How did Ethiopia get its status?

Right in the beginning of the story, it is proclaimed by Domitius and the Archbishop of Rome "that the whole kingdom of the world [belonged] to the Emperor of Rome and the Emperor of Ethiopia." This is a huge statement to make and makes one wonder why both places are so important. They support their claim by verifying that these two Emperors are so important because they're all related and essentially God gave them glory to be #1. The Merchant almost holds the example of how the Ethiopian people want to be represented (through all his good deeds, his travels, and his admiration for King Solomon). He's very well-off, yet he has great admiration for the King. People "who had once come to him [king] did not wish to leave him [king]". Yet, because Tamrin had a mission, he was willing to leave this wonderful king because Ethiopia was more than another place to live, and Tamrin was not just some merchant, but instead was sent away "because of what hath been committed to my [Tamrin's] charge, so that I may give unto her her property." Since the king responded so kindly to both the merchant and the queen by "giving unto him whatever valuable thing he desired for the country of Ethiopia" that's another clue that Ethiopia holds the key to something special.

The charge that Tamrin was sent to do was then passed on to the Queen, who also had a similar reaction after hearing about wise King Solomon. The followers from Ethiopia also showed a strong dedication to their country and their Queen "if thou goest we will go with thee, and if thou sittest down we will sit down with thee; our death shall be with thy death, and our life with thy life."

The charge that Tamrin was sent to do was then passed on to the Queen, who also had a similar reaction after hearing about wise King Solomon. The Queen responds in a very humble way that creates a very close bond between King and Queen. The humble way the queen approaches the king makes her and her country most admirable and raises her status naturally because of their relationship. The humble approach the queen takes allows her to bring herself up by admitting: "from being a fool, I have become wise by following thy wisdom, . . . I have become a CHOSEN woman because of this faith which is in my heart."

I find it very interesting that after they sleep together, Solomon dreams of the brilliant sun that appears in Israel, but leaves Israel and shines in Ethiopia forever "for it [sun] willed to dwell there." (never to return again). The ring that Solomon gave the queen was in correspondence to that dream and was symbolic for the "throne" (sun) being passed over to Ethiopia. Solomon told her that her country " shall be blessed through thee [ring]."

The story smoothly flowed together and by the end of it you realize that the passionate journey of words led to an entire switch of wisdom from Rome to Ethiopia, yet was done in a very flowing way; just like the words.