NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Lalibela

Lalibela is a town in northern Ethiopia. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Aksum, and is a center of pilgrimage for much of the country. Unlike Aksum, the population of Lalibela is very nearly 100% Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. Lalibela was intended to be a New Jerusalem in response to the capture of Jerusalem by Muslims, and many of its historic buildings take their name and layout from buildings in Jerusalem. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 269 KB) by Giustino Taken on August 20, 2005 from http://flickr. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 269 KB) by Giustino Taken on August 20, 2005 from http://flickr. ... St. ... Axum, also Aksum, is a city in northern Ethiopia, located at the base of the Adoua mountains. ... Pilgrim at Mecca In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a long journey or search of great moral significance. ... The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in Amharic: á‹¨áŠ¢á‰µá‹®áŒµá‹« áŠ¦áˆá‰¶á‹¶áŠáˆµ á‰°á‹‹áˆ•á‹¶ á‰¤á‰°áŠáˆáˆµá‰µá‹«áŠ• YÃ¤ityopya ortodoks tÃ¤wahedo bÃ©tÃ¤krestyan) is an Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia that was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...

Located in the Semien Wollo Zone of the Amhara ethnic division, or kilil at 2,500 meters above sea level, Lalibela has a latitude and longitude of 12.04° N 39.04° E. Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 14,668, of whom 7,049 were males and 7,619 were females.^[1] According to the 1994 national census, this city had a population of 8,484.^[2] Semien Wollo (or North Wollo) is a Zone in the Ethiopian Amhara Region. ... Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Amhara region. ... Ethiopia is divided into 9 ethnically-based administrative regions (kililoch; singular - kilil): Afar Amhara Benishangul-Gumaz Gambela Hariai Oromia Somali Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region Tigray Additionally, there are two chartered cities (astedader akababiwach, singular - astedader akabibi): Addis Ababa Dire Dawa These administrative regions replaced the older system of... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... The Central Statistical Agency (CSA) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. ...

History

During the reign of Saint Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (a member of the Zagwe Dynasty, who ruled Ethiopia in the late 12th century and early 13th century) the current town of Lalibela was known as Roha. The saintly king was given this name 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. The names of several places in the modern town and the general layout of the monolithic churches themselves are said to mimic names and patterns observed by Lalibela during the time he spent in Jerusalem and the Holy Land as a youth. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2848x2136, 1658 KB) Summary Ethiopian religious, Lalibela taken from www. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2848x2136, 1658 KB) Summary Ethiopian religious, Lalibela taken from www. ... Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (also called simply Lalibela, which means the bees recognise his sovereignty in Old Agaw) was negus of Ethiopia, and a member of the Zagwe dynasty; he is also considered a saint by the Ethiopian church. ... The Zagwe Dynasty ruled Ethiopia from the end of the Kingdom of Axum to 1270, when Yekuno Amlak defeated and killed the last Zagwe king in battle. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... The Emperor (Geez áŠ•áŒ‰áˆ áŠáŒˆáˆ¥á‰µ, , King of Kings) of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. ... Hebrew ×™Ö°×¨×•Ö¼×©Ö¸××œÖ·×™Ö´× (Yerushalayim) (Standard) Yerushalayim or Yerushalaim Arabic commonly Ø§Ù„Ù‚Ù€ÙØ¯Ù’Ø³ (Al-Quds); officially in Israel Ø£ÙˆØ±Ø´Ù„ÙŠÙ… Ø§Ù„Ù‚Ø¯Ø³ (Urshalim-Al-Quds) Name Meaning Hebrew: (see below), Arabic: The Holiness Government City District Jerusalem Population 724,000 (2006) Jurisdiction 123,000 dunams (123 kmÂ²) Mayor Uri Lupolianski Web Address www. ... The expression The Holy Land (Hebrew ××¨×¥ ×”×§×•×“×©: Standard Hebrew Ã‰reáº“ haQodeÅ¡, Tiberian Hebrew Ê¾Ã‰reá¹£ haqQÄá¸Ä“Å¡; Latin Terra Sancta; Arabic Ø§Ù„Ø£Ø±Ø¶ Ø§Ù„Ù…Ù‚Ø¯Ø³Ø©, al-Ará¸ ul-Muqaddasah) generally refers to the Land of Israel. ...

Lalibela 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. As such, many features have Biblical names - even the town's river is known as the River Jordan. It remained the capital of Ethiopia from the late 12th century and into the 13th century. Hebrew ×™Ö°×¨×•Ö¼×©Ö¸××œÖ·×™Ö´× (Yerushalayim) (Standard) Yerushalayim or Yerushalaim Arabic commonly Ø§Ù„Ù‚Ù€ÙØ¯Ù’Ø³ (Al-Quds); officially in Israel Ø£ÙˆØ±Ø´Ù„ÙŠÙ… Ø§Ù„Ù‚Ø¯Ø³ (Urshalim-Al-Quds) Name Meaning Hebrew: (see below), Arabic: The Holiness Government City District Jerusalem Population 724,000 (2006) Jurisdiction 123,000 dunams (123 kmÂ²) Mayor Uri Lupolianski Web Address www. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Main article: Jerusalem This article chronicles the history of Jerusalem. ... This is a list of names from the Bible, taken from the 19th century public domain resource: Hitchcocks New and Complete Analysis of the Holy Bible by Roswell D. Hitchcock, New York: A. J. Johnson, 1874, c1869. ...

The first European to see these churches was the Portuguese explorer Pêro da Covilhã (1460 – 1526). Pedro or Pero da CovilhÃ£ (c. ...

One of the earliest Europeans to see Lalibela was the Portuguese priest Francisco Álvares (1465 - 1540), who accompanied the Portuguese Ambassador on his visit to Lebna Dengel in the 1520s. His description of these structures concludes: Francisco Ãlvares (c. ... Dawit II or David II, better known by his throne name Lebna Dengel (1501 - September 2, 1540) was negus (1508 - 1540) of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonid dynasty. ... ...

Although Ramuso included plans of several of these churches in his 1550 printing of Álvares' book, it is not known who supplied him the drawings. The next reported European visitor to Lalibela was Miguel de Castanhoso, who served as a soldier under Christovão da Gama and left Ethiopia in 1544.^[4] After de Castanhoso, over 300 years passed until the next European, Gerhard Rohlfs, visited Lalibela at some time between 1865 and 1870. CristovÃ£o da Gama (1514 - 1542), was a Spanish captain and explorer and son of Vasco da Gama. ... Friedrich Gerhard Rohlfs (April 14, 1831 - June 2, 1896) was a German geographer and adventurer who was the first European to cross Africa north to south. ...

According to the Futuh al-Habasa of Sihab ad-Din Ahmad, Ahmad Gragn burned one of the churches of Lalibela during his invasion of Ethiopia.^[5] However, Richard Pankhurst has expressed his skepticism about this event, pointing out that although Sihab ad-Din Ahmad provides a detailed description of a monolithic church ("It was carved out of the mountain. Its pillars were likewise cut from the mountain."^[6]), only one church is mentioned; Pankhurst adds that "what is special about Lalibela (as every tourist knows) is that it is the site of eleven or so rock churches, not just one -- and they are all within more or less a stone's throw of each other!"^[7] Pankhurst also notes that the Royal Chronicles, which mention Ahmad Gragn's laying waste to the district between July and September 1531, are silent about the Imam ravaging the fabled churches of this city.^[8] He concludes with stating that if Ahmad Gragn burned a church at Lalibela, it was most likely Bete Medhane Alem; and if the Muslim army was either mistaken or misled by the locals, then the church he set fire to was Gannata Maryam, "10 miles east of Lalibela which likewise has a colonnade of pillars cut from the mountain".^[9] Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (c. ... January 26 - Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake - thousands die. ...

Churches

This rural town is known around the world for its monolithic churches which play an important part in the history of rock-cut architecture. Though the dating of the churches is not well established, most are thought to have been built during the reign of Lalibela, namely during the 12th and 13th centuries. There are 12 churches, assembled in four groups: Church of St. ... Rock cut architecture refers to the practice of creating buildings, temples, etc. ...

The Northern Group: Bete Medhane Alem, home to the Lalibela Cross and believed to be the largest monolithic church in the world, probably a copy of St Mary of Zion in Aksum. It is linked to Bete Maryam (possibly the oldest of the churches), Bete Golgotha (known for its arts and said to contain the tomb of King Lalibela), the Selassie Chapel and the Tomb of Adam. The Chapel of the Tablet The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion (â€œIgziâ€™itne Maryam Sâ€™iyon Yeityopiya Ortodoks Baytekristiyanâ€ in the languages of Ethiopia) of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the most important and one of the oldest churches of Ethiopia. ... Axum, also Aksum, is a city in northern Ethiopia, located at the base of the Adoua mountains. ...

The Western Group: Bete Giyorgis, said to be the most finely executed and best preserved church. St. ...

The Eastern Group: Bete Amanuel (possibly the former royal chapel), Bete Merkorios (which may be a former prison), Bete Abba Libanos and Bete Gabriel-Rufael (possibly a former royal palace), linked to a holy bakery. The quintessential medieval European palace: Palais de la CitÃ©, in Paris, the royal palace of France. ... Bakery foods A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, cakes and similar foods. ...

Farther afield lie the monastery of Ashetan Maryam and Yimrehane Kristos church (possibly eleventh century, built in the Aksumite fashion but within a cave). Monastery of St. ... Yemrehana Krestos (called Abraham by Francisco Alvarez) was negus of Ethiopia, and a member of the Zagwe dynasty. ... (10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico This article is about natural caves; for artificial caves used as dwellings, such as those in north China, see yaodong. ...

There is some controversy as to when some of the churches were constructed: David Phillipson, professor of African archeology at Cambridge University, has proposed that the churches of Merkorios, Gabriel-Rufael, and Danagel were initially carved out of the rock half a millennium earlier, as fortifications or other palace structures in the waning days of the Axumite Kingdom, and that Lalibela's name simply came to be associated with them after his death.^[10] On the other hand, local historian Getachew Mekonnen credits Masqal Kibra, Lalibela's queen, with having one of the rock-hewn churches (Abba Libanos) built as a memorial for her husband after his death.^[11] The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... The Axumite Kingdom, also known as the Aksum Kingdom, was an important trading nation in northeastern Africa, growing from circa the 5th century BC to become an important trading nation by the 1st century AD. It converted to Christianity in 325 or 328 (various sources). ...

Contrary to theories advocated by writers like Graham Hancock, the great rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were not built with the help of the Knights Templar; abundant evidence exists to show that they were produced solely by medieval Ethiopian civilization. Graham Hancock Graham Hancock (born 1951) is a British writer and journalist. ... The Seal of the Knights Templar This article is about the medieval military order. ...

Other features

Lalibela is also home to an airport (ICAO code HALL, IATA HLL), a large market, two schools and a hospital. Ethiopian wolves can be seen near the town. Lalibela is mentioned as "the city of priests and rock-hewn churches" in Tananarive Due's science-fiction novel My Soul to Keep. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, develops the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. ... The International Air Transport Association is an international trade organization of airlines headquarted in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Students in Rome, Italy. ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... Binomial name Canis simensis Ruppell, 1840 Map of the range of the Ethiopian Wolf. ... Tananarive Due (born 1966) is an American author. ...

Contents

History

Churches

Other features

See also

References

External links

Contents

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Churches

Other features

See also

References

External links

History