Zagwe dynasty consolidates in Ethiopia

1129

In the highlands of Lasta, the Zagwe kings tightened their grip on the Ethiopian throne they had seized from the old Aksumite line a generation earlier. Ruling from the mountain town of Roha - later renamed Lalibela - they poured resources into monolithic rock-hewn churches carved straight down from the living basalt, creating a Christian kingdom that owed nothing to Rome or Byzantium.