Miracles of Mary Stories about Ethiopian Kings

Below are stories about Ethiopian kings that the PEMM project has documented.

If we found the story in manuscripts from the 1400s, 1500s, or 1600s, we have marked it as "old manuscript."

If we found the story in manuscripts from the 1700s or 1800s, we marked it as "1700s manuscript" or "1800s manuscript."

If we found the story only in the print volumes produced by the author, editor, and publisher Täsfa Gäbrä Śəllase, we marked it as "print only." This is because we have not found the story documented in parchment manuscripts, only in his print volume. Täsfa Gäbrä Śəllase said that he collected the stories from manuscripts, so they may have originally been in manuscripts. But we think it is likely that he himself composed some of the stories about the Ethiopian king in the wake of the change in political power in Ethiopia in the early 1990s.

For class, read the stories below with the word "required."

Abreha and Aseba (r. 300s)

1. The Ethiopian kings Abreha and Asbeha, Yeshaq, and Zara Yaqob are assisted by the Virgin Mary (required, 1800s manuscript)

Kaleb (r. 514–542)

1. King Kaleb, the 6th c. Ethiopian monarch, is helped by the Virgin Mary while on his campaign conquering Himyar (Yemen) and after which he becomes a monk (print only)

Lalibela (r. 1181-1221)

1. King Lalibala, the 13th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his godson at Dabra Zamaddo (1800s manuscript)
2. King Lalibela, the 13th c. Ethiopian monarch, during the Crusades in the 1200s, hosts refugees from Palestine and Egypt who come to Ethiopia (print only)

Na'akueto La'ab (r. 1221-1261)

1. King Na'akueto La'ab, the 13th c. Ethiopian monarch, and how the Virgin Mary informs him about his future at Dabra Zamaddo (1800s manuscript)

Amda Seyon (r. 1314-1344)

1. King Amda Seyon  I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch: Part 1: In the campaign of 1322 CE, with the help of the Virgin Mary, the king defeats the rebel Sebredin (all parts print only)
2. King Amda Seyon  I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch: Part 2: In the campaign of 1322 CE, with the help of the Virgin Mary, the king receives a message from the Virgin Mary through a monk
3. King Amda Seyon  I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch: Part 3: In the campaign of 1322 CE, with the help of the Virgin Mary, the king encourages his soldiers to fight the Muslims
4. King Amda Seyon  I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch: Part 4: In the campaign of 1322 CE, with the help of the Virgin Mary, he leads the fight against 2,722 soldiers near the River Dedessa??? despite being ill
5. King Amda Seyon  I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch: Part 5: In the campaign of 1322 CE, with the help of the Virgin Mary, he and his soldiers cross the River Ziba [Ziway?]
6. King Amda Seyon  I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch: Part 6: In the campaign of 1322 CE, with the help of the Virgin Mary, the king advances on Talag, the capital of Adal, and they convert
7. King Amda Seyon  I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch: Part 7: In the campaign of 1322 CE, with the help of the Virgin Mary, the king defeats the apostates near Talag
8. King Amda Seyon  I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch: Part 8: In the campaign of 1322 CE, with the help of the Virgin Mary, one of the king's wives prays to the Virgin Mary for his safe return
9. King Amda Seyon  I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch: Part 9: In the campaign of 1322 CE, with the help of the Virgin Mary, the king advances through Eastern Ethiopia all the way to the Indian Ocean and then returns

Dawit I (1382-1413)

1. King Dawit I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch, and the miracle concerning the golden ink during his reign (required, in old 1400s manuscript)
2. King Dawit I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch, is summoned by the Ethiopian monasteries and asked to abdicate (required, in old 1500s manuscript)
3. King Dawit I, the 14th c. Ethiopian monarch, and how the Virgin Mary helps to bring the Holy Cross to Ethiopia during his reign (print only)

Zara Yacob (r. 1434-1468)

Stories from 1400s manuscripts

1. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, and the sorcerers who tried to cast a spell on the baptismal font and failed (required, in old 1400s manuscript, written by the king)
2. King Zara Yaqob's (Zarʾa Yaʿeqob) Enemy: Part 1: The invasion of King Zara Yaqob's territory by the king of Adal named Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din II (required, in old late 1400s manuscript)
3. King Zara Yaqob's (Zarʾa Yaʿeqob) Enemy: Part 2: The Ethiopian king is given a sign of the fall of the king of Adal named Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din II's (required, in old late 1400s manuscript)
4. King Zara Yaqob's (Zarʾa Yaʿeqob) Enemy: Part 3: In her church in Waybela, the Virgin Mary appears and tells the Ethiopian king about the fall of Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din II (required, in old late 1400s manuscript)
5. King Zara Yaqob's reign and the beggar at the church of Qirqos in Amhara from whose head a horn grew (required, in old 1400s manuscript)

Stories from 1500s manuscripts

1. King Zara Yaqob's (Zarʾa Yaʿeqob) Son: Part 1: The birth of the king's son, Prince Batargela
   (in old 1500s manuscript)
2. King Zara Yaqob's (Zarʾa Yaʿeqob) Son: Part 2: Batargela is accused of treason and is imprisoned but delivered from the plague (in old 1500s manuscript)
3. King Zara Yaqob's (Zarʾa Yaʿeqob) Son: Part 3: Batargela is protected from the plague; his calumniator is punished by the king (in old 1500s manuscript)
4. King Zara Yaqob's (Zarʾa Yaʿeqob) general, who went off to fight the Muslims without the consent of the king (in old 1500s manuscript)
5. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, and the judgment of his court against the Stephanites (in old 1500s manuscript)
6. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, and the renegade monk who had become a Jew being hunted down by the king's troops (in old 1500s manuscript)
7. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, hears of Dabra Metmaq's destruction in 1452 and orders the construction of a new monastery in Ethiopia to take its place (in old 1500s manuscript)
8. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, and the vision of Malka Sedeq about how Zara Yaqob was chosen to reign (in old 1500s manuscript)
9. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, and the vision of Malka Sedeq in which the Virgin Mary informs him that he will receive favor from the king (in old 1500s manuscript)
10. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, and the vision of the blessed and the damned in which the Stephanites  are revealed to be among the damned (in old 1500s manuscript)

Stories from 1800s and 1900s manuscripts

1. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, and how the Virgin Mary rebuked him for leaning against the wall of Dabra Zamaddo (required, 1800s manuscript)
2. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, composes hymns in honor of the Virgin Mary (1800s manuscript)
3. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, establishes devotion to the Trinity throughout his empire (1800s manuscript)
4. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, institutes monthly feasts of the Virgin Mary (1800s manuscript)
5. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, kills Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din II and dismembers his body (1800s manuscript)
6. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, returning victorious, builds a church in the name of the Virgin Mary and commands the observance of her feast (1800s manuscript)
7. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch, writes for the book of Ta'mmera Maryam (Miracles of Mary) (1800s manuscript)
8. King Zara Yaqob , the 15th c. Ethiopian monarch's Homily on the Virgin Mary as the hope of salvation and the flight to Egypt (1800s manuscript)
9. King Kaleb, the 6th c. Ethiopian monarch, is helped by the Virgin Mary while on his campaign conquering Himyar (Yemen) and after which he becomes a monk (1900s manuscript, or print only?)

Naod (r. 1494-1508)

1. King Naod, the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, destroys the Arab King with the help of the Virgin Mary (1700s manuscript)
2. King Naod, the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch and his rise due to the Virgin Mary (print only)
3. King Naod, the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, humbles his enemies with the Virgin Mary's help (print only)

Lebna Dengel (r. 1508-1540)

1. The Ethiopian Christian king and his covenant with the Virgin Mary (required, in old 1500s manuscript)
2. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his general who defected to the enemy (old manuscript)
3. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 01 (all parts print only)
4. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 02
5. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 03
6. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 04
7. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited in the 1500s by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 05
8. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited in the 1500s by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 06
9. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited in the 1500s by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 07
10. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited in the 1500s by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 08
11. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited in the 1500s by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 09
12. King Lebna Dengel (Dawit II), the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, is visited in the 1500s by the Virgin Mary who foretells his fate: Part 10

Sarsa Dengel (r. 1563-1597)

1. King Sarsa Dengel, the 16th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his rise due to the Virgin Mary (print only)

Menelik (r. 1889-1913)

1. King Menelik  II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his reign and how the candelabra of the Church of Aksum Seyon Maryam miraculously lights up in 1896 (1800s manuscript)
2. King Menelik  II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his gift to Addis Alam Maryam in Shoa and the thieves who enter to steal them but lose their ability to see, hear, and move (print only)
3. King Menelik  II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his Life: Part 1: The Virgin Mary promises his grandfather??? father??? Sahle Selassie??? a great son in the 1800s (all parts print only)
4. King Menelik  II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his Life: Part 2: Menlik is born, just as the Virgin Mary promised
5. King Menelik  II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his Life: Part 3: He survives from the age of 11 until he becomes king with the Virgin Mary's help
6. King Menelik  II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his Life: Part 4: He defeats the Italians who invade Ethiopia) [Battle of Adwa?]
7. King Menelik  II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, and his Life: Part 5: He marches with his wife Taitu into battle against the Italians and defeats them in the Battle of Adwa
8. King Menelik II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, and His Life: Part 6: He builds a beautiful church for the Virgin Mary and saves the construction workers from a great fall 
9. King Menelik  II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, finds a tabot that had been missing for hundreds of years and returns it to Dabra Libanos with the help of the Virgin Mary (print only)
10. King Menelik  II, the 19th c. Ethiopian monarch, returns items his soldiers looted in the city Agwula, Tigray, with the help of the Virgin Mary in the 1800s (print only)