The QUEST for the ARK OF THE COVENANT As this book was going to press the Publishers received the sad news of the death of the author, Stuart Munro- Hay. It is their hope and expectation that this book will serve as a fitting tribute to his lifelong dedication to the study of Ethiopia and its people. The QUEST for the ARK OF THE COVENANT THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE TABLETS OF MOSES STUART MUNRO-HAY Published in 2005 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Website: http://www.ibtauris.com In the United States and Canada distributed by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © Dr Stuart Munro-Hay, 2005 The right of Stuart Munro-Hay to be identified as the author of this work has been assert- ed by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN 1-85043-668-1 EAN 978-185043-668-3 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress catalog card: available Typeset in Ehrhardt by Dexter Haven Associates Ltd, London Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin Contents Preface and Acknowledgements . ix INTRODUCTION. 1 The Holy Relic at Aksum . 1 ‘A Ridiculous Fable’?. 4 Unravelling the Web . 8 1 HISTORICAL OUTLINE . 11 2 THE GREAT MYTH: SOLOMON AND SHEBA . 16 The Legend of the Heavenly Zion. 16 Makeda, Queen of Sheba. 20 The ‘Glory of Kings’ . 22 3 THE TABOT AND THE ARK: THE MYSTERIOUS ALTARS OF ETHIOPIA . 27 Tabotat, Ark and Tablets . 27 Tabot: Confused Definitions . 31 Linked Identities. 35 ‘It is here…’ . 37 A Chapel and its Guardian . 42 Zion at Aksum. 47 Tabot and Grail . 49 4 THE ARK AND THE TABLETS: FROM KING SOLOMON TO QUEEN GUDIT . 52 Manuscript Treasures . 52 A Search Begins . 54 Nine Saints . 56 War in Himyar . 59 Dating the Kebra Nagast . 63 After Kaleb . 66 Queen Gudit. 68 Coptic Memories . 70 Khazar Interlude. 72 The Ark and the Zagwé Kings. 74 The Usurpers . 75 The Ark of Lalibela. 76 A Colophon . 80 Tabot of Seyon. 82 Heirs of Solomon . 83 The nebura’ed Yeshaq . 84 King Yeshaq, Lion of David . 88 Coronation at Aksum. 89 Quest for a Legend . 95 Some Literary Fragments . 95 European Rumours . 97 Three Books . 99 The Book of Aksum . 100 Ho Preste João das Indias . 104 The Conquest of Abyssinia . 105 Tales of Solomon and Sheba . 107 Francisco Alvares. 108 The Golden Legend. 110 Saga Za-Ab . 112 João de Barros . 114 Nicolao Godinho. 115 5 THE ARK OF ZION: THE COMING OF THE ARK . 116 The Ark of the Covenant at Aksum . 116 Péro Pais . 117 Manoel de Almeida . 118 Manoel Barradas . 120 Afonso Mendes and Balthasar Telles . 122 The Flight of the Ark . 123 Gadla Marqorewos . 126 An Arabic Tale. 128 Exotic Embroideries . 131 Emperor Iyasu I and the Ark . 135 Charles-Jacques Poncet . 139 Abba Gorgoreyos and Job Ludolf . 139 Emperor Iyasu II and Remedius Prutky . 140 Foreign Commentaries, 1764–1881 . 141 An Armenian Visitor . ..