LION OF JUDAH (Aryeh Yehudah in Hebrew), an emblem of the Solomonic Emperors of Ethiopia and a Jewish national and cultural symbol, traditionally regarded as the representation of the Israelite tribe of Judah. According to the Kebra Nagast, a thirteenth-century treatise on Ethiopia’s history, Queen Makeda of Ethiopia, also referred to as the Queen of Sheba conceived a son with King Solomon, monarch of the tribe of Judah, in ancient Palestine. Following her return to Ethiopia, her son, Menelik I, founded the Solomonic dynasty and continued the line directly until Emperor Haile Selassie I was removed from power in 1974. Some histories record the presence of other members of the tribes of Dan and Judah who accompanied Queen Makeda back to Ethiopia from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem, which may account for the Ge’ez motto, “The Lion of Judah has conquered.” Haile Selassie I used the title “Lion of Judah” explicitly, and the motif figured prominently in Ethiopia’s old imperial flag, currency, and stamps. It may still be seen as a national symbol.
Given its linkage to and representation of Haile Selassie I, the Lion of Judah is also a prominent symbol in the Rastafari movement. It denotes kingship, pride, freedom, power, and African sovereignty. In this context, it bears a cultural and religious identity that diverges from Western convention and history by constructing an alternative vision of a Black messiah and Black nation following the Biblical verse, “King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.”