Addis Ethiopia Weblog

Ethiopia's World / የኢትዮጵያ ዓለም

  • December 2012
    M T W T F S S
     12
    3456789
    10111213141516
    17181920212223
    24252627282930
    31  
  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Recent Posts

Archive for December 29th, 2012

Buried Christian Empire Casts New Light on Early Islam

Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on December 29, 2012

EthiopianKingMy note: Actually, there is nothing new in this “discovery”; Ethiopians wrote about the presence of Christians in the Arabian peninsula thousand years ago. Besides, the writer of this report spewed once more the usual age-old Western bias against the glorious Ethiopians. First, he called the great King of Ethiopia, Negus Kaleb, “a Puppet King”, and then he went on to speculate that the first naval maneuver of King Caleb was a miserable failure, and “only” with the “help” of the Byzantines was King Caleb able to successfully capture Arabia. For further comparative details please check my previous post here out. Unlike today’s coward generation of Kings and Queens or leaders, the brave-hearted previous rulers were always ready to demonstrate their Christian Brotherhood and solidarity towards persecuted Christians, and to eventually punish the evil perpetrators mercilessly . In fact, it was European monarchs who always needed the support of those powerful Ethiopian kings in their time of trouble. After King Caleb, (also called Ellä-Asbeha) it was Prester John who European powers were questing for, 600 year later, from the 12th century onwards. Another time will soon come when Europeans might need the help of the next “Prester John” from the Holy mountains of Ethiopia, as their societies are more and more challenged by the scourge of Atheism and Islamism

Archeologists are studying the ruins of a buried Christian empire in the highlands of Yemen. The sites have sparked a number of questions about the early history of Islam. Was there once a church in Mecca?

Paul Yule, an archeologist from the southwestern German city of Heidelberg, has studied the relief, which is 1.70 meters (5’7″) tall, in Zafar, some 930 kilometers (581 miles) south of Mecca. It depicts a man with chains of jewelry, curls and spherical eyes. Yule dates the image to the time around 530 AD.

The German archeologist excavated sites in the rocky highlands of Yemen, an occupation that turned quite dangerous recently because of political circumstances in the country. On his last mission, Yule lost 8 kilograms (18 lbs.) and his equipment was confiscated.

Nevertheless, he is pleased, because he was able to bring notes, bits of debris and bones back to Heidelberg. Yule has concluded that Zafar was the center of an Arab tribal confederation, a realm that was two million square kilometers (about 772,000 square miles) large and exerted its influence all the way to Mecca.

Even more astonishing is his conclusion that kings who invoked the Bible lived in the highland settlement. The “crowned man” depicted on the relief was also a Christian.

Conquerers from Ancient Ethiopia

Yule has analyzed the mysterious, robed figure in a report for the academic journal Antiquity. He is AxumsArabiabarefoot, which is typical of Coptic saints. He is holding a bundle of twigs, a symbol of peace, in his left hand. There is a crossbar on his staff, giving it the appearance of a cross. In addition, he is wearing a crown on his head like the ones worn by the Christian rulers of ancient Ethiopia.

All of this suggests that the man with a strange, round face is a descendant of the conquerors from Africa who succeeded in making one of the boldest landing operations in ancient times.

In 525 AD, the Negus, or king, of Aksum dispatched a fleet across the Red Sea. Soldiers and fighting elephants were ferried across the water to the East on un-tarred, raft-like ships to spread the gospel. In the ensuing decades, his army captured large parts of Arabia.

The first spearhead was targeted at the capital Zafar. Like a fortress in the sky, the town was perched on an extinct volcano, at an altitude of 2,800 meters (9,184 feet) above sea level. Its walls, riddled with towers and alarm bells, were four-and-a-half kilometers long. About 25,000 people lived in Zafar.

According to Yule, between the 3rd and the 5th century the confederation managed to complete a “meteoric rise” and become a superpower. Its merchants traded in sandalwood from Ceylon and valerian from Persia. The state controlled the port of Aden, where the ships of spice traders from India docked. Frankincense, which was made in Arabia, was also traded. It was a place of luxury. Yule found wine amphorae, the remains of precious fish condiments and palaces decorated with sphinxes and lions.

A Peaceful Multi-Cultural Community

Continue reading…

__

Posted in Curiosity, Ethiopia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

 
%d bloggers like this: