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The Queen of the Habasha in Ethiopian history, tradition and chronology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2009
Extract
It is well known from relatively recent Ethiopic tradition that Ethiopia was once ruled by a queen called Gudit, Yodit, Isat or Gaՙwa, with both positive and negative characteristics. On the one hand she was a beautiful woman of the Ethiopian royal family, much like the Queen of Sheba, and on the other she was a despicable prostitute who, at a time of political weakness, killed the Ethiopian king, captured the throne, and as a cruel ruler destroyed Aksum, the capital, persecuted the priests, and closed the churches.
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- Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , January 2000 , pp. 31 - 63
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- Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 2000
References
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94 Ibn Haukal may have written his note about the queen some years before A.D. 977, the last year of his flourishing.
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