Zagwe Dynasty: The Incredible History Of An African Dynasty 1150-1270

History Of The Zagwe Dynasty

Zagwe Dynasty dominion in the central Ethiopian highlands was one of the most notable periods in medieval history. The dynasty oversaw an active Christian expansion throughout the central Ethiopian plateau, as well as significant trade and cultural engagement with Egypt and the Middle East; it was also responsible for the development of some of Ethiopia’s most spectacular buildings. 

Despite this, subsequent chroniclers in the region have disparaged the Zagwes, portraying them as usurpers of power from the rightful “Solomonic” line. The Zagwes sought legitimacy by fabricating the story that they were descended from Moses. They also strove to assert moral authority through their magnificent architecture. 

However, despite the belief that angels created the Zagwe rock-hewn architecture, neither has impressed Ethiopia’s royal chroniclers, who have generally depicted the Zagwes as transgressors with no “Israelite” connection. Our understanding of the entire Zagwe period is fairly restricted, and the circumstances surrounding their rise to power are obscure. 

The Zagwes were originally Agaw speakers who lived in the province of Lasta, which had long been part of the Christian kingdom and was ideally positioned to benefit from north-south commerce and communication linkages. In the centuries since Axum’s demise, an increasingly powerful military and political class has assimilated into Semitic and Christian culture, forming the post-Axumite ruling elites.

They seized power around 1150 (or 1137, according to Ethiopian tradition), but there is little evidence to suggest that their rise marked a “revolution” in the traditional sense or that there was a major incident at the time of the first Zagwe ruler’s accession. The assumption of royal powers by the Lasta political elite appears to have been the climax of a sociopolitical process that had been ongoing for at least two centuries and did not constitute a dramatic departure from the past. 

As the state grew, Christian military leaders, chosen from among the royal family or those close to it, were appointed as territorial governors with significant local powers; many members of the Zagwe court were drawn from Lasta and held high ecclesiastical and administrative positions, while military leadership and economic power were most likely awarded to such courtiers. 

With the support of a large army, Christian missionary activities accompanied the state’s geographical expansion, pushing Christian settlement and authority southward, particularly into Gojjam and the Shoan plateau. During Zagwe’s reign, the kingdom’s external ties improved significantly. 

The establishment of Fatimid Egypt rekindled commercial activity along the Red Sea, and the Ethiopian highlands benefited from these trade routes. The slave trade in particular increased, although gold and ivory were also key exports. Muslim merchants transported textiles and other luxury items from the Islamic world via Massawa on the Red Sea coast. 

In addition to greater commercial connection, the Zagwes expanded their ties with the Egyptian Coptic Church, and strong trade linkages between Ethiopia and Egypt allowed pilgrims from the highlands to go through Muslim territory on their trip to Jerusalem. Such encounters re-introduced the region to European notice, and by the twelfth century, legends about a remote but devoted and affluent “kingdom of Prester John” were spreading. 

Visits to the Holy Land may also have inspired the period’s extraordinary rock-hewn churches. While there was already a practice of cutting churches out of solid rock, the Zagwes took the architectural form to the next level. The program of building rock-hewn churches began with Yimrha, the dynasty’s third emperor, but Lalibela is responsible for some of Ethiopia’s most magnificent architecture.

Around the beginning of the thirteenth century, at the height of the Zagwe state, Lalibela presided over what appears to have been an attempt to rebuild Jerusalem in the central Ethiopian highlands. The astounding findings indicate the prevalence of Christianity in the region, as well as the Zagwes’ willingness to assert their political and religious authority. 

This was also a time when, despite its ties to the Egyptian church, the Ethiopian church developed its own distinct characteristics, centered on the belief that it was a Christian outpost surrounded by infidels and that the Christians in the area were God’s chosen people. The increasing influence of the Old Testament led to the belief that the Christian kingdom was Israel’s real successor. 

Despite its significant successes, the Zagwe state’s vulnerabilities began to emerge by the early thirteenth century. Periodic succession problems exacerbated the Zagwes’ inability to build regional unity, leading to the formation of anti-Zagwe organizations among Semitic-speaking Tigrayans and Amhara.

The Christian community in Shoa, which had become wealthy due to the eastward trade routes and received support from the church, eventually posed the most formidable threat. Around 1268, Yekuno Amlak initiated the Shoan uprising, leading to a series of conflicts across Lasta and Begemedir. After the death of the last Zagwe monarch in 1270, Yekuno Amlak declared himself ruler.

In order to assert its own legitimacy, the new dynasty developed the myth that they descended from King Solomon and Queen Makeda of Saba; the “Solomonic” line claimed that it was now “restored” following the Zagwe usurpation, but it appears fair to say that Yekuno Amlak’s rise to power can only be considered a “restoration” if the monarch was once again a Semitic speaker. 

While the Zagwes were generally denigrated after that, Lali Bela was later canonized by the Ethiopian church, and Zagwe influence continued to be felt in terms of both the architectural and administrative styles of a kingdom, the success of which was largely due to Zagwe ingenuity.

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