The first war of the Ethiopia

by E.A. Wallis Budge, [1932]

They renewed the kingdom of DAVID

AZARIAH said, “Bring hither the jubilee trumpets, and let us go to ZION, and there we will make new the kingdom of our lord DAVID.” And he took the oil of sovereignty and filled the horn [therewith], and he anointed DAVID with the unguent, that is to say, with the oil of sovereignty. And they blew horns and pipes and trumpets, and beat drums, and sounded all kinds of musical instruments, and there were singing and dancing and games, and [displays] with horses and shield [-men], and all the men and women of the people of the country of Ethiopia were present, small and great, and the little Blacks, six thousand in number, and virgin women whom AZARIAH had chosen for the women of ZION by the law, whom David the King had destined for [the service of] the table and banquets in the royal fortress when he should go up thereto [clad in] raiment of fine gold. And in this wise was renewed the kingdom of DAVID, the son of Solomon the king of Israel, in the capital city, in Mount MÂKĔDÂ, in the House of ZION, when the Law was established for the first time by the King of Ethiopia.

Then when he had completed the establishing Law, they made, according to what they had seen in JERUSALEM, the Law in the House of ZION for the nobles of the kingdom, and for those who were inside, and for those that were outside, and for the people, and for the islands, and for the cities, and for the provinces; and for all the inhabitants and for all their tribal kinsfolk they made ordinances in the same manner. And thus the eastern boundary of the kingdom of the King of ETHIOPIA is the beginning of the city of GÂZ in the land of JUDAH, that is, JERUSALEM; and its boundary is the Lake of JERICHO, and it passeth on by the coast of its sea to LÊB and SÂBÂ; and its boundary goeth down to BÎSÎS and ’ASNÊT; and its boundary is the Sea of the Blacks and Naked Men, and goeth up Mount KÊBÊRÊNÊYÔN into the Sea of Darkness, that is to say, the place where the sun setteth; and its boundary extendeth to FÊNÊ’ÊL and LASÎFÂLÂ; and its borders are the lands [near] the Garden (i.e., Paradise), where there is food in plenty and abundance of cattle, and [near] FÊNÊḲÊN; and its boundary reacheth as far as ZÂWÊL and passeth on to the Sea of INDIA; and its boundary is as far as the Sea of TARSÎS, and in its remote (?) part lieth the Sea of MEDYÂM, until it cometh to the country of GÂZÂ; and its boundary is the place where [our enumeration] began. And moreover, the dominion of the King of ETHIOPIAbelongeth to him and to his seed forever.

The Men of RÔMÊ destroyed the Faith

After they had waited for three months—now ZION came into the country of Ethiopia at the beginning of the first month in the language of the Hebrews, and in Greek TÂRMÔN and in GĔ’ĔZ (ETHIOPIC) MÎYÂZYÂ, on the sixth (or, seventh) day—they wrote down the Law and the names, and they deposited [the writing] for a memorial for the later days, so that what was right should be done for the pavilion [of ZION] thereby, and so that the glory of the kings of Ethiopia and the glory of the kings of RÔMÊ might be well known. For the kings of Ethiopia and the kings of RÔMÊ were brethren and held the Christian Faith. Now, first of all, they believed in an orthodox manner in the preaching of the Apostles up to [the time of] CONSTANTINE, and ’ĔLÊNΠ(HELENA) the Queen, who brought forth the wood of the Cross, and they (i.e., the kings of RÔMÊ) continued [to believe for] one hundred and thirty years.

Afterward, SATAN, who hath been the enemy of man from of old, rose up and seduced the people of the country of RÔMÊ, and they corrupted the Faith of Christ, and they introduced heresy into the Church of God by the mouth of NESTORIUS. And NESTORIUS, and ARIUS, and YABÂSÔ (?) were those into whose hearts he cast the same jealousy as he had cast into the heart of CAIN to slay his brother ABEL. In like manner did their father the Devil, the enemy of righteousness and the hater of good, cast jealousy, even as David saith, “They speak violence in the heights of heaven, and set their mouths in the heavens, and their tongue waggeth on the earth.” And those same men who know not whence they came, and know not whether they are going, revile their Creator with their tongues, and blaspheme His glory, while He is God, the Word of the Lord. He came down from the throne of His Godhead and put on the body of ADAM, and He is God the Word. And in that body, He was crucified so that He might redeem ADAM in his iniquity, and He went up into the heavens and sat upon the throne of His Godhead in that body, which He had taken. And He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and shall reward every man according to his work, forever and ever. Amen.

We believe this and we adore the Holy Trinity. And those who do not believe thus are excommunicated by the Word of God, the King of heaven and earth, both in this world and in that world which is to come. And we are strong in the Orthodox Faith which the Fathers the Apostles have delivered unto us, the Faith of the Church. And thus ETHIOPIA continued to abide in her Faith until the coming of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The first war of the King of ETHIOPIA

After three months they (i.e., DAVID and his soldiers) rose up to wage war from the city of the Government, with MÂKĔD his mother and ZION his Lady. And the Levites carried the Tabernacle of the Law, together with the things that appertained to their office, and they marched along with great majesty, and as in times of old when God on Mount SINAI made ZION to come down in holiness to MOSES and AARON, even so did AZARIAH and ’ÊLMÎYÂS bear along the Tabernacle of the Law. And the other mighty men of war of Israel marched on the right side of it and on the left, and close to it, and before it and behind it, and although they were beings made of dust they sang psalms and songs of the spirit like the heavenly hosts. And God gave them beautiful voices and marvelous songs, for He was well pleased to be praised by them.

They came from the city of the Government and encamped at MÂYA ’ABAW, and on the following morning they laid waste the district of ZÂW with ḤADĔYÂ, for enmity had existed between them from olden time; and they blotted out the people and slew them with the edge of the sword. And they passed on from that place and encamped at GÊRRÂ, and here also they laid waste the city of vipers that had the faces of men, and the tails of asses attached to their loins.

The Queen returned and encamped in the city of ZION, and they remained therein three months, then their wagons moved on and came to the city of the Government. And in one day they came to the city of SÂBÂ, and they laid waste NÔBÂ, and from there they camped round about SÂBÂ, and they laid it waste as far as the border of Egypt. And the majesty (or, awe) of the King of Ethiopia was so great that the King of MĔDYÂM and the King of EGYPT caused gifts to be brought unto him, and they came into the city of the Government, and from there they encamped in ’AB‛ÂT, and they waged war on the country of India, and the King of INDIA brought a gift and a present (or, tribute), and himself did homage to the King of Ethiopia. He (i.e., DAVID) waged war wheresoever he pleased; no man conquered him, on the contrary, whosoever attacked him was conquered. And as for those who would have played the spy in his camp, in order to hear some story and relate it in their city, they were unable to run by the wagons, for ZIONherself made the strength of the enemy to be exhausted.

But King David, with his soldiers, and the armies of his soldiers, and all those who obeyed his word, ran by the wagons without pain or suffering, and without hunger or thirst, and without sweat or exhaustion, and travelled in one day a distance which [usually] took three months to traverse. And they lacked nothing whatsoever of the things which they asked God through ZION the Tabernacle of the Law of God to give them, for He dwelt with her, and His Angel directed her, and she was His habitation. And as for the king who ministered to His pavilion—if he were traveling on any journey, and wished something to be done, everything that he wished for and thought about in his heart, and indicated with his finger, everything [I say] was performed at his word; and everyone feared him. But he feared no one, for the hand of God was with him, and it protected him by day and by night. And he did His Will, and God worked for him and protected him from all evil forever and ever. Amen.

This I found among the manuscripts of the Church of SOPHIA in CONSTANTINOPLE. And the Archbishops who were there said unto him [DOMITIUS ?], “This is what is written from the days of Solomon the King.” And DOMITIUS of ANTIOCH said, “Yea, that which is written up to the day of the death of SOLOMON is to be accepted, and that which hath been written by other prophets after his death is to be accepted likewise.”

The honorable estate of the King of Ethiopia was universally accepted

Now through the KEBRA NAGAST we know and have learned that of a surety the King of Ethiopia is honorable and that he is the King of ZION, and the firstborn of the seed of Shem, and that the habitation of God is in ZION, and that He there breaketh the might and power of all his enemies and foes. And after him the King of RÔMÊ was the anointed of the Lord because of the wood of the Cross. And as concerning the kingdom of ISRAEL—when the Pearl was born of them, and of the Pearl again was born the Sun of Righteousness, Who hid Himself in her body—now had He not hidden Himself in the body of a man He could not have been seen by mortal eyes—and having put on our body He became like unto us, and He walked about with [men]. And He wrought signs and wonders in their midst. He raised their dead, and He healed their sick folk, and He made the eyes of their blind to see, and He opened the ears of their deaf folk, and He cleansed the lepers, and He satisfied the hungry with food, and He performed many miracles, some of which are written down and some of which are not, even as saith John the Evangelist, the son of ZEBEDEE, “If everything which Jesus did were written down, the whole world would not be able to hold all the writings that would have to be written.”

When the wicked children of ISRAEL saw all this they thought that He was a man, and they were envious of Him because of what they saw and heard, and they crucified Him upon the wood of the Cross, and they killed Him. And He rose from the dead on the third day, and went up into heaven in glory, [and sat] on the throne of the Godhead. And He received from the Father a kingdom incorruptible for ever and ever over the beings of the spirit, and the beings of earth, and over every created being, so that every tongue shall adore His Name, and every knee bow to Him; and He shall judge the living and the dead and reward every man according to his work. So therefore when the JEWS shall see Him they shall be put to shame, and shall be condemned to the fire which is everlasting. But we who believe in the Orthodox Faith shall be upon our throne, and we shall rejoice with our teachers the Apostles, provided that we have walked in the way of Christ and in His commandments. And after the Jews crucified the Saviour of the world, they were scattered abroad, and their kingdom was destroyed, and they were made an end of and rooted out forever and ever.

All the saints who were gathered together said, “Assuredly, in very truth, the King of Ethiopia is more exalted, and more honorable than any other king upon the earth, because of the glory and greatness of the heavenly ZION. And God loveth the people of Ethiopia, for without knowing about His Law, they destroyed their idols, whereas those unto whom the Law of God had been given made idols and worshipped the gods which God hateth. And in the later times when He was born to redeem Adam, He wrought signs and wonders before them, but they believed in Him, neither in His preaching nor in the preaching of His fathers. But the people of Ethiopia believed in one trustworthy disciple, and for this reason, God hath loved exceedingly the people of Ethiopia.”

The Bishops answered and said unto him (GREGORY), “Well hast thou has spoken, and thy word is true, and what thou hast expounded and interpreted to us is clear. Even as Paul saith, ‘Hath not the seed of ABRAHAM exalted the seed of SHEM?’ They are all kings of the earth, but the chosen ones of the Lord are the people of Ethiopia. For there is the habitation of God, the heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of His Law and the Tabernacle of His Covenant, which He hath made into a mercy-seat through [His] mercy for the children of men; for the rains and the waters from the sky, for the planted things (or, vegetation) and the fruits, for the peoples and the countries, for the kings and nobles, for men and beasts, for birds and creeping things.”

GREGORY the Bishop, the worker of wonders, answered and said unto them, “Verily, salvation hath been given unto all of us Christian people, unto those who have believed in our Lady MARY, the likeness of the heavenly ZION. For the Lord dwelt in the womb of the Virgin and was brought forth by her without the carnal union. And the Ten Words (Decalogue) of the Law were written by the Finger of God and made (i.e., placed) in ZION, the Tabernacle of the Law of God. And now, come ye, and we will declare from the Law of MOSES the prophecies of the Prophets our Fathers, the holy men of olden time, and the prophecies concerning Christ our Redeemer, so that the generations of posterity may hear the interpretation (or, explanation) of the story, and we will relate unto them the narrative of the interpretation of the Scriptures. We will begin then with the beginning of the Book, and we will make [you] to understand in the Spirit, as David saith, through the Holy Spirit, ‘In the beginning, the Book was written because of me.’  And one answered and said, “What is the beginning of the Book?” And they answered and said unto him, “It is the Law which was written concerning Christ, the Son of God. And it saith, ‘In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth; and they existed from olden time. Now the earth was formless, but there were mixed together darkness, and winds, and water, and mist, and dust; all of these were mixed together. And the Spirit of God hovered above the waters. This meaneth that by the Word of God the heavens and the earth were created; and these words mean that the Spirit of God dwelt over all creation.”