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Gudit: The Jewish Queen Who Burned Aksum
Season 2
Episode 72
Published 3 weeks, 5 days ago
Description
In the 10th century, a queen named Gudit led a rebellion that sacked the city of Aksum and burned its churches, plunging Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty into centuries of obscurity. This episode explores who Gudit really was — a Jewish queen, a pagan invader, a southern usurper — and what her reign meant for the kingdom. We examine the legends from the Kebra Nagast and the Ethiopian Church histories, the archaeological evidence for the destruction of Aksumite monuments, and the theories that link her to the Zagwe dynasty that followed. Lucas and Luna discuss Gudit's identity as Yodit or Judith, her possible connection to the Beta Israel, and why her story was suppressed by later Solomonic chroniclers.