About the Book

In Ethiopia: Judaism, Altars and Saints, Dr. Munro-Hay shares three intriguing aspects of Ethiopia’s endlessly fascinating history. These themes all relate to religious matters in one way or another, and are attributed to Aksumite or even earlier times in Ethiopia. They are not directly associated, though all partially interlock within the vast tapestry of Ethiopia’s religious past, real or legendary.

The first subject of enquiry is the claim that an ancient and profound Judaic influence underlies Ethiopian Christianity. The second theme concerns the tabot, the altar boards of the churches of Ethiopia. The final section is devoted to exploration of the legends concerning the foreign missionaries supposed to have come to the country in the fifth and sixth centuries, the so-called Nine Saints.

The study of these three themes not only offers a glimpse into the riches of Ethiopia’s literary and ecclesiastical tradition, but adds new perspectives to our interpretation of Ethiopia’s enigmatic past.

 

About the Author

Dr. Stuart Munro-Hay, who died recently, was an Egyptologist who, after excavating at the ancient Ethiopian royal capital city, Aksum, turned his attention to Ethiopian studies instead. He studied for his doctorate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London, and was a Research Associate at the Centre for African Studies, University of Cambridge. Later he taught archaeology and ancient African history at the universities of Khartoum and Nairobi.