Wikipedia

Zagwe dynasty

TheZagwe dynasty(Amharic:ዛጔ መንግሥት) was a medievalAgawmonarchy that ruled the northern parts ofEthiopiaandEritrea.It ruled large parts of the territory from approximately 1137 to 1270 AD, when the last ZagweKingZa-Ilmaknun was killed in battle by the forces of theAmharaKingYekuno Amlak.The Zagwe are most famous for their kingGebre Meskel Lalibela,who is credited with having ordered the construction of therock-hewnmonolithic churchesofLalibela.

Zagwe dynasty
ዛጔ መንግሥት(Amharic)
1137–1270
Christian territories during the Zagwe Dynasty circa 1200 AD
Christian territories during the Zagwe Dynasty circa 1200 AD
CapitalAdefa[1]
Common languages
Religion
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo(official)[5]
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy
Negus(King)
• early 12th century
Mara Takla Haymanot
• 13th century
Yetbarak
History
• Established
1137
• Other theories for the start
c. 930
1270
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Kingdom of Aksum
Ethiopian Empire

The name "Zagwe" is thought to derive from the ancientGe'ezphraseZe-Agaw,meaning "of theAgaw",in reference to the Mara Tekle Haymanot, the founder of the dynasty.[6]This term does not appear in contemporary sources, neither in indigenous documents nor in accounts of foreign observers.[7]

David Buxtonhas stated that the areas under the direct rule of the Zagwe kings apart from the centre of power inLasta"probably embraced the highlands of modernEritrea,Tigray,WagandBete Amharaand thence westwards towardsLake Tana(Begemder). "[8]Unlike the practice of later rulers of Ethiopia,Taddesse Tamratargues that under the Zagwe dynasty theorder of successionwas that of brother succeeding brother as king, based on the Agaw laws ofinheritance.

History

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According to one tradition, around 960, QueenGuditdestroyed the remnants of theKingdom of Aksum,causing a shift in its temporal power centre that later regrouped more to the south. For 40 years she ruled over what remained of the kingdom, eventually passing on the throne to her descendants, with Mara marrying the daughter of the last king of Aksum,Dil Na'od.According to other Ethiopian traditional accounts, the last of her dynasty was overthrown byMara Takla Haymanotin 1137.[9]Still more, according to another tradition, Mara was born in the province ofLasta,which was his power base. Originally a general of Dil Na'od, whose daughterMasoba Warqbecame his wife, Mara overthrew his father-in-law to found the new dynasty.[9]James Bruce,on the other hand, presents another tradition that Dil Na'od was overthrown byGudit,and that Mara Takla Haymanot (whom Bruce calls "Takla Haymanot" ) was a cousin of Gudit who succeeded her after several of her own family.[10]

Church of Saint George, Lalibelaconstructed during the reign of KingGebre Mesqel Lalibela

Three inscriptions discovered inAxummention the names of two kings, Dabra Ferem and his son Hasani Dan'el, who were Christian but are not recorded onEthiopian regnal lists.[11]The first inscription tells how Hasani Dan'el attacked rebel tribes inKassalaand claims that he conquered thirty peoples.[11]The second inscription tells how the people ofWelkaitrebelled and laid waste toAxum,and in response he carried off large numbers of cattle and other animals from them.[11]Dan'el then went to the country of theMayaand took 10,000 sheep and 3,000 cattle.[12]The third inscription tells of how Dan'el went toAxumafter his campaigns to be acknowledged as king and imprisoned the old king.[12]It is difficult to date the reigns of these kings, but it likely occurred in the early 10th century when the power of the Solomonic line was in decline.[13]Enno Littmanntheorized that these kings were forerunners of the Zagwe dynasty andE.A. Wallis Budgebelieved they may have even founded the Zagwe line.[12]

12th century mural showing the baptism ofJesus Christ.Yemrahana Krestos Church,Lalibela.

The Zagwe period is still shrouded in mystery; even the number of kings in this dynasty is disputed. Some sources (such as the Paris Chronicle, and manuscripts Bruce 88, 91, and 93) give the names of eleven kings who ruled for 354 years; others (among them the bookPedro PáezandManuel de Almeidasaw atAxum) list only five who ruled 143.[14]Paul B. Henzereports the existence of at least one list containing 16 names.[15]

Processional cross, perhaps fromLasta.While undated it is, like similar shaped crosses, commonly associated with the Zagwe dynasty.[16]

According toCarlo Conti Rossini,the shorter mooted length of this dynasty is the more likely one. He argues that a letter received by thePatriarch of AlexandriaJohn Vshortly before 1150 from an unnamed Ethiopian monarch, in which the Patriarch is asked for a newabunabecause the current office holder was too old, was from Mara Takla Haymanot, who wanted theabunareplaced because he would not endorse the new dynasty.[17]

The mystery of the Zagwe dynasty is perhaps darkest around its replacement by theSolomonic dynastyunder Yekuno Amlak. The name of the last Zagwe king is lost—the surviving chronicles and oral traditions give his name asZa-Ilmaknun,which is clearly a pseudonym (Taddesse Tamrat translates it as "The Unknown, the hidden one" ), employed soon after his reign by the victorious Solomonic rulers in an act ofdamnatio memoriae.Taddesse Tamrat believes that this last ruler was actuallyYetbarak.The end of the Zagwe came whenYekuno Amlak,who never personally claimed to be descendant of Dil Na'od or King Solomon, and acting under the guidance of either SaintTekle Haymanotor SaintIyasus Mo'a,pursued the last king of the Zagwe and killed him at theBattle of Ansata.[18]

Royal title

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18th-century copy of land grant of KingTatadim(12th century) stored in theUra Masqalchurch.

In his land grants of 1204 and 1225, Lalibela called himselfnegus( "king" ), which was the traditional title for Ethiopian kings. Besidesnegushe also called himselfhasani,which means as much as "tutor", "nurse" or "counselor". This title first appeared in a 10th-century account byIbn Hawqaldescribing an anonymous Ethiopian king, but also features in two undated Ge'ez inscriptions and the land grant of kingTantawedeminc.1030. Lalibela's land grants are the last timehasaniis associated with the king. By the reign ofAmda Seyonin the first half of the 14th century it was used to denote a provincial governor.[19]

Like the kings of Aksum who preceded them, the Zagwe kings bore three names: a baptismal name, a regnal name and finally the surname.[20]

Foreign relations

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A fragmentary Ge'ez manuscript discovered in theEgyptianMonastery of Saint Anthonydated to 1160–1265.
Plaque showing a lion, Yemrahana Krestos Church. Originally manufactured in southwestern India.[21]

Unlike Aksum, the Zagwe were virtually unknown to the contemporary powers of the Mediterranean. The only regular relations seem to have been maintained with Egypt and Jerusalem.[22]Although their presence is often claimed to have been of considerable antiquity, it is only in the 11th and 12th centuries when Ethiopians are firmly attested to have lived in Egypt.[23]A rare testament for their presence during the reign of the Zagwe is a fragmentary manuscript written in Ge'ez that was recently discovered in theMonastery of Saint Anthony,dating to the mid-12th to mid-13th centuries.[23]

The earliest sources confirming an Ethiopian community in Jerusalem date to the second half of the 13th century.[24]Yet it is still probable that Ethiopians had lived there before. In the late 12th century, King Lalibela's knowledge of the town was sufficient to have inspired him during the expansion of his capital, adopting Jerusalem's form, attributions and toponyms.[25]

Islam

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An 11th-century mosque frieze reappropriated as an arch inside theWukro Chirkoschurch inTigray.After alithographbyWilliam Simpson,1868.

According to Muslim tradition, thecompanions of the Prophetbriefly lived in Ethiopia in 622 after being exiled from Mecca in theFirst Hijra.However, there is no archaeological evidence for this.[26]There is, however, evidence for a Muslim community[a]in eastern Tigray during the Zagwe period, possibly beingShiitesdepending on Fatimid patronage.[27]Arabic funerarystelesdiscovered nearQwihaconfirm the presence of a Muslim settlement between the 10th and 12th century, although its whereabouts are still unclear.[26]Recent excavations at nearby Bilet found a Muslim cemetery in use from the late 10th to the mid-13th century, although most tombstones date to the 11th century. Thenisbasof the deceased suggest links with Egypt, theArabian Peninsula,and even Iran. Another Islamic cemetery was found at Arra 30 km southwards and was used between the mid-12th and mid-14th century, with most tombstones dating to the 13th century.[29]A now broken frieze with aKuficinscription stored in theWukro Chirkoschurch probably dates to the second half of the 11th century and may have originally been from a mosque, perhaps sponsored by theFatimid Caliphate.[30]Tigray's Muslim community declined from the 12th century because of the collapse of the Fatimids and, if the land grant by king Tantawedem is to be believed, its dispossession by the Zagwe.[31]

List of kings

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See also:Regnal lists of Ethiopia § Zagwe dynasty lists

Surviving chronicles and manuscripts show variation in the number of kings and their individual length of reign. There are three main versions of the Zagwe line that are recorded, known as the 'short', 'long' and 'longer' lists.[32]

Short list

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Example list recorded byPedro Páezcontains 5 names.

Approximate dates: c. 1179–1270 (141 years).

Long list

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Example list below recorded byCarlo Conti Rossinicontains 11 names.[32] This version of the Zagwe dynasty was recorded on the1922 regnal list.

Approximate dates: c. 916–1270 (354 years).

Longer list

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This list contains 16 names.[32]

Approximate dates: c. 937–1270 (333 years).

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^It has been proposed that they were under influence of theDahlak Sultanate.[27]The much laterhagiographyof St. Marqorewos, who lived around the year 1400, mentions a Muslim king in nearbyShirewho might have lived during the reign of king Lalibela.[28]

References

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  1. ^Taddesse, Tamrat (1977). "Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn".The Cambridge History of Africa: Volume 3(PDF).pp.98–182.doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521209816.004.ISBN978-1-139-05457-7.
  2. ^Mohammad Hassan,The Oromo of Ethiopia,p. 3
  3. ^Demeke, Girma A. (2014).The Origin of Amharic.The Red Sea Press. p. 53.ISBN978-1-56902-379-2.OCLC824502290.
  4. ^Edward Ullendorff,The Ethiopians,Oxford University Press, 1960
  5. ^Falola, Toyin (2002).Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide.Greenwood Publishing Group. p. xv.ISBN978-0313313233.
  6. ^Oliver, Roland (1982).The Cambridge history of Africa: From c. 1600 to c. 1790.Vol. 1.Cambridge University Press.p. 112.
  7. ^Marie Laure Derat (2020): "Before the Solomonids: Crisis, Renaissance and the Emergence of the Zagwe Dynasty (Seventh–Thirteenth Centuries)" inA Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea.Brill. p. 47
  8. ^Buxton, David (1970).The Abyssinians.New York: Praeger. p. 44.ISBN0-500-02070-1.
  9. ^abTaddesse Tamrat(1972).Church and State in Ethiopia.Oxford:Clarendon Press.pp.53–64.ISBN0-19-821671-8.
  10. ^Bruce,Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile(1805 edition), vol. 2 pp. 451–453
  11. ^abcBudge, E. A. Wallis (1928).A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia (Volume I).London: Methuen & Co. p. 276.
  12. ^abcBudge, E. A. Wallis (1928).A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia (Volume I).London: Methuen & Co. p. 277.
  13. ^Budge, E. A. Wallis (1928).A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia (Volume I).London: Methuen & Co. pp.276–277.
  14. ^Huntingford, G. W. B. (1965). "'The Wealth of Kings' and the End of the Zāguē Dynasty ".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.28(1): 8.doi:10.1017/S0041977X00056731.JSTOR611706.S2CID161195803.
  15. ^Henze, Paul (2000).Layers of Time.New York: Palgave. p. 50 n.19.
  16. ^Chojnacki, Stanislaw (2005). "Wandgemäldem Ikonen, Manuskripte, Kreuze und anderes liturgisches Gerät". In Walter Raunig (ed.).Das christliche Äthiopien. Geschichte – Architektur – Kunst.Schnell & Steiner. pp.236–237.
  17. ^Taddesse Tamrat (1972).Church and State in Ethiopia.Oxford:Clarendon Press.pp. 56ff.ISBN0-19-821671-8.
  18. ^Huntingford 1965,p. 2
  19. ^Marie Laure Derat (2020): "Before the Solomonids: Crisis, Renaissance and the Emergence of the Zagwe Dynasty (Seventh–Thirteenth Centuries)" in "A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea". Brill. pp. 38–39
  20. ^Marie-Laure Derat (2010): "The Zagwe dynasty (11–13th centuries) and King Yemrehanna Krestos",Annales d'Ethiopie,25,p. 171
  21. ^Flood, Finbarr Barry; Fricke, Beate (2023).Tales Things Tell: Material Histories of Early Globalisms.Princeton University. p. 179.
  22. ^Bausi, Alessandro (2017). "The Zagwe" inEthiopia: History, Culture and Challenges,p. 108
  23. ^abEl-Antony, Fr. Maximous; Blid, Jesper (2016). "An Early Ethiopic Manuscript Fragment (Twelfth–Thirteenth Century) from the Monastery of St Antony (Egypt)",Aethiopica,19, pp. 47–48
  24. ^van Donzel, E.(1999). "Were there Ethiopians in Jerusalem at the Time of Saladin's Conquest in 1187?".East and West in the Crusader States: Context – Contacts – Confrontations II.Leuven: Peeters.ISBN90-429-1287-1.
  25. ^Phillipson, David W. (2018). "Jerusalem and the Ethiopian Church. The Evidence of Roha (Lalibela)".Tomb and Temple: Re-imagining the Sacred Buildings of Jerusalem.Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp.261–266.ISBN978-1-78327-280-8.
  26. ^abLoiseau, Julien et al. (2021): "Bilet and the wider world: new insights into the archaeology of Islam in Tigray"Antiquity95, 509
  27. ^abMuehlbauer, Mikael (2021): "From Stone to Dust: The Life of the Kufic-Inscribed Frieze of Wuqro Cherqos in Tigray, Ethiopia"Muqarnas38, 10
  28. ^Derat, Marie-Laure (2020): "L’affaire des mosquées. Interactions entre le vizirat fatimide, le patriarcat d’Alexandrie et les royaumes chrétiens d’Éthiopie et de Nubie à la fin du xie siècle"Médiévales79, 27–28
  29. ^Loiseau, Julien et al. (2021): "Bilet and the wider world: new insights into the archaeology of Islam in Tigray"Antiquity95, 523–525
  30. ^Muehlbauer, Mikael (2021): "From Stone to Dust: The Life of the Kufic-Inscribed Frieze of Wuqro Cherqos in Tigray, Ethiopia"Muqarnas38, 15
  31. ^Muehlbauer, Mikael (2021): "From Stone to Dust: The Life of the Kufic-Inscribed Frieze of Wuqro Cherqos in Tigray, Ethiopia"Muqarnas38, 17
  32. ^abcdeSellassie, Sergew Hable (1972).Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to 1270.Addis Ababa.pp.240–241.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading

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  • Derat, M.-L. (2018).L'énigme d'une dynastie sainte et usurpatrice dans le royaume chrétien d'Ethiopie, XIe–XIIIe siècle(in French). Brepolis.ISBN978-2-503-57908-5.
  • Muehlbauer, Mikael (2023). "An African" Constantine "in the Twelfth Century: The Architecture of the Early Zagwe Dynasty and Egyptian Episcopal Authority".Gesta.62(2):127–152.doi:10.1086/725791.[1]
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  1. ^Muehlbauer, Mikael (2023)."An African" Constantine "in the Twelfth Century: The Architecture of the Early Zagwe Dynasty and Egyptian Episcopal Authority".Gesta.62(2):127–152.doi:10.1086/725791.
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