The Lost Jewish Kingdom: The Fascinating Story of the Gideons

One of Africa's most popular tourist sites is the Simien Mountains National Park. Each year, countless visitors from around the world explore its beauty. The park is home to a special type of baboon found only in these mountains. In addition, the area boasts breathtaking waterfalls and hiking trails that traverse the mountains, where visitors may occasionally encounter remnants of ancient walls or structures.

Not many know that these mountains were, for many centuries, the fortified stronghold of a Jewish kingdom known as "Kingdom of the Gideons."

The Kingdom of the Gideons existed for about 1,300 years, during times when Christians attempted to influence African inhabitants to convert.

In the 4th century, during the era of the Talmudic scholars, the region's Jews lived peacefully among independent tribes, with no single kingdom imposing its religion on them. Christianity began spreading at this time, and the Solomonic dynasty attempted to convert the Jews. Led by their leader, Pinchas, the Jews retreated to the Simien Mountains, fortified themselves, and defended their right to live according to their faith. Their kingdom was called "Kingdom of the Gideons," after their ancient leader Gideon, a name that many in the kingdom adopted.

For centuries, the Solomons attempted to convert the Jews of the Gideon Kingdom, but these Jews chose martyrdom to remain Jewish. Solomonid King Sarsa Dengel's writings recall a Jewish woman captured by the Solomonid army. While being led over a precipice by a soldier, she leaped into the abyss, pulling him with her. An oral tradition among the community recounts that when Emperor Isaac of the Solomonic dynasty ordered the Jews of Ethiopia to convert and waged war against them, 75 community members, seeing the advancing army and knowing they couldn't escape, threw themselves off a cliff rather than be captured and forced to convert.

In 1290, the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo passed through the area, describing a kingdom of bearded Jews with military might, "but their beards aren't as heavy as our Jews'" (as Africans typically have sparser facial hair).

From the 14th century onward, the Solomonic dynasty became a military power eventually known as the "State of Ethiopia." They waged many wars against the Kingdom of the Gideons. The Jews held out for many years, but ultimately Ethiopian Emperor Susenyos conquered their fortress in the Simien Mountains. By 1625, the Kingdom of the Gideons ceased to exist. Their king, "the last Gideon," fell in battle, yet the Jewish inhabitants remained in Ethiopia as the "Beta Israel" community, many of whom have made Aliyah to Israel in recent decades. Emperor Susenyos, influenced by Spanish Christianity, established an inquisition in Ethiopia, but he was not as zealous as his Spanish counterparts, allowing the community to survive for many more years.