376 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



tradition, the Queen of Sheba who visited 

 Solomon was the Abyssinian Queen Maqueda. 

 As a result of that visit the Queen gave birth 

 by Solomon to a son, who was named Menelik 

 David. He was sent to Jerusalem to be edu- 

 cated, and thence returned with a party of 

 Jewish priests, under Azariah, son of the high 

 priest Zadok, with tutors and servants, whose 

 descendants still live in the country as the 

 tribe of the Falasha. This enterprising 

 Menelik David brought back other treasures; 

 for finding the gates of his father's temple 

 open on the day of his departure, he walked 

 off with the Ark of Zion and the Tables of 

 the Law! In accordance with this tradition 

 the "Negus Negusti " or "King of Kings" 

 of Abyssinia has for his second title "The 

 Lion of the Tribe of Judah," and is regarded 

 as a descendant of Solomon. It does not 

 matter whether the ruler be a Semite or 

 a Hamite; the king acquires his ancestors 

 when he acquires the throne. 



The great antiquity of the Abyssinian 

 kingdom is proved by still existing inscrip- 

 tions; for some of the monuments at Axum 

 are inscribed in Greek and Himyaritic. The 

 rude wealth of the early Abyssinian Court is 

 known from classical writers. An embassy 

 to the country was sent by the Roman 

 Emperor Justinian in the sixth century. Ac- 

 cording to Gibbon, "the Negus, arrayed in barbaric pomp of gold chains, collars, and bracelets, 

 and surrounded by his nobles and musicians, gave audience to the ambassador of Justinian seated 

 in the open field upon a lofty chariot drawn by four elephants superbly caparisoned." 



The original basis of the Abyssinian population was probably the Agau, a Hamitic race 

 driven southward from Nubia before the days of the Semitic invasion. These Agau survive in 

 some scattered communities, of which the largest lives to the south of Lake Tsana. The Falashas, 

 or "Abyssinian Jews," according to some authorities, are an Agau race; but this origin is 

 claimed with greater probability for the Bogo of Northern Abyssinia, who worship serpents, 

 sacrifice to rivers, and amongst whom no man is allowed to look at or speak to his mother-in-law. 



Politically, the most important people in Abyssinia are the Amhara, who live mostly in 

 the central region around Lake Tsana. In modern times they have generally been the 

 predominant nation, and their language, Amharic, is widely spoken by other tribes, such as 

 the Agau. At present, however, since King John was killed in battle with the Mahdists, 

 the Shoans, a southern race, have held the reins of power. 



Historically, the chief rivals of the Amhara have been the Tigrians, whose capital is Adowa. 

 The Tigrians speak a dialect of Ghez, a primitive Semitic language introduced from South 

 Arabia in prehistoric times. The language is maintained in its archaic form by the Abyssinian 

 Church, and it is spoken in what is said to be a fairly pure form by the Hababs, who live on 

 the Red Sea shore north of Massowa. 



The typical Abyssinians are the people of Amhara. They are a tall race, with long 

 narrow head, an oval face, a high forehead, a thin and often aquiline nose, bright oral eyes, 

 a pointed chin, a well-formed mouth, with thick and sometimes pouting lips, long frizzly or 



Pholo by Messrs. Neyretti & Zambra] 



A SOMALI MAN. 



{.London. 



