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History and Religion of Ethiopia, image, image, image - Coggle Diagram
History and Religion of Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the world's oldest states
An ancient kingdom known as
Aksum
existed in Ethiopia from 100 AD to 940 AD centered on the ancient city of Aksum in northern Ethiopia.
The wealth of Aksum came from international trade
Aksum can be seen in the architectural legacy of the empire, specifically the giant
stelae obelisks
left behing
The stelae served to mark graves
Connections with the Ancient World
Aksum’s location made it a hub for
caravan
routes
to Egypt and Nubia.
Access to sea trade along the Red Sea helped Aksum become an international trading power.
Traders from Egypt, Arabia, Persia, India, and the Roman Empire crowded Aksum’s chief seaport, Adulis, near present-day Massawa (Eritrea).
Christianity in Ethiopia
Christianity
was brought to Aksum via merchants in
the 4th century.
The decision to adopt Christianity was most likely influenced by a desire to strengthen the trading relationship with the newly Christianized Roman Empire.
Christianity also afforded the possibility of
unifying
the many diverse people of the Aksumite kingdom.
One of Ethiopia's great achievements was the construction of 11 churches at
Lalibela
in the 12th century.
The building of the 11 churches were atributed to King Lalibela who set out to construct a "New Jerusalem"
The Final Resting Place of the Ark?
A legend within Ethiopian Christianity is that the fabled
“Ark of the Covenant”
, the chest which contains the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, is located today in Ethiopia.
The monks living in the small Church of St. Mary of Zion are forbidden from stepping outside the gate that encircles the church. As a result, they cannot abandon the task that has been entrusted to them: they are to watch the “Ark” for as long as they live.
Between Archeology and Legend
After the destruction of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem in 586 BC , no one knows for sure where the Ark of the Covenant ended up.
The Ark disappeared without a trace, so the place where it might be found remains today one of the great enigmas not only of history but, particularly, of archaeology.
What is certain is that almost 45 million Ethiopian Christians are convinced that the Ark of the Covenant was taken about 3,000 years ago to Axum, and has been cared for by monks.
Ethiopians are the only people that were not colonized
Pilgramage
No coffee, no alcohol, no excessive laughter or loud parties, or else you won't enter the kingdom of heaven.
To achieve Redemption, a pilgrim must show real effort, and the more he walks and "suffers", the closer he is to God.
