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Showing posts from September, 2010

Queen of Sheba

The Queen of Sheba (Hebrew: מלכת שבא‎; Arabic: ٱلْمَلِكَة بَلْقِيْس‎, romanized: Al-Malikah Balqīs) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she brings a caravan of valuable gifts for the Israelite King Solomon. This tale has undergone extensive Jewish, Islamic, and Ethiopian elaborations, and has become the subject of one of the most widespread and fertile cycles of legends in the Orient. The fullest and most significant version of the legend appears in the Kebra Nagast (Glory of the Kings), the Ethiopian national saga, translated from Arabic in 1322. Here Menelik I is the child of Solomon and Makeda (the Ethiopic name for the queen of Sheba) from whom the Ethiopian dynasty claims descent to the present day. Based on the Gospels of Matthew (12:42) and Luke (11:31), the "queen of the South" is claimed to be the queen of Ethiopia. In those times, King Solomon sought merchants from all over the world, in order to buy materials for the building

Palace of Dungur

Dungur (or Dungur 'Addi Kilte) is the ruins of a substantial mansion in Aksum, Ethiopia, the former capital city of the Kingdom of Aksum. The ruins are in the western part of Aksum, across the road from the Gudit stelae field. Dungur is known locally and popularly as the Palace of the Queen of Sheba (i.e. the Palace of Makeda in Ethiopia). The remains of the mansion and its associated building are limited to the lowest levels and the podium, covering about 3,250 square meters. During its prime, a double staircase led into the entrance of the complex, which opened into one of the courtyards surrounding the central structure. In the associated buildings a number of stone piers were recovered, "presumably for supporting wooden columns or floors", and brickwork which might be evidence of a hypocaust. However, the purpose of these buildings is unclear. Munro-Hay notes, "The 'rooms' with stone piers have no doorways, and the piers presumably supported floors, b

Old Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion

The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion (Amharic: ርዕሰ አድባራት ቅድስተ ቅዱሳን ድንግል ማሪያም ፅዮን Re-ese Adbarat Kidiste Kidusan Dingel Maryam Ts’iyon ) is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Ethiopia. It is claimed to contain the Ark of the Covenant. It is located in the town of Axum, Tigray. The original church is believed to have been built during the reign of Ezana the first Christian ruler of the Kingdom of Axum (Present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia), during the 4th century AD, and has been rebuilt several times since then. Since its founding during the episcopacy of Frumentius (known in Ethiopia as Abune Selama Kesatie Birhan or "Our Father of Peace the Revealer of Light") the Church of Mary of Zion has been destroyed and rebuilt at least twice. Its first putative destruction occurred at the hands of Queen Gudit during the 10th century. Its second, confirmed, destruction occurred in the 16th century at the hands of Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, after which it was rebuilt by the Emperor

Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant (Hebrew: אָרוֹן הַבְּרִית, Modern: Arōn Ha'brēt, Tiberian: ʾĀrôn Habbərîṯ; Koinē Greek: Κιβωτός της διαθήκης), also known as the Ark of the Testimony, and in a few verses across various translations as the Ark of God, is a gold-covered wooden chest with lid cover described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. According to New Testament Book of Hebrews, it also contained Aaron's rod and a pot of manna. The biblical account relates that, approximately one year after the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, the Ark was created according to the pattern given to Moses by God when the Israelites were encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai. Thereafter, the gold-plated acacia chest was carried by its staves by the Levites approximately 2,000 cubits (approximately 800 meters or 2,600 feet) in advance of the people when on the march or before the Israelite army, the host of fighting men. When carried, the Ark was always h

Chapel of the Tablet

St. Mary of Zion claims to contain the original Ark of the Covenant. Reportedly, the Ark was moved to the Chapel of the Tablet adjacent to the old church because a divine 'heat' from the Tablets had cracked the stones of its previous sanctum. Emperor Haile Selassie's wife, Empress Menen, paid for the construction of the new chapel. According to tradition, the Ark came to Ethiopia with Menelik I after he visited his father King Solomon. Only the guardian monk may view the Ark, in accordance with the Biblical accounts of the dangers of doing so for non-Kohanim. This lack of accessibility, and questions about the account as a whole, has led Ethiopians and foreign scholars alike to express doubt about the veracity of the claim. The guardian monk is appointed for life by his predecessor before the predecessor dies. If the incumbent guardian dies without naming a successor, then the monks of the monastery hold an election to select the new guardian. The guardian then is confine

New Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion

In the 1950s, the Emperor Haile Selassie built a new modern Cathedral that was open to both men and women next to the old Cathedral of Our Lady Mary of Zion. The old church remains accessible only to men, as Mary, symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant allegedly resting in its chapel, is the only woman allowed within its compound. The church is a significant center of pilgrimage for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, especially during the main Festival of Tsion Mariam on 30 November (21 Hidar on the Ethiopian calendar). Source: Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion - Wikipedia