GetInTheTruck
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Abrahamic religions were influenced a bit by Egypt and a bit by belief systems to the east of where they were based.
Essential The Official African History Thread
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I don't know why y'all try to argue with @Dafunkdoc_Unlimited he's one of the only people on here that knows history without googling shyt cuz he really reads those books.,.the only west Africans that I can say that can trace their heritages to ancient Egypt is the Dogon people because they share similar tales and astronomy
'Nikkas' don't read............
"outside of Africa"
Dafunkdoc_Unlimited
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Poitier said:
Like I said.........
Dafunkdoc_Unliited said:
But it doesn't predate African culture/civilization.
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Poitier said:
Read this again, slowly.......
Dafunkdoc_Unlimited said:
GetInTheTruck
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I agree with what you're saying but I don't think it's a fact that Egypt was predated by those civilizations. You can find good arguments going both ways. These civilizations were largely contemporaneous anyway, that's why it's stupid to say 'x' got this from 'y' , etc;
18 December 2014 Last updated at 22:46 ET
Africans in India: From slaves to reformers and rulers
By Vikas PandeyBBC Monitoring
This painting shows a reservoir built by an Abyssinian eunuch in the 17th Century
India and Africa have a shared history in trade, music, religion, arts and architecture, but the historical link between these two diverse regions is rarely discussed.
Many Africans travelled to India as slaves and traders, but eventually settled down here to play an important role in India's history of kingdoms, conquests and wars.
Some of them, like Malik Ambar in Ahmadnagar (in western India), went on to become important rulers and military strategists. Ambar was known for taking on the powerful Mughal rulers of northern India.
An exhibition, organised by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of The New York Public Library, in Delhi recently showcased such "forgotten" stories of Africa's role in India's history.
Abyssinians, also known as Habshis in India, mostly came from the Horn of Africa to the subcontinent. Dr Sylviane A Diouf of the Schomburg Center says Africans were successful in India because of their military prowess and administrative skills.
"African men were employed in very specialised jobs, as soldiers, palace guards, or bodyguards; they were able to rise through the ranks becoming generals, admirals, and administrators," she says.
Kenneth Robbins, co-curator of the exhibition, says it is very important for Indians to know that Africans were an integral part of several Indian sultanates and some of them even started their own dynasties.
"Early evidence suggests that Africans came to India as early as the 4th Century. But they really flourished as traders, artists, rulers, architects and reformers between the 14th Century and 17th Century," he says.
This 17th-Century cloth painting depicts a procession of Deccani sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah. African guards are seen here as part of the sultan's army.
Apart from the Deccan sultanates in southern India, Africans also rose to prominence on the western coast of India. Some of them brought their traditional music and Sufi Islam with them.
Mr Robbins says Deccan sultans relied on African soldiers because Mughal rulers of northern India did not allow them to recruit men from Afghanistan and other central Asian countries.
This 1887 painting from Kutch portrays the Sidi Damal, a religious, ecstatic dance form of the Muslim Sidis who were brought to India from East Africa.
Dr Diouf says Indian rulers trusted Africans and their skills. "It was true, especially in areas where hereditary authority was weak and there was ongoing instability due to struggles between factions like in the Deccan," she says.
"Africans sometimes did seize power for their group like they did in Bengal - where they were known as the Abyssinian Party - in the 1480s; or in Janjira and Sachin (on the western coast of India) where they established African dynasties. They also took power on an individual basis, as Sidi Masud did in Adoni (in southern India) or Malik Ambar in Ahmadnagar (in western India)," she adds.
The funerary complex shown in the photograph above was also designed by eunuch Malik Sandal after 1597 in Bijapur (in present-day southern Karnataka state).
This painting from 1590 shows an Indian prince eating in the land of Ethiopians (Habshi) or East Africans (Zangis).
Africans also brought their music to India. This artwork dated 1640-1660 shows a player of the African lyre.
In this 1904 photo taken in Hyderabad in the Deccan region, Africans guards are seen escorting a royal procession.
The most celebrated of the powerful Ethiopian leaders in India was Malik Ambar (1548-1626). His mausoleum still exists in Khuldabad, near Aurangabad district in western India.
This painting shows Nawab Sidi Haidar Khan of Sachin. The African-ruled state of Sachin was established in 1791 in Gujarat. It had its own cavalry and a state band that included Africans, its own coats of arms, currency, and stamped paper. In 1948, when the princely states were incorporated into independent India and ceased to exist, Sachin had a population of 26,000 - 85% Hindu and 13% Muslim - explains Dr Diouf.
The main African figures of the past have not been forgotten but their ethnicity has been erased, consciously or not, she adds.
"The people who have heard of Malik Ambar, for example, generally do not know he was Ethiopian. Does it mean that these men's origin was so irrelevant that it was useless to mention it, or is this historical erasure the product of a conscious denial of the African contribution?" she asks.
Africans in India: From slaves to reformers and rulers
By Vikas PandeyBBC Monitoring
India and Africa have a shared history in trade, music, religion, arts and architecture, but the historical link between these two diverse regions is rarely discussed.
Many Africans travelled to India as slaves and traders, but eventually settled down here to play an important role in India's history of kingdoms, conquests and wars.
Some of them, like Malik Ambar in Ahmadnagar (in western India), went on to become important rulers and military strategists. Ambar was known for taking on the powerful Mughal rulers of northern India.
An exhibition, organised by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of The New York Public Library, in Delhi recently showcased such "forgotten" stories of Africa's role in India's history.
Abyssinians, also known as Habshis in India, mostly came from the Horn of Africa to the subcontinent. Dr Sylviane A Diouf of the Schomburg Center says Africans were successful in India because of their military prowess and administrative skills.
"African men were employed in very specialised jobs, as soldiers, palace guards, or bodyguards; they were able to rise through the ranks becoming generals, admirals, and administrators," she says.
Kenneth Robbins, co-curator of the exhibition, says it is very important for Indians to know that Africans were an integral part of several Indian sultanates and some of them even started their own dynasties.
"Early evidence suggests that Africans came to India as early as the 4th Century. But they really flourished as traders, artists, rulers, architects and reformers between the 14th Century and 17th Century," he says.
This 17th-Century cloth painting depicts a procession of Deccani sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah. African guards are seen here as part of the sultan's army.
Apart from the Deccan sultanates in southern India, Africans also rose to prominence on the western coast of India. Some of them brought their traditional music and Sufi Islam with them.
Mr Robbins says Deccan sultans relied on African soldiers because Mughal rulers of northern India did not allow them to recruit men from Afghanistan and other central Asian countries.
This 1887 painting from Kutch portrays the Sidi Damal, a religious, ecstatic dance form of the Muslim Sidis who were brought to India from East Africa.
Dr Diouf says Indian rulers trusted Africans and their skills. "It was true, especially in areas where hereditary authority was weak and there was ongoing instability due to struggles between factions like in the Deccan," she says.
"Africans sometimes did seize power for their group like they did in Bengal - where they were known as the Abyssinian Party - in the 1480s; or in Janjira and Sachin (on the western coast of India) where they established African dynasties. They also took power on an individual basis, as Sidi Masud did in Adoni (in southern India) or Malik Ambar in Ahmadnagar (in western India)," she adds.
The funerary complex shown in the photograph above was also designed by eunuch Malik Sandal after 1597 in Bijapur (in present-day southern Karnataka state).
This painting from 1590 shows an Indian prince eating in the land of Ethiopians (Habshi) or East Africans (Zangis).
Africans also brought their music to India. This artwork dated 1640-1660 shows a player of the African lyre.
In this 1904 photo taken in Hyderabad in the Deccan region, Africans guards are seen escorting a royal procession.
The most celebrated of the powerful Ethiopian leaders in India was Malik Ambar (1548-1626). His mausoleum still exists in Khuldabad, near Aurangabad district in western India.
This painting shows Nawab Sidi Haidar Khan of Sachin. The African-ruled state of Sachin was established in 1791 in Gujarat. It had its own cavalry and a state band that included Africans, its own coats of arms, currency, and stamped paper. In 1948, when the princely states were incorporated into independent India and ceased to exist, Sachin had a population of 26,000 - 85% Hindu and 13% Muslim - explains Dr Diouf.
The main African figures of the past have not been forgotten but their ethnicity has been erased, consciously or not, she adds.
"The people who have heard of Malik Ambar, for example, generally do not know he was Ethiopian. Does it mean that these men's origin was so irrelevant that it was useless to mention it, or is this historical erasure the product of a conscious denial of the African contribution?" she asks.
Democratic Republic of Congo | Sakara people
Sudan
beautiful craftmanship
It seems like colonialist cacs just got lucky they discovered gun powder before the Africans or else they would have had a tough fight on their hands.
Those weapons look lethalDon't know if posted but,
Some dope pre-colonial Akan architecture:
Prempeh's Palace, Great Hall, maybe Ahenfie Kumasi, 1896-1900
House of a priest in Adwenase, 7 miles south of Ejisu near Kumasi
The royal compound in Bekwai, c. 1900-1904
Basic structure of Akan courtyard buildings
Street view of the 'Execution square in Kumase' 1896-1900
Chief Kwahu compund in the town of Abetifi, c. 1888-1896
Chief Kwahu, Head of the swordbearers of Odow Kwame of Abetifi, seated. c. 1888-1905
Random Drop:
Otumfou Osei Agyeman Prempeh II
Prempeh's Palace, Great Hall, 1896-1900
Chief Kwahu Ado-Kwame in his home in the town of Abetifi, 31 Dec 1917
The Bantama Mausoleum after being destroyed by the British on 20 January 1896
The Ashanti architecture resembles Japanese one. Interesting.
IMO the Ashanti's are the "Japanese of Africa". But more importantly notice how the architecture looks like regular "houses" and not "mud huts"...
i find tewedros story depressing. He really wanted to modernise Ethiopia and trusted Europeans too much to supply him the tech to bring about modernisation. I think he tried to even marry off his daughters to European engineers just so then they could stay in Ethiopia and help modernise the country. In the end, i think the strain became to much and he spiralled into mania. And we all know what happened afterwardsThought I'd do a brief history lesson on the royal figures of modern Ethiopia using pics. Edited and revised edition.
Emperor Tewodros II
His childhood name was Kassa Hailu, he came up during a period of Ethiopian history known as the "Age of Princes" where the power and prestige of the Emperor was eclipsed by the power and influence of various warlords and princes. Each tribe and region had someone they wanted in charge, so the Negus basically became a puppet for whoever had the best army and weapons in order to gain influence over rival kingdoms. Kassa Hailu began his career a "shifta" which is an Ethiopian term for "outlaw" in more contemporary terms it could range from thugs and bandits to rebels and revolutionaries, so these "shiftas" travelled and raided other kingdoms and tribes. Before long, this band of outlaws became an army and from there Kassa consolidated power and outgunned the warlords reigning in control from the rebellious kingdoms of the fractured Ethiopian Empire. In order to keep rebellious Shewans in line he took the prince of their kingdom Sahle Maryam prisoner. Sahle would grow up to become the future Menelik II.
And so Kassa Hailu was finally crowned Emperor Tewodros II and this marked a turning point between the end of the Age of Princes and the beginning of modern Ethiopia. Despite his crowning, many saw Tewodros as a royal surpur although he claimed nobility through his mother. The Emperor believed in advancement, he was much too busy quelling rebellions in the still fragile empire. After the death of his beloved wife he became increasingly brutal. After a British captain failed to secure him help against the Muslims threats to the north he took the Europeans in the kingdom who so happened to also be Brits. His army was soundly defeated, so the Emperor freed the hostages and sent them to the Brits, the Brits respond by saying they'll treat him and his fam with dignity. The Emperor angrily responded he would never surrender, so his fortress stronghold at Maqalla was shelled and using the pistol that brought him fame as a shifta committed suicide on Easter Monday. (Below are pics of him, his captives, and the tragically ironic Ras Alemayhu his son who ended up living in Europe after his father's death. The last pic is a European descendant of very royal blood that was a British actor.)
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Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II of Wag
After the fall of Emperor Tewodros II, 3 powerful princes remained from the long time struggle that was the "Age of Princes". One was Kassi Mercha of Tigray, another was Sahle Maryam of Shewa, and the third was Wagshum Gobeze of Wag. Through his mother he had ties to the Solomonic dynasty, but more interestingly though through his father he had ties to the more mysterious medieval Zagwe dynasty and the rulers of Lasta. When the Jewish Queen Judith(or Gudit, which means trouble) destroyed the remnants of the Axumite Empire, the Solomonic dynasty was forced to the south, the upstart Zagwe dynasty then filled the void. Zagwe was a Ge'ez name for the Agaw tribe who are the indigenous inhabitants of the Ethiopian highlands. Agaws were also close with Beta Israel a.k.a. Ethiopian Jews whom were marginalized by the Axumites and later Solomonic lines. The Zagwe dynasty included King Lalibela who built the famous rock hewn churches in the town that bears his name. The nearly 400 year Zagwe reign ended with the return of a Solomonic descendant of Axum and his army. So this Zagwean comeback began with Wagshum's leading the rebellion of Lasta 6 years after the execution of his father by Tewodros II.
In the Emperors final months, Wagshum began marching his army to Tewodros' stronghold the fortress of Maqalla. After a brief detour to eliminate a rebellious rival, and with the Emperor now dead, Wagshum now proclaimed himself Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II at Soqota in his home of Wag. However with no bishop to crown him, his legitimacy was quickly questioned. To close that gap he showed favor to the church and reversed decisions made by Tewodros before him. After diplomatic olive branches to his rivals didn't work, he arranged to have his have brother marry the first cousin of King Menelik II. While Tekle Giyorgis himself was already married to the sister of his Tigrean rival Kassai Mercha. None of this worked, and while Mercha re-gained access to the sea and British support to train/arm his troops, Menelik built up slowly while he let his rivals destroy each other. When Mercha was able to get a bishop, Tekle Giyorgis decided to attack with no support and against his wife's advice. It was a rout, as he lead a charge he was wounded, blinded, and taken prisoner. Tekle Giyorgis, his brother, and mother were imprisoned in a monastery in Adwa. His wife went on to live comfortably in her brother's court.
Couldn't find pics. Musta been real in the field.
Emperor Yohannes(John) IV of Tigray (Pics:His son Ras Araya Selassie in the first pic, his nephew and heir Ras Mengesha in the last pic.)
A powerful warrior with a tremendous army that at it's height waged wars against Sudan and Egypt, he came from the Tigrayan line of the Solomonic dynasty. When the British came for Tewodros, Kassai Mercha with his powerful band of shiftas turned militia gave the Brits easy passage to the increasingly paranoid Emperor. Not only did he regain the coast from Ottoman control in what is now Eritrea, but he received a handsome reward of weapons and money while the Brits took out his obstacle Tewodros. The British looted artifacts, ancient texts, and Tewodros' belongings, some stayed behind to train Kassai's men. Kassai Mercha used some of the new funds and quickly sent for a new bishop in Alexandria and got one, and after imprisoning his rival/brother in law, he was crowned Emperor Yohannes IV at Axum. Yohannes' reign would be remembered for his many battles against outside forces.
When Egypt plotted to take control of the Nile basin(as usual), Yohannes would have none of it. When Egypt invaded and took the city state of Harar both Yohannes and Menelik were infuriated. After no intervention from European "allies", Yohannes mobilized his army and beat the shyt out of the Egyptians in two major battles after which Menelik was forced to recognize game and accept Yohannes' legitimacy. Their children were married to strengthen ties between the two houses. When the Mahdists rose up against Egypt, Yohannes' agreed with the British to let the Egyptians retreat through his lands in exchange that his claims on Massawa in modern Eritrea would be recognized. Naturally the Europeans didn't give a shyt about his claims.
Mahdist leader Muhammad Ahmad didn't like Yohannes' meddling and got to beefin, meanwhile Menelik and another king from Gojjam rebelled, and the Italians took the port of Massawa, all at the same damn time. His second in command crushed the first Mahdist attack and was in route to attack the Italians, meanwhile Yohannes' crushed the Gojjam rebellion but before getting to Menelik and Shewa, the Mahdists invaded Gondar and burned many of the old churches and so the Emperor went to confront them. As his army was soundly crushing the Mahdis, Yohannes was mortally wounded. Before death, he reveals that his nephew Ras Mengesha was actually his son and named him heir. Upon hearing the news of his death, his once proud army almost completely fell apart. His second in command and new heir salvaged what little they could of the army. As a loyal few were transferring his body back home they were ambushed by Mahdis, one of his most loyal soldiers fought to the death against them. Yohannes body was taken back to Sudan and beheaded, his head is believed to be in Khartoum somewhere. The confusion in succession split the Tigrayan branch, along with the loss of their ancestral land north of the Mareb river which was to become Eritrea, damaged the prestige of the once proud Tigray line and weakened Tigrayan influence overall for years.
Yohannes is also a sad story. I think that betrayal was what fukked up Ethiopia the most.
All this Ethnic infighting and pursuit of power made us forget our own shared origins and traditions that should have united the Habeshas. Instead of fighting and pursuing power, we should have been building up the country and sharing power. In the end we have no one to blame but ourselves for the mess the country is in. The sons will always pay for the crimes of their fathers
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I know right after you left he was like
How big is the picture though? They gotta 30x40 print of this one for $99 that I wanna cop
I need to get this poster somewhereDungur Palace, Aksum, Ethiopia | built between 300 and 500 AD
Dungur (or Dungur 'Addi Kilte) is the name of the ruins of a substantial mansion located in the western part of Aksum, Ethiopia, the former capital of the Kingdom of Aksum. These ruins are located in the western part of Aksum, across the Gondar road from the Gudit Stelae field.
Dungur is known locally and popularly as the Palace of the Queen of Sheba (i.e. the Palace of Makeda in Ethiopia). However, Stuart Munro-Hay describes it as "the sort of dwelling that a prosperous Aksumite, perhaps a noble or high official of the fourth to sixth centuries AD, might have constructed for himself.
Dungur (or Dungur 'Addi Kilte) is the name of the ruins of a substantial mansion located in the western part of Aksum, Ethiopia, the former capital of the Kingdom of Aksum. These ruins are located in the western part of Aksum, across the Gondar road from the Gudit Stelae field.
Dungur is known locally and popularly as the Palace of the Queen of Sheba (i.e. the Palace of Makeda in Ethiopia). However, Stuart Munro-Hay describes it as "the sort of dwelling that a prosperous Aksumite, perhaps a noble or high official of the fourth to sixth centuries AD, might have constructed for himself.
thiopia - Church of Lalibela
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The 11 medieval monolithic cave churches of this 13th-century 'New Jerusalem' are situated in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia near a traditional village with circular-shaped dwellings. Lalibela is a high place of Ethiopian Christianity, still today a place of pilmigrage and devotion.
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 flourished after the decline of the Aksum Empire.
There are two main groups of churches – to the north of the river Jordan: Biete Medhani Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), Biete Mariam (House of Mary), Biete Maskal (House of the Cross), Biete Denagel (House of Virgins), Biete Golgotha Mikael (House of Golgotha Mikael); and to the south of the river, Biete Amanuel (House of Emmanuel), Biete Qeddus Mercoreus (House of St. Mercoreos), Biete Abba Libanos (House of Abbot Libanos), Biete Gabriel Raphael (House of Gabriel Raphael), and Biete Lehem (House of Holy Bread). The eleventh church, Biete Ghiorgis (House of St. George), is isolated from the others, but connected by a system of trenches.
The churches were not constructed in a traditional way but rather were hewn from the living rock of monolithic blocks. These blocks were further chiselled out, forming doors, windows, columns, various floors, roofs etc. This gigantic work was further completed with an extensive system of drainage ditches, trenches and ceremonial passages, some with openings to hermit caves and catacombs.
Biete Medhani Alem, with its five aisles, is believed to be the largest monolithic church in the world, while Biete Ghiorgis has a remarkable cruciform plan. Most were probably used as churches from the outset, but Biete Mercoreos and Biete Gabriel Rafael may formerly have been royal residences. Several of the interiors are decorated with mural paintings.
Near the churches, the village of Lalibela has two storey round houses, constructed of local red stone, and known as the Lasta Tukuls. These exceptional churches have been the focus of pilgrimage for Coptic Christians since the 12th century.
All the eleven churches represent a unique artistic achievement, in their execution, size and the variety and boldness of their form.
The King of Lalibela set out to build a symbol of the holy land, when pilgrimages to it were rendered impossible by the historical situation. In the Church of Biet Golgotha, are replicas of the tomb of Christ, and of Adam, and the crib of the Nativity. The holy city of Lalibela became a substitute for the holy places of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and as such has had considerable influence on Ethiopian Christianity.
The whole of Lalibela offers an exceptional testimony to the medieval and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia, including, next to the eleven churches, the extensive remains of traditional, two storey circular village houses with interior staircases and thatched roofs.
Aksum
Recent celebrations in Ethiopia no doubt aroused the envy of the Greeks, who have been campaigning fruitlessly for years to convince the British government to return the Elgin marbles. The altogether luckier Ethiopians have, in contrast, finally persuaded the Italians to return a 1,700-year-old stone obelisk looted by Mussolini nearly 70 years ago during the fascist occupation of Ethiopia (BBC News). The obelisk is the finest of more than 100 stone monoliths which stood in Aksum (Axum), capital city of the ancient Aksumite kingdom that flourished in northern Ethiopia between 100-600 CE and which, according to legend, was where Menelik I, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem. As yet, however, few know much about this ancient African civilization, and its role in the development of trade, arts, and religion in the centuries that also witnessed the spread of the Roman Empire, the birth of Christianity, and the rise of Islam (Munro-Hay).
The city of Aksum is located in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, near the Red Sea. The kingdom, of which it was the centre, was founded by Semitic speaking Aksumites or Habash (Abyssinians) and owed its development to a range of factors. The wider region had long been dominated by the Egyptians and by Nubian kingdoms based in Sudan. The Aksum state rose as its nearest rival, the Sudanese kingdom of Meroë, suffered rapid decline as a result of changing political and economic fortunes in the first centuries CE. Aksum took the place of Meroë and, to a lesser extent, Ptolemaic Egypt in international trade networks.
Although located more remotely and without access to either the fertility or easy transport of the Nile that was enjoyed by Egypt and Nubia, the Ethiopian kingdom had distinct advantages. It was closer to the Red Sea and an Arabian sphere of influence that had long been significant in trade in the region, and most importantly, it was sufficiently remote that it did not attract the hostile attention of the Roman or Persian superpowers. As a result, it was never conquered or suffered punitive expeditions that so frequently beset its neighbors and was, thus, left free to develop a unique culture that nurtured some key innovations of the period (Munro-Hay).
The Aksumites developed a sophisticated civilization that contributed a range of innovations in the fields of architecture and ceramics. It developed the Ge`ez or Ethiopic script, which allowed them to leave a legacy of written material and was sufficiently Hellenized for its rulers to also speak Greek. It produced a coinage bearing legends in both Greek and Ge`ez, which name the successive kings of Aksum. From coinage and other inscriptions, a chronology of the period can be reconstructed, while oral histories also tell us something of the political structure of the Aksum state.
The title Negusa Nagast (King of Kings), first established by Aksumite and successive Ethiopian rulers, was used until the death of the late emperor Haile Selassie. In the Aksumite state, other kings and chiefs across Ethiopia were subordinated to the King of Kings, but retained roles as administrators within the new system. The Aksumites had a diverse and difficult territory to subdue, which they seemed to achieve, acquiring dominance over the Red Sea straits and over the sea to what are now the Yemeni and Saudi Arabian coastlands, and beyond.
Perhaps the most spectacular achievements of the Aksumite kingdom were the construction of the great monoliths, of which the example taken by the Italians was the finest. Over 100 such monoliths once stood in Aksum. Carved from hard granite-like rock, the obelisks were erected as funerary markers, or stelae, for deceased members of the aristocracy. The seven largest and most intricately carved obelisks were erected by Ezana, the King of Aksum who converted to Christianity in 325 CE. The carvings depict windows and doors to create the illusion that the obelisks were, in fact, buildings. Funded by trade in such luxuries as turtle shells, ivory, obsidian, rhino horns, emeralds, cattle, and gold, the obelisks are testament to the skill of the Aksumite quarrymen, engineers, and stone carvers, as well as to the power of their rulers. The prosperity and reputation of Aksum was such that, by the third century CE, the Persian philosopher Mani described it as one of the four greatest kingdoms in the world, along with Rome, China, and Persia.
Aksum was strategically located near the Red Sea and maintained close trade relations with Arabia
Aksum also had a key role in the development of the world religions in the region; notably Christianity, and to a lesser extent, Islam. In converting to Christianity, Ezana instituted a radical change in religious practices. Aksumites had hitherto worshipped a pantheon similar to the Greeks and typical of more general late pagan culture in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Conversion required changing inscriptions from the disc and crescent motifs representing the old practices, to the Christian cross. It also aligned the kingdom much more fully with the now Christianized Roman Empire, although the effects of this were unlikely to have been extensive, given the remoteness of the region. Aksum’s first bishop was appointed by Alexandria, and when splits in the Church emerged—first over the Arian heresy and then over the Monophysite doctrine after the Council of Chalcedon in 451—the Aksumite Church remained loyal to the Alexandrian and Eastern Churches, and split from the Imperial Church (Metropolitan Museum of Art).
As with so many ancient civilizations, after a heyday lasting several centuries, Aksum became increasingly unable to maintain its position. During the 6th and 7th centuries, Persia successfully invaded the Yemen, Syria, and Egypt, disrupting Aksum’s trade routes. Arab conquests from the mid 7th century onwards, further transformed the old economic system, partly by blocking the Red Sea route from Adulis to the Roman world, and so Aksum’s prosperity came to an end. Christian Ethiopia was increasingly isolated in a wider Islamic region and it no longer had the allies it needed to maintain its dominance. By 630 CE, Aksum seems to have been abandoned as the political centre of the kingdom, although it has maintained its role as a religious centre and occasional coronation place for later dynasties until the present day.
Despite losing its political preeminence, the civilization of Aksum bequeathed to subsequent Ethiopian kingdoms several important legacies. The first was an independence that managed to preserve some of the characteristics of an ancient way of life. The second was a deep-rooted Christian faith and culture, unique to Ethiopia. The Church continued to sponsor religious arts and culture in Ethiopia after the decline of the Aksumite state, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church remains Monophysite to the present day. Aksum also gained a reputation for religious tolerance. Ella Saham, an Ethiopian ruler of late Aksumite times, gave protection and shelter to the early followers of the Prophet Muhammad, which earned Aksum a place of respect among Muslims even when religious conflicts in the region continued.
More than 98% of what is left of Aksum has yet to be excavated
These characteristics have, in turn, spawned a fabled place for Aksum in Ethiopian legend. For the people of Ethiopia, it is still regarded as the ancient residence and capital city of the Queen of Sheba, the second Jerusalem, and the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. Although it is not clear when oral myths connecting Ethiopian Christianity to Old Testament stories first began, they may date back to the establishment of Christianity in the 4th century CE. Undoubtedly, both kings and priests would have been eager to establish such a pedigree for themselves (up to the time of the end of the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, the dynasty was held to have descended directly from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba through their mythical son, Emperor Menelik I.
Perhaps the persistence of such legends more credibly reflects the importance of the wider region in the development of world religions. Ethiopian traditions can only claim the Solomon and Sheba story as their own because the Old Testament strongly indicates that the land of Ophir, from where Sheba came, was somewhere in Africa. Although not directly related to the later Aksum civilization, nonetheless, the confusion around Old Testament and more recent Christian traditions indicate the deep-seated nature of the range of monotheistic as well as pagan influences in the wider region of which Ethiopia was a part. It is precisely these influences, as they emerged, flourished, declined and persisted over time, that gave Aksum its prominence in the ancient world, and they leave us with a rich cultural legacy to be explored and enjoyed
The 11 medieval monolithic cave churches of this 13th-century 'New Jerusalem' are situated in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia near a traditional village with circular-shaped dwellings. Lalibela is a high place of Ethiopian Christianity, still today a place of pilmigrage and devotion.
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 flourished after the decline of the Aksum Empire.
There are two main groups of churches – to the north of the river Jordan: Biete Medhani Alem (House of the Saviour of the World), Biete Mariam (House of Mary), Biete Maskal (House of the Cross), Biete Denagel (House of Virgins), Biete Golgotha Mikael (House of Golgotha Mikael); and to the south of the river, Biete Amanuel (House of Emmanuel), Biete Qeddus Mercoreus (House of St. Mercoreos), Biete Abba Libanos (House of Abbot Libanos), Biete Gabriel Raphael (House of Gabriel Raphael), and Biete Lehem (House of Holy Bread). The eleventh church, Biete Ghiorgis (House of St. George), is isolated from the others, but connected by a system of trenches.
The churches were not constructed in a traditional way but rather were hewn from the living rock of monolithic blocks. These blocks were further chiselled out, forming doors, windows, columns, various floors, roofs etc. This gigantic work was further completed with an extensive system of drainage ditches, trenches and ceremonial passages, some with openings to hermit caves and catacombs.
Biete Medhani Alem, with its five aisles, is believed to be the largest monolithic church in the world, while Biete Ghiorgis has a remarkable cruciform plan. Most were probably used as churches from the outset, but Biete Mercoreos and Biete Gabriel Rafael may formerly have been royal residences. Several of the interiors are decorated with mural paintings.
Near the churches, the village of Lalibela has two storey round houses, constructed of local red stone, and known as the Lasta Tukuls. These exceptional churches have been the focus of pilgrimage for Coptic Christians since the 12th century.
All the eleven churches represent a unique artistic achievement, in their execution, size and the variety and boldness of their form.
The King of Lalibela set out to build a symbol of the holy land, when pilgrimages to it were rendered impossible by the historical situation. In the Church of Biet Golgotha, are replicas of the tomb of Christ, and of Adam, and the crib of the Nativity. The holy city of Lalibela became a substitute for the holy places of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and as such has had considerable influence on Ethiopian Christianity.
The whole of Lalibela offers an exceptional testimony to the medieval and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia, including, next to the eleven churches, the extensive remains of traditional, two storey circular village houses with interior staircases and thatched roofs.
Aksum
Recent celebrations in Ethiopia no doubt aroused the envy of the Greeks, who have been campaigning fruitlessly for years to convince the British government to return the Elgin marbles. The altogether luckier Ethiopians have, in contrast, finally persuaded the Italians to return a 1,700-year-old stone obelisk looted by Mussolini nearly 70 years ago during the fascist occupation of Ethiopia (BBC News). The obelisk is the finest of more than 100 stone monoliths which stood in Aksum (Axum), capital city of the ancient Aksumite kingdom that flourished in northern Ethiopia between 100-600 CE and which, according to legend, was where Menelik I, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem. As yet, however, few know much about this ancient African civilization, and its role in the development of trade, arts, and religion in the centuries that also witnessed the spread of the Roman Empire, the birth of Christianity, and the rise of Islam (Munro-Hay).
The city of Aksum is located in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, near the Red Sea. The kingdom, of which it was the centre, was founded by Semitic speaking Aksumites or Habash (Abyssinians) and owed its development to a range of factors. The wider region had long been dominated by the Egyptians and by Nubian kingdoms based in Sudan. The Aksum state rose as its nearest rival, the Sudanese kingdom of Meroë, suffered rapid decline as a result of changing political and economic fortunes in the first centuries CE. Aksum took the place of Meroë and, to a lesser extent, Ptolemaic Egypt in international trade networks.
Although located more remotely and without access to either the fertility or easy transport of the Nile that was enjoyed by Egypt and Nubia, the Ethiopian kingdom had distinct advantages. It was closer to the Red Sea and an Arabian sphere of influence that had long been significant in trade in the region, and most importantly, it was sufficiently remote that it did not attract the hostile attention of the Roman or Persian superpowers. As a result, it was never conquered or suffered punitive expeditions that so frequently beset its neighbors and was, thus, left free to develop a unique culture that nurtured some key innovations of the period (Munro-Hay).
The Aksumites developed a sophisticated civilization that contributed a range of innovations in the fields of architecture and ceramics. It developed the Ge`ez or Ethiopic script, which allowed them to leave a legacy of written material and was sufficiently Hellenized for its rulers to also speak Greek. It produced a coinage bearing legends in both Greek and Ge`ez, which name the successive kings of Aksum. From coinage and other inscriptions, a chronology of the period can be reconstructed, while oral histories also tell us something of the political structure of the Aksum state.
The title Negusa Nagast (King of Kings), first established by Aksumite and successive Ethiopian rulers, was used until the death of the late emperor Haile Selassie. In the Aksumite state, other kings and chiefs across Ethiopia were subordinated to the King of Kings, but retained roles as administrators within the new system. The Aksumites had a diverse and difficult territory to subdue, which they seemed to achieve, acquiring dominance over the Red Sea straits and over the sea to what are now the Yemeni and Saudi Arabian coastlands, and beyond.
Perhaps the most spectacular achievements of the Aksumite kingdom were the construction of the great monoliths, of which the example taken by the Italians was the finest. Over 100 such monoliths once stood in Aksum. Carved from hard granite-like rock, the obelisks were erected as funerary markers, or stelae, for deceased members of the aristocracy. The seven largest and most intricately carved obelisks were erected by Ezana, the King of Aksum who converted to Christianity in 325 CE. The carvings depict windows and doors to create the illusion that the obelisks were, in fact, buildings. Funded by trade in such luxuries as turtle shells, ivory, obsidian, rhino horns, emeralds, cattle, and gold, the obelisks are testament to the skill of the Aksumite quarrymen, engineers, and stone carvers, as well as to the power of their rulers. The prosperity and reputation of Aksum was such that, by the third century CE, the Persian philosopher Mani described it as one of the four greatest kingdoms in the world, along with Rome, China, and Persia.
Aksum was strategically located near the Red Sea and maintained close trade relations with Arabia
Aksum also had a key role in the development of the world religions in the region; notably Christianity, and to a lesser extent, Islam. In converting to Christianity, Ezana instituted a radical change in religious practices. Aksumites had hitherto worshipped a pantheon similar to the Greeks and typical of more general late pagan culture in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Conversion required changing inscriptions from the disc and crescent motifs representing the old practices, to the Christian cross. It also aligned the kingdom much more fully with the now Christianized Roman Empire, although the effects of this were unlikely to have been extensive, given the remoteness of the region. Aksum’s first bishop was appointed by Alexandria, and when splits in the Church emerged—first over the Arian heresy and then over the Monophysite doctrine after the Council of Chalcedon in 451—the Aksumite Church remained loyal to the Alexandrian and Eastern Churches, and split from the Imperial Church (Metropolitan Museum of Art).
As with so many ancient civilizations, after a heyday lasting several centuries, Aksum became increasingly unable to maintain its position. During the 6th and 7th centuries, Persia successfully invaded the Yemen, Syria, and Egypt, disrupting Aksum’s trade routes. Arab conquests from the mid 7th century onwards, further transformed the old economic system, partly by blocking the Red Sea route from Adulis to the Roman world, and so Aksum’s prosperity came to an end. Christian Ethiopia was increasingly isolated in a wider Islamic region and it no longer had the allies it needed to maintain its dominance. By 630 CE, Aksum seems to have been abandoned as the political centre of the kingdom, although it has maintained its role as a religious centre and occasional coronation place for later dynasties until the present day.
Despite losing its political preeminence, the civilization of Aksum bequeathed to subsequent Ethiopian kingdoms several important legacies. The first was an independence that managed to preserve some of the characteristics of an ancient way of life. The second was a deep-rooted Christian faith and culture, unique to Ethiopia. The Church continued to sponsor religious arts and culture in Ethiopia after the decline of the Aksumite state, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church remains Monophysite to the present day. Aksum also gained a reputation for religious tolerance. Ella Saham, an Ethiopian ruler of late Aksumite times, gave protection and shelter to the early followers of the Prophet Muhammad, which earned Aksum a place of respect among Muslims even when religious conflicts in the region continued.
More than 98% of what is left of Aksum has yet to be excavated
These characteristics have, in turn, spawned a fabled place for Aksum in Ethiopian legend. For the people of Ethiopia, it is still regarded as the ancient residence and capital city of the Queen of Sheba, the second Jerusalem, and the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. Although it is not clear when oral myths connecting Ethiopian Christianity to Old Testament stories first began, they may date back to the establishment of Christianity in the 4th century CE. Undoubtedly, both kings and priests would have been eager to establish such a pedigree for themselves (up to the time of the end of the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, the dynasty was held to have descended directly from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba through their mythical son, Emperor Menelik I.
Perhaps the persistence of such legends more credibly reflects the importance of the wider region in the development of world religions. Ethiopian traditions can only claim the Solomon and Sheba story as their own because the Old Testament strongly indicates that the land of Ophir, from where Sheba came, was somewhere in Africa. Although not directly related to the later Aksum civilization, nonetheless, the confusion around Old Testament and more recent Christian traditions indicate the deep-seated nature of the range of monotheistic as well as pagan influences in the wider region of which Ethiopia was a part. It is precisely these influences, as they emerged, flourished, declined and persisted over time, that gave Aksum its prominence in the ancient world, and they leave us with a rich cultural legacy to be explored and enjoyed