Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon of Israel
Although most of Black history is suppressed, distorted or ignored by an ungrateful modern world, some African traditions are so persistent that all of the power and deception of the Western academic establishment have failed to stamp them out.
One such story is that of Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon of Israel.
Black women of antiquity were legendary for their beauty, power and lover affairs.
Especially great were the Queens of Ethiopia; Queen of Sheba (960 B.C.), Candace of Meroe and her defeat of Alexander the Great (332 B.C.), Amanirenas, Amanishakhete, Nawidemak, Amanitore (Acts 8:26-40), Shanakdakh, and Malegereabar.
Ethiopia was also known as Nubia, Kush, Aksum, Abyssinia and Sheba.
One thousand years before Christ, Ethiopia was ruled by a line of virgin queens.
The one whose story has survived into our time was known as Makeda, "the Queen of Sheba."
Her remarkable tradition was recorded in the Kebra Nagast, or the Book of the Glory of the Kings [of Ethiopia], has been held in the highest esteem and honour throughout the length and breadth of Abyssinia for a thousand years at least, and even to-day it is believed by every educated man in that country to contain the true history of the origin of the Solomonic line of kings in Ethiopia, and is regarded as the final authority on the history of the conversion of the Ethiopians from the worship of the sun, moon, and stars to that of the Lord God of Israel.
The Bible tells us that, during his reign, King Solomon of Israel decided to build a magnificent temple.
To announce this endeavor, the king sent forth messengers to various foreign countries to invite merchants from abroad to come to Jerusalem with their caravans so that they might engage in trade there.
At this time, Ethiopia was second only to Egypt in power and fame.
Hence, King Solomon was enthralled by Ethiopia's beautiful people, rich history, deep spiritual tradition and wealth.
He was especially interested in engaging in commerce with one of Queen Makeda's subjects, an important merchant by the name of Tamrin.
Solomon sent for Tamrin who "packed up stores of valuables including ebony, sapphires and red gold, which he took to Jerusalem to sell to the king."
It turns out that Tamrin's visit was momentous.
Although accustomed to the grandeur and luxury of Egypt and Ethiopia, Tamrin was still impressed by King Solomon and his young nation.
During a prolonged stay in Israel, Tamrin observed the magnificent buildings and was intrigued by the Jewish people and their culture, these were the ancient Israelites not the Khazar's that exist today!
But above all else, he was deeply moved by Solomon's wisdom and compassion for his subjects.
Upon returning to his country, Tamrin poured forth elaborate details about his trip to Queen Makeda.
She was so impressed by the exciting story that the great queen decided to visit King Solomon herself.
Of all the stories of the Queen of Sheba, those of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa are those that probably retain the most resonance today with the people who tell them.
The stories are immortalised in the Ethiopian holy book - the Kebra Nagast - where we find accounts of the queen's hairy hoof, her trip to Solomon and her seduction.
But these tales go further.
Here, the queen returns to her capital, Aksum, in northern Ethiopia, and months later gives birth to Solomon's son, who is named Menelik, meaning 'Son of the Wise'.
The story goes that years later Menelik travelled to Jerusalem to see his father, who greeted him with joy and invited him to remain there to rule after his death.
But Menelik refused and decided to return home.
Under cover of darkness he left the city - taking with him its most precious relic, the Ark of the Covenant.
It is said he took it back to Aksum, where it still resides today, in a specially built treasury in the courtyard of St Mary's Church.
The importance of the queen, the Ark of the Covenant and the Kebra Nagast in Ethiopian history cannot be overstated.
Through their reading of the Kebra Nagast, Ethiopians see their country as God's chosen country, the final resting place that he chose for the Ark - and Sheba and her son were the means by which it came there.
Thus, Sheba is the mother of their nation, and the kings of the land have divine right to rule because they are directly descended from her.
Emperor Haile Selassie even had that fact enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution of 1955.