Baring-Gould’s sources: Abyssinian Senkessar on May 1 5. Russian Menology on Oct 24. Modem Roman Martyrology, introduced by Baronius, on Oct 27. Authorities John, B. of Asia, a Monophysite historian who wrote in 585; mention by Procopius, “ De Bello Persico,” written in 560; John Malala, a writer of Antioch, in 585; the valuable Acts of S. Arethas, written during the reign of Elesbaan. Theophanes, “ Chronographia; ” and the Abyssinian accounts in the Senkessar, &c.] That region of Ethiopia which was known to the Romans as the kingdom of Auxuma, was called by the Arabians A1 Habesh, of which the modem name of Abyssinia is merely a corruption. Its eastern boundary is the Red Sea, and on the north it adjoins Nubia; in its physical geography it bears a great resemblance to the Arabian peninsula. The Abyssinians were connected with the people of Arabia not only by their situation; they were a people of the same family, and their kingdom perhaps originated from some of the plundering expeditions of the early Tobbaas or Kings of Hamyar. Their Arabian origin is proved by the identity of their manners, their physiognomy, and their language, and even, in some measure, by their traditions. Abyssinia is at present divided into three great divisions: that of Tigre, comprehending the tract between the Red Sea and the Tacazze; that of Amhara, to the west of Tacazze; and the provinces of the Gallas to the south. The province now called Tigre was the seat of the ancient monarchy. At the north-west end of an extensive and fertile valley, between two hills, about one hundred and twenty miles from the coast, stood the capital, the city of Axum, the ruins of which still bear witness to its former magnificence.
During the reign of the Ptolemies, when the trade of the Red Sea was carried on partly through the Egyptian ports, and Ethiopia was made by their fleets a place of less difficult access, the language and some of the refinements of Greece were introduced; and it was a favourite resort of the later kings of this family, for the purpose of hunting the elephant Christianity is supposed to have reached Ethiopia through the eunuch of Queen Candace;1 but it can be ascertained with more certainty that there were Christians in the kingdom of Auxuma in the time of Athanasius, when their bishop, named Frumentius, was deposed for his Arianism [followers of Arius, who taught that the Son is a created being, not fully God].* Ethiopia, when it was better known, became important to the Eastern empire for its trade; and the merchants of Abyssinia shared with those of Arabia the commerce of the Indian Ocean. From the port of Adulis, on the Red Sea, the ruins of which are still to be seen near the town of Zulla, about thirty miles south-east of Massowa, the ships of Auxuma visited the coasts of India and Ceylon. The port of Adulis was frequented by ships of Alexandria and Ela, 1 Sophronius. Candace is not a proper name, but a title. 9 This can hardly be S. Frumentius, who, as has been shown, p. 650-2, was not apostle of Ethiopia, but of Arabia Felix. *S\ Elesbaan.
which returned laden with gold and frankincense.1 Three days' journey from Adulis and five from Axum was the town of Koloe, the grand emporium of ivory and of the wealth of the interior. The trade, however, between the Auxumites and the Romans, at least after the removal of the seat of empire to the East, appears to have been carried through Arabia. The deserts which lay between Ethiopia and Egypt hindered a commercial intercourse between these two countries by land, and the neglected and bad navigation of the Red Sea towards the north was an almost equal impediment by sea. The trade with the Romans was therefore carried on by Roman merchants who resided in the ports of Ethiopia and Arabia, and the merchandize was transported in caravans to Syria, over the mountains to the north of Hamayar, or Arabia Felix, and through the country of the Nabathaei.2 Of the kings or nadjashes of Abyssinia who reigned from the middle of the 4th to the 5th century little or nothing is known save their names.
About the middle of the 5th century the King of Auxuma invaded Hamyar, a portion of Arabia Felix. The Abyssinian prince was named A1 Aimed, or Alaalmeda. He killed the king of Hamyar, and reduced Arabia Felix to the condition of a tributary nation. Shortly after this victory, about the year 480, the Auxumites sent legates to Alexandria to obtain a bishop and some clergy, and nine monks arrived in Ethiopia, whom the Abyssinian Church honours under the names of Za- Michael, Pantaleon, Garima, Tzehma, Aftze, Guba, Imeata, Liquanos, and Alef.
On the death of A1 Aimed his son Tazena succeeded him. The son of Tazena was Caleb or Elesbaan. Two inscriptions of Tazena remain: in one there appears evidence that he had 1 Cosmas Indicopleustes, Topog.
become either a Jew or a Christian, for he entitles himself king “ by grace of God, who spread out heaven and earth in eternity.”
We know nothing of the beginning of the reign of Elesbaan till Dzu Nowass, Tobbaa of Hamyar, revolted against him, and refused the tribute that had been hitherto exacted.
Dzu Nowass, who had been converted to Judaism, was moved by his Israelite advisers and his own bigotry to persecute the Christians in Hamyar, and at the same time to fill his treasury with plunder of the caravans and of the foreign merchants who traversed his kingdom, conveying the goods of Africa and India from Adulis to Syria. Elesbaan collected an army, and marched against the Hamyarite king. He speedily reduced him to subjection. According to the account of the Greeks, he had made a vow, should he succeed, to become a Christian; and that, on his success, he sent to Alexandria for priests and a bishop. But there seems to be some confusion in times. The embassy probably was that already spoken of as taking place in the reign of his father. The defeat of Dzu Nowass took place in 519. In 522 that king again revolted; and signalized his breaking away from allegiance to the nadjash of Ethiopia by a horrible massacre of the Christians within his realm. In one city, Nadjran, those put to death were numbered by thousands; old and young, men, women, and children, were indiscriminately butchered.1 Priests, monks, and nuns to the number of 437 were burnt alive, 227 other women, and 340 of the chief men of Nadjran, were decapitated. When Dzu Nowass had glutted his rage on the unfortunate Christians of Nadjran, he wrote a letter to El Mundhir II., King of Hira in Hedjaz, to urge him in like manner to purge his portion of Arabia of the sect of the Christians, 1 See fall particulars in the Life of S. Arethas, Simeon Betharsamen, a Persian Catholic priest, and Abraham, a priest of Constantinople, were at the court of El Mundhir when the latter arrived. Simeon at once wrote an account of what had taken place to the abbot of Gabula,. enclosing a copy of the letter of Dzu Nowass. Abraham returned to Constantinople, and narrated what had happened to the Emperor Justin, who at once wrote urgent letters to Elesbaan to avenge the blood of the martyrs, and arrest the persecution in Arabia.
Elesbaan needed no provocation; he could not pass over the revolt of a tributary. But he spent some time in collecting an army sufficiently powerful to completely reduce Hamyar. A fleet was assembled at Adulis, or rather in its harbour at Gabaza, at the close of 524. In April 525, Elesbaan received a letter from Timothy, patriarch [the title of the bishops of the great ancient sees: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem] of Alexandria, bidding him God speed. A solemn assembly had been held in the church of S. Mark, attended by crowds of monks from Nitria [a desert monastic settlement west of the Nile Delta] and Scete, and when the liturgy was ended the patriarch enclosed the Host in a silver vessel, and sent it to the King of Ethiopia with the charitable bidding “to deliver over Hamyar to ruin with fire and sword.” The forces of Elesbaan were divided. One army, consisting of 15,000 men, lost its way among the deserts of Arabia, and perished with thirst The other army was destined to be more successful. It started after the king had gone in solemn procession to the great church at Axum, to supplicate a blessing on his arms. Elesbaan, on reaching the porch, laid aside his royal vesture, and cast himself dressed in the garb of a common man before the altar. S. Pantaleon, one of the monks from Alexandria, blessed him; and thus fortified, Elesbaan set forth for Adulis and saw his army embark. Every soldier was supplied with food for twenty days.
In the meantime, Dzu Nowass had thrown a chain across the navigable passage in the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, just below the level of the water. In spite of the chain, however, the fleet passed, and successfully landed the forces of the King of Abyssinia.1 Dzu-Nowass was routed and killed, and Elesbaan occupied his capital, Taphar or Djafar. All who were in the palace Elesbaan gave over to slaughter. He then with his own hands dug the foundations of a church, during seven days.
Elesbaan at once communicated an account of his success to the Patriarch of Alexandria and the Emperor Justin; and Timothy sent him a bishop to dedicate the church and build up the faith in Hamyar.
From Taphar Elesbaan went with the bishop to Nadjran, the City of Martyrs. He rebuilt it and its churches, baptized infidels, and constituted the son of the martyr Arethas prince of Nadjran. Elesbaan richly endowed the church there with a portion of the estates of the martyr. The place where the Christians had been massacred he invested with the privilege of asylum. Unfortunately the victory of Elesbaan was tarnished by a cruel persecution of the Jews. It is true that at their instigation Dzu Nowass had committed his atrocities; but a Christian prince should have tempered justice with mercy. On the contrary, his first step on recovering the mastery of Hamyar was to deluge the fertile fields of Arabia Felix with blood, and reduce the families of the Jews to destitution by spoiling them of their goods; many, to save their lives and property, gave in a reluctant adhesion to Christianity, and received baptism with a shudder of disgust and hearts bitter with unbelief. Elesbaan appointed a Christian, Aryat, known to the Greeks under the name of Esimiphseus, as king of Southern Arabia. The revolution in Hamyar was agreeable, on more accounts than one, to Justinian [Byzantine emperor 527–565], who had succeeded Justin in 527; 1 Full particulars are given in the life of S. Arethas, Nov. 24. S. Elesbaan.
for though the conquest of Yemen might be regarded as the triumph of Christianity over its opponents, he hoped to reap more solid advantages from the friendly professions of the conquerors. In the sanguinary wars with the Persian monarch the Arabs of the Syrian frontier had been faithful and effective allies. By an alliance with the kings of Abyssinia and Hamyar Justinian might, if necessary, call off the attention of the Persians to another quarter. A simultaneous attack of the Hamyarites in Irak and of the Romans in Mesopotamia would divide and weaken their strength. One of the most necessary luxuries of the Byzantine court was the silken produce of the worms of China. The value of this merchandize was sufficient to induce the caravans to consume a period of two hundred and forty days in traversing the interior of Asia from Syria to China. But the trade in silk was now entirely monopolized by the Persian merchants; during hostilities the supply was necessarily stopped, and in time of peace the emperor beheld with grief the wealth of Rome passing into the hands of its enemies. By a coincidence of commercial interests he hoped to turn the trade of India and China into its ancient course, through the hands of the merchants of Hamyar and Adulis. An embassy to Auxuma and Hamyar was conducted by Nonnosus,1 who ascended the Nile from Alexandria, crossed the Red Sea, and landed on the Arabian coast, when he visited the district occupied by the tribes of Maad and Kendah, which were ruled by Amru’l Keis, and were tributary to Hamyar. This prince readily contracted an alliance with the emperor, and delivered his son Mavia to the Romans as a hostage. The Hamyarite port from which Nonnosus sailed to Adulis was named Bulicas. Between Adulis and Auxuma, which he describes as a great 1 Photius, Biblioth. cod. iii. The grandfather of Nonnosus had been employed as ambassador to the king of Kendah, and his father had been sent to the mondar to effect an exchange of prisoners. Nonnosus published an account of his travels in Arabia and Abyssinia during the embassy. city, was a journey of twelve days, and in the intervening region he saw no less than a thousand elephants. At Auxuma the embassy was received with every possible mark of friendship. The Nadjash Elesbaan gave audience in the open field. He was seated on a lofty chariot, supported on four wheels, and drawn by as many elephants, caparisoned in plates of gold. He was naked from his waist upward, below his middle he was wrapped in a linen garment, interwoven with gold, and a loose cloak, covered with pearls and precious stones, hung from his shoulders. On his head he wore a linen cap, also covered with gold, from which descended four chains. His arms and neck were adorned with bracelets and chains of the same metal. He carried a small gilt shield and two spears in his hands, and was surrounded by his nobles in similar arms, and attended by a band of musicians. The ambassador and his presents were received with respect, and when he had read the letters of the emperor urging him to make war on the Persians and to send his merchants to the Roman ports, the Abyssinian prince brandished his weapons, and proclaimed incessant hostility against the idolatrous Persians.
The preparations of the Hamyarites and Abyssinians for the invasion of Persia were, however, never completed, for the reign and life of Aryat, the tributary king appointed by Elesbaan, were cut short by civil discord. The spoils of Hamyar had, it is said, been divided among the Abyssinian chiefs, to the entire exclusion of the soldiery, who, disappointed in their expectations of the reward due to their services, soon began to manifest their discontent They were restrained only from actual rebellion whilst they were engaged in seeking and punishing those participators and encouragers of the crimes of the preceding reign who had been marked out for this vengeance; but when peace was restored by their destruction the general indignation could S. Elesbaan.
no longer be repressed. The standard of rebellion was set up, Aryat was deposed, and Abrahah proclaimed king of Yemen. Abrahah was a Christian, and had been once the slave of a Roman merchant in the city of Adulis, but had afterwards risen to rank in the Abyssinian army. Aryat was assisted with fresh supplies from Elesbaan (a.d. 540), and the opposing armies were preparing to engage, when it was proposed 'to decide the quarrel by single combat Abrahah was short and corpulent, his antagonist tall and strong. The latter aimed a spear at his head, but it only slightly wounded his nose, and the scar which remained procured for him afterwards the nickname of A1 Ashram, or the Split-nosed. Abrahah had with him an attendant called Abuda, who, when he saw his master wounded, flew to his assistance and slew Aryat, and the whole army embraced the cause of the victor.
After the death of Aryat, the new king of Hamyar solicited a reconciliation with Elesbaan. The nadjash, if we may credit the Arabian historians, on hearing of the revolt, swore in a paroxysm of rage that he would not lay aside his arms till he had trampled under his feet the land of Abrahah, both mountain and vale, till he had steeped his hands in his blood, and dragged him by the hair of his head. But his army of Abyssinians had joined the usurper, and he could place no confidence in any fresh one he might raise, which would probably consider that the same disparity of treatment between officers and men which had marked the second invasion of Arabia might characterize also a third one. He was therefore obliged to submit to a reconciliation. To satisfy his vow, Abrahah caused two sacks to be filled with earth collected from the mountains and vales of Hamyar, he suffered himself also to be bled, and filled a bottle with his blood; to these he added some locks of hair which he cut from his head. “ O king,” he said in a letter to the nadjash, “ I and Aryat were both thy servants. He merited his death by tyranny and injustice. Empty the earth out of the sacks and tread it beneath thy feet; it is the land of Hamyar. Stain thy hands in my blood, which is contained in this bottle, and drag with thy fingers the hair which 1 have myself cut from my forehead. Thus, having fulfilled thy oath, turn away from me thine anger; for I am still one of thy servants, and am but an offending tributary amongst tributaries.”1 Elesbaan was fain to be appeased, and Abrahah was confirmed in the kingdom of Hamyar, after having promised faithfully to continue for ever his tribute to the crown of Abyssinia. Soon after this Elesbaan resigned the crown (a.d. 541) to his son Gabra Maskal, and retired into a monastery in the mountains, where he was given a cave, whose only furniture was a rush mat for his couch, a bowl for containing water, and a basket. He fed on dry biscuits, without oil or wine, and till his death he did not speak to a laic. His gold crown set with jewels he sent to Jerusalem, to be hung up in the church of the Holy Sepulchre.
He died about the year 555, and was buried in the monastery of Beta Pantaleon. The Abyssinians call him Calam Negus, or King Calam, a corruption of Caleb. The cell in which he spent his last years and died is shown by the monks of the monastery at this day.