Axum, Ethiopia’s most ancient city and the capital of the historic Axumite state, is the site of many remarkable monolithic stone stelae, or obelisks, the three most important being
decorated to represent multi-storied buildings, complete with doors and windows.
The largest obelisk, which was 35 meters long and weighed 500 tons, is the biggest piece of stone ever cut by humanity anywhere in the world but today it lies broken on the ground. Near it stands a smaller but nevertheless most impressive 24-metre-high obelisk - the pride of Ethiopia. A somewhat larger obelisk was taken to Rome, on the orders of the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, in 1937. All three section of the 1,700-year old Axum obelisk has arrived back in Ethiopia, 68 years after it was looted by Italian fascists. It was eventually dismantled into three pieces in 2004 in preparation for its journey home, an operation which is costing Italy an estimated 6 million Euros (£4.1 million). The monument is due to be re-erected after the rainy season.
Axum, in its day, was a great commercial centre, issuing its own currency and trading with Egypt, Arabia, Persia, India and even Ceylon. The settlement was also the site of Ethiopia's oldest church, which dated back to the coming of Christianity as the state religion, early in the 4th Century. The original building has long since disappeared but a structure erected on its site by Emperor Fasiladas in the early 17th Century is still there. A nearby outhouse is the reputed repository of the biblical Ark of the Covenant. This historic relic cannot be seen but visitors there can see and photograph a number of the remarkable crowns that belonged to several notable Ethiopian monarchs of the past.
Just out of the town, the remains of an early Axumite palace, popularly thought to have belonged to the Queen of Sheba, are well worth a visit. The remains are located at Dangur, near the mountain from which the obelisks were originally excavated. The beautifully worked tombs of several ancient Axumite rulers and the local archaeological museum are also worth a visit. About 45 per cent of the Ethiopian population is Muslim. Most of the Christians belonging to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose 4th Century beginnings came long before Europe accepted Christianity. A further small percentage of the population adheres to traditional and other beliefs, including Judaism.
St. Mary of Zion Church
History of the New Church of St. Mary of Zion
Although the present building is relatively new, the Church of St. Mary of Zion has impressively ancient roots. In the 4th century, the Axumite prince Ezana was instructed in Christianity by two Syrian monks shipwrecked on the Red Sea coast. The prince promoted Christianity when he became King Ezana, and he is regarded as a saint in both the Ethiopian Orthodox and Catholic churches. It was around this time, in the 300s AD, that a Church of St. Mary was first built in Axum. This church stood for hundreds of years and was seen by a Portuguese friar shortly before its destruction in the 16th century. Francisco Alvarez wrote this in his journal: Some experts believe this great church in Axum served as the model for Bet Medhane Alem, one of the most impressive of the rock-carved churches in Lalibela.
Axum was the first Christian kingdom in the world and the largest outside the Roman Empire. Situated on the caravan trade routes to Arabia, Nubia and Egypt, Axum traded as far away as Greece, Rome and Constantinople. In the later 5th century, Christianity was spread beyond the royal family to the general populace through missionaries fleeing from the Eastern Roman Empire. The missionaries adhered to the Monophysite doctrine of Christ's nature after it was branded heretical in 451 by the Council of Chalcedon, a doctrine that remains part of Ethiopian Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox Christianity today. In the 6th century King Kaleb made Axum a great military power and took on the role of protector of Christians in the region, including Arabia. Kaleb conquered several small Jewish kingdoms in Arabia, which led to the incorporation of Jewish customs into Ethiopian Christianity that can still be seen today. In 1635, St. Mary of Zion was reconstructed by Emperor Fasilidas on the ruins of the church that had been destroyed by the Muslims, and this is the church that stands today. In the mid-1500s, the forces of Ahmed Gragn "the Left Handed" had swept across the Horn of Africa from Harar in the east, for a time threatening the extinction of Ethiopian Christendom. The destruction and rebuilding of the church has become an important part of its meaning for Ethiopians. Surrounded by Islamic countries, overrun several times, and brought to the brink of extinction, Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity regards itself as a bastion against Islam.
St. Mary of Zion's rise from the ashes symbolizes the struggles and triumphs of not only the church, but the nation of Ethiopia. The emperors of Ethiopia were all crowned here. Until the 1930s, criminals could receive sanctuary in the church precincts by ringing the bell on the porch. In 1955, to mark his Silver Jubilee, Emperor Haile Selassie founded a new Church of St. Mary of Zion next to the old one. It was completed in 1964. Emperor Selassie interrupted the state visit to Ethiopia of Queen Elizabeth II to attend the dedication of the Cathedral. The British monarch visited St. Mary of Zion herself a few days later. Unlike the original St. Mary of Zion, the new St. Mary of Zion allows entrance to women. In 1965, Selassie built a relic chapel next to Old St. Mary's to hold the church treasures and the revered Ark of the Covenant. Axum was in the battle zone during the liberation war against the central government in the 1980s. Marxist forces were accused of plundering 83 churches in the area and killing a number of priests, but thankfully the ancient shrines of Axum were not seriously damaged.
Yeha - Ethiopia Oldest Capital
Ethiopia's earliest known capital, Yeha, lies in a remote part of the region is a one hour drive from Aksum through some dramatic highland scenery. As the birthplace of the country's earliest high civilization, it is well worth visiting. There are the imposing ruins of Yeha’s Temple of the Moon - a large, pre-Christian shrine erected around the fifth century BC - as well as a modern church dedicated to Abba Aftse, one of the 'Nine Saints' from Syria who founded many important monasteries in northern Ethiopia in the fifth and sixth centuries. The building's front facade has been fitted with stones from the original temple, and the church contains many crosses, old manuscripts, and stones bearing ancient Sabaean inscriptions, all of which can be seen on request.
The oldest standing structure in Ethiopia is located in Yeha: the temple of Yeha. This is a tower built in the Sabaean style, and dated through comparison with ancient structures in South Arabia to around 700 BC. Although no radiocarbon dating testing has been performed on samples from site, this date for the Great Tower is supported by local inscriptions. David Phillipson attributes its "excellent preservation" to two factors, "the care with which its original builders ensured a level foundation, firmly placed on the uneven bedrock; and to its rededication -- perhaps as early as the sixth century AD -- for use as a Christian church." Two other archaeological sites at Yeha include Grat Beal Gebri, a ruined complex distinguished by a portico 10 meters wide and two sets of square pillars, and a graveyard containing several rock-hewn shaft tombs first investigated in the early 1960s. One authority has speculated that one of these tombs contained a royal burial, while another believes the ancient residential area was likely one kilometer to the east of the modern village.
Additionally, Yeha is the location of an Ethiopian Orthodox monastery. The edifice was founded according to tradition by Abba Aftse, one of the Nine Saints. In his account of Ethiopia, Francisco Álvares mentions visiting this town in 1520 (which he called "Abbafaçem"), and provides a description of the ancient tower, the monastery, and the local church. This church was either the rededicated Great Temple, or a now destroyed building which the Deutsche Aksum-Expedition described in the early 20th century. (The current structure, which exhibits Aksumite architectural features, was built between 1948 and 1949.)
Yeha has also been the site of a number of archaeological excavations, beginning in 1952 by the Ethiopian Institute of Archeology. Although interrupted during the Derg regime, excavations were resumed in 1993 by a French archaeological team.