Lalibela
Lalibela ( am, ላሊበላ) is a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Lasta district and North Wollo Zone, it is a tourist site for its famous rock-cut monolithic churches. The whole of Lalibela is a large and important site for the antiquity, medieval, and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia. To Christians, Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, and a center of pilgrimage. Ethiopia was one of the earliest nations to adopt Christianity in the first half of the 4th century, and its historical roots date to the time of the Apostles. The churches themselves date from the 7th to 13th centuries, and are traditionally dated to the reign of the Zagwe (Agaw) king Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (r. ca. 1181–1221). The layout and names of the major buildings in Lalibela are widely accepted, especially by local clergy, to be a symbolic representation of Jerusalem. This has led some experts to date the current church construction to the years following the capture o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela
The eleven Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela are monolithic churches 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 his own kingdom. The site remains in use by the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church to this day, and it remains an important place of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox worshipers. It took 24 years to build all the 11 rock hewn churches. History According to local tradition, Lalibela (traditionally known as Roha) was founded by an Agew family called the Zagwa or Zagwe in 1137 AD. The churches are said to have been built during the Zagwe dynasty, under the rule of King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (r. ca. 1181–1221 AD), although it is more likely that they evolved into their current form over the course of several phases of construction and alte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gebre Mesqel Lalibela
Lalibela ( gez, ላሊበላ), regnal name Gebre Meskel (Ge'ez: ገብረ መስቀል ; 1162 – 1221), was King of Zagwe dynasty, reigning from 1181 to 1221.Getachew Mekonnen Hasen, ''Wollo, Yager Dibab'' (Addis Ababa: Nigd Matemiya Bet, 1992) According to Taddesse Tamrat, he was the son of Jan Seyum and brother of Kedus Harbe. Perhaps the most well-known of the Zagwe monarchs, the namesake monolithic rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are attributed to his reign. He is venerated as a saint by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church on 19 June. Biography King Lalibela was born at either Adefa or Roha (it was later named Lalibela after him) in Bugna in 1162 AD. 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. Tradition states that he went into exile due to the hostility of his uncle Tatadim and his br ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Church Of Saint George, Lalibela
The Church of Saint George ( am, Bete Giyorgis) is one of eleven rock-cut architecture, rock-hewn monolithic churches in Lalibela, a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Originally named ''Roha'' (''Warwar''), the historical and religious site was named Lalibela after the King Lalibela (Emperor of Ethiopia), Gebre Mesqel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty, who commissioned its construction. He is regarded as a saint by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. History The Church of Saint George was carved downwards from a type of volcanic tuff. This is the sole architectural material that was used in the structure. It has been dated to the late 12th or early 13th century AD, and thought to have been constructed during the reign of King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, of the late Zagwe dynasty. It is among the best known and last built of the eleven churches in the Lalibela area, and has been referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". Lalibela, King of Ethiopia, sought to recreate Jerusa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Biete Maryam
Biete Maryam is one of the monolithic rock-cut Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. Like the other churches of Lalibela, its precise date of construction is unknown, although it was built no earlier than the 7th century AD (during the Kingdom of Axum) and no later than the 13th century AD (during the Solomonic dynasty and Ethiopian Empire). The churches of Lalibela, including Biete Maryam, are traditionally ascribed to having been built during the reign of the Zagwe dynasty ruler Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (r. ca. 1181–1221). Archaeological analyses have discerned that the ruins of defensive fortifications date to roughly the 8th century AD, while the monolithic rock-cut churches were built in two stages: the first from the 11th to early 12th centuries, and the second phase from the late 12th to early 13th centuries. 3D Documentation The Zamani Project spatially documented the ro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Monolithic Church
A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. Because freestanding rocks of sufficient size are rare, such edifices are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain. They can be of comparable architectural complexity to constructed buildings. The term ''monolithic church'' is used of churches in various countries, not least the complex of eleven churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia, believed to have been created in the 12th century. Ethiopia The eleven monolithic churches in Lalibela are: * Church of the Redeemer * Saint Mary * Mount Sinai * Golgotha * House of the Cross * House of the Virgins * Saint Gabriel * Abba Matta * Saint Mercurius * Immanuel * Church of St. George (Bete Giyorgis) The most famous of the edifices is the cross-shaped Church of St. George. Tradition credits its construction to the Zagwe dynasty King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, who was a devout Orthodox Tewahedo Christian. The medieval monolith ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Biete Medhane Alem
Biete Medhane Alem is an Orthodox underground monolith rock-cut church located in Lalibela, Ethiopia. It was built during the Zagwe dynasty The Zagwe dynasty ( Ge'ez: ዛጔ ሥርወ መንግሥት) was an Agaw medieval dynasty that ruled the northern parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, after the historical name of the Lasta province. Centered at Lalibela, it ruled large parts of the t .... It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. Biete Medhane Alem (House of the Saviour of the World) is home to the Lalibela Cross. References Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela {{Ethiopia-church-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Zagwe Dynasty
The Zagwe dynasty ( Ge'ez: ዛጔ ሥርወ መንግሥት) was an Agaw medieval dynasty that ruled the northern parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, after the historical name of the Lasta province. Centered at Lalibela, it ruled large parts of the territory from approximately 900 to 1270 CE, when the last Zagwe King Za-Ilmaknun was killed in battle by the forces of the Amhara King Yekuno Amlak. The name of the dynasty is thought to derive from the ancient Ge'ez phrase ''Ze- Agaw'', meaning "of the Agaw", in reference to the Mara Tekle Haymanot, 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. David Buxton has stated that the areas under the direct rule of the Zagwe kings apart from the centre of power in Lasta "probably embraced the highlands of modern Eritrea, Tigray, Waag and Bete Amhara and thence westwards towards Lake Tana (Begemder)." Unlike the practice of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east and northeast, Kenya to the south, South Sudan to the west, and Sudan to the northwest. Ethiopia has a total area of . As of 2022, it is home to around 113.5 million inhabitants, making it the 13th-most populous country in the world and the 2nd-most populous in Africa after Nigeria. The national capital and largest city, Addis Ababa, lies several kilometres west of the East African Rift that splits the country into the African and Somali tectonic plates. Anatomically modern humans emerged from modern-day Ethiopia and set out to the Near East and elsewhere in the Middle Paleolithic period. Southwestern Ethiopia has been proposed as a possible homeland of the Afroasiatic langua ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rock-cut Architecture
Rock-cut architecture is the creation of structures, buildings, and sculptures by excavating solid rock where it naturally occurs. Intensely laborious when using ancient tools and methods, rock-cut architecture was presumably combined with quarrying the rock for use elsewhere. Though, in India and China, the terms ''cave'' and ''cavern'' are often applied to this form of man-made architecture, caves and caverns that began in natural form are not considered to be rock-cut architecture even if extensively modified. Although rock-cut structures differ from traditionally built structures in many ways, many rock-cut structures are made to replicate the facade or interior of traditional architectural forms. Interiors were usually carved out by starting at the roof of the planned space and then working downward. This technique prevents stones falling on workers below. The three main uses of rock-cut architecture were temples (like those in India), tombs, and cave dwellings (like those in C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Amhara Region
The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Regional Government of Amhara. Amhara is the site of the largest inland body of water in Ethiopia, Lake Tana (which is the source of the Blue Nile), and Semien Mountains National Park (which includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia). Amhara is bordered by Sudan to the west and northwest and by other the regions of Ethiopia: Tigray to the north, Afar to the east, Benishangul-Gumuz to the west and southwest, and Oromia to the south. History During the Ethiopian Empire, Amhara included several provinces (such as Dembiya, Gojjam, Begemder, Angot, Wollo, Shewa and Lasta), most of which were ruled by native Ras or Negus. The current Amhara region corresponds to often large parts of the former provinces of Begemder, Dembiya, Angot, B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Biete Abba Libanos
Biete Abba Libanos (House of Abbot Libanos) is an underground rock-cut monolith Orthodox church located in Lalibela, Ethiopia. It was built during the Kingdom of Axum. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Lalibela. 3D model based on laser scanning The Biete Abba Libanos was spatially documented in 2007 by the non-profit research group Zamani Project The Zamani Project is part of the African Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes Database. Zamani is a research group at the University of Cape Town, which acquires, models, presents and manages spatial and other data from cultural heritage sites ..., which specialises in 3D digital documentation of tangible cultural heritage. A 3D model can be viewed on their website. The data generated by the Zamani Project creates a permanent record that can be used for research, education, restoration, and conservation. References External links 3D Modelcreated by the Zamani Project. {{coord, 12.03141, N, 39.04518, E, source: ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
North Wollo Zone
North Wollo (Amharic: ሰሜን ወሎ) also called Semien Wollo, is a zone in Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is bordered on the south by South Wollo, on the west by South Gondar, on the north by Wag Hemra, on the northeast by Tigray Region, and on the east by Afar Region; part of its southern border is defined by the Mille River. Its highest point is Mount Abuna Yosef. Its towns include Lasta Lalibela (known for its rock-cut churches) and Weldiya (also spelled Woldia). North Wollo acquired its name from the former province of Wollo. Overview " All eight rural woredas of this Zone have been grouped amongst the 48 woredas identified as the most drought prone and food insecure in the Amhara Region. Most of this Zone is mountainous and characterized by steep slopes, which are unsuitable for agriculture and severely limits the cultivated area. A survey of the land in this Zone shows that 24% is arable or cultivable, 4.6% pasture, 0.37% forest, 17.4% shrubland, 47.3% degraded or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |