Odd Royal Treasures With Strange Historical Backstories

The idea of the Throne of Solomon in Ethiopia is less about a surviving chair and more about power and a strategic origin story. In 1270, Yekuno Amlak took the throne and claimed he was restoring a sacred lineage tracing back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. This claim was cemented in the 14th-century text Kebra Nagast, which framed Ethiopian emperors as divinely chosen. Later thrones, such as that of Haile Selassie in 1930, leaned heavily into this symbolism, featuring lions and angelic figures associated with the “Lion of Judah.”