When the boy grew up, we are told, he expressed a desire to visit his father. His mother encouraged him and presented him with a ring she had received from Solomon with which he could identify himself The king welcomed his son most warmly and showed him every kindness and affection. In due course, when the time came for Menelik to leave his father provided an escort drawn from the sons of the country's nobility to accompany him to Ethiopia. The young men, however, decided that, in addition to the parting gifts they had already received, they would take with them the Ark of the Covenant containing the tablets of the Law which reposed in the Temple. Surreptitiously, this most holy object of veneration was removed at night and by the time the theft had been discovered the party was well on its way and its recapture impossible. When the escort arrived at the queen's court, the Ark, which was treated with the utmost reverence, was deposited in the capital, Axum, and eventually, after the country had adopted Christianity, it found its place in the Cathedral, where it is believed to remain until this day. Though Ethiopian history is vague about what happened in the centuries between Solomon and the Christian era the moral of the story is clear: Axum, which probably did not exist as a city in Solomon's day, had become the new Zion. On Menelik's return to Ethiopia the queen abdicated in his favour, the Ethiopians adopted the Mosaic religion and Menelik became the first king of the Solomonic line and an adherent of the new faith. The youthful escort, followers of the God of Israel, formed the nucleus of a Jewish community which remained loyal to Judaism.

(1) According to Budge, op. cit., p. lxxi, the name comes from the AmharicBayna Lehkem = Ibnal-Hakim (in Arabic)= son of the wise man.