King Bazen's Tomb

Aksum

Despite being the crudest of tombs, roughly hewn into solid rock instead of constructed with fine masonry, this place has a slightly magical feel. According to local beliefs, King Bazen is thought not just to have reigned at Christ’s birth, but to have been Balthazar, and it was he who carried news of Christ's birth to Ethiopia. Whether true or not, judging from the number of tombs and stelae found nearby, the burial site may once have been quite large and important.

A rectangular pit above the tomb contains a row of burial chambers, including a few that appear to be unfinished.

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