Israel (vocalized gez, እስራኤል ''ʾIsrāʾēl'' or ይስራኤል ''Yisrāʾēl'', c. 590) was a king of Axum. He is primarily known through the

coins A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...

minted during his reign. The ''

Kebra Nagast The Kebra Nagast, var. Kebra Negast ( gez, ክብረ ነገሥት, ), or The Glory of the Kings, is a 14th-century national epic from Ethiopia, written in Ge'ez by Nebure Id Ishaq of Axum, by the office of Abuna Abba Giyorgis and at the comma ...

'' and Ethiopian historical tradition states that

Kaleb Kaleb (), also known as Saint Elesbaan, was King of Aksum, which was situated in modern-day Eritrea and Ethiopia. Procopius calls him "Hellestheaeus", a variant of grc-koi, Ελεσβόάς version of his regnal name, gez, እለ አጽብ� ...

had two sons, Israel and

Gabra Masqal Gabra may refer to: *The Gabra people of eastern Africa *Gabra (village), village in Western Bulgaria, part of Elin Pelin Municipality, Sofia Province *Gabra Manfas Qeddus, Ethiopian Christian saint, and the founder of the monastery of Zuqualla *Ga ...

. One tradition claims that Israel was governor of

Adwa Adwa ( ti, ዓድዋ; amh, ዐድዋ; also spelled Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian ...

during his father's reign, but otherwise the Ethiopian chronicles tell little else about him. The official king list of the Ethiopian royal family, published in 1927, states that Israel ruled only for one month between

and Gabra Masqal. Skeptical that this Israel was actually the son of King Kaleb, Munro-Hay suggests that Israel may have been better than the other kings between him and Kaleb (or Gabra Masqal), and tradition compressed the succession.

Richard Pankhurst Richard Marsden Pankhurst (1834 – 5 July 1898) was an English barrister and socialist who was a strong supporter of women's rights. Early life Richard Pankhurst was the son of Henry Francis Pankhurst (1806–1873) and Margaret Marsden (180 ...

mentions the name of this king as an early example of

Judaic Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, monotheism, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots ...

influence in Ethiopian culture.Richard Pankhurst, ''The Ethiopians: A History'' (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), p. 36

Notes

Kings of Axum 6th-century monarchs in Africa {{Ethiopia-hist-stub