||  THE HOLY LAND EPISODE  ||

Located in northern Ethiopia, Aksum reached its height between the 1^st and 10^th centuries, recalled in later centuries as a golden age. This was a kingdom of great wealth and sophistication, controlling the caravan routes from the hinterland of Africa, and the ancient Greek geographers describe its trade in ivory and slaves. Its kings minted a gold coinage when almost no one else in the world was rich enough to afford it or sophisticated enough to require it.

Aksum's mythical past has been preserved in the famous epic known as The Glory of Kings. This describes the Queen of Sheba travelling from Ethiopia to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, in the hope of learning something of his famous wisdom. The king is fascinated by her beauty and her intelligence, and the son who is born from their union becomes the founder of the Ethiopian dynasty. When he travels to Jerusalem himself to be anointed by his father, the Ark of the Covenant, the chest containing the tablets of stone inscribed with the Ten Commandments, accompanies him to Ethiopia, where it will remain until the End of Time and the Last Judgement. According to Ethiopian tradition, the Ark of the Covenant remains at Aksum today, under close guard of a priest.

By Roderick Grierson

||  THE HOLY LAND MAIN  ||

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