Kebra Nagast

The Kebra Nagast (var. Kebra Negast, Ge'ez ክብረ ነገሥት, kəbrä nägäśt), or The Glory of the Kings, is a 14th-century account written in Ge'ez written by Is'haq Neburä -Id of Axum. 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.

It 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 Menelik I (Menyelek). It also discusses the conversion of the 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."

The Old Testament kingly pattern was dogmatically adopted in the Kebra Nagast, including Samuel's call to end the weaknesses of the twelve Judges (one for each of the tribes of Israel), and his establishment of one king with the people's consent, to unify the state against enemy attack. By virtue of his personal strength, David made the throne more stable and unconditional, while Solomon brought about the zenith of virtue, wisdom and power; all held in the monarchy. Thus, during the Era of the Judges legitimate descent from Solomon and Sheba remained the crucial test of eligibility for imperial office. All Ethiopians, including the Kafitcho who claimed that their kings were descended from Israel would rally round such a respected sovereign. This unification of virtues, drawn from the Bible, the Nicean Council decrees, and the Code of Justinian, also included some Byzantine concepts.

The Kebra Nagast is divided into 117 chapters, and is clearly a composite work; Ullendorff describes its narrative "a gigantic conflation of legendary cycles." The document is presented in the form of a debate by the 318 "orthodox fathers" of the First Council of Nicaea. These fathers pose the question, "Of what doth the Glory of Kings consist?" One Gregory answers with a speech (chapters 3-17) which ends with the statement that a copy of the Glory of God was made by Moses and kept in the Ark of the Covenant. After this, the archbishop Domitius reads from a book he had found in the church of "Sophia" (possibly Hagia Sophia), which introduces what Hubbard calls "the centerpiece" of this work, the story of Makeda (better known as the Queen of Sheba), King Solomon, Menelik I, and how the Ark came to Ethiopia (chapters 19-94).

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