Lalibela rock churches venerated
1285
A generation after their carving under the Zagwe dynasty, the monolithic rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were already places of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Christians. The new Solomonic dynasty claimed them; monks tended their trough-like drains; worshippers walked the underground tunnels. The eleven churches, each carved from a single block of volcanic tuff, represent one of the most extraordinary feats of architecture in the medieval world.
In context
Also in 1285 (3 other events on record)
- Philip IV the Fair becomes King of France · Europe · Politics
- Second Mongol invasion of Vietnam defeated · Southeast Asia · War
- Honorius IV elected pope · Europe · Religion
Before and after in Africa
Before and after in Religion
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.