| Gebra Maskal Lalibela |
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King Lalibela was born at either Adefa or Roha (later named Lalibela after him) in Bugna . Tradition states that he went into exile due to the hostility of his uncle Tatadim and his brother king Kedus Harbe, and was almost poisoned to death by his half-sister. Because Lalibela came to power during his brother's lifetime, Taddesse Tamrat suspects that he came to power by force of arms. 3 The detail about the construction of his 11 Monolithic Church es at Lalibela have been lost. The later ''Gadla Lalibela'', a Hagiography of the king, states that he carved these churches out of stone with only the help of Angel s. 4 His chief queen was Masqal Kibra, about whom a few traditions have survived. She induced Abuna Mikael to make her brother Hirun bishop, and a few years later the Abuna left Ethiopia for Egypt , complaining that Hirun had usurped his authority. 5 Another tradition states that she convinced king Lalibela abdicate in favor of his nephew Na'akueto La'ab , but after 18 months of his nephew's misrule she convinced Lalibela to resume the throne. Taddesse Tamrat suspects that the end of Lalibela's rule was not actually this amiable, and argues that this tradition masks a brief usurpation of Na'akueto La'ab, whose reign was ended by Lalibela's son, Yetbarak. 6 Getachew Mekonnen credits her with having one of the rock-hewn churches, Bet Aba Libanos, built as a memorial for Lalibela after his death. 7 Unlike the other Zagwe kings, a sizeable amount of written material has survived about his reign, besides the ''Gadla Lalibela''. An embassy from the Patriarch Of Alexandria visited his court around 1210 , and have left an account of him, and Na'akueto La'ab and Yetbarak. 8 The Italian scholar Carlo Conti Rossini has edited and published the several land grants that survive from his reign. 9 REFERENCES # Taddesse Tamrat, ''Church and State in Ethiopia'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. 56n. # Getachew Mekonnen Hasen, ''Wollo, Yager Dibab'' (Addis Ababa: Nigd Matemiya Bet, 1992), p. 22. # Taddesse Tamrat, p. 61. # The portion of his ''Gadla'' describing his construction of these churches has been translated by Richard K. P. Pankhurst in his ''The Ethiopian Royal Chronicles'' (Addis Ababa: Oxford University Press), 1967. # Taddesse Tamrat, pp. 59f. # Taddesse Tamrat, pp. 62f. # Getachew Mekonnen, p. 24. # Taddesse Tamrat, p. 62. # A bibliography for these can be found at Taddesse Tamrat, p. 59. |
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