ABSTRACT

In this town of Aquaxumo was the principal residence of the Queen Candace,1 who was the beginning of the christianity of this country. Her birth (as they say) was half a league from here, in a very small village, which now is entirely of blacksmiths. Her commencement of christianity was this. According to what they say in their books the angel said to St. Philip : Rise and go towards the South, by the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza in the desert. St. Philip went, and met with a man who was an eunuch, and he was major-domo of the Queen Candace, ruler of Ethiopia. In the country of Gaza, which Solomon had given to his son, this man was the keeper of all the riches of the Queen, and he had been to Jerusalem and was returning to his house, and he was going on a chariot. St. Philip came up to him, and heard him sing a prophecy of Isaiah, and asked him how he understood what he was singing. He replied that he did not know, unless some other man taught him. St. Philip mounted into the chariot, and went on explaining to him that prophecy, and converted him, and baptized and instructed him in the faith. Then the Spirit snatched away St. Philip, and he remained informed. They say that here was fulfilled the prophecy which David spoke: "Ethiopia shall arise, and stretch forth her hands to God." Thus they say they were the first christians in the world. The eunuch at once set out very gaily on the road to Ethiopia, to the house of his mistress, and converted her and all her household, and baptized then1 in consequence of what he related to them. And the Queen caused all her

BUILDINGS AT AXUM. 81

kingdom of Buno to be baptized. This Buno is towards the east from the town of Aquaxumo, in the kingdom of the Barnagais, and it is now two lordships. In this town of Aquaxumo, where she became Christian, she built a very noble church, the first there was in Ethiopia : it is named St. Mary of Syon. They say that it is so named because its altar stone came from Sion. In this country (as they say) they have the custom always to name the chut·ches by the altar stone, because on it is written the name of the patron saint. This stone which they have in this church, they say that the Apostles sent it from Mount Sion. This church is very large; it has five naves of a good width and of a great length, vaulted above, and all the vaults covered up, the ceiling and sides all painted. Below, the floor of the church is well worked with handsome cut stone. It has seven chapels, all with their backs to the east, and their altars well placed. It has a choir after our fashion, except that it is low, and they reach the vaulted roof with their heads; and the choir is also over a vault, and they do not use it. This church has a very large circuit, paved with flagstones like gravestones. This consists of a very high wall, and it is not covered over like those of the other churches, but it is left open. This church has a large enclosure, and it is also surrounded by another larger enclosure, like the wall of a large town or city. Within this enclosure are handsome habitations of terraced buildings, and all spout out their water by strong figures of lions and dogs of stone. Inside this large enclosure there are two palaces, one on the right hand and the other on the left, which belong to two rectors of the church; and the other houses are of canons and friars. In the large enclosure, at the gate nearest to the church, there is a large ruin, built in a square, which in other times was a house, and it has at each angle large stone pillars, squared and wrought. This house is called Ambazabete, which men.ns house of lions. rrhey say that in this house were the captive lions,

and there are still some always, and there go before the Prester John four captive lions. Before the gate of this great enclosure there is a large court, and in it a large tree, which they call Pharaoh's fig tree,1 and at each end of it there are some very cool platforms of well worked masonry, merely laid down. Where they reach near the foot of the fig tree, they are injured by the roots, which raise them up. There are, on the top of these platforms, twelve stone chairs, as well made with stone as though they were of wood, with their seats and rests for the feet. They are not made out of a block of stone, but each one with pieces of of stone. They say these belong to the twelve judges who at this time serve in the court of Prester John. Outside of this enclosure there is a large assemblage of very good houses, such as there are not in the whole of Ethiopia, and very good we1Is of water, of wrought masonry, and also in most of the houses the before-mentioned ancient figures of lions and dogs and birds, all well made in stone. At the back of this great church is a very handsome tank of masonry, and upon this masonry are as many other chairs of stone, such as those in the enclosure of the church. 'l'his town is situated at tl1e head of a beautiful plain, and almost between two hills, and the rest of this plain is almost all full of these old buildings, and among them many of these chairs, and high monumental stones with inscriptions. Above this town there are many stones standing up, and others on the ground, very large and beautiful, and wrought with handsome designs, among w hi eh is one raised upon another, and worked like an altar stone, except t.hat it is of very great size, and it is set in the other as if inchased. This raised stone is sixty-four ells in length, and six wide; and the sides are three ells wide. It is very straight and well

worked, made with arcades below, as far as a head made like a half moon ; and the side which has this half moon is towards the south. There appear in it five nails, which do not show more on account of the rust; and they are like fives of dice in compass. And that it may not be said, How could so high a stone be measured ? I have already said how it was all in arcades as far as the foot of the half moon, and these are all of one size ; and we measured those we could reach to, and by those reckoned up the others, and we found sixty ells, and we gave four to the half moon, although it would be more, and so it made sixty-four ells. This very long stone, on its south side, and where the nails in the half moon are, at the height of a man, has the form of a portal carved in the stone itself, with a bolt and a lock, as if it were shut up.1 The stone on which it is set up has an ell in thickness, and is well workPd; it is placed on other large stones, and surroundPd by other smaller stones, and no man can tell how much of it enters the other stone, or if it reaches to the ground. There are other stones raised above the ground, and very well worked ; some of them will be quite forty ells long, and others thirty. There are more than thirty of these stones, and they have no patterns on them; most of them have large inscriptions, which the country people cannot read, neither could we read them; according to their appearance, these characters must be Hebrew. There are two of these stones, very large and beautiful, with designs of large arcades, and ornaments of good size, which are lying on the ground entire, and one of them is broken into three pieces, and each of these exceeds eighty ells, and is ten ells in width. Close to them are stones, in which these had to be, or had been let in, which were bored and very well worked.