Saint Mary, Saint George and Saint Michael. The KebraNagast is often said to have been composed to legitimise the Solomonic dynasty...
North Arabian 𐪌𐪔𐪆 (ngś), meaning "the ruler." Emperor of Ethiopia KebraNagast Haile Selassie, Western Education, and Political Revolution in Ethiopia...
occasionally discovered bound within manuscript books alongside the KebraNagast and other works. This compilation provides numerous insights into the...
to the KebraNagast) by saying it was descended from Moses and his Ethiopian wife.[citation needed] Most of the Beta Israel consider the Kebra Negast...
king as an early example of Judaic influence in Ethiopian culture. The KebraNagast and Ethiopian historical tradition states that Kaleb had two sons, Israel...
cited the Fetha Negest as an inspiration to the codification commission. KebraNagast Tegegne, Habtamu (2017). "The Edict of King Gälawdéwos Against the IllegalSlave...
survival despite its distance from its patriarch in Alexandria. The KebraNagast is considered Holy Scripture in Ethiopia and is available in print.[1]...
of the Covenant and became leader of the Zar cult. According to the KebraNagast Gebre Meskel was the youngest son of Kaleb and succeeded him to the throne...
Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy. Many Rastas also treat the KebraNagast, a 14th-century Ethiopian text, as a source through which to interpret...
their goal is to repatriate to Ethiopia, or to Zion. The Ge'ez-language KebraNagast serves as inspiration for the idea that the "Glory of Zion" transferred...
Ethiopian Empire Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles Solomonic dynasty KebraNagast Rubenson, Sven (1965). "The Lion of the Tribe of Judah Christian Symbol...
Amlak, whose successors came to be known as the Solomonic dynasty. The KebraNagast, a 14th-century national epic, established the dynasty's claim of direct...
: 552–553 : 18 Based on Jewish biblical tradition and Ethiopian legend via KebraNagast, Rastas believe that Israel's King Solomon, together with Ethiopian Queen...
for the ancient Nubians. For example, Makeda, Queen of Sheba, in the KebraNagast, is also recognized as Candace or "Queen Mother". A legend in the Alexander...
"Shewa" which means 'rescue' or 'save'. This claim is supported by the KebraNagast, a book written under one of the descendants of Yekuno Amlak, which mentions...
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