Yaqubi...

Yaqubi, in his book of history which was written in the third century Hijri has recorded that there were many independent governments existing, while the central government of the Najashies (Neguses) exercised some control over them, and received tributes from these small local governments.[^59] The present population of Abyssinia is about 21,000,000[^60] according to the last (1960) statistics, of which 12.5 million are Muslims and the rest are either Christians or idolaters, but in the present situation the government is in the hands of the Christians.[^61] This population consists of different branches to one of which belongs the Najashi group who ruled as emperors.

They have emigrated from Yemen. The lineage of the emperors of Abyssinia reached Prophet Solomon (a.s.) through his marriage with the Queen of Shiba. Thus this family regarded themselves as descendants of Prophet Solomon, the son of Prophet Dawood (David). In the constitution of 1932 of Abyssinia it is stated that kingship belongs permanently to this family, each branch of which possesses a different name. However, it is not clear to what extent this claim is a fable or based on historical fact.

My study of the Abyssinian history did not confirm the correctness of this claim, even a detailed source uses the phrase "It is said", showing that the writer is doubtful about its authenticity. I must narrate an hlistorical account which is quite interesting and also disturbing. Until the fourth century A.D.

Abyssinia was a land of idolatry and idolaters, having some local jungle beliefs, and the Jews, too, seem to have asserted some influence, though this matter is never publicly admitted or discussed in detail.

In those days a good deal of traffic existed between Yemen and Abyssinia and some kind of historical relations, showing that Judaism had been more or less recognised there, though the number of its followers had been rather small.[^62] However, the common religion of the Abyssinians was idolatry In the fourth century, namely in 340 A.D.

a Bishop of Syria - a Syrian was dispatched from the church of Alexandria to Abyssinia as a missionary.[^63] This industrious bishop succeeded in converting a group to Christianity in the 4th century A.D., about 240 or 250 years before the birth of Islam. Thus it would show that in Abyssinia did not have a precedence of more than two and a half centuries before the rise of Islam. Churches were built there, and thus Abyssinia became a Christian base.