Mereja Forum

[Selam/]

The Monastery of Abunä Abraham in Ger'alta

Ethiopia’s ancient civilisations are believed to date back more than 3,000 years. Many of the country’s most famous ancient artefacts are found in Tigray. And Ger'alta hosts some of Tigray’s oldest churches and monasteries.Pottery, inscriptions and hagiographic traditions dating back to the Aksumite period depict Ger‘alta as one of the most important regions of ancient civilisation in the Horn of Africa. Cartographically, it appears in the 15th century as a component of the Ǝndärta province that occupied eastern and south eastern Tigray.

Ger'alta’s mountains give it one of the most captivating terrains in the northern Ethiopian highlands. Many of these mountains host ancient rock-hewn churches and monasteries, making the area a spiritual haven for pilgrims. These structures are recognised as world heritage sites.

[Selam/]

Debre Abbay

Debre Abbay is a monastery of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church located at the edge of the canyon of the Tekezé River in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The monastery dates from the 14th century, and has important connections with Ethiopian history: the Battle of Debre Abbay was fought nearby 14 February 1831; and notable Ethiopian scholars and Kings, such as Emperor Zara Yaqob & *Gedamu Woldegiorgis, continued to be educated there well into the early to mid-1900s.

When Paul B. Henze visited the monastery in 2001, he described it as flourishing and self-sufficient, inhabited by 80 monks, 12 nuns, and "30-odd" priests. The church of the monastery was bombed by the Italians during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War 17 December 1935. It was rebuilt in the 1950s with donations from the Emperor Haile Selassie

*Gedamu Woldegiorgis was one of the scholars that helped Emperor Haile Selassie in drafting the first Ethiopian Constitution in 1930s.

[Selam/]

The Old St Mary of Zion built by King Fasiledes

[Fiyameta]

[Selam/]

The new St Mary of Zion Church Built by Emperor Haile Selassie:

[Digital Weyane]

ሐዋርያው ጳውሎስ ወደ ደማስቆ ሲሄድ ሳለ ክርስቶስ እንደተገለጠለት ፣ ትግራዋይ ጁንታዋይ ዎንድሜ Selam/ ደግሞ ዎደ ፕሪቶሪያ እየተጓዘ እያለ ነበር ኢትዮጵያዊ መሆኑን የተገለጠለት። ከፕሪቶሪያ መልስ በኋላ ከብልጥግና ጋር በይፋ ተደመረ። ለሆዱ ብሎ ተዋሐደ። የትግራይ ወጣቶች <<ለዚህ ነበር ወይ የውክልና ጦርነት አውጀህ ያስፈጀኸን?>> እያሉ ዘፈኑለት

[Selam/]

ሐዋርያው ጳውሎስ ወደ ደማስቆ ሲሄድ ሳለ ክርስቶስ እንደተገለጠለት ፣ ስም የለሹ የህግደፍ ሸምቃቃ ካድሬ ደግሞ ዎደ ሰሜን ኮርያ እየተጓዘ እያለ ነበር ሲንጋፖርን በቀኝ በኩል አልፏት እንደሄደ የተገለጠለት። ከፕዮንግ-ያንግ መልስ በኋላ ከሃሰን መሐመድና አልሲሲ ጋር በይፋ ተደመረ። በአሳነባሪ ከምበላ ብሎ ተዋሐደ። የሳዋ ምልምሎችም ስልጠናውን ስንጨርሽ እንዳንተ በኤይር ኮርዮ እንበራለን ብለው ከበሮ ደለቁለት፣ ዘፈኑለት!

ሐዋርያው ጳውሎስ ወደ ደማስቆ ሲሄድ ሳለ ክርስቶስ እንደተገለጠለት ፣ ትግራዋይ ጁንታዋይ ዎንድሜ Selam/ ደግሞ ዎደ ፕሪቶሪያ እየተጓዘ እያለ ነበር ኢትዮጵያዊ መሆኑን የተገለጠለት። ከፕሪቶሪያ መልስ በኋላ ከብልጥግና ጋር በይፋ ተደመረ። ለሆዱ ብሎ ተዋሐደ። የትግራይ ወጣቶች <<ለዚህ ነበር ወይ የውክልና ጦርነት አውጀህ ያስፈጀኸን?>> እያሉ ዘፈኑለት

[Selam/]

Saint Elesbaan, King of Ethiopia (+ 555)


St. Elesbaan of Axum (Feast Day - October 24)

Saint Elesbaan, also known as Kaleb, was King of Ethiopia, and lived when Arabia was ruled by Dunaan, the oppressor of Christians. The pious Elesbaan was unable to look on indifferently as believers in Christ were being massacred. He declared war on Dunaan, but his military campaign was unsuccessful.

Wishing to learn the reason for his defeat, Elesbaan, with prompting from above, turned to a certain hermit. He revealed to the emperor that he had proceeded unrighteously in deciding to take revenge against Dunaan, since the Lord had said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Heb 10:30).



The hermit counseled King Elesbaan make a vow to devote his final days of life to God, to escape the wrath of God for his self-willed revenge, and then to defeat Dunaan. Elesbaan made a vow to the Lord, and marching off with his army against the enemy, he defeated, captured and executed him. After the victory the Saint resigned as king, sent his royal crown to Jerusalem to be kept in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and secluded himself within a monastery, where for fifteen years he dwelt in strict fasting and asceticism. God endowed him with the grace of miracle-working before and after his death. He entered into rest in the year 555.



In the monastery where the blessed King Elesbaan reposed, a monk developed the habit of visiting a tavern often, getting drunk there, and even committing immoral acts with women. One day, returning from the tavern, a terrifyingly huge snake began chasing him and gained on him rapidly. In great torment and anguish, the monk cried out: "Depart from me, as you would from the holy and righteous Elesbaan!" Suddenly, the snake stopped. And the monk heard as it were a human voice from the serpent: "An angel of God commanded me to consume you because of your impurity and foulness, for you vowed to serve God in purity, but now you soil your body and anger the Holy Spirit." The monk vowed never to sin again, returned to the monastery, and sinned no more up to his death. Thus, God rebuked, and showed mercy, by the prayers of the Holy King Elesbaan.



Besides several inscriptions bearing his name, Axum also contains a pair of ruined structures, one said to be his tomb and its partner said to be the tomb of his son Gabra Masqal. (Tradition gives him a second son, Israel, whom it has been suggested is identical with the Axumite king Israel.) This structure was first examined as an archaeological subject by Henry Salt in the early 19th century; almost a century later, it was partially cleared and mapped out by the Deutsche Aksum-Expedition in 1906. The most recent excavation of this tomb was in 1973 by the British Institute in East Africa.
https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2017/1 ... 5.html?m=1

[Fiyameta]

The Adwa-born TPLF cadre Selam/ has prevented Muslim residents of Axum from building a Mosque in their own city that they are forced to worship in the streets, as if they were second class citizens. He also forces the Muslims to bury their dead 25 kilometers outside the city limits. Chigray is the worst place to be a Muslim.

Mohamed, a resident of Axum, complained of discriminatory practices against Muslims in Tigray in general and Axum in particular. "Not only are we not allowed to build a mosque in the first land that championed the cause of Islam, but we also don't have a cemetery. When Muslims die we have to walk 25 kilometers outside the city to bury them."

[Selam/]

AKSUMITE EMPIRE GODS: MYTHOLOGY OF CIVILIZATION WRITTEN IN STONE

by IVAN KRALJ



We should all know more about the Kingdom of Aksum. Yet, the Aksumite Empire gods, mythology, and history, seem to have vanished from our collective knowledge. Aksum civilization was not the first to experience such sinking into oblivion.

I don’t know who is Luca Tosi. The Internet doesn’t have a clue about him either. My knowledgeable Ethiopian tour guide has never heard of the guy. Yet, the memorial stone in honor of Luca Tosi (1985-2013), “a talented young man who, engaged with the ideals of peace and friendship among all nations, took part to the struggle for the return of the obelisk snatched to Rome”, stands there on the hill of Yeha Hotel in Aksum.

The hotel seems to be worn out, with no guest in sight. Aksum tourism is not in its heyday. Just me and a Dutch guy who also read in some guidebook that this is a great viewpoint of the stelae field nearby.

At one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Africa, the people of the Aksumite civilization erected the world’s greatest monolithic monuments, buried some of the most important royalties of the time, and became the guardians of a very controversial artifact – Moses’ 10 Commandments that they supposedly still keep in the mythical Ark of the Covenant in the local chapel.

With not one but many fantastic story plots, why don’t we know more about the Kingdom of Aksum?­ Is Luca Tosi just the freshest example of the theory that not everything written in stone is “written in stone”?

https://www.pipeaway.com/kingdom-of-aksum/

[Fiyameta]

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Pastor Selam/, the most honest weyane.

[Selam/]

The kingdom of Aksum

by The British Museum



Jar, late 3rd–4th century, ceramic, 11.8 cm high, Kingdom of Aksum (© Trustees of the British Museum)

One of the four greatest powers in the world


Approximate extent of the Kingdom of Aksum, 6th century (underlying map © Google)

Aksum was the name of a city and a kingdom which is essentially modern-day northern Ethiopia (Tigray province) and Eritrea. Research shows that Aksum was a major naval and trading power from the 1st to the 7th centuries C.E. As a civilization it had a profound impact upon the people of Egypt, southern Arabia, Europe, and Asia, all of whom were visitors to its shores, and in some cases were residents.

Aksum developed a civilization and empire whose influence, at its height in the 4th and 5th centuries C.E., extended throughout the regions lying south of the Roman Empire, from the fringes of the Sahara in the west, across the Red Sea to the inner Arabian desert in the east. The Aksumites developed Africa’s only indigenous written script, Ge’ez. They traded with Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean, and Arabia.

Despite its power and reputation—it was described by a Persian writer as one of the four greatest powers in the world at the time—very little is known about Aksum. Written scripts existed, but no histories or descriptions have been found to make this African civilization come alive.

A counterpoint to the Greek and Roman worlds

Aksum provides a counterpoint to the Greek and Roman worlds, and is an interesting example of a sub-Saharan civilization flourishing towards the end of the period of the great Mediterranean empires. It provides a link between the trading systems of the Mediterranean and the Asiatic world, and shows the extent of international commerce at that time. It holds the fascination of being a “lost” civilization, yet one that was African, Christian, with its own script, coinage, and international reputation. It was arguably as advanced as the Western European societies of the time.

The society was hierarchical with a king at the top, then nobles, and the general population below. This hierarchy can be discerned by the buildings that have been found, and the wealth of the goods found in them. Although Aksum had writing, very little has been found out about society from inscriptions. It can be assumed that priests were important, and probably traders, too, because of the money they would have made. Most of the poor were probably craftsmen or farmers. In some descriptions, the ruler is described as “King of Kings” which might suggest that there were other, junior kings in outlying parts of the empire which the Aksumites gradually took over. There is evidence of at least 10–12 small towns in the kingdom, which suggests it was an urban society, but for descriptions of these there is only archaeological evidence. Little or nothing is known about such things as the role of women and family life.


Coin with bust of King Kaleb, c. 500–525, gold, Kingdom of Aksum (© Trustees of the British Museum)

Christianity

Aksum embraced the Orthodox tradition of Christianity in the 4th century (c. 340–356 C.E.) under the rule of King Ezana. The king had been converted by Frumentius, a former Syrian captive who was made Bishop of Aksum. On his return, Frumentius had promptly baptized King Ezana, who then declared Aksum a Christian state, followed by the king’s active converting of the Aksumites. By the 6th century, King Kaleb was recognized as a Christian by the emperor Justin I of Byzantium (ruled 518–527) when he sought Kaleb’s support in avenging atrocities suffered by fellow Christians in South Arabia. This invasion saw the inclusion of the region into the Aksumite kingdom for the next seven decades.

Judaism

Although Christianity had a profound effect upon Aksum, Judaism also had a substantial impact on the kingdom. A group of people from the region called the Beta Israel have been described as “Black Jews.” Although their scriptures and prayers are in Ge’ez, rather than in Hebrew, they adhere to religious beliefs and practices set out in the Pentateuch (Torah), the religious texts of the Jewish religion. Although often regarded by scholars/academics as not technically “Jewish” but instead a pre-Christian, Semitic people, their religion shares a common ancestry with modern Judaism. Between 1985 and 1991, almost the whole Beta Israel population of Ethiopia was moved to Israel.

Solomon and Sheba

The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon are important figures in Ethiopian heritage. Traditional accounts describe their meeting when Sheba, Queen of Aksum, went to Jerusalem, and their son Menelik I formed the Solomonic dynasty from which the rulers of Ethiopia (up to the 1970s) are said to be descended. It has also been claimed that Aksum is the home of the Biblical Ark of the Covenant, in which lies the “Tablets of Law” upon which the Ten Commandments are inscribed. Menelik is believed to have taken it on a visit to Jerusalem to see his father. It is supposed to reside still in the Church of St Mary in Aksum, though no-one is allowed to set eyes on it. Replicas of the Ark, called Tabots, are housed in all of Ethiopia’s churches, and are carried in procession on special days.

© Trustees of the British Museum


https://smarthistory.org/the-kingdom-of-aksum/

[Fiyameta]

The Adwa-born TPLF cadre Selam/ has prevented Muslim residents of Axum from building a Mosque in their own city that they are forced to worship in the streets, as if they were second class citizens. He also forces the Muslims to bury their dead 25 kilometers outside the city limits. Chigray is the worst place to be a Muslim.

Mohamed, a resident of Axum, complained of discriminatory practices against Muslims in Tigray in general and Axum in particular. "Not only are we not allowed to build a mosque in the first land that championed the cause of Islam, but we also don't have a cemetery. When Muslims die we have to walk 25 kilometers outside the city to bury them."

[Selam/]

[Fiyameta]

[Selam/]

[Fiyameta]

[Fiyameta]

[Fed_Up]

አዬ ሰላም አይነምድሯ አጋሜ
ምን አልሽ? እስኪ ይደገም

ረስተሽው ነው የአማራ ጭንብልሽን ሳታወልቂ ይህን የለጠፍሽው?

[Fiyameta]