Abreha and Atsbeha

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Painting inside the Church of Abreha and Atsbeha

Abreha and Atsbeha were brothers and Aksumite rulers who were said to have adopted Christianity in the 4th-century, although this claim is dubious.[1] Scholars suspect that the story of Abreha and Atsbeha may be based on Ezana and Saizana.[2][1][3] Stuart Munro-Hay has also speculated that the myth may have emerged from a confusion with two other religious Aksumite figures: Kaleb of Axum, whose throne name was Ella Atsbeha, and Abraha, an Aksumite general who promoted Christianity in Yemen.[4]

According to tradition, Abreha and Atsbeha succeeded Ella Allada to the Aksumite throne.[4] The missionary Frumentius, who had been captured during Ella Allada's reign,[4] converted the brothers to Christianity following which the rest of the kingdom eventually converted.[4] It is claimed they founded 44 churches.[5][6]

Church[]

The Church of Abreha wa-Atsbeha (sometimes spelt Abreha we Atsbeha) was built in East Tigray, around 15 km from Wukro, at some point in the tenth or eleventh century in honour of the brothers.[7][8] Their bodies are claimed to be entombed in the church. At one time the church served as a monastery but now operates as a parish church.[8] Paul B. Henze visited the church in the 1970s where he was told the ceiling was blackened by soot due to Queen Gudit setting a fire in the building nine centuries earlier.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Hein, Ewald (1999). Ethiopia, Christian Africa : art, churches and culture. Ratingen : Melina-Verlag. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-3-929255-28-7.
  2. ^ Prouty, Chris (1981). Historical dictionary of Ethiopia. Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-8108-1448-6.
  3. ^ Heldman, Marilyn Eiseman (1993). African Zion : the sacred art of Ethiopia. New Haven ; London : Yale University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-300-05819-2.
  4. ^ a b c d Munro-Hay, Stuart (1991). Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity. United Kingdom: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 13 and 205-206. ISBN 0-7486-0106-6.
  5. ^ Munro-Hay, Stuart C (2002). Ethiopia, the unknown land : a cultural and historical guide. London ; New York : I.B. Tauris. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-86064-744-4.
  6. ^ Plant, Ruth (1985). Architecture of the Tigre, Ethiopia. Worcester: Ravens Educational & Development Services Ltd. ISBN 0-947895-00-0.
  7. ^ Briggs, Philip; Blatt, Brian (2009). Ethiopia. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-84162-284-2.
  8. ^ a b Muehlbauer, Mikael (2019). "An Italian Renaissance Face on a "New Eritrea": The 1939 Restoration of the Church of Abreha wa-Atsbeha". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 78 (3): 312–326. doi:10.1525/jsah.2019.78.3.312. S2CID 203075463.
  9. ^ Henze, Paul B. (2000). Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia. New York: Palgrave. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-4039-6743-5.
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