Kings of Solomon: Not Prester John - Ethiopian Empire - Part 1 - Extra History

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The Ethiopian Christians lived in an ancient Christian Kingdom. One with a church as old as Rome, that held exotic beasts and great treasures like the Ark of the Covenant. A land ruled by a man, a myth, the legendary Priest-King Prester John! ... or so we thought.
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Miss an episode in our Ethiopian Empire Series? *
Part 1 - Heirs of Solomon: • Kings of Solomon: Not ...
Part 2 - New Jerusalem: • Kings of Solomon: New ...
Part 3 - Church and State: • Kings of Solomon: Chur...
Part 4 - Time of Judges: • Kings of Solomon: Time...
Part 5 - The Barefoot Emporer: • Kings of Solomon: The ...
Part 6 - The Battle of Adwa: • Kings of Solomon - The...
Series Wrap-up / Lies Episode - Release Date: 8/20/2022
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#ExtraHistory #EthiopianEmpire #History

[@extrahistory]

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[@gursimarsingh5505]

You are doing a great job. It's good to tell the history of others cultures, often forgotten ones.

[@extrahistory]

@Steven Universe Thank you! It's been fixed!

[@extrahistory]

@@gursimarsingh5505 Thank you!

[@SchwarzSSB]

Thank you for covering a topic not covered much in history

[@giladpellaeon1691]

Thanks for another great vid and the Discworld reference was greatly enjoyed. I wonder if you guys will every do a video or series about the Discworld or Sir Terry himself. GNU

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Ethiopian Emperor: “I’m not Prester John.” Christians: “He’s Prester John.”

[@InquisitorThomas]

“He’s not Prester John, he’s a very naughty boy!!!”

[@rahwatesfaye6576]

I would point out that the Ethiopian ruler would have been a Christian. The legend of Prester John, as stated in the video itself, is Western construct. To imply that all Christendom insisted that he was Prester John inspite of facts to the contrary is, I'm sorry to say, inaccurate and offensive

[@diogosousa868]

@@rahwatesfaye6576 And (that) Ethiopian royal family insistence that they're descendents of Solomon when compared of the facts that demonstrated otherwise is, I'm sorry to say, quite offensive to Christians/Jews. Two things: 1- All Christendom AT THE TIME viewed Ethiopia as Prester John's Kingdom. No real way to prove otherwise, and specially to prove it to all people of Christendom and not only the bishops. 2- How is being descendent of a holy saint meant to be offensive? Even the Ethiopian Royal Family claimed their lineage from Solomon, a wise king anointed by God. How is one offensive and not the other?

[@Punaparta]

@@diogosousa868 What Rahwa means is that the statement "all Christendom thought the ruler of Ethiopia was Prester John" implicitly excludes Ethiopia itself from the definition of Christendom, and that is what's offensive for Ethiopians.

[@HexaDecimus]

Ethiopian emperor:"I'm not Prestor John". Christians:" Thats what Preston John would say".

[@abcdef27669]

"This is not usurpation, this is a Restoration" - Every coup leader, ever.

[@JAY-gl5xd]

And a descendant of King Solomon like many monarchs claim.

[@impatientsamurai6202]

Meiji anyone?

[@crazydinosaur8945]

restore the republic! (aka start a dictatorship) restore the rightful King/emperor (aka putting a puppet on the throne)

[@Remove-x3w]

Me in Myanmar: AMEN

[@spartanx9293]

@@JAY-gl5xd yeah claiming to be of the House of David would require some really good proof

[@lukepatrickus1059]

I love that you Mentioned Prester John that’s not a story that many people know about

[@powerist209]

Hilariously, Marvel had Prestor John except he is a demigod and friends with Thor.

[@nunosilva187]

Except the entire Europa Universalis 4 community

[@davidkelly4210]

@@nunosilva187 EU3 in my case.

[@menotyou4289]

CK2 here haha

[@andramoie]

It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you, that's for sure.

[@giantnanomachine]

"I'm a descendent of the previous dynasty and also King Salomon. And that's totally the arc of the covenant in that box over there." "I'm going to belive you cause you have soldiers."

[@YOSSARIAN313]

He does indeed have a lot of soldiers. Persuasive argument

[@commiehunter733]

Indeed, im not saying these wild statements just to retain power.... im really solomon's descendant and he order you to serve me😂

[@kidusdawit1220]

I’m so happy to see this. Also, if anyone’s interested. The last part about Solomon “gifting” the Ark isn’t what I grew up hearing. The story goes he and the Queen of Sheba (Saba/Makeda) conceived a son, and she returned to Ethiopia. She gave birth and named him Menelik and he’d later return to Jerusalem to spend time with his father. He stays there a long time, and Solomon would grow to love him, even more than any of his other children. Finally, it’s time to leave and Solomon is full of sorrow to lose his son so he takes him to his temple and has him blessed, and “christens” him Dawit (David) after his father. Solomon says that since he’s losing his beloved son, so must all of the high houses of Israel, and bids his subjects to send their firstborn sons to accompany Menelik to Ethiopia. The night before they depart, there is a huge banquet and feast, after which the archangel Michael reveals himself to Menelik and instructs him to take the Ark to Ethiopia. The angel himself lifted it from the Temple and carried it to the awaiting ships. By the time Solomon found out, it was too late. There’s more but those are the main points. Anyway, thanks Extra Credit for doing the series on this beautiful country.

[@aman.1678]

There is some other story about the arc to related to Queen Yiteya and a prophecy she have told up on solomon "as u wished upon our sun , ur sun shall be ours!" Any ways when solomon found out it was stolen and his followers ask to hunt them down he said, "only those whom God chose can serve the ark let alone steal it so it must be His Will." That is what i heard growing up.😁

[@rediamd847]

To be clear, more than 50million Ethiopians believe this version is true and God help him who dare doubt.

[@johnstephanos1128]

Well, the real story is that Solomon personally gave his son the Arc of the covenant to take with him to Ethiopia. This is because the first born Israelites from each tribe and Melenik wouldn't be able to worship at the temple of Solomon because their going to Ethiopia. Because of this, Solomon hands them the Arc so they can worship God so they don't have to be in the temple. Understand that God assigned the Levite priests on how to admi ister and carry the Ark and only they can move it. Ethiopian priests have Levite ancestry through the marriage between Moses and his Ethiopian wife. It makes so much sense

[@ajuuran2890]

As a Somali this makes me excited, because I believe that we somalis will be mentioned the first time in Extra History, since we have a rich history with Ethiopians. I also would wish if you guys made a video about the dervish uprising in Somalia, wich is considered to be the first African uprising, wich planes were used on to put down.

[@Kronos_LordofTitans]

Question about your country, is pasta with banana really popular over there or is it something Somali migrants to the west created?

[@charlietaube4026]

you have a facinating culture, I come from Minnesota, we have a large community of Somali immigrants here and talking to them is always fun.

[@ish8891]

@@Kronos_LordofTitans we eat bananas with a lot of things. Along with lime/lemon, its a common addition to savoury meals like pasta and rice.

[@Kronos_LordofTitans]

@@ish8891 ah, only had the pasta thus far, it's great

[@MoDeriye]

​@@Kronos_LordofTitans Italy colonized central and south somalia. They brought their farming techniques that allow somalis to grow bananas in the fertile south. This was a big hit that Somalis eat bananas with rice and pasta. Somalis eat it different than Italians and include red meat derived from their nomadic history and spices from their cultural exchange with their indian partners.

[@angusyang5917]

Fun fact: According to Islamic tradition, in the 610s and 620s, when Muslims were being persecuted in Mecca, a group of Muslims fled to Aksum, where the king at the time, Najashi/Armah, was convinced by their religion being close to Christianity, allowing them to seek refuge and refusing to turn them over to the Meccans.

[@66sec65]

I am Ethiopian and would like to say that this is very true. While I do not think that the story goes that he convinced the leader that it was close to Christianity rather that the ruler had let all Religions thrive in the region. Mohammed in his life time even said to his followers to go to Abyssinia(Ethiopia) and he was quoted to say “find a king there who does not wrong anyone.” This is the main reason why there is a decent chunk of Muslims in Ethiopia. About 30%

[@theassassin9326]

@@66sec65 the Muslims in Ethiopia are mostly southern people

[@cometmoon4485]

Absolutely! I heard that part of the reason why the early Caliphates didn't conquer Ethiopia directly is out of gratitude for this refuge.

[@manoftruth0935]

And this shows that Christianity is the religion of tolerance. Even if to a fault.

[@eho6380]

Islam actually also would be partially to blame for the end of the Aksumite empire since they closed the trading network for the non-muslim Aksumite, forcing them to quit their millennia-long career on the sea and start to go inland.

[@CodaMission]

My professor on the History of Africa made so many trips to the rock-hewn church at Lalibela that the Ethiopian priest who runs it knew her on a personal basis and jokingly called her "My pilgrim!"

[@Zeyede_Seyum]

Is it Abune Matthias?

[@CodaMission]

@@Zeyede_Seyum pardon me, I misspoke. It wasn't the bishop, it was the head priest at the Church of St. George

[@gendbh5652]

aww that’s sweet

[@FlaviusBelisarius-ck6uv]

Can’t wait to see Menelik II. His magnificent victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa, crushing the Kingdom of Italy and making the Italians look like fools to the rest of Europe, ensured that Ethiopia was never colonized. And Ras Tafari, better known as Haile Selassie, deserves a series of his own.

[@margaretkairu7418]

haile sellasie

[@ericdillingham6858]

I mean, Ethiopia /was/ colonized.

[@DukeofDjibouti]

@@ericdillingham6858 for like a few years and then liberated in 1941, with major insurgencies taking place even during the occupation.

[@ericdillingham6858]

@@DukeofDjibouti Fair enough.

[@FlaviusBelisarius-ck6uv]

@@ericdillingham6858 I don’t consider it a colonization, more an occupation really. After all, would you say that Germany *colonized* France then during WW2?

[@blaster915]

Looking forward to this series! Another area I didn't learn much about in my schooling days :)

[@extrahistory]

So are we! It certainly doesn't get enough coverage!

[@Gala-yp8nx]

The American education system has a vested interest in glossing over African history. Especially the parts that resisted Colonization.

[@blaster915]

@@Gala-yp8nx I was educated in Europe and this was not covered. Glad I'm learning about it now. :)

[@Jhqwulw]

You guys are the reason why I want to be a history teacher

[@extrahistory]

[@codyshi4743]

Same here.

[@littleelfguy1313]

@@extrahistory wat

[@matthewmccaughey1628]

Gotta say, this is the best looking Extra History episodes to date Nice job, EC

[@hfghguuh]

I feel like these topics are so random and are stuff I didn't ask for, but I am SO glad they do them anyway.

[@extrahistory]

We have an AWESOME Patreon Community that makes suggestions and votes on them! We should be thanking them!

[@peppapig9987]

Finaly, the underrated empire is covered. Etheopia has an amazing history that is undertold. Thank you for your work here and in all of historyď

[@66sec65]

I’m an Ethiopian-American and I’m glad to see some history shown on my native country. I am half from the Tigray region so I would definitely have bias on that war so if someone were to ask me about it I would probably not want to talk about it.

[@foxpro3002]

Understandable

[@diamond4270]

Having a bias when it comes to the war is not the same as as reproducing facts about the humanitarian crisis, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

[@66sec65]

@@diamond4270 Okay?

[@diamond4270]

@@66sec65 Ppl who say " im from there might be biased" usually don't know the difference.

[@66sec65]

@@diamond4270 Alright

[@ethancash7735]

I can’t believe you guys are making a series on this thank you

[@samueldesta2151]

Yes! Diving into Ethiopian History! This is great, thanks for teaching about my homeland! And thank you for also mentioning the Tigray War. Being a Tigrayan myself, not many people know about the conflict so its nice for it to be exposed so that people can learn and help put a stop to it.

[@atsekaleb7]

LETS GOO. Always waited for the day you guys would cover my home nation!

[@_Hoagie]

Two of my siblings are adopted from Ethiopia, and I've always found the nation's history really interesting, so I'm excited for this series! I hope the Beta Israel get a mention, as a particularly interesting group.

[@amdetsion3256]

The Queen Gudit mentioned in the video actual name was Queen Judith. She ruled the Beth Israelites and was nicknamed "Gudit".

[@commiehunter733]

Ethiopians were one of the very first converts to judaism

[@afrinaut3094]

I have to agree with that prophet that the Axumites were one of the great civilizations of the world, but so too was Nubia. It would be awesome if you guys and your team did a dedicated series about the Nubian Kingdoms Of Kush and their (often-regnant) Queens. In terms of indigenous African religions/mythologies & traditional architecture some of my favorite African civilizations would be Nubia, the Ashanti Empire (Akan ethnic groups) & the Oyo Empire (Yoruba ethnic groups). Much love your teams work!

[@maryvanderriet7973]

Makuria

[@Gotterdammerung_]

oh my god ethiopian history is SO underrated :) im so excited for this series ❤️

[@abthedragon4921]

Oh hell yeah, I've been hoping for a series on Ethiopia since the Mali series! Looking forward to seeing more on the civilizations of Africa!

[@InquisitorThomas]

Moral of the story: We must start referring to the King of Norway as Santa Claus.

[@SidheKnight]

Wouldn't it be funny if he suddenly started receiving hundreds of letters in the mail sent by kids addressed to Santa? xD

[@stephenmacrae1039]

I thought he WAS the king of Norway?!?

[@fireironthesecond2909]

Bet.

[@n0blees436]

Be Careful what you Naming Santa = Satan, Claus = Claws.

[@Numba003]

Ethiopia is one of those fascinating ancient places whose older history I know very little about. Thank you for the series! I'm excited for it! Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you, friends. ✝️ :)

[@jrm78]

I love how in a roundabout way you keep Extra History games related by continuing to work your way through the various civilizations and leaders of Civilization 6.

[@dominicguye8058]

I think that's the Patrons' doing

[@adhvaithravi3972]

In the part where you say Rome made Christianity the state religion decades later than Ethiopia or Armenia, you mention the year was 3080. I think EC meant to say 380 AD as the year of the change of the state religion, but I am not sure. Just wanted to let EC know of the misunderstanding. Thanks, and I hope you keep making great videos!

[@magister343]

I prefer to think he is predicting that there will be a major revival of Christianity as a state religion in Rome 1058 years in the future. Most sources agree with it being 380 AD, as that is when the Edict of Thessalonica was issued.

[@rafaelmarkos4489]

@@magister343 Or they finally managed to score a 3080 after two long years... Which is admittedly a cause for celebration.

[@philip8498]

in 1000 years the eighth roman empire will make christianity the state religion once more.

[@dispatcher22z20]

they dont make great videos

[@951sht]

It is just a text-to-speech error, its actually 30 A.D.

[@Sirmatthaeus]

I taught that Ethiopia was a perfectly stable country, i wish best of luck fellow orthodox christians from Serbia 🇷🇸

[@spaghettimon3851]

Kosovo is Serbia 🇨🇺❤🇷🇸

[@samsonsoturian6013]

@@spaghettimon3851 shut up

[@samsonsoturian6013]

Ethiopia is about as Christian as it is Muslim. Certain remote cultures inside Ethiopia are Christian, but the area as a whole has no particular ethnic or religious patter.

[@Sirmatthaeus]

@@samsonsoturian6013 well i know that just like the balcans and the Caucasus, East Africa is an ethnic dumbster fire...

[@66sec65]

@@samsonsoturian6013 I’m Ethiopian and would just like to say that is incorrect. If you meant Orthodox Christian then maybe because there is roughly 40% Orthodox, 30% Muslim and 20% Pentay (Pentay is near the same as protestant once translated.) Now added up this gets roughly 60% for Christianity but only 30% for Islam. Now these numbers were rounded though the close to exact numbers are, Christianity is 67.3% and Islam being 31.3%. So there are more then double Christians then Muslims

[@golazo099]

Thank you for making this episode I have been waiting for a detailed video on the Ethiopian empire

[@joelgottfried5849]

LOVE THIS! Ahhhh More African civilisations PLEASE been looking forward to this since the mali series

[@nenenindonu]

Fun fact ; The Aksumites under Abraha had tried to sack Mecca but failed, in the same year prophet Muhammad was born, he would later start the Islamic expansion resulting with the Muslim conquest of Khosrow's Sassanid empire

[@Hamza-su5yd]

Then again the prophets companions were given asylum in Axum under the Negus when they were being oppressed in the early years of the prophets message.

[@Adventuregirl1985]

I just want to say thank you to all the people involved with Extra History. As a history buff myself I'm always looking forward to studying a new part of world history and I always look forward to your videos every weekend. Keep up the amazing work 😊

[@discountplaguedoctor88]

I cannot tell you how much I was left LAUGHING at how kings kept calling the Ethiopian Emperor 'Prestor John' and the joke about calling the King of Norway 'Santa Claus' for two hundred years.

[@joshuahunt3032]

Why for 200 years, anyway? Was Prester John supposedly immortal or something?

[@discountplaguedoctor88]

@@joshuahunt3032 Just rewatch the video.

[@Hamza-su5yd]

Kinda hoping some Somali sultanates appear in the periphery of this series. I’d love a series on them of course but even a series on our fellow horn of Africans is enough to keep me happy!

[@Roseblindbags123]

that would be awesome a video on Gragn!

[@aradat9671]

@@Roseblindbags123 and Emperor Amda seyon the Great

[@merchantofmogadishu3579]

@@Roseblindbags123 his name is ahmed gurey aka ahmed the left handed Cuz he wieded his sword on left hand

[@Cheapgains]

Finally history of my country described by a great history channel

[@secretwatch1what849]

I just wanna say, I've been following you guys for the last couple years. You're one of the few history channels, that doesn't just focus on western history and on important male figures. I love the breadth of learning about different historical figures across the world. Thanks for giving such a rich viewing experience.

[@Albert.Walderhaug]

I’ve always been interested in the history of the Ethiopian Empire! I’ll definitely be following and looking forward to this collection of Extra History! The Solomonic Dynasty sounds familiar to me, but I was not aware of this Prester John creation. I’m totally with the Ethiopians here. As an American of Norwegian descent, I’d be pretty annoyed if King Harald was called “Santa Clause” (especially if that king was Haraldr Hárfagri).

[@Useraccount85]

I love that you share the histories of cultures that aren't taught in your typical History classes that only cover European/"Western" cultures.

[@dayoldpepsi652]

Been waiting so long for a series on Ethiopia I’m so exited

[@kevincronk7981]

this is a topic I've been super interested in for a while, glad to see a channel I really like covering it!

[@rahwatesfaye6576]

I've been following your content for years and I'm so glad you're telling the story of my homeland. I do have a question though, can you cite the sources that state that Yekuno Amlak slew the last Zagwe king to get the throne? I'm asking because the Ethiopian history I've learned states that the Zagwe rulers peacefully gave Yekuno Amlak the right to rule.

[@extrahistory]

We do most of that in our lies video which is a month out but I'll get your question in there!

[@rahwatesfaye6576]

Thanks 🙂 will wait on it then

[@Cheapgains]

የታሪክ መፅሀፋችንም ላይ ባይኖርም ተዋግተዋል ግን ይላል

[@rahwatesfaye6576]

@@Cheapgains ምን ምንጮች ይህንን ያስረዳሉ?

[@aradat9671]

@@rahwatesfaye6576 he was probably killed by Yekunu amelak but Yekunu amelak did not kill the last zagwa king inside a church I mean I never heard this version before at all lol first of all spilling royal blood is a big no no in Ethiopia if one wants to kill the Emperor he would strangle him but not slew him and spill royal blood let alone kill him inside a chruch I wish he mentioned how Yekunu amelak still gave them 2 land to rule one being lasta the zagwa rulers was exempt from paying tax like every region in Ethiopia by the Emperor Yekunu amelak this tradition will continue an the zagwa never paid tax from Yekunu amelak all the way to rise of Derg In 1970 The zagwa rulers were allowed to wear a sliver Crown lower than the gold crown Emperor Yekunu amelak and during war time the zagwa were allowed to march on horse with only sliver war drums and on mule during peace times

[@melanc1132]

I’m really looking forward to this series on Ethiopia and it’s history!

[@FRIEND_711]

Was not expecting the Ethiopian part at the start, I'm glad you entered that there, I do wish the best for those living in Ethiopia including my friend who's living in the capital. A bit worried about him since the last time we spoke was about a month ago. I hope he's okay.

[@diamond4270]

If he's ethnic tigrayan he could've gotten arrested by the government during the hunt of tigrayans in all regions of the country, many of them were subjected to inhumane treatment by the police afterwards but returned home, while others never made it back.

[@Ω3103ζ]

excited for this series!

[@eyerusalemk1356]

Omg love all your short stories! My new obsession 💚💛❤️ Thanks! Keep them coming!

[@jarellwilliams7287]

I absolutely love how you guys portrayed the hair of the Ethiopians in this episode it looks so good.

[@amdetsion3256]

It's rather ignorant since Abyssinians usually had long hair or Afros.

[@timweiner7990]

Small correction to <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="267">4:27</a> The Bible distinctly teaches that the first non-Jewish convert to Christianity was a Caesarean centurion named Cornelius. the conversion of he and his house hold can be found in Acts chapter 10 (the whole chapter is relevant). The conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch does happen before this chronologically, the story being found in Acts <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="506">8:26</a>-40. However, it is commonly understood that the Ethiopian was a practicing Jew, or at least a proselyte. The evidence for this is mainly 1) He is reading from the Jewish Scriptures when first encountered, 2) He is located far from home in the Jewish holy land, perhaps on pilgrimage, and 3) The Bible makes a BIG deal about Cornelius being the first non-Jewish convert. A whole church council is convened over the matter. If the Ethiopian were not Jewish, it stands to reason that his conversion would be a much bigger deal in the narrative of Acts.

[@winstonchurchill5791]

You guys make great content! I hope you guys also talk about The first and second Italo-Ethiopian War because it also has a great importance in the history of the Ethiopian empire.

[@theorangeeyepodscp1318]

WOOOOOO NEW SERIES

[@gilgameschvonuruk4982]

Good that you bring attention to the situation in Ethiopia

[@savabout6487]

This is such a great topic!! So many in the west no nothing about African history. Ethiopia is so fascinating .

[@toonthopia5543]

As and ethiopian, i appreciate this so much. Great to see people learning about our country. And you did a great job with your research and you thought me some new things, great job guys!

[@Stejers]

heck yeah more underrated empires!!

[@SchwarzSSB]

Excited to see this covered, can't wait to learn about an area in history not covered enough in schools

[@idontknoq4813]

Ethiopia is literally an ancient mythical kingdom. WOW.

[@AIO9913]

I’m so excited for this Series!!!

[@VelkanKiador]

How... How do you know that our king is secretly Santa Claus? O__O

[@extrahistory]

[@imaginativeskydadytm1389]

@@extrahistory *gasp* Walpole

[@hlibushok]

Just remembered how beautiful your art style is.

[@state_song_xprt]

The Tigray War has had almost no coverage in the western media. There was a bit of coverage when it began but recently it's been almost totally ignored. Although I assume the series will end at or before the overthrow of the Solomonic Dynasty in 1974, I hope you take some time to discuss how the history of the often-strained relationship between the diverse peoples of Ethiopia - most pertinently to the war today, the Tigray, Amhara, and Oromo peoples - has contributed to the war happening now.

[@AIO9913]

Hopefully they do, it’s one of the most interesting parts of Ethiopia

[@josephb.1425]

Yeah, it's a bit strange how few stories I see about it. The Economist used to do a bunch of stories on it before war broke out in Ukraine, but since then I only remember seeing one or two, and I've seen maybe one if any in the New York Times...

[@theassassin9326]

@@josephb.1425 unfortunately many Western media ( even when they try to cover it ) are really ignorant about it.

[@AG-qp4yk]

One channel that has covered the war since the beginning in a neutral manner is My Views on News. Unlike this yt channel, Some News sources covering the war are either state backed or rebel backed.

[@yoditgudit6578]

Well, these peoples didn't really exist as a collective groups pre 1950s, so if he wants to be historically accurate, he should not.

[@nelsonwang9706]

Fantastic video! Your channel is getting ever better!!! Thank you!

[@JohnnyLodge2]

Lalibella is so freaking cool. Shame that Petra gets all the attention that Lalibella deserves

[@extrahistory]

HOPEFULLY we can shed a little light on them for everyone in this series!

[@innitbruv-lascocomics9910]

Lalibella gets a fair bit of attention from many Christians. Especially Orthodox. Both are really beautiful but Petra is older and it does use different architectural methods for its age so in its own right, Petra is relly beautiful, and older than Lalibella.

[@edcrichton9457]

Too many tourists are destroying Lalibela.

[@cegesh1459]

Hey, Petra deserves it.

[@luku.111]

@@innitbruv-lascocomics9910 petra gets much more attention than lalibela

[@عليجابر-ق5ح]

Aksum was mentioned in the Islamic holy book "the Qur'an" as (Al-habasha), a distant land in Africa with a Christian king, where some Muslims go for a short period seeking protection from the pagans In the year 615

[@1purpose482]

I think you mean the hadith (sayings of the prophet Muhammad pbuh)

[@Omer1996E.C]

Not quran, it's hadith

[@25BDominique2021]

This is awesome my grandmother and mother where born in Eritria. Im going to share this with them.

[@ayemoneey1470]

waiting on this video. 💯 thank you Extra credits.

[@PenceCat]

As a Norwegian myself I have to say that it’s weird how many people think that I live on a giant iceberg. But who knows, many king Harald is Santa. Or the fabled Norwegian “julenissen” aka the Christmas nisse.

[@NotAnAlex_Guy]

This looks like this will be a great series!

[@hiddenhist]

The "Ethiopian eunuch" was a servant of the "Candace", a kushite title (Candace = Kandake). As such, one can assume he was kushite (meroitic / Nubian), not aksumite ("Ethiopian" in the modern sense).

[@SidheKnight]

In the ancient hellenized world, "Ethiopia" was a rather vague and generic term to refer to Africa south of Egypt. So it could be either.

[@hiddenhist]

@@SidheKnight it could be were it not for the fact that the eunuch is listed as serving "Candace". Candace (Kandake) is a Kushite title.

[@DaduaMaiga]

@Hannit No, the Ethiopian Eunuch mentioned in Acts 8 was simply a Nubian from Meroe in modern Sudan, not the present day country of Ethiopia today or what was called Aksum, we know this because he was working for a Kandake which is a Meroitic word meaning "Queens Mother's", the Aksumites didn't had any ruling female monarchs in 34 AD which was the year the Ethiopian Eunuch was baptized.

[@vrabb9030]

Who's Candace?

[@mirandagoldstine8548]

@@vrabb9030 She was a queen from Kush who is often connected to early Christianity. In the New Testament there is a mention of her in connection with one of her servants who is said to have converted to Christianity.

[@jaohonaxa]

Oh man I always love it when they start a series on a subject I know next to nothing about. So excited

[@prestonjones1653]

You forgot to mention that Queen Gudit was the leader of a Jewish rebel state that refuse to convert to Christianity, no matter how many massacres the Emperor threatened or unleashed. To this day, she's still seen as a hero among Ethiopian Jewry.❤

[@66sec65]

The last part of she is still seen as a hero among Ethiopian Jewry is new to me. As a Orthodox Christian I have always learned from all the Ethiopians around me that she was an evil queen who converted to Judaism after having bad things done to her in a church. That last sentence very much surprised me

[@prestonjones1653]

@@66sec65 Yeah, I can imagine why genocidal monsters would paint somebody who didn't want to be brutally murdered as an "evil queen."

[@66sec65]

@@prestonjones1653 I do not think we are genocidal monsters. After all we embraced the Muslims who came when they were being killed. Though if you are a Jew and just feel with her then that is fine. She would have been fine if she hadn’t murdered the entire royal family + destroyed so many glorious churches.

[@Abk367]

​​​@@prestonjones1653 she murdered the emperor ,laid waste to the empire ,destroyed churches and monuments and even attempted to murder the surviving members of the royal family .was that all part of surviving? her religion too is unclear .she was either a convert to Judaism or a pagan .

[@travisblack8767]

Can’t wait to see part 2!

[@rtemecti6958]

hey extra history! just to let you know this video was the best I've seen so far! can you make a series on the adal empire, a Somali empire I would appreciate if you did!

[@duncanthetall6419]

This is awesome Already my favorite series. Can’t wait for the next one!

[@Luffingtoncloak]

Hi Matt I’m gonna watch the whole series😃

[@ScabiousGarde]

To be fair, going back to ancient Greece, "Ethiopia" could mean damn well anything to the south and east, including India frequently

[@JohnDoe-bh2lp]

Aethiopia was originally referred to as a place South of Egypt but after seeing how dark Indians were they added Indians to it too

[@megabotvideos]

this is one of the videos i have been really looking forward to

[@fastandfruriusf]

Being a Norwegian, King Harald strikes me as someone who could quite possibly have answered such a letter and then ended it with "Best wishes, Santa". After all, this is the monarch who joked that the Troll research station was named after his wife, etc

[@axelr7787]

Troll research station? Please tell more!

[@fantalandia4273]

Very nice episode, Extra History 😊

[@Vlogsaboutdogs]

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

[@extrahistory]

WE LOVE YOU TOO!

[@sallamt.amhara]

As an Ethiopian and a member of the cadet branch of Bete Solomon, thank you!

[@bthsr7113]

I rather enjoyed Blue's summary of Ethiopian history. I look forward to your take.

[@Kasaaz]

There's just something about the horses drawn in this art style that just makes me happy.

[@assyrianchristian764]

I love the history of eastern Christianity and how it develop its own culture and history in areas such as Ethiopia and areas were the king pester John (church of the east).

[@heruy8274]

Many of thr characteristics which marks Ethiopian Christianity were common to all Christians of the Near East before a majority of them found themselves reduced to a minority role in the midst of countries which had become predominantly Muslim. The highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea are living witnesses of practices wich were once widespread in the Near East.

[@nileshkumaraswamy2711]

Sorry for one error at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="334">5:34</a>, Rome didn't become officially Christian in 380 with the edict of Thessalonica but had become majority Christian decades before after the edict of Milan legalized its worship and Constantine's successors promoted the religion over all other faiths.

[@glntv5217]

Damn this was unexpected. As an ethiopian I really love this New Series

[@historygaming3765]

One of the most underrated and most epic empire the world has ever seen.

[@michaeladu6120]

Please promise me you're gonna do one on the Asante Empire next 🙏🏽

[@TheEarthwormArmy]

i had the chance to spend some time in ethiopia hefore the civil war. saw the rock hewn churches of lalibela, which you mentioned in the video. its an incredible place. i hope peace comes soon.

[@jeremy1860]

My hat off to you for raising awareness of the struggles going on in the country. Hopefully things there can get better soon 😟

[@موسى_7]

Not until Egypt gets its Nile water

[@aradat9671]

@@موسى_7 that's a dream

[@adonisendymion2480]

I’ve been waiting for this. Recently learned all the things the video covered on some researching. It’s great to have it all spelled out easily like this. Great video, can’t wait for part two.

[@biggybrolunch3809]

"Please stop calling me Prestor John..." "Hahah Whatever you say, Prestor John."

[@outtheboxkenya9227]

It’s so great that African history is being embraced by the world 🌎❤️

[@randomguy970]

Very excited for this series! Interested to see if the community of Ethiopian Jews is mentioned in this series, particularly given the struggles they faced in their country and now in Israel.

[@kala_asi]

Looking forward to Rome making the switch to Christianity in 3080!

[@Joshua-zg9mi]

this is the earliest ive ever been to a video

[@extrahistory]

Congrats on making it here so early!

[@philtkaswahl2124]

The annoyed Ethiopian emperors glaring at the letters calling them Prester John was one of my favorite parts of this vid. Also, I will forever be thankful to the Belisarius series by David Drake and Eric Flint for being my gateway to looking up the history of Aksum when I was a kid.

[@Joker-yw9hl]

Cool stuff. Would love to see you cover Queen Amina of Nigeria one day too

[@jaycorby101]

More African stories pls! Love learning something new about parts of the world less talked about

[@horatius6360]

Amazing!

[@leestudios9948]

I hope they make a episode about the first Italo Ethiopian war

[@Boretheory]

Meh

[@stephanwiechmann9645]

Thank you for this wonderful episode on a lesser known part of history. And those cherubim are just adorable!