Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, depending on when you are reading this. I am continuing with this series the History of Africa with Zeinab Badawi. Yes, I am doing this series out of order. So far, this series continues to be a good primer on the history of Africa and Zeinab is an excellent narrator. I dare say she is giving Gus a run for his money when it comes to her narration. This episode is called Kings and Emirs and the run time for this episode is 45:15.
Zeianab Badawi explores the fall of the Kingdom of Askum and how Christian Rulers followed in that fall. She learns about the legacy of King Lalibela who ruled in the 12th/13th Century. He built a complex of rock-hewn churches which would have been considered a great feat of engineering. She also explores the arrival of Islam and how the emirs coexisted with the kings. She then visits Harar and watches the hyena men of Harar who feed hyenas by hand. This episode kicks off with the decline of the Askum kingdom. It had been a trading center but now it was in decline. Islam was starting to rise and at first, Muslims were given sanctuary in Askum. Zeinab tours an Islamic Shrine, one of the oldest in the world. A group of Muslims came over to seek protection from the Askum King. Zeinab talks with a member of the Eritrea Islamic community to learn about Islam's history in Eritrea. After this talk, Zeinab talks with a museum curator and talks about the relationship between the Arab kingdoms and the Askum kingdom. There was a peaceful relationship and the relationship was strong. However, eventually, the Arabs would seize control of the Red Sea trade from the Kingdom. The Aksum kingdom would go into decline. Eventually, the main port was destroyed and they would never recover. Power shifted inland. The climate changed as well. Disease spread too. Aksum would end. A woman would rise up against the Aksum kingdom and destroy everything Christian-related. Zeinab is granted a rare audience with the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and they talk about how Aksum was destroyed. A new kingdom would rise in its place building on the ruins of the Askum kingdom. It would revive the fortunes of the Christians. This dynasty would be known as the Zagwe dynasty and its leaders were army officers. They established a new capital in the highlands. The most famous king of this dynasty is King Lalibela, who established a capital that he named for himself. He would rule the kingdom for about forty years. The people prospered under his reign. Lalibela the capital would become a place of pilgrimage. Even today the people are proud of their heritage. Zeniab tours churches that were carved out of the rock by King Lalibela. It would have been a feat of engineering. King Lalibela was both king and priest, eventually, he would become a saint. Zeniab walks with a guide about the churches. The churches were carved out of a single piece of rock. Legend has it, that angles helped King Lalibela build the churches. Hundreds and thousands of the faithful visit the churches. She meets up with a hermit and a pilgrim. The remains of the pilgrimage are buried at the site and the rest at St. George’s Church. Zeniab takes in the churches amazed at the engineering that it took to build these churches. Even today, the churches are used today by the local people. Zeniab goes into one of the churches, the Church of St. Mary and it has one of the most beautiful decorations inside. King Lalibela would be buried in one of the carved-out churches. So where else does Zeniab’s travels take her in Ethiopia? What does she learn about Muslims in this section of Africa? Tune into the rest of this episode to find out more. I really enjoyed Zeniab’s tour of the churches of Lalibela. Maybe she and Gus could pair up and just do a series on the churches of Lalibela. Over all, this continues to be a good series and would be something to show in the history classroom. The section on the churches of Lalibela would be good to show in a geography classroom.
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