History and architecture of the Ethiopian Zagwe Dynasty

2026-03-24 - 00:25

Amidst wars and rumours of wars, a study of ancient history can help remind us that even in the aftermath of falling kingdoms and conquered cities, civilisation can be rebuilt. For the Lenten season, I felt a spotlight on African Christian history before the European colonial period would be intellectually refreshing. Between 1130 and 1270 AD, the Zagwe Dynasty ruled much of Eritrea and Ethiopia in East Africa. While Europe waged the Crusader wars and England developed the Magna Carta, the kings of the Zagwe dynasty were constructing architectural marvels. Zagwe kings built churches hewn out of monolithic rock and five-aisled basilicas based on Coptic and Byzantine architecture. Some of these churches are UNESCO World Heritage sites to this day. The Zagwe Dynasty was a medieval Ethiopian kingdom, founded by the king Mara Takla Haymanot, who took over the remains of the Aksumite Empire. The Aksumite empire formerly ruled Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen and parts of Saudi Arabia at its height around 400AD. Queen Gudit led an army to conquer the capital of Aksum and kill the last Aksumite emperor around 960 AD. After destroying major churches and killing many priests, Queen Gudit reigned for 40 years until 1000 AD. Conflicting Legends say that Mara Takla Haymanot, the first Zagwe king around 1130 AD, either married Queen Gudit’s great-granddaughter or overthrew the last Emperor of Aksum to take the throne. Aksumite Emperors claimed descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Some historical records suggest that the Abuna (Amharic for “father”), the bishop of Ethiopia, refused to acknowledge the kingship of Mara Takla Haymanot, who was seen as a usurper of the Biblical King Solomon’s descendants who ruled the Aksumite empire. To establish their legitimacy with church authorities, the Zagwe Dynasty made great pains to patronise church construction, hence their architectural legacy. One marvel is the cathedral of Māryām Nāzrēt (Mary of Nazareth). The cathedral was erected upon the limestone foundation of a pre-existing Aksumite structure, serving as a metaphor for the Zagwe dynasty itself, since Zagwe kings were trying to inherit the legacy of Aksumite Emperors. The cathedral of Māryām Nāzrēt is a five-room east-oriented structure featuring a central sanctuary and side sanctuaries all topped by cupolas (dome-like structures). The several smaller churches found in the surrounding area mimic the style of Māryām Nāzrēt and were likely all commissioned by Zagwe kings. Zagwe king Anbäsa is credited with rebuilding the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum, which was destroyed by the Jewish Queen Gudit around 960 AD. The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion served as the traditional place for the coronation of Ethiopian emperors and remains a UNESCO World Heritage site. Originally built around the 4th century, Queen Gudit destroyed the original building. While not many details survive about the architecture of the Zagwe-constructed Church of Mary of Zion, it likely featured five aisled basilicas, beautiful mural paintings and was 66 metres long and 41 metres wide, which was huge by the standards of the era. The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion was rebuilt several times since the Zagwe period and remains culturally significant to Ethiopians to this day, as the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church claims that the biblical Ark of the Covenant is kept safe at the church. While much of the Zagwe’s architectural achievements were literally built on the limestone foundations of the former Aksumite empire, Zagwe kings did contribute unique buildings to Ethiopia’s architectural heritage. The most famous of these structures is the monolithic rock-hewn churches built not by bricks and mortar, but by digging into solid rock. The Zagwe built 11 rock-hewn churches in the town of Lalibela, which was named after King Gebre Meskel Lalibela. These churches serve as pilgrimage sites for religious. Zagwe King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela commissioned the Church of Saint George, a rock-hewn monolithic building which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site to this day. The church is referred to as the “eighth wonder of the world” colloquially. The church was built by carving downwards into volcanic rock. It is 12 meters high with a unique Greek cross shape. Access to the church requires descending through a series of hand-cut trenches and tunnels into the church courtyard. Scholar Mikael Muehlbauer published the paper “An African Constantine” in the Twelfth Century: The Architecture of the Early Zagwe Dynasty and Egyptian Episcopal Authority in the University of Chicago Press. This paper recounts that church history experts of Egyptian and Ethiopian Coptic and Orthodox traditions see the Zagwe period as akin to the role Emperor Constantine had in European Christianity. The importance of the Zagwe Dynasty’s contributions to Ethiopian Orthodox church history and architecture cannot be understated. For people wishing to make a pilgrimage to Ethiopia, round-trip tickets from Trinidad and Tobago can at times be found for US$2,000. However, it is unfortunate that the war with Iran has disrupted the major airports in the region, like Dubai and Qatar, which makes a pilgrimage ill-advised at the moment.