Zagwe Dynasty
| Zagwe dynasty | ||||||||||
| ዛጉዌ ሥርወ መንግስት | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
 Approximate extension of the Ethiopian Empire under the Zagwe Dynasty
|
||||||||||
| Capital | Lalibela | |||||||||
| Languages | Agaw | |||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||
| King | ||||||||||
| • | early 12th century | Mara Takla Haymanot | ||||||||
| • | 13th century | Yetbarak | ||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Established | 900 | ||||||||
| • | Disestablished | 1270 | ||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Zagwe dynasty (ዛጉዌ) was a historical kingdom in present-day northern Ethiopia. Centered at Lalibela, it ruled large parts of the territory from approximately 900 to 1270, when the last Zagwe King Za-Ilmaknun was killed in battle by the forces of the Abyssinian King Yekuno Amlak. The name of the dynasty is thought to derive from the Ge'ez phrase Ze-Agaw, meaning "Dynasty of the Agaw" in reference to the Agaw people that constituted its ruling class. Zagwe's best-known King was Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, who is credited with having constructed the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.
David Buxton has stated that the area under the direct rule of the Zagwe kings "probably embraced the highlands of modern Eritrea and the whole of Tigray, extending southwards to Waag, Lasta and Damot (Wallo province) and thence westwards towards Lake Tana (Beghemdir)." Unlike the practice of later rulers of Ethiopia, Taddesse Tamrat argues that under the Zagwe dynasty the order of succession was that of brother succeeding brother as king, based on the Agaw laws of inheritance.
Around 960, Queen Gudit destroyed the remnants of the Kingdom of Aksum, causing a shift in its temporal power centre that later regrouped more to the south. For 40 years she ruled over what remained of the kingdom, eventually passing on the throne to her descendants. According to other Ethiopian traditional accounts, the last of her dynasty was overthrown by Mara Takla Haymanot in 1137. He married a daughter of the last king of Aksum, Dil Na'od, putting control of Ethiopia in Agaw hands. Since he married Emperor Dil Na'od's daughter, who was a member of the Solomonic Dynasty, the Zagwes are technically part of the Solomonic lineage. Emperor Mara Tekla Haymanot's marriage and off-spring thereof makes him the only Emperor without known ties to the Biblical King Solomon and Makeda, the Queen of Sheba. Mara Teklehaimanot's ancestry is from Eritrea, in the province called Hamasien. His name starts with Mara or Mirarah because he came from the place in Hamasien called Fishey Mirarah.
...
Wikipedia