Ethopia "The Trials of Isolation"
...meshed with the Christianity of the Axumites and the Abyssinian aristocracy was formed. Later the fusion of the two people and their beliefs favored the Agau and they gained control of the monarchy and ruled the state for around 150 years and presided over religion and culture that would prove to be of great importance in the history of the Ethiopian people. During the reign of King Lalibela beautiful monolithic churches were constructed directly from their mountain of volcanic stone. Shaped into chapels, arcades, and naves these architectural monuments served as sanctuaries for the Ethiopians and represented the emergence of a very unique type of Christianity. They saw themselves as God’s chosen children, the lost twelve tribes, and represented the purity of Christendom in the “Second Isreal” depicted mainly from the Old Testament. There was then a brief Zagwe period with little historical information, which soon followed the era of the restored Solomonid kings until the mid 1970’s. Yekuno Amlak was the first of these kings recorded and began to move against Muslin neighbors, but these conquests were not fully achieved until the reign of Amda Seyon from year 1314 to 1344. Later, under the power of Zara Yakob, Ethiopia established relations with Rome to shake off external influences. Records indicate that this king was, however, cruel in his punishments and directions. Many were falsely accused of crimes and there was a great terror of his rule in all of the land. Efforts to gain relations with Rome coincided with Europe’s desire to know more of Africa and the Ethiopia region. This is what brought Portuguese missionaries and explorers to the country. The Christian kingdom was trying to destroy all Islamic beliefs and seeing how Ethiopia was an attractive land in a hostile area; the Portuguese were in search of allies. Although their labors produced little fruit, the need for help soon followed. Ethiopia was beginning to stretch its arms. The extent of the kingdom reached from Massawa and Ifat in the south. The Muslim population began to strengthen in East Africa and under the guidance of a talented general, Ahmd “Gran” ibn Ghazi, the Ethiopians faced a terrible crisis. In 1529, this left handed political group organized a powerful army with a goal to wipe out all “infidels”. It succeeded in taking over Ethiopia and brought most of the country under Muslim control, destroyed most of the artistic heritage of the land, forced people to convert and even reduced their emperor to a hunted villain thrown into the mountains. In dyer need of help, the emperor relied on his outside connection with Portugal. After an appeal for help, four hundred musketeers arrived at Massawa, overtook the Muslims and killed “Gran”. But their worries were not over. The Muslim forces retired to their capital at Harrar. Here they found new leadership in the form of pastoral Galla, influencing Cushitic speakers. Despite military efforts, the Muslim people and the Galla scaled the Abysinian plateau and filed quickly into Lasta and Amhara. The Ethiopians could do nothing to stop these invaders and consequently sh...