Round 4: Tossup 8

Stuart Munro-Hay mistakenly identified a ruler of this kingdom with a figure named Saifu in a tradition recorded by the scholar Liu Zhi. This kingdom gives its name to a type of frieze with square projecting cross-beams. Cosmas the Monk recorded a now-lost inscription during his visit to this kingdom’s port of Adulis. One of the Nine Saints founded an abbey in this kingdom that produced the Garima Gospels. After this kingdom’s conquest of Himyar, (10[1])its general Abraha attempted to invade Mecca with elephants. A queen (10[1])named Gudit legendarily (10[1])ended the rule of this kingdom, which stopped building stelae like its namesake “Obelisk” after Frumentius’s conversion of its king Ezana. For 10 points, name this kingdom in the Horn of Africa (10[2])that converted to Christianity in the fourth century. ■END■

Back to tossups

Buzzes

Summary