S2E9: The Zealot King and the Nine Saints

  
 

Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy this week's episode of the history of Africa. This week, we cover two somewhat obscure periods of Aksumite history, the rule of the zealot king Mehadyis and the arrival of the "Nine Saints" into the Aksumite empire.

Mehadyis' silver coin. Notice the Ge'ez writing and more prominent Christian imagery

This era of Aksumite history is fairly mysterious, as historical records about Aksum from this time are quite rough. As an example of that, Mehadyis is the last Aksumite ruler whose name's pronunciation is uncertain (he is the last ruler to spell his name with the old, vowel-less Ge'ez alphabet as MHDYS). Because of the scant records of this period, I had to make some admitted stretches in connecting the dots of what occurred in this period. For example, we know that Mehadyis included a lot of Christian imagery in his coins, we know that he did not appoint an Abuna during his rule (at least not one that had any real power), and that all Pagan syncretic practices evaporated rapidly during his rule. While there are no historical records that explicitly state that he went on a campaign to root out Pagan practices during his reign, the culmination of these three events seems to point to something along these lines occurring during his reign. However, I'm adding this disclaimer to future-proof this episode. In the future, evidence might come to light that disproves this admittedly quite flimsy understanding of this period in Aksumite history. Additionally, for this same reason, the dating in this episode is questionable, and could definitely be disproven by new evidence coming to light. If any archaeological or textual discoveries emerge that challenge the assumptions in this episode, I will make sure to update the episode with our most recent understanding of the period.

Medieval Ethiopian mural depicting the Nine Saints

Fortunately, the archaeological records of the ensuing period are significantly better, in part due to the gradual arrival of the nine saints. Again, the exact date of their arrival is not certain (and it's unlikely that they all arrived in close succession), so the dating of this episode is subject to change. However, regardless of what year they arrived, their impact on Tawhahedo Christianity is undeniable. 

A page from the Garima Gospels, the oldest illuminated manuscript in the world

The Nine Saints introduced many important aspects of church activity that continue in Ethiopia to this day, including the countries first permanent monasteries, some of its most important churches, and the introduction of a strong church scholastic tradition.

The entrace to Debre Damo

The extremely isolated Debre Damo monastery requires climbing equipment to reach

Ethiopia's church has been the single most important institution in terms of preserving important historical documents and records. If not for the reforms introduced by the Nine Saints and continued by their disciples, our understanding of East African history would be incredibly limited. Additionally, much of the modern culture of the Ethiopian highlands stems from the artistic and institutional traditions of the Tawhahedo Church. For example, the bedrock of Ethiopian musical tradition stems largely from the works of Saint Yared, a disciple of one of the Nine Saints who was later himself sainted for his immense contributions to Tawhahedo liturgical music.

Mural depicting Saint Yared and his disciples performing in front of the Aksumite Negusa

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