The name of the dynasty is thought to derive from the ancient Ge'ez phrase Ze-Agaw, meaning "opponent", in reference to the Mara Tekle Hymanote, the founder of the dynasty. Zagwe's best-known King was Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, who is credited with having constructed the rock-hewn monolithic churches of Lalibela.
In 1270, the Zagwe Dynasty ended and Yekuno Amlak took the throne and restored the "Solomonic Dynasty".
In tenth century, Queen Gudit united the Felashas, and marched on Aksum to try to remove Christianity and the Aksumite dynasty from Ethiopia once and for all. She destroyed Aksum, overthrew and killed the King and Princes ending the Aksumite kingdom. This led to the rise of the "Zagwe Dynasty".
The Zagwe kings were further distinguished from the Aksumite kings in that they did not belong to the same ethnic and linguistic group as the Aksumites. These kings were, therefore, described in Ethiopian traditional historical documents as usurpers and their dynasty (the Zagwe Dynasty) as illegitimate.
The Kingdom of Aksum was a trading empire centered in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia. It existed approximately 100–940 AD, growing from the Iron Age proto-Aksumite period c. fourth century BC to achieve prominence by the first century AD.
Religion. Christianity was introduced to Ethiopia in the 4th century, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (called Tewahdo in Ethiopia) is one of the oldest organized Christian bodies in the world.
"Before its conversion to Christianity, the Aksumites practiced a polytheistic religion related to the religion practiced in southern Arabia. This included the use of the crescent-and-disc symbol used in southern Arabia and the northern horn.
The adoption of Christianity in Ethiopia dates to the fourth-century reign of the Aksumite emperor Ezana. Frumentius sought out Christian Roman merchants, was converted, and later became the first bishop of Aksum. At the very least, this story suggests that Christianity was brought to Aksum via merchants.
Christian Roots
Pinpointing a date as to when Christianity emerged in Ethiopia is uncertain. The earliest and best known reference to the introduction of Christianity is in the New Testament (Acts 8:26-38) when Philip the Evangelist converted an Ethiopian court official in the 1st Century AD.Religion in Ethiopia consists of a number of faiths. Among these mainly Abrahamic religions, the most numerous is Christianity (Ethiopian Orthodoxy, Pentay, Roman Catholic) totaling at 62.8%, followed by Islam at 33.9% . There is also a longstanding but small Jewish community.
"Ethiopian" was a Greek term for black-skinned peoples generally, often applied to Kush (which was well known to the Hebrews and often mentioned in the Hebrew Bible). The eunuch was not from the land today known as Ethiopia, which corresponds to the ancient Kingdom of Aksum, which conquered Kush in the fourth century.
Muslim exegesis preserves the tradition that Matthew and Andrew were the two disciples who went to Ethiopia (not the African country, but a region called 'Ethiopia' south of the Caspian Sea) to preach the message of God.
Ezana became the King of Axum. Under his rule, Ezana embraced Christianity in 327 A.D. and made it the dominant religion of Axum. Ezana made the cross the official symbol of his conversion. Axum began to experience a decline during the seventh century with the rise of Islam which spread west from the Arabian Peninsula.
Haile Selassie I was Ethiopia's 225th and last emperor, serving from 1930 until his overthrow by the Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1974. The longtime ruler traced his line back to Menelik I, who was credited with being the child of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
Lalibela, the best-known Zagwe emperor, ruled at the beginning of the 13th century and is known for building the monolithic rock-hewn churches at the Zagwe capital, which was later renamed for him.
In a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia, some 645 km from Addis Ababa, eleven medieval monolithic churches were carved out of rock. Their building is attributed to King Lalibela who set out to construct in the 12th century a 'New Jerusalem', after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the holy Land.
In a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia, some 645 km from Addis Ababa, eleven medieval monolithic churches were carved out of rock. Their building is attributed to King Lalibela who set out to construct in the 12th century a 'New Jerusalem', after Muslim conquests halted Christian pilgrimages to the holy Land.
Lalibela (Ge'ez: ????), regnal name Gebre Meskel (Ge'ez: ??? ????, lit. He was given the name "Lalibela", meaning "the bees recognise his sovereignty" in Old Agaw, due to a swarm of bees said to have surrounded him at his birth, which his mother took as a sign of his future reign as Emperor of Ethiopia.
Lalibela, revered as a saint, is said to have seen Jerusalem, and then attempted to build a new Jerusalem as his capital in response to the capture of old Jerusalem by Muslims in 1187. Each church was carved from a single piece of rock to symbolize spirituality and humility.
The Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela are located in the Western Ethiopian Highlands near the town of Lalibela, named after the late-12th and early-13th century King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela of the Zagwe Dynasty, who commissioned the massive building project of 11 rock-hewn churches to recreate the holy city of Jerusalem in
Early Christianity became the established church of the Ethiopian Axumite Kingdom under king Ezana in the 4th century when priesthood and the sacraments were brought for the first time through a Syrian Greek named Frumentius, known by the local population in Ethiopia as "Selama, Kesaté Birhan" ("Father of Peace,
Lalibela
| lalibela ???? |
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| The Church of Saint George, one of many churches hewn into the rocky hills of Lalibela |
| lalibela Location in Ethiopia |
| Coordinates: 12°01′54″N 39°02′28″ECoordinates: 12°01′54″N 39°02′28″E |
| Country | Ethiopia |
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Some believe they were carved by the Knights Templar, Christian crusaders who, during the 13th Century when the churches were created, were at the height of their power. King Lalibela built these churches around Ethiopia's own stretch of the Jordan River, his intent being to welcome Christians to a 'New Jerusalem'.
