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[English Version] (1399–1468), äth. Kaiser (1434–1468). Z.s Regierungszeit ist geprägt von Eroberungskriegen und innenpolit. Reformen. Z. zentralisierte durch Umstrukturierung des Herrscherapparates und der Äthiopischen Orthodoxen Kirche das Reich, mit Residenz in Dabra Berhān. Die Küstenbereiche (Massawa) wurden eingegliedert und eine Schiffsflotte aufgebaut. Im Norden (Eritrea) schuf Z. das Amt des Bāḥr nagāš, der dort an seiner Stelle regierte. 1445 besiegte Z. Sultan Badlāy ibn Saʿd ad-Din un…

[English Version] Paez, Pedro (Pais, Pero; 1564 Olmeda, Spanien – 20.5.1622 Gorgora, Äthiopien). P. trat 1582 den Jesuiten bei, studierte in Coimbra und wurde 1587 für die Mission ausgewählt. Er reiste über Goa (1588–1589) und Hormuz (1589), geriet in Gefangenschaft (Sana'a) und missionierte in Indien (1596–1601). Seit 1603 Missionar in Äthiopien und bis 1619 Superior der äth. Mission, erforschte er als erster Europäer die Nilquelle (1618) und taufte 1622 Kaiser Susenyos (1607–1632) nach röm.-kath.…

[English Version] (Theodorus; 1818/20 Q wārā, Äthiopien – 13.4.1868 Maqdalā, ebd.), Kaiser (aṣe) von Äthiopien (1855–1868). Seine Mutter Wayzaro Atteṭāgab und sein Vater dagˇgˇāzmāc̣ˇ Hayla Māryām nannten ihn Kasa Haylu. Nach einer christl. Ausbildung und einer Zeit des Banditentums (Shifta) wurde T. Soldat bei Ras Ali Alula. 1845 heiratete er Tawābač Ali (gest.1858), eine Enkelin von Kaiserin Manan (1840–1853) und erlangte die Herrschaft über Q wārā. Durch siegreiche Kämpfe und weitere Ehen, 1860 mit Etēge Ṭēru Warq (Ṭerunaš, gest.1868), konnte T. se…

[English Version] (1594/95 Samada, Tabor Region, Äthiopien – 23.11.1644 Insel Rema, Tanasee, ebd.), äth. Heilige; Gedenktag: 23.11. W. gilt als Verteidigerin des äth.-orth. Glaubens und wird als Märtyrerin verehrt. Sie erhielt eine theol. Schulausbildung, heiratete Malka Krestos, einen Vertrauten von Kaiser Susenyos (1607–1632), wurde um 1620 Nonne und kämpfte gegen die kath. Missionare (Jesuiten) und die Unionsbemühungen des Kaisers mit der röm. Kirche an. Wiederholt stand W. deswegen vor Gericht…

[German Version] church in Tagulat, Šawā, Ethiopia. It was constructed by King Zarʾā Yāʿqob around 1440. Several Marian miracles that took place at the Egyptian monastery of Dabra Miṭmāq were also passed on in Ethi¶ opian tradition ( Taʾāmmra Māryām, The Book of Mary's Miracles, e.g. EMML 3872). Zarʾā Yāʿqob promoted the veneration of Mary in Ethiopia and wished to preserve the memory of the destroyed Egyptian monastery. Dabra Miṭmāq attained significance in…

[German Version] is the site of a Christian monastery complex with two churches, located approx. 100 km east of Axum in the region of Tigray, Ethiopia. Ethiopian tradition attributes the founding of the monastery and the introduction of the Pachomian rule (Pachomius) to Abbā Za-Mikāʾēl Aragāwi (e.g. EMML 3738). He was one of the nine holy monks who came to Ethiopia at the ¶ end of the 5th century. King Gabra Masqāl (6th cent.) is reputed to have built Enda Abuna Aragāwi, the main church within the compl…

[German Version] is a famous monastery in Šawā, Ethiopia, located approx. 100 km north of the current capital, Addis Ababā. Emperor Zarʾā Yāʿqob changed the original name Dabra ʿAsbo to Dabra Libānos ¶ on Dec 26, 1445. The holy monk Takla Hāymānot (died 1312) founded the monastery in 1284. One version of his hagiography ( Gadla) assigns him the main political role in the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty in 1270, instead of his teacher Iyasus Moʿā (c. 1214–1294). This transfer of religious…

[German Version] Lālibalā is a famous group of monolithic churches in the Wollo (Lasta) region of Ethiopia (Church architecture: V, 2). The site (formerly called Roha), at an elevation of 2,600 m, was made the capital of the Zagwe Dynasty (c. 1137–1270) during the reign of King Lālibalā (c. 1181–1221). Ethiopian tradition ascribes to him the construction of the eleven churches, each hewn out of a single block of reddish rock (tuff). His gadl (vita of a saint) recounts that God commissioned Lālibalā to re-create Jerusalem in Ethiopia. The names and configuration of th…

[German Version] (Pais, Pero; 1564, Olmeda, Spain – May 20, 1622, Gorgora, Ethiopia), entered the Jesuit order in 1582, studied in Coimbra, and in 1587 was chosen for mission. He traveled through Goa (1588–1589) and Hormuz (1589), was imprisoned in Sana’a, and did missionary work in India (1596–1601). From 1603 he was a missionary in Ethiopia, and until 1619 superior of the Ethiopian mission. In 1618 he was the first European to explore the source of the Nile, and in 1622 he baptized the emperor S…

[German Version] (1594/1595, Samada, Tabor region, Ethiopia – Nov 23, 1644, Rema Island, Ethiopia), Ethiopian saint; feast day Nov 23. Walatta Petros is considered a defender of the faith of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and is venerated as a martyr. She received a theological education in school, married Malka Krestos, a confidant of Emperor Susenyos (1607–1632), became a nun around 1620, and fought against Catholic missionaries (Jesuits) and the emperor’s efforts at union with the Roman Church. Her action…

[German Version] (1399–1468), emperor of Ethiopia (1434–1468). Zarʾā Yāʿeqob’s reign was marked by wars of conquest and domestic political reforms. By restructuring the administration and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, he centralized the kingdom, establishing his residence in Dabra Berhān. The coastal regions (Massawa) were absorbed and a fleet was built. In the north (Eritrea), he created the office of the Bāḥr nagāš, who ruled there in his stead. In 1445 he defeated Sultan ¶ Badlāy ibn Saʿd ad-Din and conquered the East. He supported the church, restructured the lit…

[German Version] (Abū ʿl-Fatḥ; 1470, Iraq [or Yemen] – 1565, Ethiopia), a Christian author and translator of many works into Ethiopic, was abbot of Dabra Libānos. Because of his oeuvre, Enbaqom is venerated as a saint in Ethiopia, and the anniversary of his death and memorial day is listed in the Synaxarium as the 21st of Miyāzyā (Apr 29). Enbaqom was a Muslim; he journeyed …

[German Version] (Theodorus; 1818/1820, Q wārā, Ethiopia – Apr 13, 1868, Maqdalā, Ethiopia), emperor ( aṣe) of Ethiopia from 1855 to 1868). His mother Wayzaro Atteṭāgab and his father daǧǧāzmāč̣ Hayla Māryām named him Kasa Haylu. After a Christian upbringing and a period as a shifta (“outlaw”), he became a soldier under Ras Ali Alula. In 1845 he married Tawābač Ali (died 1858), a granddaughter of Empress Manan (1840–1853), and attained mastery over Q wārā. Military victories and additional marriages (in 1860 to Etēge Ṭēru Warq [Ṭerunaš], who died in 1868) enabled T…