Yekuno Amlak

Yekuno Amlak (d. 1285) was the historical founder of Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty, seizing the throne in 1270 after overthrowing the ruling Zagwe dynasty. He claimed direct descent from the ancient royal line of Aksum and, through it, from the biblical King Solomon, a claimed lineage later elaborated in the Kebra Nagast and used to legitimize Solomonic rule in Ethiopia for nearly seven centuries afterward, until the deposition of Haile Selassie in 1974. Unlike the earlier legendary Menelik I, Yekuno Amlak is a documented historical ruler whose seizure of power marks a real and datable political turning point in medieval Ethiopian history.