The Israelite Diaspora

The "Unknown Hebrews"

(Part II)

We have already considered the traces left by Israelites scattered throughout

Asia, first since King Shlomoh established his trading network with Sheva

and Ophir, and then after the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles.

The Hebrew presence in Africa begins earlier than in Asia (except the Middle

East), but the few historical accounts that remain are obscured by a great deal

of myths, legends and fanciful stories. The only creditable records are those

written in the Bible and some Egyptian and other ancient documents, unlike

the later Christian and Islamic tales. Therefore, the hypotheses exposed in this

chapter should be regarded as a possible interpretation of the facts of which

we have no certainty, trying to extract the historical substratum from the

legendary accounts.

The earliest Hebrew settlements in Africa date back to the pre-Israelite period,

when the first Habiru tribes traded and even dwelled in Egypt. Tzo'an, a city

built on the Nile Delta, seems to have been originally founded by the Habiru

and was their main residence in Egypt. Tzo'an was in some way related to

Hevron in Canaan since before Avraham's times; in fact, Hevron was the

favourite home of the Hebrew Patriarch and it was probably Tzo'an where he

took residence during his stay in Egypt. Some decades later, when Yakov and

his family settled in Egypt, it was given them the region of Goshen, of which

Tzo'an was the main inhabited centre. The same city became Egypt's capital

during the Hyksos' rule, which was a natural choice, being the Hyksos a

Habiru people closely related to Israelites (although the identification of

Tzo'an with Tanis and this with Avaris is not certain, the Nile Delta region

was anyway the main settlement of the Hyksos rulers).

Egypt was officially monotheistic during the Hyksos' period, and such

influence might have been extended throughout the African lands with which

a fluent trade relationship was held, particularly Ethiopia.

After the Hyksos' rule was overthrown, Tzo'an kept its importance. It is

identified with "the Town of Ramses", because the oppressor Pharaoh rebuilt

and embellished it by the forced labour of the Hebrews, and made it his

northern capital. Pharaoh's court was probably in Tzo'an at the time of his

various interviews with Mosheh and Aharon (Tehilim 78:12).

Therefore, when considering that any apparent influence of ancient Hebrews

is still present in some African peoples, this should not necessarily be related

to exiled Israelites, but may belong to earlier periods or ascribed to other

Semitic peoples, as shown in the following schema:

First period:

* Habiru tribes play an active role in trade relationships between Egypt and

the Semitic kingdoms of the Middle East. The Habiru establish their

commercial centres in Egypt around Tzo'an. Avraham dwells in Egypt.

* The Hebrew Patriarch Yakov and his family settle in Goshen. Origin of the

Israelites.

* The Hyksos rule over Egypt for more than two centuries. Israelites become a

numerous people. Egypt is officially monotheistic. The Hebrew peoples of

Egypt may have established their first colonies in other regions of Africa in

this period.

* The Hyksos are overthrown and many of them, as well as some Israelites,

may have migrated to Ethiopia and other lands fleeing the Pharaoh's new

policy of oppression.

* The Hebrews leave Egypt and return back in Canaan.

Second period:

* King Shlomoh establishes alliances with Egypt, Sheva and other kingdoms.

The Israelites increase their commercial activity and some of them settle in

other lands, including Egypt and Punt (the Horn of Africa).

* One of the favourite lands for Israelite settlements was the Kingdom of

Sheva, in Yemen, which in that period controlled also Punt and most of

Ethiopia. Therefore, Israelite colonies may have been founded on both shores

of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, along two parallel land routes: the

"Incense Road" in Arabia and the Nile in Africa (in addition to the sea route

between Etzion-Geber and the Indian Ocean).

* Many Northern Israelites might have chosen to emigrate to these colonies in

order to avoid the heavy taxation imposed by King Shlomoh to the Northern

Tribes.

Third period:

* The Northern Kingdom of Israel is destroyed by Assyrians, that carried on

three different deportations of the population to Mesopotamia and Media.

Many Israelites took refuge in the Kingdom of Judah, but others may have

settled in Egypt or even in Ethiopia during the last years before the definitive

fall of Samaria.

* More than a century later, also the Kingdom of Judah fell under King

Nebukhadnetzar. Most of the inhabitants were sent to exile in Babylon; a few of those

left in Judah chose to re-settle in Egypt.

* The Persian Empire, that inherited Babylon's rule over Egypt, allowed Israelites to

travel freely within the whole territory and even to engage in trade with other

countries. The extension of the empire, that connected Central Asia and India with

Ethiopia, favoured the development of intense exchange of goods between the African

and Asian kingdoms, with the consequent flow of Jewish merchants.

Other migratory movements took place in later times, but the schema above

may be taken as outline for a research concerning the probable origin of some

Semitic or Hebrew elements found among some African peoples.

Trade routes to Africa during King Shlomoh's reign in Yerushalaym

The Sabean Kingdom

unified different

Semitic and Kushitic

tribes, and in the

period in which the

Kingdom of Israel was

consolidated, the

Sabeans of Yemen

reigned over the

African lands on the

opposite shore of the

Southern Red Sea and

the Gulf of Aden,

controlling completely

the narrow access

connecting the Red

Sea with the Indian

Ocean. Consequently,

the alliance with Sheva

sealed by King

Shlomoh was essential

to establish trade with

all the countries by the

Indian Ocean. Many

Israelites settled

colonies in Yemen -

Israel had part of her

fleet at the port city of

Aden. Frankincense

and spices reached

Jerusalem across the

Arabian Peninsula

through the "Incense

Road"; wood and other

precious materials

were carried by the

Red Sea Fleet to

Etzion-Geber.

A third route along the

Nile River connected

the heart of Africa

with the Mediterranean

Sea through Egypt.

In ancient times the

name "Ethiopia" or

"Kush" defined all

the lands between

Southern Egypt

(Nubia) and the

Horn of Africa.

Kushites founded

important kingdoms

(Meroe, Aksum) and

sometimes ruled

over Egypt.

Kush, Ethiopia

Even though the name Kush is usually associated with Ethiopia, Kushite

peoples were in early times the inhabitants of the whole Arabia, Southern

Mesopotamia, Elam and probably a branch of them reached India as well.

Nimrod was a Kushite. Assyrian records mention Kûsh and Mushur (or

Mushri) in reference to the Northern Arabian peoples conquered by

Asarhaddon, as a different event from his conquest of Egypt, and the same

peoples are mentioned as tributaries by earlier Assyrian kings, who have not

conquered Egypt. These names recall the Biblical brothers Kush and

Mitzrayim, namely Ethiopia and Egypt, very closely associated in ancient

times, but obviously located in Africa. Yet, many tribes of Arabia show an

evident Hamitic, not Semitic origin. Yishmael's mother and wife were

Egyptians, and he settled with his family in territories inhabited by Kushitic

and Semitic tribes, in Arabia. Yishmaelites might have been identified as an

Egyptian tribe by the pure Semitic Assyrians. Therefore, the association

between Kush and Mitzrayim existed on both shores of the Red Sea. The

Hamitic Arabian tribes were subdued by Semitic peoples (Midyanites,

Lihyanites, Sabeans, etc.), but some typical Kushite features prevailed, for

example, many Arabian kingdoms were usually ruled by queens, like the

early Ethiopic kingdoms.

The Ethiopians claim an ancestral link to Israelites, and some historical facts

apparently support any evidence, but most of such tradition is based on

legendary accounts. Most of the historical facts (in which Kushites had

anyway some participation) were transferred by Aksumite Ethiopians from

the original scenery in Arabia to their own land. Indeed, the Aliyah projects

that allowed Ethiopian Jews to resettle in Eretz Yisrael, "Operation Moses"

and "Operation Solomon", were called that way after Ethiopian legends and

not according to historical accounts. Such legends concern the Kushite wife of

Mosheh and the Queen of Sheva (who was not Ethiopian but Yemenite).

Besides these traditions, Ethiopians are the only people in the world claiming

to have the Ark of the Covenant. However, these legends as well as the actual

presence of a Jewish lineage in Ethiopia since ancient times need an

explanation, that may be developed considering the related historical facts

regarding: 1) Mosheh's Kushite wife, and 2) the Queen of Sheva's identity.

1) In Bemidbar 12:1, Mosheh is said to have taken a Kushite wife, whose name

is not mentioned. Here the question arises, whether she is to be identified

with Tzipporah the Midyanite or not. Some interpreters like Rashi assert that

this woman is indeed Tzipporah, who is called Kushite not concerning her

ethnicity but because of her beauty - being the dark skin considered a symbol

of beauty. Such interpretation seems to be furtherly supported by Havakuk

3:7, that relates the land of Midyan with Kushan, and by the Assyrian

accounts about the Northern Arabian Kush; thus, the terms Kush and Midyan

might indicate the same land. Yet, if that woman was Tzipporah, there is not

any apparent reason by which Aharon and Miryam might complain. Others

like Rashbam support the opinion that Mosheh did marry a Kushite woman

besides Tzipporah, and this is the most likely interpretation. Therefore, the

term Kushite indicates either an Ethiopian woman, or anyway one whose

particularity was a dark skin, namely, a black woman. The reason by which

Aharon and Miryam complained is still unknown, surely not because of her

skin colour, since Hebrews themselves, being a Semitic people were rather

dark complexioned, but probably because he married a woman who was not

from their own people, as Torah established.

This Scriptural reference is the only creditable source regarding Mosheh's

Ethiopian wife, of which no further details are given. Attempting to explain

this single enigmatic Biblical account, early writers have recorded different

fanciful stories, suggesting that Mosheh married an Ethiopian queen or

princess. Even Josephus Flavius, in Jewish Antiquities 2:10-11, tells that Mosheh

was appointed by Pharaoh to lead the army in a campaign against the

Ethiopians, Mosheh conquered the land and married the Ethiopian king's

daughter, called Tharbis. This was, according to Josephus, Mosheh's first

marriage, as he met Tzipporah some years later in exile. However, there is not

any reliable indication that such story might be true, and should be ascribed

to the historian's fruitful imagination. Another writer, Artapanus, tells about

Mosheh's successful campaign in Ethiopia, but does not say anything

regarding his marriage.

Besides all the tales written about this Kushite wife of Mosheh, it might be

likely that Tzipporah, being a Midyanite, may have had an Arabian Kushite

servant that Mosheh took as his wife; this was a common custom previously

practised by Avraham and Yakov.

We can conclude that from Mosheh and his Kushite wife there is not any

recognizable lineage, and if there was a descent, it was completely included in

the people of Israel that settled in Kanaan, not in Africa, since that Ethiopian

wife was with him during the Exodus.

2) The Queen of Sheva, whose real name is still unknown, has inspired many

fanciful tales and exotic stories in a "1001 Nights" style, and is contended by

Arabia and Ethiopia as their own queen. Her historical personality has been

obscured by the myth, and most of what is said about her belongs to the

legendary accounts. Indeed, the only known historical record is reported in

the Hebrew Scriptures, in Melakhim I, 10:1-13 and Divre HaYamim II, 9:1-12.

Her visit to King Shlomoh is perhaps the only source from which we have

known of her existence, because the Sabeans did not keep history records in

those times until they had relationships with Assyria, about three centuries

later. Consequently, what is said of her besides what is written in the Bible

might have been transmitted through oral tradition or more likely depicted by

romantic writers. Her country, Sheva - also known as Teyman, Yemen - was

wealthy and highly developed, rich in precious stones, gold, wood,

frankincense, myrrh, fragrant oils, spices, and every sort of expensive goods.

Their high-technology irrigation network allowed them to have luxurious

gardens and a flourishing agriculture. Marib, the capital of the kingdom, was

a magnificent city. Sheva's camels travelled the "Incense Road", the way along

the Red Sea that from Marib reached Midyan and Israel across the Arabian

desert. That was also the way that the Queen herself travelled to visit King

Shlomoh in Yerushalaym. She sealed with him an alliance that established the

most important commercial exchange in that time, between the two wealthiest

countries of the world. Such alliance allowed King Shlomoh to settle a Jewish

colony in Sheva, and a safe haven for his fleet in Aden. The Kingdom of Sheva

was not limited to the Southern Arabian Peninsula, but extended over the

opposite shores, in Africa: The land of Punt, (the "Horn of Africa"), Seva

(Abyssinia), and most of Ethiopia between the Red Sea and the Nile were

subject to the Yemenite Kingdom (see map above). This allowed Sabeans to

exert complete control of any trade between the Red Sea and the Indian

Ocean, and having Sheva as an allied nation meant for Shlomoh to have the

gate of the Indian Ocean open for his fleet . Sheva held then an active trade

with Ophir, India, and Shlomoh enlarged his trade network with Sheva's

commercial partners, too.

This is what we know regarding the Queen of Sheva. She was a sovereigness

of ancient Yemen that ruled also over Ethiopia, but she was not a Kushite.

Concerning her love story with King Shlomoh, the Scriptures do not say

anything; though it might be implied. Indeed, many interpreters understand

that the Hebrew verb "to come" in the phrase "she came to Shlomoh" (1) is

often used in the Scriptures with the meaning of entering a house for the

purpose of sexual relations. Also the statement "King Shlomoh gave to the

Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked" (2) may imply that he also

satisfied her sexually. A further element that may support the idea that both

sovereigns were lovers would arise if the Shir HaShirim composed by Shlomoh refers

to her; indeed, the beloved lady perfectly fits the description of a Yemenite

noblewoman: dark complexioned (3), coming from the desert, perfumed with

myrrh, incense and fragrant spices (4), adorned with gold, pearls, etc.

Notwithstanding, the Queen of Sheva was not Shlomoh's wife, and she

returned back to her country after her visit to Yerushalaym.

Besides the Bible account, that is the only contemporary record concerning

this Queen, a good deal of tales flourished some centuries later, that became

part of the legendary heritage of Ethiopia and Arabia, and was even included

among their sacred literature.

The Kebra Negast, an Ethiopian sacred book, asserts that Sabeans were tall

and black people, like Ethiopians, and that she was a black Queen.

Historically, Sabeans were a Semitic people (so, rather dark complexioned

though not black), mixed with Kushitic Arabians, consequently, they may

have been the darkest among Semites, yet, not black; this is in agreement with

the description of the dark woman to whom the Shir HaShirim is dedicated.

Arabs have given her the name Balqish, Ethiopians call her Maqeda, but none

of these names has still been confirmed by archaeology, and they are to be

considered purely imaginary. Some researchers who support an alternative

Egyptian chronology have speculated about her identity suggesting that she

was Hatchepshut; such theory is not feasible due to many elements: there is

not any reason by which Egypt would be called Sheva; King Shlomoh was

already married to an Egyptian princess; the Queen of Egypt would have not

come with camels, but with horses; the gifts that the Queen of Sheva brought

to Shlomoh were typical of Yemen, not of Egypt. Consequently, her name and

identity remain a mystery.

Yet, there is still the question about the source of the tradition that asserts that

King Shlomoh and the Queen of Sheva were the founders of the Ethiopian

royal house. The stories told in the Kebra Negast are indeed pure mythology;

the book was written more than twenty centuries after the facts, probably

with the purpose of ascribing the Aksumite royal house an ancient noble

origin. Aksum emerged as kingdom contemporarily with the Roman Empire,

and in the fourth century c.e. conquered and destroyed Meroe, the legitimate

heir of the ancient Kush. It is indeed Meroe the Biblical Ethiopia. Less than

two centuries later, the Aksumites were engaged by Byzantine Romans to

conquer and destroy the Sabean Himyarite Kingdom of Yemen. Then, the

Aksumites might have adopted for themselves the story of the Yemenite

Queen, if not much later, as the legend of the Solomonic lineage does not

appear to be known before the restoration of the Axumite dynasty in 5030

(1270 c.e.).

Nevertheless, admitting the possibility that any real heritage from the Queen

of Sheva may have been transferred to Ethiopia, this would be a likely

explanation: The Sabean rule over African lands was probably exerted by

members of the Sabean royal family. The Queen's dynasty may eventually

have come to an end in her own kingdom, but a branch of her royal house

may have continued to rule in Ethiopia; in fact, many scholars agree that

Aksum was an offshoot of a Southern Arabian Semitic kingdom, and

inherited some Yemenite traditions. This might be the original source from

which Ethiopians claim that their first king was the son of the Queen of Sheva

and King Shlomoh. The story regarding the Ark of the Covenant is however

completely unrelated to the alleged Solomonic dynasty.

What happened to the Ark of the Covenant is still a mystery. The hypothesis

that it was taken away to Elephantine by Jewish Kohanim before the

destruction of the Temple is an unfounded legend. It is true that the

Scriptures do not mention it among the treasure of the Temple that

Nebukhadnetzar took away to Babylon, and it is not said that Ezra or

Nehemyah carried it back to Yerushalaym. In fact, the Ark of the Covenant

was not in the second Temple. Yet, it was still in Yerushalaym during King

Yoshiyahu's reign (Divre HaYamim II, 35:3), so it was not even carried away

during Menasheh's apostasy. When King Nebukhadnetzar attacked

Yerushalaym the last time, the Babylonians built a siege wall around the city

wall (Melakhim II, 25:1,4), then the city and the Temple were destroyed. The

Ark might have been hidden underground somewhere between the two walls

during the siege, or burned with the Temple. Prophet Yirmeyahu said "they

shall say no more: The Ark of the Covenant of HaShem; neither shall it come

to mind; nor shall they remember it; nor shall they visit it; nor shall that be

made again" (Yirmeyahu 3:16). Consequently, any search for the Ark in

Ethiopia is idle. Since the topic of this page is not the Ark of the Covenant, for

further research you can view the following sites:

Anchor Stones and Covenant Keepers

In this brief essay, we have seen that the Ethiopian connection to the people of

Israel is not related to Mosheh's Kushite wife, that the alleged descent of the

Ethiopian royal house from King Shlomoh and the Queen of Sheva is just a

legend without any historical support, and that the Ark of the Covenant

cannot be in Ethiopia... how can it be explained such connection, then?

The Hebrew presence in Ethiopia dates back to ancient times. When the

Hyksos ruled over Egypt, they engaged in a fluent trade exchange with the

land of Kush, achieving mutual benefits. The Hyksos established a Semitic

colony at the southern border of Egypt, in the Nile Island of Elephantine, as

their commercial outpost with the African kingdoms. This island remained

the main gathering point for Jews in Egypt along the centuries, and it is likely

(though not proven) that some Israelites settled there in the Hyksos period.

So, the Kingdom of Kush might have hosted the first Israelites even before the

Exodus.

If this is true, such Hebrews were however unaware of the Mitzvot given to

the people of Israel through Mosheh, and would not have been recognized as

Israelites in later times. Nevertheless, they may have kept any contact with

their people and successive Jewish migrations would have contributed to

complete their Israelite identity. A consistent number of Jews eventually

settled in Elephantine soon after the destruction of the first Temple by

Nebukhadnetzar's army, and it is not excluded that Prophet Yirmeyahu, who

was carried by the rebel Jews to Egypt, would have been among them. He

could have instructed the earlier Semitic settlers in the knowledge of Torah.

Some time later, Nebukhadnetzar conquered Egypt, and the Jews dwelling

there would have fled to Ethiopia in order not to be deported to Babylon or

executed for their rebellion against the King.

It is historically proven that an important Jewish community existed in

Elephantine since long time before the Persians conquered Egypt, and that

they had even a Jewish Temple much alike that of Yerushalaym.

The Assyrian and Persian conquest of Egypt favoured in some way the

development of the independent kingdom of Meroe, that kept the ancestral

friendly relationships with the Semitic communities of Egypt. The Meroitic

rulers followed the Egyptian religion, but the Jews were respected and

probably also influent. According to the Christian Scriptures, the Ethiopian

Queen Kandake had servants and ministers of Jewish belief (Acts 8:27). It was

a Meroitic tradition to have female rulers, who were often elected within

members of the royal family, so it is possible that she was a queen of Meroe -

commonly called Ethiopia in Biblical language - as well as she may have been

a queen of Abyssinia (Aksum). Meroe held active trading with Arabia and

India through the Red Sea ports, and Jewish merchants that reached this

kingdom may have chosen to settle. Other accounts assert that the Ethiopian

royal house of Aksum was Jewish prior to their conquest of Meroe, but there

are not historical proofs, as it is not proven that it has ever been Jewish before

becoming Christian. The legend that ascribes the Ethiopian dynasty a

Solomonic origin has probably been forged to claim legitimacy before the

Jewish community, to which they tried to impose the new official belief of the

kingdom.

Conclusion:

·The origin of the Jewish communities in Ethiopia is still uncertain.

·The alleged Solomonic dynasty is a myth created probably by Christian

rulers and cannot be considered seriously, as well as the legend regarding the

Ark of the Covenant.

·The most credible hypothesis is that they descend mainly from the Jewish

community of Elephantine, along with other Israelite groups that took refuge

in Egypt and Ethiopia after the Assyrian and Babylonian deportations, and

Jewish merchants from Arabia and other lands.

(1) Melakhim I, 10:2; Divre HaYamim II, 9:1

(2) Melakhim I, 10:13; Divre HaYamim II, 9:12

(3) Shir HaShirim 1:5-6

(4) Shir HaShirim 3:6

Havilah

The identity of the Biblical land of Havilah is still a controversial matter. The

Scriptural references concern two different peoples having the same name,

one Kushite, the other Semite - Bereshyit 10:7,28-29 -.

According to some Scriptural records, one of the lands of Havilah was

undoubtedly in Northern Arabia, between Egypt and the Euphrates, and was

inhabited by Yishmaelites (Bereshyit 2:18) and Amalekites (Shmu’el I, 15:7).

However, that seems not to be the Havilah that was plenty of gold mines.

The Semitic Havilah is connected with Sheva and Ophir, two names often

mentioned together, and has been identified with the land of Khawlan, in

Yemen.

The Hamitic Havilah is related to Seva (Abyssinia) and Southern Arabian

peoples. The original land of the Kushite peoples was Southern Mesopotamia

and Arabia, and many scholars place the ancient Hamitic Havilah in the north

of the Persian Gulf area, either in Elam, beyond the Hidekel, or south of the

Euphrates. This last location may be the land that was subsequently

populated by the Ishmaelites and Amalekites, probably expelling the original

Kushite inhabitants. The Semitic expansion that displaced the Hamitic

peoples of Mesopotamia generated migrations and eventually assimilations,

so that it is not possible to establish the identity of Havilah. Different

probabilities are suggested: 1) they were assimilated by the Elamites; 2) they

migrated to India; 3) they migrated to Africa.

Therefore, the location of Havilah in Africa is to be considered hypothetical,

until further evidences arise. The mention of the land of Havilah as plenty of

gold mines is the main element that points out to an African country. In this

chapter, the land south of Ethiopia that we call Havilah is the one

conventionally accepted by some scholars as such, yet remaining only a

suggested identity.

"From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, the daughter of My

dispersed ones, shall bring My offering."

Tzephanyah, 3:10

The land, which this prophecy refers to, has been identified by scholars and

Rabbis as the White Nile Basin, and according to the Prophet’s words, it is

expected that some descendants of the Israelites have to be found there. That

is the region assumed to be one of the Biblical lands called Havilah. Yet, the

expression "beyond the rivers of Ethiopia" may imply any country farther in

the south. Havilah is also related to precious materials like gold, which indeed

existed in great amount in the southern end of the African rift. Therefore, the

prophetic statement may refer to some tribes dwelling in those regions, which

are acknowledged to be immigrated from the north many centuries ago.

We will consider here two peoples having evident Hebrew elements in their

culture and traditions, one of them in the White Nile Basin, the Watutsi, and

the other in South-eastern Africa, the Lemba.

1) The Watutsi are well known by their impressive tallness rather than their

culture and history. Their features clearly indicate that they came from the

northern land of Kush or even from Egypt, and some enigmatic elements of

their culture suggest that they had any relationship with the Israelites, for

example:

* monotheistic belief

* dietary rules very similar to Kashrut

* laws that recall the Mosaic Torah

* the celebration of a festival that resembles Sukkot

The Watutsi traditions include the legends regarding King Shlomoh and the

Queen of Sheva, acquired during their sojourn in Ethiopia before they settled

in the White Nile Basin, but as it has already been analyzed, such myths lack

of any historical support.

Even though some claim to be the descendants of Israelite Tribes, their belief

is closely related to the Egyptian monotheism of the Hyksos Dynasty rather

than to Judaism properly, but it is very likely that they were still in Egypt

contemporarily with Mosheh. In fact, these elements present in the Watutsi

culture are also ascribable to the Mosaic influence on Egypt during the 18th

Dynasty, when a "mixed multitude" followed Mosheh (Shemoth 12:38).

Even though their physical appearance fits better the description of the

Rephaim, Emim and Anaqim mentioned in the Bible among the inhabitants of

ancient Kanaan (Devarim 2:10-11), it is also documented that very tall people

were also found among Egyptians (Shmu’el II, 23:21; Divre HaYamim I,

11:23).

2) The Lemba have interesting characteristics that link this people with some

ancient cultures apparently unrelated to each other: the Israelites trading with

the Kingdom of Sheva or settled there, the mysterious land of Havilah, and

the Great Zimbabwe civilisation. In order to establish the connection between

these different entities, it is necessary to resume some concepts already

exposed in this essay.

The Kingdom of Sheva was plenty of gold wealth, and gold was also a

consistent part of the Sabean export products. Yet, where did they extract

such great amount of that precious metal is still not known with certainty.

Sheva had a very well developed fleet that allowed a fluent trade with India

as well as along most of the East African coast. Sabean commercial ports were

established in Zanzibar and very likely far beyond southwards.

The ancient Great Zimbabwe civilisation seems to provide a solution to the

enigma regarding the source of Sheva’s gold: Some records attest that Sabeans

extracted it from a country where it was winter when in Yemen it was

summer. This means, that their gold mines were to be found in the Southern

Hemisphere, and archaeological discoveries indicate that there were many of

them in ancient Zimbabwe, built as complex systems of tunnels and shafts.

Sabeans were skilled builders and water engineers, and it is their technology

that was also applied in Great Zimbabwe; for example, the terrace system for

agricultural development. Also the elliptical temples in ancient Yemen and

Zimbabwe were built in a very similar way. It is known with certainty that

Sabeans rivalled Phoenicians as seafarers and that they were gold traders. It is

also evident that Yemenite architecture and engineering has been developed

in Zimbabwe; therefore, it is very likely that the Zambesi Basin was colonised

by the Kingdom of Sheva. According to some writers of the early Middle

Ages, the Arabs still had trading settlements in Sofala (the Indian Ocean coast

right east of Zimbabwe) for their gold supplies.

The most credited heirs of the ancient Zimbabwe culture are the Lemba,

according to many elements that suggest that they were the founders – or the

builders – of that civilisation. The Lemba build their houses in stone without

cement, in the style of Great Zimbabwe. They are much more skilled in

working metal than any of their neighbouring tribes. It is also known that the

Lemba have until recent times developed mining, tough they extracted copper

since gold is no longer available.

The Lemba are acknowledged by the other tribes as the first people that

practised circumcision: An interesting detail to notice is that the stone phallic

symbols found at the ruins of ancient Zimbabwe evidently represented

circumcised organs.

Yet, some archaeological findings suggest that black Africans, including the

Lemba (who are considered a Bantu tribe) built Great Zimbabwe. To solve

this quest it is necessary to determine if the present-day black Lemba were

already black when Great Zimbabwe was built, or they were still Semitic.

They certainly became Africans after some generations and intermarriage, in

the same way as Amharic-speaking Ethiopians, who are considered to be

ethnically related to the Lemba. As it was said before, the mining,

architecture, agricultural technology and engineering of ancient Zimbabwe

reveal a Southern-Arabian origin. In addition, there are unquestionable

evidences that the Lemba descend from Yemenite Jewish people, and that

they were actively involved in the ancient Zimbabwe civilisation:

* Their language, that belongs to the Bantu family, is closely related to the

tongue spoken in the area around the Zimbabwe ruins.

* The Lemba bury their dead in an extended position, in the same way as it

was done in the ancient Zimbabwe. This tradition differs from other Bantu

people. They place the head facing north in remembrance of the country their

ancestors came from. Now they also use to decorate the graves with a Magen

David.

* They celebrate the New Moon, determined by accurate observation, in a

special way similar to Jewish custom.

* The Lemba keep Kashrut observance: they do not eat pork or any other impure food;

animals must be slaughtered and let bleed and such ritual must be performed by

appointed circumcised men. The Lemba do not mix meat and milk, and many of them

have separate dishes for them.

* Lemba women follow the same purification laws prescribed by Torah. Intermarriage

is strongly disapproved, though non-Lemba women are allowed to marry into the tribe

after having learnt the rules.

* Their physical features are quite different from all other Bantu tribes. Their tradition

states that their ancestry originally comprised fair-skinned men who came by sea from

a distant country to extract gold from Southeast Africa.

* Most of their family names are Semitic.

* Their DNA matches with that of the people of Hadramaut (Yemen), and

most of them carry the Cohen Modal Haplotype, that is an exclusive

characteristic of the Jewish priestly lineage. It is the Y-chromosome,

transmitted through the male line, which carries this genetic pattern. Since the

genetic heritage from Israelites came through the male line, and that the

Semitic ancestors of the Lemba were sailors and traders implies that they were

probably only men, intermarriage with local Bantu tribes allowed a fast

assimilation into a mixed-black African ethnicity.

Tamazgha

This name would hardly be found in any history or geography book, and

corresponds to the Biblical Put (Bereshyit 10:6), usually associated with Kush

and Egypt (Yirmeyahu 4:9; Nahum 3:9). It refers to the whole vast region in

the west of Egypt up to the Atlantic Ocean coast, commonly called North

Africa and extensively covered by the Sahara desert. The Greeks called this

region Libya, and defined its inhabitants as "Berbers" by the same reason they

labelled the Europeans "Barbars", that is, because they did not know their

language and even less their culture. Unfortunately, most western names are

given after the Greeks' conception and based on Greek history records, which

are often distorted and fanciful, not reliable at all. For instance, the Greek

translation of the Hebrew Scriptures shows lack of accuracy, while the Greek

version of the Assyrian history is a good example of unlikelihood, as it is

almost completely invented. This is the reason by which today there is a

country called Syria instead of Aram (as the Greeks intended that area to be

Assyria), and another called Libya instead of Tamazgha.

The alternative Arabic source is not more accurate than the Greek one. Arabs

know this region as Maghreb, a generic definition that means simply "West"

(although it refers more specifically to Morocco, such name is extended to the

whole Saharan region).

Here we try to give back the proper identity name to this area according to the

native language of the predominant people who inhabit the Sahara since

ancient times: the Amazigh, Imazighen or Imoshagh, as they (Berbers) call

themselves, and Tamazgha is their land's name.

The most important trade routes between the Middle East, Africa and Europe

passed throughout the Mediterranean Sea. When the period of the migrations

of the Sea Peoples was over, the most pre-eminent seafarers of the

Mediterranean were the Canaanites, whom the Greeks called Phoenicians - in

reference to the unique purple dye the Canaanites produced from murex

seashells. They established a fluent trade relationship with the Tartessians

(ancient inhabitants of Andalusia, the Biblical Tarshish) and founded many

colonies along the Mediterranean coasts, both in Africa and Europe, of which

the most important was Kart-Hadash (Carthage). The Canaanites had

settlements in the very land of Tarshish: by the Atlantic coast the main

Canaanite colony was Gades, the modern Cádiz. Kart-Hadash survived after

the Assyrian conquest of Canaan and settled a commercial empire by itself,

becoming the rival of Rome.

The Canaanite conquest of the Mediterranean started mainly from the coastal

cities of Tzidon and Tzor, whose golden age coincided with the Kingdom of

David and Shlomoh in Israel. These city-states sealed with the Kingdom of

Israel a solid alliance. King David contributed to the Canaanite expansion and

his son Shlomoh enhanced the role of the sea trade in his policy, including the

settlement of Jewish colonies abroad. In the same way his alliance with Sheva

allowed him to reach the Horn of Africa, India and perhaps even farther

lands, his co-operation agreement with Hiram, king of Tzor, yielded both

partners substantial advantages. Many Israelite traders, artisans and soldiers

settled in the Canaanite colonies between Egypt and Tarshish, and it is well

documented that a significant number of the population of Kart-Hadash were

Israelites. Indeed, the peoples known by Romans as Carthaginians included a

consistent Hebrew component. Even the ruling system of the North-African

Canaanite colonies was inspired by the pre-monarchic Israelite "Shofetim"

(Judges).

As it was said before, the native people that the Canaanite/Hebrew settlers

found in the land known by them as "Put" were the Amazigh, who have been

since the dawn of history the inhabitants of the territory between Egypt and

the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sahel (Sub-Saharan

Black Africa). Some of their tribes were often allied with Egypt and provided

skilled warriors to the Egyptian armies. Notwithstanding, their territory or

part of it has been successively conquered by different kingdoms and

empires, beginning with the Canaanites, whose conquest was rather peaceful,

almost purely commercial, followed by the less tolerant Greeks, Romans,

Vandals and others, until the Arabs annihilated the native culture to impose

their own totalitarian system, which resisted the further oppression exerted

by the European colonialism.

Among the Amazigh peoples, those who keep better the original features are

the Tuareg or Tawarik (as the Arabs call them), the legendary "Blue Men" who

are the dwellers of the wilderness. They call themselves Imoshagh, that means

"noble people". They are now distinct from the Arabized Amazigh mixed

population of the North-African cities.

The ancient Amazigh had the typical particularity of the Hamitic peoples:

they were often ruled by queens, like the Ethiopian, the Meroitic and the

Kushitic Arabian kingdoms. Before their islamization, women enjoyed a social

status and dignity that now is them denied by the obtuse and oppressive

Islamic system. The Amazigh queens' title was "Kahena". The Amazigh

tradition speaks of twelve tribes, each of them having its own Kahena, that

dwelled in the Sahara when it was still a fertile land. This is quite possible,

since also Arabia was not desert in pre-Islamic times as well as Spain and

Sicily were very fruitful before the Arab occupation. It is a fact that wherever

the Ishmaelites settle for a long period, their lack of a farming culture causes

the soil to dry up. The number of "twelve tribes" may be real, but it might also

be an interpolation that passed to the Amazigh tradition either from the early

Hebrew/Canaanite settlers or from the later Ishmaelite Arab conquerors.

Although the Israelite presence in Tamazgha dates back to Davidic times, the

actual Jewish influence in that region began after the destruction of the second

Temple and was carried on mainly by the Jews that were exiled in Egypt.

Alexandria became the second most populous Jewish settlement in the

worldwide Diaspora (the first one was Babylon), as attested by Philo and

Josephus. During the Ptolemaic period, the Hebrew community in Alexandria

became numerous and essential for the cultural and commercial development

of the city, from which the Egyptian Jews expanded their influence along the

Mediterranean coastlands so that in the early Roman period there were

significant Jewish settlements in every important North African city. The

Israelite community of Cyrene was the largest one in Tamazgha, and was

established by Alexander the Great as a garrison composed by Jewish

soldiers.

The Roman Empire's anti-Semitic policy in the sixth century c.e. drove most of

the Jews southwards to take refuge among the Saharan tribes. The Amazigh

people were kind to them and were so much impressed by the Jews' culture

and technological knowledge, that eight of the tribes abandoned paganism to

embrace Judaism. Unlike the Lemba and other peoples mentioned in this

page, the Amazigh had not any real link to ancient Israelites, and no relation

at all with the "Lost Tribes" since their connection with the Jewish people

occurred some centuries after the destruction of Yerushalaym by the Romans;

yet, they deserve to be mentioned as their history resembles in some way that

of the Khazars, being a nation that became Jewish by choice. It is established

by the Mosaic Law that whoever voluntarily submits to Elohim's Torah

should be regarded as a genuine Jew at the same level of an Israelite by

bloodline.

As well as Yemenites and Ethiopians are proud of their Queen of Sheva and

her relationship with the King of Israel, the Amazigh are proud of their own

Jewish Queen, whose history is known better as she lived in the early Middle

Ages. Her name was Dehiyyah al-Kahena, called also the veiled Queen of

Jerawah. In history she is usually named "Kahena". Like any people's heroine,

she became a legendary figure and the historical facts should be separated

from the myth. Her biography was written by Ibn Khaldun and ‘Ubayd ibn

Salih ibn ‘Abd al-Halim; from a comparison of both works emerges a reliable

historical account.

It is not clear if Kahena belonged to a Jewish family dwelling among the

Amazigh or else to an Amazigh family that embraced Judaism, in either case

the title given her, "the Jewish Queen of the Amazigh", is rightful. The first

possibility is considered the most likely, though the Judaized Amazigh mixed

with the Jewish immigrants and it is difficult to distinguish between both

groups that were different in origin.

In that period, a new nightmare appeared in the Middle East: the ruthless

islamic Arabs, enriched after having plundered all peoples up to the gates of

India, had already conquered Egypt and Eastern Tamazgha (Libya), and

advanced relentlessly westwards. The Amazigh peoples appointed Queen

Kahena as their military commander to organize the resistance against the

muslim invaders. In the year 4454 (694 c.e.), the Arab hordes drove into

Tamazgha, relying on the invincibility of their armies, but were unexpectedly

stopped by the Jewish-Amazigh alliance under Kahena's command. Western

Tamazgha was cleansed of Arab plunderers, but a second, stronger Arab

invasion was coming. Kahena's military achievement encouraged the

inhabitants of the coastal towns to join the resistance. Once again, the muslim

invaders were vanquished by the Jewish-Amazigh army and the Arabs were

completely routed. Kahena's army advanced eastwards and freed the land

from both the Byzantine oppressors and the Arabs. Kart-Hadash was rebuilt

and the whole region enjoyed peace and freedom for about a five-year period.

To be defeated by a woman is the worst humiliation for a muslim army; by a

Jewish woman, it is even worse. Indeed, also the modern Israeli Defence

Forces, that have always overwhelmingly defeated the armies of the whole

Arab world in all the Israeli-Arab wars, are composed by a large number of

female soldiers.

Such a defeat wounded the islamic pride, and the Arabs understood that in

order to go on with their conquering ambitions they had to resort to deception

and conspiracy. They knew that centuries of Roman-Byzantine oppression

have permeated with anti-Semitic feelings the alleged Christian inhabitants of

Tamazgha, so the Arabs offered them privileges and advantages if they

turned against the Jewish-Amazigh leadership. They were also afraid of being

conquered by the Visigoths, so the Arabs' proposal resulted alluring. The

peace and freedom they enjoyed under Kahena's leadership proved weaker

than their concealed anti-Semitism, and they betrayed their Queen. The last

Arab invasion caught the Amazigh army unprepared and the Arab perfidy

was unveiled when it was too late. Kahena died in battle fighting the

muslims, and the whole North Africa lost its independence and civilization

until now. The Amazigh language and culture faded away, and their women

lost the freedom they enjoyed.

The fall of North Africa smoothed the way for the muslim Arabs to conquer

Spain.

The Amazigh people had to choose between becoming muslims or die. Their

intermarriage with the Arabs resulted in the distinction between the Tuareg

people (original Amazigh) and the Saracens or Moors, namely, Arabized

Amazigh, who were the actual conquerors of Spain. Some Tuareg tribes,

having withdrawn themselves deep in the wilderness, preserved their Jewish

belief resisting the islamic pressure for many centuries.

Concerning the presence of scattered Hebrews in Sub-Saharan Africa, the

most creditable sources are those that attest the migration southwards of two

different groups: Jewish Amazigh families refusing to become muslim after

the Arab occupation of North Africa, and in a later period, Jews expelled from

Spain.

Other accounts report that Jewish merchants from Persia and Arabia

established a commercial network between Kaifeng (China) and the Ashanti

kingdom, exchanging Chinese silk for African gold. Such accounts are

supported by some facts, including the presence of some Hebrew and Persian

words in the Ashanti language and some significant elements in Ashanti

tradition that resemble Judaic Law. Historical sources attest that for about two

centuries the Ashanti were ruled by Jewish kings since many noble Ashanti

families embraced Judaism. That was one among several other Jewish

kingdoms that existed in that area within different peoples, like Hausa, Wolof,

Malinke, Fulani and others.

There are at present some Sub-Saharan tribes that claim Israelite ancestry, yet

without further proofs, they should be regarded primarily as descendants of

those groups that embraced Judaism rather than of ancient Israelite origin.

It was also from this region that most of the Africans were carried to the

Americas as captive slaves, and there are still some remnants of Hebrew

traditions among many of them. Notwithstanding, such hints must be

analysed with impartiality and not as a starting point for developing

speculative theories.