Daniel Asmare the MELTING POT of the WORD and the SWORD
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Daniel Asmare THE MELTING POT OF THE WORD AND THE SWORD: ROYAL POWER AND MONASTIC ASCETICISM IN THE MEDIEVAL MONASTERIES OF LAKE TANA, ETHIOPIA MA Thesis in Comparative History with the specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies Central European University CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2011 THE MELTING POT OF THE WORD AND THE SWORD: ROYAL POWER AND MONASTIC ASCETICISM IN THE MEDIEVAL MONASTERIES OF LAKE TANA, ETHIOPIA by Daniel Asmare (Ethiopia) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with the specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ____________________________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________________________ Examiner ____________________________________________________________ Examiner CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2011 THE MELTING POT OF THE WORD AND THE SWORD: ROYAL POWER AND MONASTIC ASCETICISM IN THE MEDIEVAL MONASTERIES OF LAKE TANA, ETHIOPIA by Daniel Asmare (Ethiopia) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with the specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ____________________________________________________________ External Examiner CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2011 THE MELTING POT OF THE WORD AND THE SWORD: ROYAL POWER AND MONASTIC ASCETICISM IN THE MEDIEVAL MONASTERIES OF LAKE TANA, ETHIOPIA by Daniel Asmare (Ethiopia) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with the specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ____________________________________________________________ Supervisor ____________________________________________________________ External Supervisor CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2011 I, the undersigned, Daniel Asmare, candidate for the MA degree in Comparative History, with the specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies, declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on the copyright of any person or institution. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree. Budapest, 23 May 2011 ______________________________ Signature CEU eTD Collection ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First, I want to acknowledge the unflinching support of my supervisor, Professor József Laszlovszky, who successfully carried out the task of being an Ethiopian professor. Special thanks must be given to Professor Judith Rasson who meticulously corrected the grammar and all the technical works of the thesis. Many thanks are due to my friends Mihail, Madalina, Laszlo and Branislav whose company made me feel like I am home. I also want to extend my deepest gratitude to Annabella Pal and Agnes Bendik who generously introduced me to the system of CEU and generally to all the members of the department for helping me to overcome some difficulties. Last but not least, I want to thank my friends in Ethiopia Sisay Megersa, Chalachew Andarge, and Ashenafi Hailu for being with me in the perilous and risky trip to the monasteries of Lake Tana. CEU eTD Collection TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 1. Prolegomena and research questions.............................................................................. 1 2. Methodology................................................................................................................. 3 3. Sources.......................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER ONE................................................................................................................... 6 THE FOUNDATION OF THE MONASTERIES ON LAKE TANA .................................... 6 1.1. Developing trends of medieval monasticism in Ethiopia............................................. 6 1.2. The monasteries of Lake Tana and the founding generation of monks....................... 10 1.2.1 The establishment and historical elements of the monasteries ............................. 11 1.2.2 The founding generation of monks...................................................................... 14 1.3. Factors for the foundation of the monasteries on Lake Tana...................................... 23 1.3.1 The role of landscape in the foundations ............................................................. 26 1.3.2. Political factors for monastic foundations........................................................... 34 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................ 38 ROYAL PATRONAGE AND BURIAL AT THE MONASTERIES OF LAKE TANA ...... 38 2.1. Royal patronage........................................................................................................ 38 2.1.1 Land grants to the monasteries of Lake Tana ...................................................... 40 2.1.2. Building the monasteries.................................................................................... 46 2.1.3. Gifts in kind....................................................................................................... 49 2.2. Royal Burials............................................................................................................ 50 2.2.1. Royal burials in the age of wandering capitals.................................................... 57 2.2.3. Royal family burials during the Muslim-Christian conflict................................. 64 CHAPTER THREE............................................................................................................. 69 THE UNSIGNED PACT: EXPANSION AND EVANGELIZATION AROUND LAKE TANA................................................................................................................................. 69 3.1. The Christianization of the Falasha........................................................................... 71 3.2. The Christianization of Gojjam and Agaw ................................................................ 75 3.4. Incorporating the Woyto........................................................................................... 78 CONTEXTUALIZATION AND CONCLUSION............................................................... 81 CEU eTD Collection THE PLACE OF THE MONASTERIES OF LAKE TANA WITHIN ETHIOPIAN HISTORY........................................................................................................................... 81 APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................ 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................... 89 i LIST OF FIGURES 1. The stone boat used by Abuna Hiruta Amlak to cross the lake in His way to Daga Istifanos ……………………………………………………………………..19 2. Jewish sacrifice pillar in the monastery of Tana Qirqos ..........................................25. 3. Map of the monasteries of Lake Tana …………………………………………….32. 4. List of the members of the royal family buried in the monastery of Daga Istifanos……………………………………………………………………………54. 5. List of Ethiopian Capitals ………………………………………………………...60 6. Major Capitals of Ethiopia………………………………………………………...62. CEU eTD Collection ii INTRODUCTION 1. Prolegomena and research questions Wrongly identified as the entire source of the Nile River1, Lake Tana is located on the basalt plateau of the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. It is the country’s greatest water body with an area of 3600 square kilometers.2 It has thirty islands and most of them have more than twenty churches and monasteries of enormous historical significance on them whose foundation dates range from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century.3 The geographical location and history of the churches and monasteries of Lake Tana constitute a particularly interesting phenomenon among the Christian institutions of medieval Ethiopia. Originally established in the peripheral region of the Christian church and state, the region of Lake Tana eventually became a center of religious and spiritual activities of medieval Ethiopia.4 In spite of their cultural and historical significance, the monasteries of Lake Tana are at the margin of historical research. An exception to this fact is the work of Claire Bosc- Tiessé, which stands as the only scholarly reconstruction of the monasteries of Lake Tana as far as my knowledge is concerned. “L’histoire et l’art des églises du lac Tana” is an analysis of the major artistic achievements of the monasteries of Lake Tana. European travelers also produced some accounts