Menelik the First is significant in African history, particularly Ethiopian history, renowned for bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia.
Across the Horn of Africa, the story of Menelik I is not only political or spiritual; it is also tied to Ethiopia’s deep agricultural heritage and the food cultures that sustained one of Africa’s oldest civilizations. The Ethiopian highlands, home to teff, ancient barley, wild coffee forests, and honey-based beverages, formed the landscape in which these sacred narratives lived. The legend of Menelik I is inseparable from the cultural memory that also preserved Ethiopia’s food traditions, ritual feasts, and systems of hospitality.
Menelik I is a legendary figure in Ethiopian tradition, believed to be the son of King Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba. This lineage reflects older Afro-Arabian trade networks built on incense, spices, honey wine, and grain — the same networks that shaped Ethiopia’s culinary history. From the port of Adulis to the terraced highlands of Tigray, food and faith moved together along these ancient routes.
According to tradition, Menelik I is renowned for bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia. The Ark — described as containing the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments — became part of Ethiopia’s identity not only as a spiritual nation but also as a land where sacred ritual and communal feasting intertwined. Ethiopian Orthodox traditions continue to express this heritage through fasting cuisine, coffee ceremonies, and offerings shared during Timket and other holy days.
The Ark of the Covenant, described in the Old Testament as a chest made of acacia wood and covered in gold, reflects materials familiar across Africa. Acacia groves in the Ethiopian highlands provided wood for tools, granaries, and ceremonial objects. Ethiopian goldwork and metal artistry — often integrated into food vessels, bread stamps, and liturgical utensils — mirror the craftsmanship connected to the Ark’s imagery.
The Kebra Nagast (“Glory of the Kings”), the sacred text of Ethiopian Christianity, records the narrative of Menelik’s journey to Jerusalem and his return with the Ark. This story is not only political theology; it is a cultural archive that documents Ethiopia’s identity as a land of abundance, hospitality, and ritual practice. The same text also describes the feasts served to royal guests, the honey wine offered in diplomacy, and the grain-based foods that symbolized peace and welcome.
Kebra Nagast Story of Menelik I and the Ark of the Covenant
In the traditional account, the Queen of Sheba traveled to Jerusalem after hearing of King Solomon’s wisdom. Historical trade evidence supports this movement: spices, aromatics, and luxury foods moved freely between the Red Sea kingdoms, linking Ethiopia’s culinary world with the Levant. Diplomatic visits often included exchanges of food — roasted grain, dates, honey, oils, and ceremonial breads.
The Queen of Sheba and Solomon’s union symbolizes more than royal lineage; it represents the merging of two agricultural systems. Ethiopia’s highland teff, barley, and ensete traditions met the wheat, olive, and date-based foodways of the Near East. Their son, Menelik, is therefore remembered as a bridge between two landscapes of both faith and food.
As an adult, Menelik traveled to Jerusalem to meet Solomon. Ethiopian tradition holds that he studied there for several years. Texts from this period describe communal meals, shared offerings, and ritual dining — practices mirrored in Ethiopian Orthodox fasting and feasting cycles that survive today.
When Menelik prepared to return home, Ethiopian priests devised a plan to take the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia. In the narrative, the Ark travels with a replica, symbolizing continuity and preservation — themes reflected in Ethiopian food culture, where original seeds, heirloom grains, and fermentation techniques are safeguarded across generations.
After a long journey, Menelik and his companions brought the Ark to Axum, a city already known for its advanced agriculture and trade networks. Axumite inscriptions describe terraced farming, irrigation canals, and grain storage — showing that Ethiopia was a land capable of sustaining both a spiritual relic and a thriving food system. The Ark’s arrival and its placement in a sanctuary reinforced Ethiopia as a sacred, sovereign, and food-secure kingdom.
For centuries, the story of Menelik and the Ark has been part of Ethiopia’s cultural memory. It expresses a worldview in which faith, land, and sustenance are inseparable — where spirituality is supported by agriculture, where ceremony includes the sharing of food, and where heritage is preserved through both scripture and daily nourishment.
