1.0Medievalists.nethttps://www.medievalists.netMedievalists.nethttps://www.medievalists.net/author/charlemagne/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="EMpsnm3Tdl"><a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2011/01/lalibela-and-libanos-the-king-and-the-hydro-engineer-of-13th-century-ethiopia/">Lalibela and Libanos, the King and the Hydro-Engineer of 13th-Century Ethiopia</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.medievalists.net/2011/01/lalibela-and-libanos-the-king-and-the-hydro-engineer-of-13th-century-ethiopia/embed/#?secret=EMpsnm3Tdl" width="600" height="338" title="“Lalibela and Libanos, the King and the Hydro-Engineer of 13th-Century Ethiopia” — Medievalists.net" data-secret="EMpsnm3Tdl" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,d){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage);else if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(!t);else if(!(t.secret||t.message||t.value));else if(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret));else{for(var r,s,a,i=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),l=0;l<n.length;l++)n[l].style.display="none";for(l=0;l<i.length;l++)if(r=i[l],e.source!==r.contentWindow);else{if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(s=parseInt(t.value,10)))s=1e3;else if(~~s<200)s=200;r.height=s}if("link"===t.message)if(s=d.createElement("a"),a=d.createElement("a"),s.href=r.getAttribute("src"),a.href=t.value,!o.test(a.protocol));else if(a.host===s.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(o);else{o=!0;for(var e,t,r,s=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),i=d.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),n=0;n<i.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); </script> How were they built? What religious iconography underlies their design? What was their liturgical function? Were they modelled on the Holy Land? Were all twelve built by King Lalibela who ruled in the early thirteenth century, as tradition claims?http://www.medievalists.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/800px-Bet_Giyorgis_church_Lalibela_01.jpg