ETHIOPIAN HISTORY OF

ARCHITECTURE

Adama Science and

Technology University:
2. The Zagwe dynasty and the churches of
Lalibela
The Zagwe dynasty & the rock hewn churches of Lalibela
 The tale suggests that an inland Agew people
led by a woman (Queen Gudit) had led her
tribes up from the Semyen mountains destroyed
or turned out the Axumite ruling class.
 Its Agew speakers had quickly absorbed the new
religion, and the local nobility had joined the
Axumite government.

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 The Zagwe Dynasty Ethiopia during the Zagwe Period. After Tamrat, 1972.

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The Zagwe dynasty & the rock hewn churches of Lalibela
• The new leaders came from the mountains of
Lasta (their capital Ad, afa), long a part of the
Christian kingdom.
• Their main outlet to the sea for purposes of
trade appears to have been Zayla rather than
the coast near Massawa (Hable Sellassie 1972, p.
263).
• In order physically to demonstrate the
primacy of the new order over the Axumite
line, Emperor Lalibela (r. ca. 1185) built
impressive churches
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 The Zagwe dynasty
The Zagwe dynasty had come to power in the 11th
century (100 years after queen Judith) and ruled
until 13 century
The lists of its rulers though many seven of them
appear in all lists:
 Jan Seyoum
 Girma Seyoum
 Tekle Haymanot
 Yitbarek
 Yemrehana Christos
 Lalibela
 Na’ cuto La’ab History of Ethiopian architecture FM (PDF)
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 The rock hewn churches of Lalibela
 The inhabitants of Lalibela ascribe the creation of
the churches to one of the last kings of the Zagwe
dynasty, Lalibela, who reigned about 1200 A.D.
(their capital later named Roha later after
canonization of Lalibela, the town name changed
into Lalibela
 The rock churches have few similarities with those in
Egypt and India. The churches' conception and style are
very much Ethiopian.

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The Zagwe dynasty & the rock hewn churches of Lalibela
The Ethiopian churches in Lalibela are only a few of at
least two hundred similar rock churches in other parts of
Tigrai and Lasta.

The edifices at Roha are amazing, especially the

chiseled-out access, courtyards, and interiors and the
rich, mostly geometric and linear decorations.

The zenith of the Aksumite period (fourth to fifth

centuries), up to the height of the Zagwe period (late
twelfth and early thirteenth centuries) as the illustrations
amply show, appears to virtually rule out the employment
of foreigners in the construction of the rock churches.
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 Rock hewn Churches of Lalibela
 There are eleven churches in total, which are divided
into three clusters separated by the Jordan River18.
 The first group of six churches lies north of the Jordan,
 While the second group of four churches is located
south of the Jordan River.
 The third cluster contains only one giant monolithic
rock-hewn church called Bete Giorgis, which is situated
to the southwest of both the first and the second group
of churches.
 These churches can be classified into three main
categories, namely, built-up cave churches, rock-hewn
cave churches, and rock-hewn monolithic churches

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 The rock hewn churches of Lalibela
There are some fairly obvious technical details to
prove the high standard of technical knowledge
the architects of Lalibela must have had:
 The churches in a group are set on several levels,
in order to carry off the heavy summer rains.
 The trenches serve also as a drainage system to
the river Jordan. With churches whose placing
conforms to the slope of the terrain, the ridge of
the roof, gutter edges, the base of the plinth, are
slanted in line with it.
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 Lalibela Town

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The Zagwe dynasty & the rock hewn churches of Lalibela
There are three groups of churches:
1. Group I
 Bete Medhane Alem
 Bete Mariam
 Bete Meskel
 Bete Gologolta – Mikael (2 churches)
 Bete Denagiel
2. Group II
 Bete Ammanuel
 Bete Mercurios
 Bete Gebriel – Ruphael (2 churches)
 Abba Libanos
3. Group III
 Bete Giorgis
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Locational Map of Lalibela rock-hewn churches
Lalibela
Group I

Group III Group II

GROUP II

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 The rock hewn churches of Lalibela

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 Other churches of Lalibela
Name of the church Category
• 1 Abune Yosef Cave church
• 2 Arbatu Ensesa Semi Monolithic
• 3 Asheten Mariam “
• 4 Bilbala Giyorgis “
• 5 Bilbala Kirkos “
• 6 Genete Mariam Monolithic
• 7 Imekina Lideta Maryam Cave church
• 8 Imekina Medihanialem “
• 9 Kenkenit Mikael Monolithic
• 10 Mawre Estifanos Rock hewn
• 11 Neakuto Le‟ab Cave church
• 12 Sarzina Mikael Semi-Monolithic
• 13 Yimrehane Kiristos Cave
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The Zagwe dynasty &
the rock hewn
churches of Lalibela
The largest of the eleven
structures, Medhane Alem
(savior of the world), is 33.5
meters long, 23.5 meters
wide, and 11 meters high. It
displays an external colonnade
on all four sides supporting a
gabled roof, the sides of which
show carved arches cleverly
arranged as if atop each
column. The sanctuary itself,
comprising a nave and aisles,
is a square carved out of the
stone, broken by four rows
of seven rectangular pillars.
The walls are fiat and massive,
reminiscent of Axumite
prototypes,

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 The rock hewn churches of Lalibela Bete Medhanealem

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The rock hewn churches of Lalibela: Bete MedhaneAlem
interior

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Bete Mariam
 It is the most important
church of the group
 King Lalibela himself
favored this church
 The floor plan is the basilica
plan with the main entrance
in the West, north, and
south are a rare addition in
Ethiopian church
architecture and give a
cruciform shape to the floor
plan
 Attached to the east is
baptismal or ablutionary
tank
 In the court yard is also a
cistern – a healing water
 The church measures
13*9.2*9.1 m stands on a
plinth in a trapezoid
excavation
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Bete Mariam

Of more interest are the porches, each with

slightly pitched roof, a double corbelled
arches, a central pillar supporting the
ceiling and a door way in the Axumite style
with carved monkey head corner
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 The rock hewn churches of Lalibela
Bet Amanuel
 Located in the eastern part of the
complex
 It is the true monolithic structure of the
group
 Art historians consider it the finest and
most impressive church in Lalibela
 The floor and side plan follows the
basilica pattern
 Linked to the courtyard of Bete
Merkurious by a 35 m long tunnel

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 The rock hewn churches of Lalibela
Bete Amanuel
 The interior is lightened up by three rows of windows of varied
design, positioned dysymetrically, with those of the ground floor
actually cross-shaped, those on the first floor complete with
arches and capitals, and those of the second floor, squared-shaped.
 The bottom and top ones having frames with corner posts.
The bottom windows are pierced in that shape of straight
Greek crosses; those in the top row have no fillings.
 The imitation of Axumite wood and stone construction is
striking, its walls built in horizontal and vertical bands,
alternately recessed and projecting.
 The church displays the aspect of Axumite monument with
beams at the 4 corners of the windows.
 Genuine monkey-heads are missing
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 Rock hewn churches in Lalibela
Bete Aba Libanos
 Bete Aba Libanos is a good
example of a cave church.
 The roof is not separated from
the rock, but the other three sides
are detached by a tunnel. The
tunnel forms a horse shoe.
 t is a typical “minimum complete
basilica”.
 It has no upper gallery therefore
the staircase part was not
excavated.
 It is correctly orientated west-east
even though excavation in this
case started from a southern cliff
face and preceded “sideways”
first.
.
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 Bete Aba Libanos

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 The rock hewn churches of Lalibela
Bet Merkorios
 It was built to the south of Bet Amanuel at a
distance of a few meters.
 Merkorios is not orientated and not shaped like
church. It may originally have been some
important secular type of building like king’s
house? Law court? Archbishops’ house?
 The part serving today as a church occupies the
eastern end of a subterranean hall which opens
to a courtyard. The interior appears to be void of
decoration and may even be describe as poor.
 A fine mural on the lower part of a pillar,
depicting six kings or saints in royal apparel,
holding in their hands beautifully shaped hand-
crosses, reminiscent of late Gondarian
processional crosses.
 The naked walls of Bet Merkorios hardly give an
idea of what they looked when still covered with
the rich paintings that once adorned the church.
These were paintings on cotton fabrics attached
to the walls of loam, ox- blood and straw.
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 Bete Gabriel-Rufa’el (façade)

 Lack orientation
possibly is not
intended as a church
from the beginning
 The present double
church of the
archangel Gabriel and
Rufael is however
conceived as to give a
most imposing and
Monumental
impression when
approached from the
outside

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 The rock hewn churches of Lalibela- Bete Giorgis
 The church is a Greek cross in plan and has 12 sides with windows
and doors.
 The lateral façade 14.10 m in width, without taking into account the
door way
 On the flat roof a triple cross is carved the same as with its plan which
is both direction and water drainage system ending in protruding
gutters
 In several respects technically most advanced rock church in Lalibela
 The wall thickness increases step by step downward but the increase
is hidden because it is made when passing the horizontal bands on
the exterior
 The interior has arches of the normal Lalibela type and also a dome
which is unusual in Lalibela but rather common in the rock churches of
Tigre
 The proportions of the interior spaces in the cross arms are
proportioned 2*3 so measurements seem to fit the 12 system of
counting
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 Bete Giorgis

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 Bete Giorgis

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 Yimerhane Kristos

Yimerhane Kristos

The rock-hewn church of Amanuel at

Lalibela
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 The rock hewn churches
Yemerahanna of Lalibela
Krestos

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 Yemrehane Kristos

Interior

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 The rock hewn churches of Lalibela
Genet
Mariam

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 Lasta House (traditional tukul)

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The rock hewn churches of Lalibela & decline of the
Zagwe dynasty
 The whole construction was completed in 24 years
 The monolithic churches are now considered as the
greatest Ethiopian Architectural wonder and are
ranked the eight most incredible historical sites of
the world by UNESCO
 The Zagwe kings ruled until the thirteenth century,
when a famous priest, Tekla Haymanot, persuaded
them to abdicate in favour of a descendant of the old
Axumite Solomonic dynasty.

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 C H
M U
R Y
V E
OU
Y
NK
H A
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