The Order of the Seal of Solomon is an order of

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

of the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historical ...

, founded by

Emperor Yohannes IV ''girmāwī''His Imperial Majesty, spoken= am , ጃንሆይ ''djānhoi''Your Imperial Majesty(lit. "O steemedroyal"), alternative= am , ጌቶቹ ''getochu''Our Lord (familiar)(lit. "Our master" (pl.)) yohanes Yohannes IV (Tigrinya: ዮሓ� ...

in 1874 as the highest imperial honour, containing five grades. In 1930, an even higher Order was established, i.e. the

Order of Solomon The Imperial Order of Solomon was an order of knighthood of the Ethiopian Empire founded in 1874. A special class Collar was created by Empress Zauditu in 1922. It was a split off from the Order of the Seal of Solomon and created as an independent ...

, which was a split off from the Order of the Seal of Solomon. The Order was conferred on members of imperial house and upon persons who had rendered meritorious services. After the deposition of Haile Selassie and dissolution of the

, the order continued as a house order to be awarded by the House of Solomon. Today, its current Grand Master is the President of the Crown Council, Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, the grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. The

Solomonic dynasty The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire formed in the thirteenth century. Its members claim lineal descent from the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Tradition asserts ...

, the ancient

Imperial House A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, claims descent from King Solomon and the

Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

, said to have given birth to King Menelik I after her visit to Solomon in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Grades

The Order has five grades. The superior class "Collar" was introduced in the Order by Empress Zauditu in 1922, but with the amendment in 1930, this grade was separated as independent order by

Emperor Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

(i.e., as the

, with a single class of "Collar"). *Superior class: ** Collar (''separated as independent order in 1930''; limited to members of the imperial family and 5 ordinary recipients); *Five ordinary classes: ** Grand Cordon (limited to 15 recipients); ** Grand Officer (limited to 25 recipients); ** Commander (limited to 35 recipients); ** Officer (limited to 45 recipients); ** Chevalier (limited to 55 recipients).

Description

The badge of the order is a gold

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

with a

cross bottony A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasi ...

in the center enameled green with a central gold Latin cross. The badge was suspended by the Ethiopian crown in gold. The plaque bears the badge of the order on a gold star with rays. The ribbon is solid green. Lower grades of the order had the central cross botton enameled.

References

External links

The Imperial Orders and Decorations of Ethiopia: the Order of Solomon’s Seal
- website of the

Crown Council of Ethiopia The Crown Council of Ethiopia is a community organization and cultural center with the mission of preserving the culture(s) of the former Ethiopian Empire, as well as promoting development and humanitarian efforts. Today, the Crown Council abandon ...

Ethiopia: The Order of Solomon's Seal
- website Medals of the World Solomon Solomon Orders, decorations, and medals of Ethiopia Awards established in 1874 1874 establishments in Africa {{orders-medals-stub