83. Concerning the King of the Ishmaelites
And therefore the children of Ishmael became kings over Tereb, and over Ḳebeṭ, and over Nôbâ, and Sôba, and Kuergue, and Kîfî, and Mâkâ, and Môrnâ, and Fînḳânâ, and ’Arsîbânâ, and Lîbâ, and Mase‛A, for they were the seed of Shem. And Isaac reigned over Judah and over ’Amôrêwôn, and over Kêṭêwôn, and ’Îyâbûsêwôn, and Fêrzêwôn, and ’Eêwêwôn, and Kêḳêdêwôn, and Rômyâ, and ’Anṣôkyâ (Antiochia), and Sôryâ (Syria), and Armenia, and Felesṭeêm (Palestine), and Ethiopia, and Edom, and Philistia, and Îyôâb, and Amalek, and Phrygia, and Babylon, and Yônânesṭ, and ’Ebrâyast. For as God sware He gave all kingdoms to the seed of Shem, and an exalted throne and dominion to the seed of Shem, even as his father Noah, by the word of God, blessed his son Shem, saying, “Be lord to thy brethren and reign over them.” And this that he said had reference to the Redeemer, the King of us all, Jesus Christ the King of heaven and earth, Who magnifieth kings, and Who when He pleaseth abrogateth their power; for unto Him belong power and dominion over all created things for ever and ever. Amen.
84. Concerning the King of Ethiopia and how he returned to his country
And the King of Ethiopia returned to his country with great joy and gladness; and marching along with their songs, and their pipes, and their wagons, like an army of heavenly beings, the Ethiopians arrived from Jerusalem at the city of Waḳêrôm in a single day. And they sent messengers in ships to announce [their arrival] to Mâkĕdâ, the Queen of Ethiopia, and to report to her how they had found every good thing, and how her son had become king, and how they had brought the heavenly Zion. And she caused all this glorious news to be spread abroad, and she made a herald to go round about in all the country that was subject unto her, ordering the people to meet her son and more particularly the heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the God of Israel. And they blew horns before her, and all the people of Ethiopia rejoiced, from the least to the greatest, men as well as women; and the soldiers rose up with her to meet their King. And she came to the city of the Government, which is the chief city of the kingdom of Ethiopia; now in later times this [city] became the chief city of the Christians of Ethiopia. And in it she caused to be prepared perfumes innumerable from India, and from Bâltê to Gâltêt, and from ’Alsâfu to ’Azazat, and had them brought together there. And her son came by the ’Azyâbâ road to Waḳêrôm, and he came forth to Masas, and ascended to Bûr, and arrived at the city of the Government, the capital [city] of Ethiopia, which the Queen herself had built and called “Dabra Mâkĕdâ”, after her own name.
85. Concerning the rejoicing of Queen Mâkĕdâ
And David the King came with great pomp unto his mother’s city, and then he saw in the height the heavenly Zion sending forth light like the sun. And when the Queen saw this she gave thanks unto the God of Israel, and praised Him. And she bowed low, and smote her breast, and [then] threw up her head and gazed into the heavens, and thanked her Creator; and she clapped her hands together, and sent forth shouts of laughter from her mouth, and danced on the ground with her feet; and she adorned her whole body with joy and gladness with the fullest will of her inward mind. And what shall I say of the rejoicing which took place then in the country of Ethiopia, and of the joy of the people, both of man and beast, from the least to the greatest, and of both women and men? And pavilions and tents were placed at the foot of Dabra Mâkĕdâ on the flat plain by the side of good water, and they slaughtered thirty-two thousand stalled oxen and bulls. And they set Zion upon the fortress of Dabra Mâkĕdâ, and made ready for her three hundred guards who wielded swords to watch over the pavilion of Zion, together with her own men and her nobles, the mighty men of Israel. And her own guards were three hundred men who bore swords, and in addition to these her son David had seven hundred [guards]. And they rejoiced exceedingly with great glory and pleasure [being arrayed] in fine apparel, for the kingdom was directed by her from the Sea of ’Alêbâ to the Sea of ’Ôsêkâ, and everyone obeyed her command. And she had exceedingly great honour and riches; none before her ever had the like, and none after her shall ever have the like. In those days Solomon was King in Jerusalem, and Mâkĕdâ was Queen in Ethiopia. Unto both of them were given wisdom, and glory, and riches, and graciousness, and understanding, and beauty of voice (or, eloquence of speech), and intelligence. And gold and silver were held as cheaply as brass, and rich stuffs wherein gold was woven were as common as linen garments, and the cattle and the horses were innumerable.
86. How Queen Mâkĕdâ made her son King
And on the third day Mâkĕdâ delivered over to her son seventeen thousand and seven hundred chosen horses, which were to watch the army of the enemy, and would again plunder the cities of the enemy, and seven thousand and seven hundred mares that had borne foals, and one thousand female mules, and seven hundred chosen mules, and apparel of honour, gold and silver measured by the gômôr, and measured by the ḳôr, some six and some seven, and she delivered over to her son everything that was his by law, and all the throne of her kingdom.