Solomonic dynasty

House of Solomon
ሰሎሞናዊው ሥርወ መንግሥት
Sälomonawīwi širiwä menigišiti

Solomonic dynasty
Country Ethiopian Empire
Place of originBete Amhara
Founded1270 AD
FounderYekuno Amlak
Current headZera Yacob Amha Selassie
Final rulerHaile Selassie
Titles
Deposition12 September 1974
Cadet branches
  • Gondarine Branch
  • Shewan Branch
    • Bete Amhara - wollo branch
  • Tigrean Branch
  • Gojjam Branch

The Solomonic dynasty, also known as the House of Solomon, was the ruling dynasty of the Ethiopian Empire from the thirteenth to twentieth centuries. The dynasty was founded by Yekuno Amlak, who overthrew the Zagwe dynasty in 1270. His successors claimed he was descended from the legendary king Menelik I, the supposed son of the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, in order to legitimize the dynasty's assumption of power. Although this claimed ancestry gave the dynasty its name, there is no credible evidence that the dynasty was descended from Solomon or the Davidic line. The Solomonic dynasty remained in power until 1974, when its last emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown by a coup d'état.