This historical novel, The Lion of Judah: Menelik the First, is the second of two closely linked stories by Harold Bergsma, the first of which was Tamrin: Merchant of Aksum. In this work, Menelik, (considered to be a saint by many in Ethiopia and also known as "The Lion of Judah") will become the First Emperor of the Aksumite Kingdom, and thus in modern thought, of Ethiopia.Enjoy this fascinating and compelling story-whether you deem it fiction or historical or both! Dr. Harold M. Bergsma acknowledges it is based on significant research of his own and documentation by historians held in high esteem.Harold M. Bergsma has published several professional and scholarly works as well as nine novels, all dealing with international topics and characters. His work has been awarded three literary awards. His novel, Bonded, was published by Rupa International Press, November 2012, and depicts the life of a boy bonded to a carpet manufacturer in Pakistan, his struggle to survive and eventual escape with another boy to find home. His later work, a historical novel, Tamrin: Merchant of Aksum, portrayed the travels of Tamrin, merchant for the Queen of Sheba, to the countries surrounding the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.In this novel, Menelik is the co-protagonist with Tamrin. Mal Ankh is the interlinked primary antagonist, and Miriam the secondary antagonist, the daughter of Tamrin. Tamrin was the captain and leader of guards and chief organizer in all Makeda's (Queen Sheba) trading expeditions. The geographical setting is what is now called Ethiopia (Empire of Aksum), or as some ancient books called the country, Abyssinia, near to the time of the death of King Solomon, 921 B.C. Historical novels have been around for an exceptionally long time. This work is one of them-and a captivating one.Menelik's biological father was Solomon, according to several legendary sources including the Kebra Negast, and in this story also the biological father of Mal Ankh, who was a son by one of his father's many concubines in Israel, as the story goes. (Song of Solomon)Harold Bergsma has been strongly influenced by India, Pakistan, Yemen, Nigeria, Ethiopia and other countries in Africa. His father, a medical missionary traveled with the family by freighter to Ethiopia, Aden and India taking his family with him. Bergsma's earliest years were in Ethiopia; his later childhood years in India near the North West Frontier Province. International living and travel, language learning and cross-cultural socialization marked Bergsma strongly. He learned Hindustani as a youth. He returned later in a professional capacity as consultant for USAID, World Bank and Asian Development Bank in projects related to institution building and management training.He earned his doctorate at Michigan State University in International Development Education and African Languages and Linguistics. His first international work experience was in Nigeria (1955-1967) as the founding principal, helping to establish two secondary schools in remote sections of that country, before and after Independence. He speaks and writes in the Tiv language and studied the Hausa language at Michigan State University and became a Fellow of the African Studies Center.**********The Lion of Judah is Harold Bergsma's first work published by Manor Publishing Collective (MPC), a new not-for-profit publishing company specifically for senior authors.If you would like to know more about Manor Publishing Collective, or if you're over 62 and have something you'd like published for a very small fee, check out booksbyseniors.org for more information.
