Lalibela (reigned ca. 1181-ca. 1221) was an Ethiopian king and saint to whom are attributed the famous monolithic churches of northern Ethiopia.

The life of Lalibela is clouded in myth. Almost no documents survive from his life, and we must rely largely on hagiographic literature written centuries later, after he had been canonized by the Ethiopian Church.

Lalibela seems to have been born in the town of Roha in northern Ethiopia, which was then the capital of the Zagwe dynasty. This town was later renamed Lalibela in his honor. In the late 14th or early 15th century a monk named Abba Amba wrote a biography of Lalibela. According to Amba, Lalibela was an extremely devout Christian in his youth--even to the point of being an ascetic and recluse. It was with reluctance that Lalibela married and then accepted the crown of Ethiopia, which had previously been held by his...