400 years since the fall of the Gideon kingdom: a conference in Jerusalem on 14 October

What is happening

The Center for Ethiopian Jewish Heritage will hold a conference titled "New directions in the study of the Kingdom of the Gideons" on 14 October 2026, from 14:30 to 20:00, at the Center in Jerusalem.

According to the Center's own announcement, the conference marks 400 years since the fall of the Kingdom of the Gideons — the Jewish self-rule in northern Ethiopia, finally defeated by Emperor Susenyos in 1626 — and aims to present new research to the scholarly community and to the general public.

What the Kingdom of the Gideons was

"The Kingdom of the Gideons" is the name given in community tradition to the self-rule of Ethiopian Jews in the Simien mountains — the highest range in the Horn of Africa. The name comes from its kings, many of whom bore the name Gideon, after the biblical judge. This leadership was both political and military, and it fought a long conflict with the Christian Solomonic dynasty that ruled the region.

Why this is a community matter, not only an academic one

This story barely appears in the Israeli history taught in schools, and most of what was written about it was written by Christian historians — that is, by the side that won. A conference presenting new research on the period is, in practice, the return of an entire narrative to a place where it can be cited.

Nor is it a one-off: the Center holds academic conferences, book launches and folklore events through the year, plus events around dates such as Sigd and the anniversary of Operation Solomon. An earlier Center conference on the same subject — "The Kingdom of the Gideons: the political autonomy of Ethiopian Jews and its struggles with the Christian Solomonic kingdom" — was held back in 2022.

The Center for Ethiopian Jewish Heritage

The Center is a national knowledge body for the study of the culture and heritage of Ethiopian Jewry. It runs a research institute, an archive and database, commemoration activity, education and exhibitions, and a database of Beta Israel heritage sites in Ethiopia.

Address: 1 Sderot Shazar, Binyanei Ha'uma, Jerusalem
Phone: 02-6772568

Registration details and the full programme are published on the Center's conferences page. Check there before setting out.

Sources

Center for Ethiopian Jewish Heritage — conferences page · verified 8 Sep 2026
Center for Ethiopian Jewish Heritage — events calendar · verified 8 Sep 2026