History of Ethiopia and the horn

 Course outline
• Course title: HISTORY OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN
• Course Code: HiEH 101
• Credit hours: 3
• Unit One :Introduction (3 hours)
• 1.1. The Nature and Uses of History
• 1.2. Sources and Methods of Historical Study
• 1.3. The History of Historical Writing in Ethiopia and the Horn
• 1.4. The Geographical Context of Human History in Ethiopia and
the Horn
 Unit Two

• Peoples and Cultures in Ethiopia and the

Horn
• 2.1. Human Evolution
• 2.2. Neolithic Revolution
• 2.3. The Peopling of the Region
• 2.4. Religion and Religious Processes
 Unit Three

• Polities, Economy and Socio-Cultural

Processes in Ethiopia and the Horn to the End
of the 13thCentury
• 3.1. Evolution of States
• 3.2. Ancient Polities
• 3.3. External Contacts
• 3.4. Economic Formations
• 3.5. Socio-cultural Achievements
 Unit Four

• Politics, Economy and Socio-Cultural Processes from the

Late Thirteenth to the beginning of the Sixteenth
Centuries (6 hours)
• 4.1. The “Restoration” of the “Solomonic’’ Dynasty
• 4.2. Power Struggle, Consolidation, Territorial and Religious
Expansion of the Christian Kingdom
• 4.3. Political and Socio-Economic Dynamics of Muslim
Sultanates
• 4.4. Rivalry between the Christian Kingdom and the Muslim
Sultanates
• 4.5. External Relations
 Unit Five

• Politics, Economy and Socio-Cultural Processes from Early

Sixteenth to the End of the Eighteenth Centuries (10 hrs)
• 5.1. Interaction and Conflicts between the Christian Kingdom
and the Sultanate of Adal
• 5.2. Foreign Interventions and Religious Controversies
• 5.3. Population Movements
• 5.4. Interaction and Integration across Ethnic and Religious
Diversities
• 5.5. Peoples and States in Eastern, Central, Southern and
Western Regions
• 5.6. The Period of Gondar (1636-1769) and Zemene-Mesafint /
Era of the Princes (1769-1855)
 Unit Six

• Internal Interactions and External Relations in

Ethiopia and the Horn, 1800-1941 (10 hours)
• 6.1. The Nature of Interactions among Peoples and
States of Ethiopia and the Horn
• 6.2. Power Rivalry
• 6.3. The Making of Modern Ethiopian State
• 6.4. Modernization Attempts
• 6.5. Socio-Economic Issues/Developments
• 6.6. External Relations: Challenges and Threats
 Unit Seven

• Internal Developments and External

Relations, 1941–1994 (5 hours)
• 7.1 Post-1941 Imperial Period
• 7.2.TheDerg Regime (1974-1991)
• 7.3 Historical Developments, 1991-4
 Unit One :Introduction
The Nature and Uses of History
History is the knowledge of and study of the
past. It is the story of the past and a form of
collective memory.
History is the story of who we are, where we
come from, and can potentially reveal where
we are headed.
History is the study of life in society in
the past, in all its aspect, in relation to
present developments and future hopes. It is
an Inquiry into what happened in the
past, when it happened, and how it
happened.
 History aims at helping students to
understand the present existing social,
political, religious and economic conditions
of the people. Without the knowledge of
history we cannot have the background of
our religion, customs institutions,
administration and so on.
 Cause and-effect relationship between the
past and the present is lively presented in
the history.
 History thus helps us to understand the
present day problems both at the national
and international level accurately and
objectively
 History is the analysis and interpretation of the
human past enabling us to study continuity and
changes that are taking place over time.
 It is an act of both investigation and imagination
that seeks to explain how people have changed over
time.
 Historians use all forms of evidence to examine,
interpret, revisit, and reinterpret the past. These
include not just written documents, but also oral
communication and objects such as buildings,
artifacts, photographs, and paintings.
 Historians are trained in the methods of
discovering and evaluating these sources
and the challenging task of making
historical sense out of them.
 Nature of History
• A study of the present in the light of the past:
The present has evolved out of the past. Modern
history enables us to understand how society has
come to its present form so that one may
intelligently interpret the sequence of events.
The causal relationships between the selected
happenings are unearthed that help in revealing
the nature of happenings and framing of general
laws.
• History is the study of man:
 History deals with man’s struggle through
the ages. History is not static. By selecting
“innumerable biographies” and presenting
their lives in the appropriate social context
and the ideas in the human context, we
understand the sweep of events.
It traces the fascinating story of how man
has developed through the ages, how man
has studied to use and control his
environment and how the present
institutions have grown out of the past.
• History is concerned with man in time:
It deals with a series of events and each
event occurs at a given point in time.
Human history, in fact, is the process of
human development in time. It is time
which affords a perspective to events and
lends a charm that brightens up the past.
 History is concerned with man in space:
The interaction of man on environment
and vice versa is a dynamic one. History
describes about nations and human
activities in the context of their physical
and geographical environment. Out of this
arise the varied trends in the political,
social, economic and cultural spheres of
man’s activities and achievements.
• Objective record of happenings:
 Every precaution is taken to base the data
on original sources and make them free
from subjective interpretation. It helps in
clear understanding of the past and enables
us to take well informed decisions.
• Multisided:
All aspects of the life of a social group are
closely interrelated and historical
happenings cover all these aspects of life,
not limited only to the political aspect that
had so long dominated history.
 History is a dialogue between the events
of the past and progressively emerging
future ends. The historian’s interpretation of
the past, his selection of the significant
and the relevant events, evolves with the
progressive emergence of new goals.
• Not only narration but also analysis:
 The selected happenings are not merely
narrated; the causal relationships between
them are properly unearthed. The tracing of
these relationships lead to the development
of general laws that are also compared and
contrasted with similar happenings in other
social groups to improve the reliability and
validity of these laws.
• Continuity and coherence are the
necessary requisites of history:
 History carries the burden of human
progress as it is passed down from
generation to generation, from society to
society, justifying the essence of continuity.
• Relevant:
 In the study of history only those events
are included which are relevant to the
understanding of the present life.
• Comprehensiveness:
 According to modern concept, history is
not confined to one period or country or
nation. It also deals with all aspects of
human life-political, social, economic,
religious, literary, aesthetic and physical,
giving a clear sense of world unity and
world citizenship.
 History-a Science or an Art
• History-a Science or an Art Opinions are very much divided
on the question whether history is a science or an art. History
is a science in the sense that it pursues its own techniques
to establish and interpret facts. Like other natural sciences
such as the Physics and Chemistry uses various methods of
enquiry such as observation, classification, experiment and
formulation of hypothesis and analysis of evidence before
interpreting and reconstructing the past. History also follows
the scientific method of enquiry to find out the truth.
Though historian uses scientific techniques, experiment is
impossible since history deals with events that have already
happened and cannot be repeated.
 Arguments against History as a science

• No forecasting: Rickman has rightly said,

“History deals with sequence of events, each
of them unique while Science is concerned with
the routine appearance of things and aims at
generalizations and the establishment of
regularities, governed by laws.”A historian
cannot arrive at general principles or laws
which may enable him to predict with certainty
the occurrence of like events, under given
conditions.
• A scientist on the other hand, looks at knowledge
from a universal angle and arrives at certain
generalizations that help him to control the present and
predict the future.
• Complex: The facts of history are very complicated
and seldom repeat in the real sense of the term.
• Varied: The underlying facts of history have wide
scope. They are so varied that they can seldom be
uniform.
• 4. No observation and experimentation: Historical data
are not available for observation and experimentation
• History is both a Science and an Art History is a unique subject
possessing the potentialities of both a science and an art. It
does the enquiry after truth, thus history is a science and is on
scientific basis. It is also based on the narrative account of the
past; thus it is an art or a piece of literature. Physical and
natural sciences are impersonal, impartial and capable of
experimentation. Whereas absolute impartiality is not possible in
history because the historian is a narrator and he looks at the
past from a certain point of view. History cannot remain at the
level of knowing only. The construction and reconstruction of
the past are inevitable parts of history. Like the work of art, its
wholeness, harmony and truth are inseparable from a concrete
and vivid appreciation of its parts. History, in fact, is a social
science and an art.
 Scope of History
• The scope of History is vast; it is the story of man
in relation to totality of his behavior. The scope of
history means the breadth, comprehensiveness,
variety and extent of learning experiences, provided
by the study. History which was only limited to a
local saga, has during the course of century become
universal history of mankind, depicting man’s
achievements in every field of life-political,
economic, social, cultural, scientific, technological,
religious and artistic etc., and at various levels-local,
regional, national, and international.
• It starts with the past; makes present its sheet-
anchor and points to the future. Events like wars,
revolutions, rise and fall of empires, fortunes and
misfortunes of great empire builders as well as the
masses in general are all the subject matter of
history. History is a comprehensive subject and
includes-History of Geography, History of Culture,
History of Literature, History of Civilization, History
of Religion, ….
• History today has become an all-embracing,
comprehensive subject with almost limitless extent.
 Use of history

• People live in the present. They plan for and

worry about the future. History, however, is
the study of the past. Given all the demands
that press in from living in the present and
anticipating what is yet to come, why bother
with what has been?
History Helps Us Understand People and Societies

• history offers a storehouse of information about how

people and societies behave. Understanding the
operations of people and societies is difficult, though
a number of disciplines make the attemptStudying
history allows us to observe and understand how
people and societies behaved. For example, we are
able to evaluate war, even when a nation is at peace,
by looking back at previous events. History provides
us with the data that is used to create laws, or
theories about various aspects of society.
 History Provides identity
• History can help provide us with a sense of identity.
This is actually one of the main reasons that history is
still taught in schools around the world. Historians
have been able to learn about how countries, families,
and groups were formed, and how they evolved and
developed over time. When an individual takes it upon
themselves to dive deep into their own family’s
history, they can understand how their family
interacted with larger historical change. Did family
serve in major wars? Were they present for significant
events?
 Present-Day Issues
• History helps us to understand present-day
issues by asking deeper questions as to why
things are the way they are. Why did wars in
Europe in the 20th century matter to countries
around the world? How did Hitler gain and
maintain power for as long as he had? How
has this had an effect on shaping our world
and our global political system today?
 The Process Of Change Over Time
If we want to truly understand why something
happened — in any area or field, such as one political
party winning the last election vs the other, or a
major change in the number of smokers — you need
to look for factors that took place earlier. Only
through the study of history can people really see
and grasp the reasons behind these changes, and
only through history can we understand what
elements of an institution or a society continue
regardless of continual change.
 Allows You To Comprehend More
Our World

History gives us a very clear picture of how

the various aspects of society — such as
technology, governmental systems, and even
society as a whole — worked in the past so we
understand how it came to work the way it is
now.
 Studying History Is Essential for Good Citizenship

• A study of history is essential for good citizenship. This is

the most common justification for the place of history in
school curricula. Sometimes advocates of citizenship
history hope merely to promote national identity and
loyalty through a history spiced by vivid stories and
lessons in individual success and morality. But the
importance of history for citizenship goes beyond this
narrow goal and can even challenge it at some points.
• History that lays the foundation for genuine citizenship
returns, in one sense, to the essential uses of the study
of the past
 Sources and Methods of Historical Study
• Historians are not creative writers like novelists. Therefore, the
work of historians must be supported by evidence arising from
sources. Sources are instruments that bring to life what appear to
have been dead. Where there are no sources, there is no history.
Sources are, therefore, key to the study and writing of history.
• Historical sources are broadly classified into two types: Primary and
Secondary. Primary sources are surviving traces of the past
available to us in the present. They are original or first hand in their
proximity to the event both in time and in space. Examples of
primary sources are manuscripts (handwritten materials), diaries,
letters, minutes, court records and administrative files, travel
documents, photographs, maps, video and audiovisual materials,
and artifacts such as coins, fossils, weapons, utensils, and buildings
• Primary sources include documents or artifacts created by a
witness to or participant in an event. They can be firsthand
testimony or evidence created during the time period that you
are studying.
• Primary sources may include diaries, letters, interviews, oral
histories, photographs, newspaper articles, government
documents, poems, novels, plays, and music. The collection and
analysis of primary sources is central to historical research.
• Note about primary sources: While there are many digital
primary resources available, it is very important to remember
that the majority of primary sources have not yet been digitized.
• Examples of Primary Sources
• Published Compilations
• Advertisements
• Maps
• Secondary sources, on the other hand, are second-hand published accounts about
past events. They are written long after the event has occurred, providing an
interpretation of what happened, why it happened, and how it happened, often based
on primary sources. Examples of secondary sources are articles, books, textbooks,
biographies, and published stories or movies about historical events.
• Secondary sources analyze a scholarly question and often use primary sources as
evidence.
• Secondary sources include books and articles about a topic. They may include lists of
sources, i.e. bibliographies, that may lead you to other primary or secondary sources.
• Databases help you identify articles in scholarly journals or books on a particular topic.
• Examples of Secondary Sources
• Books
• Scholarly Articles
• Dissertations
• Oral data constitute the other category of historical sources. Oral sources are
especially valuable to study and document the history of non-literate societies.
They can also be used to fill missing gaps and corroborate written words. In many
societies, people transmit information from one generation to another, for
example, through folk songs and folk sayings. This type of oral data is called oral
tradition. People can also provide oral testimonies or personal recollections of
lived experience. Such source material is known as oral history.
• the source of information-primary or secondary, written or oral- the data should
be subjected to critical evaluation before used as evidence. Primary sources have
to be verified for their originality and authenticity because sometimes primary
sources like letters may be forged. Secondary sources have to be examined for
the reliability of their reconstructions. Oral data may lose its originality and
authenticity due to distortion through time. Therefore, it should be crosschecked
with other sources such as written documents to determine its veracity or
authenticity.
•
The History of Historical Writing in Ethiopia and the Horn

• Ethiopian historiography includes the ancient,

medieval, early modern, and modern disciplines of
recording the history of Ethiopia, including both native
and foreign sources. The roots of Ethiopian historical
writing can be traced back to the ancient
Kingdom of Aksum (c. AD 100 – c. 940). These early
texts were written in either the Ethiopian Ge'ez script
or the Greek alphabet, and included a variety of
mediums such as manuscripts and epigraphic
inscriptions on monumental stelae and obelisks
documenting contemporary events.
• The writing of history became an established genre in
Ethiopian literature during the early Solomonic dynasty
(1270–1974). In this period, written histories were usually
in the form of royal biographies and dynastic chronicles,
supplemented by hagiographic literature and
universal histories in the form of annals.
Christian mythology became a linchpin of medieval
Ethiopian historiography due to works such as the Orthodox
Kebra Nagast. This reinforced the genealogical traditions of
Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty rulers, which asserted that
they were descendants of Solomon, the legendary
King of Israel.
• Ethiopian historiographic literature has been
traditionally dominated by Christian theology and
the chronology of the Bible. There was also
considerable influence from Muslim, pagan and
foreign elements from within the Horn of Africa and
beyond. Diplomatic ties with Christendom were
established in the Roman era under Ethiopia's first
Christian king, Ezana of Axum, in the 4th century
AD, and were renewed in the Late Middle Ages with
embassies traveling to and from medieval Europe.
• Building on the legacy of ancient Greek and Roman
historical writings about Ethiopia, medieval
European chroniclers made attempts to describe
Ethiopia, its people, and religious faith in connection
to the mythical Prester John, who was viewed as a
potential ally against Islamic powers. Ethiopian
history and its peoples were also mentioned in
works of medieval Islamic historiography and even
Chinese encyclopedias, travel literature, and official
histories.
• During the 16th century and onset of the
early modern period, military alliances with the
Portuguese Empire were made, the Jesuit
Catholic missionaries arrived, and prolonged warfare with
Islamic foes including the Adal Sultanate and
Ottoman Empire, as well as with the polytheistic
Oromo people, threatened the security of the
Ethiopian Empire. These contacts and conflicts inspired
works of ethnography, by authors such as the monk and
historian Bahrey, which were embedded into the existing
historiographic tradition and encouraged a broader view in
historical chronicles for Ethiopia's place in the world.
• The Jesuit missionaries Pedro Páez (1564–
1622) and Manuel de Almeida (1580–1646)
also composed a history of Ethiopia, but it
remained in manuscript form among Jesuit
priests of Portuguese India and was not
published in the West until modern times.
• Modern Ethiopian historiography was developed
locally by native Ethiopians as well as by foreign
historians, most notably Hiob Ludolf (1624–1704), the
German orientalist who British historian Edward
Ullendorff (1920–2011) considered the founder of
Ethiopian Studies. The late 19th and early 20th
centuries marked a period where Western
historiographic methods were introduced and
synthesized with traditionalist practices, embodied by
works such as those by Heruy Wolde Selassie (1878–
1938).
• Historiography of the 20th century focused
largely on the Abyssinian Crisis of 1935 and
the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, whereas the
Ethiopian victory over the Kingdom of Italy in
the 1896 Battle of Adwa played a major role in
the historiographic literature of these two
countries immediately following the First Italo
-Ethiopian War.
 1.3. Historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn

• Historiography can be defined as the history of

historical writing, studying how knowledge of
the past, either recent or distant, is obtained
and transmitted. Historiography as an
intentional attempt to understand and represent
descriptions of past events in writing has
rather a briefer career throughout the world.
• The organized study and narration of the past was
introduced by:
 ancient Greek historians notably Herodotus and
Thucydides (c.455-400 B.C.E.)
 The other major tradition of thinking and writing about
the past is the Chinese. The most important early figure in
Chinese historical thought and writing was the Han
dynasty figure Sima Qian (145–86 B.C.E.)
 history emerged as an academic discipline in the second
half of the 19thC first in Europe and subsequently in other
parts of the world including the US.
•The German historian, Leopold Von Ranke (1795–
1886), and his colleagues established history as an
independent discipline in Berlin with its own set of
methods and concepts. Ranke’s greatest contribution
to the scientific study of the past is such that he is
considered as the “father of modern historiography.”
Historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn has changed enormously
during the past hundred years in ways that merit fuller treatment than
can be afforded here.
The earliest known reference that we have on history of Ethiopia and
the Horn is the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, written in the first
century A.D by an anonymous author.
Another document describing Aksum’s trade and the then Aksumite
king’s campaigns on both sides of the sea is the Christian Topography
composed by Cosmas Indicopleustes, a Greek sailor, in the 6thC A.D.
• Inscriptions aside, the earliest written
Ethiopian material dates from the seventh
century A.D. The document was found in
Abba Gerima monastery in Yeha. This was
followed by a manuscript discovered in Haiq
Istifanos monastery of present day Wollo in
the 13thC A.D. The value of manuscripts is
essentially religious.
• Yet, for historians, they have the benefit of
providing insights into the country’s past. For
example, the manuscript cited above contains the
list of medieval kings and their history in brief.
The largest groups of sources available for
medieval Ethiopian history are hagiographies
originating from Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Invariably written in Ge’ez, an important function
of hagiographies is enhancing the prestige of
saints.
•A parallel hagiographical tradition existed
among Muslim communities of the country. One
such account offers tremendous insight into the
life of a Muslim saint, Shaykh Ja’far Bukko of
Gattira, in present day Wollo, in the late 19 thC.
• Ethiopia had also an indigenous tradition of history writing
called chronicles.
 Chronicles in the ancient Ethiopian Ge’ez tongue first
appeared in the 14thC-20thC. Kings or their successors
entrusted the writing of chronicles to court scribes or
clergymen of recognized clerical training and calligraphic
skills.
 The earliest and the last of such surviving documents are
the
 Glorious Victories of Amde-Tsion and
 Empress Zewditu respectively.
Chronicles incorporate both legends and facts-past and
contemporary about the monarch’s genealogy,
upbringing military exploits, piety and statesmanship.
chronicles explain historical events mainly in religious
terms; they offer little by way of social and economic
developments even in the environs of the palace.
•Other materials that appeared in the sixteenth century include Abba
Bahrey’s Geez script on the Oromo written in 1593. Not
withstanding its limitations, the document provides us with first-
hand information about the Oromo population movement including
the Gadaa System.
• The contribution of European missionaries and travelers to the
development of Ethiopian historiography is also significant.
• From the early 16thC-19thC missionaries (Catholics and
Protestants) came to the country with the intention of staying,
and who, nevertheless, maintained intimate links with Europe.
•One example of travel documents is James
Bruce’s Travels to Discover the Source of the
Nile. Like other sources, however, both the
missionaries and travelers’ materials can only be
used with considerable reservations and with
care for they are socially and politically biased.
•Foreign writers also developed interest in Ethiopian studies. One of
these figures was a German, Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704). Ludolf was
the founder of Ethiopian studies in Europe in the 17thC. He wrote
Historia Aethiopica (translated into English as A New History of
Ethiopia).
•Ludolf never visited Ethiopia; he wrote the country’s history largely
based on information he collected from an Ethiopian priest named
Abba Gorgorios (Abba Gregory) who was in Europe at that time.
• Historical writing made some departures from the
chronicle tradition in the early 20 thc. chroniclers
whom they criticized for adulatory tone when
writing about monarchs. The earliest group of these
writers include
 Aleqa Taye Gebre-Mariam,
 Aleqa Asme Giorgis and
 Debtera Fisseha-Giorgis Abyezgi.
 Later, Negadrases Afework Gebre-Iyesus and
Gebre-Hiwot Baykedagn joined them
Taye and Fisseha-Giorgis wrote books on the
history of Ethiopia
Asme produced a work on the Oromo people.
 Afework wrote the first Amharic novel, Tobiya,
in Ethiopian history
 Gebre-Hiwot has Atse Menilekna Ityopia
(Emperor Menilek and Ethiopia) and Mengistna
Yehizb Astedader (Government and Public
Administration) .
•The most prolific writer of the early twentieth century
Ethiopia was, however, Blatten Geta Hiruy Wolde-Selassie.
Hiruy published four major works namely Ethiopiana Metema
(Ethiopia and Metema), Wazema (Eve), Yehiwot Tarik (A
Biographical Dictionary) and Yeityopia Tarik (A History of
Ethiopia). Unfortunately, the Italian occupation of Ethiopia
interrupted the early experiment in modern history writing and
publications.
• After liberation, Tekle-Tsadik Mekuria formed a bridge
between writers in pre-1935 and Ethiopia professional
historians who came after him. Tekle-Tsadik has
published about eight historical works.
 Another work of importance in this period is Yilma
Deressa’s Ye Ityopiya Tarik Be’asra Sidistegnaw Kifle
Zemen(A History of Ethiopia in the Sixteenth Century).
 The book addresses the Oromo population movement
and the wars between the Christian kingdom and the
Muslim sultanates as its main subjects.
•Another work dealing specifically with aspects
of land tenure is left to us by
•Gebre-Wold Engidawork.
•Dejazmach Kebede Tesema. Kebede wrote his
memoir of the imperial period, published as
Yetarik Mastawesha in 1962 E.C.
The Geographical Context
• The term “Ethiopia and the Horn” refers to
that part of Northeast Africa, which now
contains the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, and Somalia. The region consists
chiefly of mountains uplifted through the
formation of the Great Rift Valley.
• The region highly diverse:
• terrain features
• climate,
• natural vegetation,
• soil composition, and
• settlement patterns.
• languages,
• religions,
• live in a variety types of dwellings, and engage in a wide
range of economic activities.
•Ethiopia and the Horn lies between the
•Red Sea,
•Gulf of Aden and
•Indian Ocean on the one hand, and the present-
day eastern frontiers of Sudan and Kenya on the
other.
• Ethiopia and the Horn has five principal
drainage systems. These are the
 Nile River,western high land
 Gibe/Omo–Gojeb link southern Ethiopia to the
semi-desert lowlands of northern Kenya.,
Genale/Jubba-Shebele, Eastern highlands
 Awash River,and
 Ethiopian Rift Valley Lake systems. From
ziway to lake turkana
•the drainage systems facilitated the movement
of peoples and goods across diverse
environments, resulting in the exchange of ideas,
technology, knowledge, cultural expressions, and
beliefs.
• Ethiopia and the Horn can be divided into
three major distinct environmental zones.
• The vast Eastern lowland
• The eastern extension of the highland massif
consists the Arsi, Bale and Hararghe plateau.
• The major divide between the western and
eastern parts of this zone is the Rift Valley
•The countries of the Horn of Africa are, for the most part,
linguistically and ethnically linked together as far back as recorded
history goes. Population movements had caused a continuous process
of interaction, creating a very complex picture of settlement patterns.
The high degree of interaction and the long common history of much
of the population had weakened ethnic dividing lines in large parts of
the region. Linguistic and cultural affinities are therefore as important
as ethnic origin in the grouping of the population.
 References

• Bahru Zewde. “A Century of Ethiopian Historiography”.Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. 33, No. 2
(November, 2000).
• Brundage Anthony. Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical Research and Writing.
• Third Edition. Illinois: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2002.
• Carr, E.H. What is History?, Revised Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
• Hacker Diana. Rules for Writers. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press,
• 1996.
• Hamerows S. Theodore. Reflections on History and Historians. Madison, Wisconsin: The
• University of Wisconsin Press, 1987.
• Marwik, Arthur. The Nature of History, 3rd ed. 1989.
• Mesfin Wolde Mariam. An Introductory Geography of Ethiopia.Addis Ababa, 1972.
• Rampolla Lynn Mary. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford
• Books/St. Martin’s Press, 2001.
• Shafer J., Robert. A Guide to Historical Method. 3rd Edition. Homewood, Illinois: The
• Dorsey Press, 1980.
• Tosh, John. The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods, And New Directions in the Study of Modern History.
3rd Edition. United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited, 2002.
• Vansina, Jan. Oral Tradition as History. James Curry Publishers, 1985.
UNIT TWO: PEOPLES AND CULTURES IN ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN

Introduction

•The Region Ethiopia and the Horn is referred to as the cradle of

humankind. It is also a region where early civilizations including food
production, making tools and religion took place. These developments
contributed to the social evolutions, economic formations, and socio-
cultural and political settings. This unit traces human evolution and
Neolithic Revolution and then describes languages and peoples settlement
along with cultural settings of the region. The purpose is to show that the
region is home to diverse peoples, and cultures (languages, religion,
customs…) and economic activities.
 Discussion points

• 1. Explain how human binges emerged

• 2. Discus the socio-economic change observed in the
history of mankind(Neolithic revolution)
• 3.. Discus major categories of language families in Ethiopia
and the Horn and their geographical distribution in the
region, settlement pattern and economic formation of
Ethiopia and the horn of Africa
• 4. Explain the relations between the domestication of plants
and animals and early civilizations in Ethiopia and the Horn?
 Human Evolution
• Evolution is the process by which human as well as living organisms
descended from previous organisms with some modification. There are two
theories that suggested about the origin of human beings. These are:

A. The creationist view: The creationists believed in the assumption that God
creates humans and the whole universe.

B. Evolutionary theory: The evolutionists believed that human beings and other
living things are the result of a gradual development that took millions of
years. Human evolution is the theory which states that humans evolved from
primates, or ape like, ancestors. Since humans made changes in his physical
appearance as well as in his cultural aspects.
•Human evolution accounts only a fraction of history of the globe that
had been formed through gradual natural process since about (circa/c.)
4. 5 billion years before present (B. P.)
 between 3 and 1 billion years B. P. Blue green algae, small plants,
fishes, birds and other small beings emerged at c. 800 million years B.
P.
 200-170 million years B. P. and then some primates developed into
Pongidae (such as gorilla, chimpanzee, orangutan, gibbon etc) while
others evolved into Hominidae (human ancestors).
• Archeological evidences suggest that East African Rift
Valley is a cradle of humanity. Evidences related to both
biological and cultural evolution have been discovered
in the Lower Omo and Middle Awash River valleys both
by Ethiopian and foreign scholars. A fossil named
Chororapithecus dated 10 m B. P. (in West Hararghe) in
2007.
• Ardipithicus ramidus (dated 5.8-5.2 m yrs BP) was
discovered in Middle Awash.
• Ardipithicus ramidus (dated 4. 2 million B.P.) was
discovered at Aramis in Afar in 1994
Australopithecines were uncovered at Belohdelie (dated back 3.6
million years B. P.) in Middle Awash. A three years old child’s fossil
termed as Australopithecusafarensis, Selam, dated to 3.3 million
years B.P was also discovered at Dikika, Mille, Afar in 2000.
 Australopithecus afarnesis (Lucy/Dinkinesh, dated c. 3.18 million
years B. P.) with 40% complete body parts, weight 30kg, height 1.07
meters and pelvis looks like bipedal female was discovered at Hadar
in Afar in 1974 A. D.
•Fossil named Australopithecus anamensis was
discovered around Lake Turkana. An eco-fact named as
Australopithecus garhi (means surprise in Afar
language) dated to 2.5 million years B.Pwas discovered
at Bouri, Middle Awash, between 1996 and 1999.
• 2-2.5 million years B.P. Different evidences of the
genus homo have been recovered in different parts of
Ethiopia and the Horn.
•A fossil named Homo erectus (walking upright, dated 1. 6 million years B. P.) was
discovered at Melka Kunture, Konso Gardula and Gadeb with 900-1100 cc brain size.
• Homo erectus seems to have originated in Africa and then spread out to the rest of the
world.
•Skeleton of Archaic Homosapiens (knowledgeable human being, dated 400, 000 years
B.P.) named Bodo with brain size of 1300-1400cc was discovered in Middle Awash.
Fossils of Homo sapiens sapiens (100, 000 years B.P.) were discovered at Porc Epic
near Dire Dawa, and Kibish around Lower Omo (in 1967).
• In 2004, Kibish fossils were re-dated to 195, 000 B. P, the oldest date in the world for
modern Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens idaltu, found in Middle Awash in 1997, lived
about 160, 000 years B.P.
• Cultural evolution is related to technological changes that brought socio-
economic transformation on human life. It can be conventionally grouped in to:
 Stone Age,
 Bronze Age and
 Iron Age.
Stone tools had been the first technologies to be developed by human beings. By
taking their features, ways and period of production, stone tools can be grouped
in to Mode I (Olduwan, which was named based on the first report made at
Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania), The Mode I stone tools are mainly characterized by
crude and mono-facial styles, and were produced by the direct percussion.
Mode II (Acheulean, named after the first report at St. Acheul, France)
Mode II stone tools were produced by indirect percussion, by using hand-ax or
hammer, and mainly characterized by bifacial, pointed and convex features.
Mode III (Sangoon). Mode III stone tools are characterized by flexible and finest
form of production by the use of obsidian
• Fossilized animal bones (3. 4 million years B.
P.) were found with at Dikika in 2010. Artifact
findings suggest thatOlduwan tools made and
used by Homo habilis
• Homo erectus produced Acheulean tools
dated back to 1.7.million years B.P, invented
fire and started burial practice.
•Homosapiens produced Sangoon tools that trace
back up to 300,000 years B. P. Gademotta site in
central Ethiopian Rift Valley has been dated back
to 200, 000 B. P. Other vital sites such as
Gorgora, Ki’one and Yabello in Ethiopia
•The period of usage of stone tools is divided into sub-periods.
 The first,
 the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age, from 3.4 million to 11, 000 years B. P.) was
the period when human being developed language with shelter in cave using
stone, bone, wood, furs, and skin materials to prepare food and clothing.
There was sex-age labor division with able-bodied males as hunters of fauna,
and children and females as gatherers of flora.
 Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age /11, 000-10,000 B. P.) was transition between
Paleolithic
 Neolithic (New Stone Age /10, 000-6, 000 B.P).
 Neolithic Revolution
•During the Neolithic period
•human beings transformed from mobile to sedentary way of
life.
• changes from hunting and gathering to the domestication of
plants and animals.
•Climatic change and increased hunter-gatherers’ population
resulted in the declining number of animals and availability of
plants
•The process of domestication took place
independently in the various parts of the world.
In Ethiopia and the Horn chiefly in the more
elevated and wetter-parts, people cultivated
plants including Teff , dagussa , nug , enset etc.
• The discovery of polished axes, ceramics, grinding
stones, beads, stone figures and animal remains in
sites like Emba-Fakeda around Adigrat in Tigray as
well as Aqordat and Barentu in Eritrea evinces the
existence of Neolithic material culture. The
Gobodara rock shelter near Aksum has provided us
agricultural stone tools. Remains associated with
domesticated cattle,chickpeas and vegetables have
been excavated from Lalibela Cave on the
southeastern shore of Lake Tana
•Evidence for domesticated cattle also comes
from around Lake Basaqa near Matahara and
cattle that in due course expanded to Ethiopia
and the Horn.
 The Peopling of the Region
• Languages and Linguistic Processes
•Ethiopia and the Horn in general is marked by ethnic and
linguistic diversity. There are about 90 languages with 200
dialects in Ethiopia and the Horn. Linguists classify
languages of Ethiopia and the Horn into two major language
super families.
 Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic: Semitic and Omotic)
 Nilo-Saharan.
•A. Afro-Asiatic: this super family is sub-divided into the following
families:
•Ø Cushitic: linguists divided this language family into four branches:
•· Northern: is represented by Beja, spoken in northwestern Eritrea
bordering the Sudan.
•· Central: Agaw
•· Eastern: Afar, Gedeo, Hadiya, Halaba, Kambata, Konso, Libido,
Mosiye, Oromo, Saho, Sidama, Somali, Tambaro, Tsemai, etc.
•· Southern: Dhalo in Kenya and Nbugua in Tanzania.
•Semitic: is divided into two:
•· North: Ge'ez, Rashaida; Tigre; Tigrigna (spoken in
highland Eritrea and Tigray).
•· South: is further divided into two
•ü Transverse: Amharic, Argoba, Harari, Silte &Zay.
•ü Outer: Gafat (extinct), Gurage and Mesmes
(endangered).
•Ø Omotic: , Gofa, Hamer, Keficho, Konta
etc. Among its groups, Ometo includes Wolayta
and Gamo while main Gonga is Keficho.
•Nilo-Saharan: Anywa, Berta, Gumuz, Kacipo-
Balesi, Komo, Kunama, Kwama, Kwegu,, Murle,.
•Language classification did not remain static.
Factors like population movements, warfare, trade,
religious and territorial expansion, urbanization etc
• Since early times,the Cushitic and Semitic
peoples had inhabited the area between the Red
Sea in the east and Blue Nile in the west from
where they dispersed to different directions. In
due course, the Cushites have evolved to be the
largest linguistic group in Ethiopia and the Horn
&Semitic peoples spread over large area and
settled the northern, north central, northeastern,
south central and eastern parts of Ethiopia and the
Horn
•The Semites are the second majority people next to the
Cushites. Except the Shinasha, who live in Benishangul-
Gumuz and the South Mao in Wallagga, the majority of
Omotic peoples have inhabited southwestern Ethiopia along
the Omo River basin.
•In the west, the Nilotes are largely settled along the Ethiopia-
Sudanese border although some of the Chari-Nile family
inhabited as far as southern Omo.
 Economic Formations

•The domestication of plants and animals gave

humanity two interdependent modes of life:
agriculture and pastoralism. these two forms of
livelihood have coexisted and quite often
interrelated. topographic features and climatic
conditions largely influenced economic activities
in Ethiopia and the Horn.
•A predominantly pastoral economy has characterized the
eastern lowland region and The plateaus have sustained
plough agriculture for thousands of years supporting sizable
populations. Majority of the populations were engaged in
mixed farming. It is here that sedentary agriculture had
been started and advanced at least since 10, 000 years B. P.
by the Cushites, Semites and Omotic groups.
 Religion and Religious Processes
Indigenous Religion
• This includes a variety of religious beliefs and
practices, which are native to the region and have
been followed by the local people since ancient times.
A distinctive mark of indigenous religion is belief in
one Supreme Being, but special powers are attributed
to natural phenomena, which are considered sacred.
Spiritual functionaries officiate over rituals, propitiate
divinities, and are held in a lot of respect as
intermediaries between the society and spirits.
• Waqeffanna of the Oromo is based on the existence
of one Supreme Being called Waqa. Waqa's power
is manifested through the spirits called Ayyana.
• The major spirits include Abdar/Dache (soil fertility
spirit), Atete (women or human and animal fertility
spirit), Awayi/Tiyyana (sanctity spirit), Balas
(victory spirit), Chato/Dora (wild animals
defender), Gijare/ Nabi (father and mother’s sprit),
Jaricha (peace spirit), Qasa (anti-disease spirit) etc
• In the autumn and spring seasons every year at
the edge of ever-flowing river and top of
mountain respectively, there is thanks giving
festival called Irrecha besides New Year
(Birbo) rite.Revered experts known as Qallu
(male) and Qallitti (female) have maintained
link between the Ayyana andthe believers.
Qallu ritual house is called Galma located on
hilltop or in the grove of large trees.
• Among the Hadiya the Supreme Being is known
as Waa, who is believed to exist before
everything (hundam issancho) or create world
(qoccancho) and whose eyes are represented by
elincho (sun) and agana (moon). Spirits like Jara
(male’s protector), Idota (female’s guard),
Hausula, Qedane and Warriqa attracted prayers
and sacrifices at Shonkolla and Kallalamo
mountains chosen by Anjanchoand Jaramanjcho.
• The Kambata haveNegitaor Aricho Magano/Sky God and
religious officials known as Magnancho.
• The Gedeo called the Supreme Being, Magenoand had
thanks giving ceremony called Deraro
• .The Konso religion centered on worship of Waaq/Wakh.
• The Gojjam Agaw used to call the Supreme Being Diban
(Sky God).
• The Gurage, there have been Waq/Goita (supreme deity),
Bozha (thunder God) and Damwamwit (health Goddess).
The Gurage and the Yem had a common deity known as
Abba at Enar (Henar).
• The Wolayta called God Tosaand spirit Ayyana including Tawa-Awa
/Moytiliya (father’s spirit), Sawuna (justice spirit), Wombo (rain spirit),
Micho (goat spirit), Nago (sheep spirit), Kuchuruwa (emergency spirit),
Gomashera (war spirit), Talahiya (Beta Talaye or talheya, Omo spirit) etc.
• The Keficho called Supreme Being as Yero; spirit as Eqo and a person who
hosts Eqo is known as Alamo or eke-nayo. Father of all spirits is dochi or
dehe-tateno and its host is called dochi-nayo or Ibedechino/Ibede-gudeno
(including Arito and Wudia Riti), with residence at Adio.
• Harvest spirit is called Kollo and sacrifice to it is dejo. Earth and area spirits
are known as Showe-kollo and Dude-baro respectively. There are also local
spirits like damochechi of Channa, yaferochi of Sharada and wogidochi of
Adio as well as gepetato or king of hill identified by Yetecho clan as
landowner.
• 2.4.2. Judaism
• Judaism is considered as the expression of the
covenant that Yahweh/Jehovah (God) established
with the ancient Jewish (Hebrew). Sources indicate
that Judaism has been followed in Ethiopia and the
Horn by peoples since early times. It began to be
clearly noticed in the 4th century AD, when the
Bete-Israel (literally, house of Israel), one of the
ancient peoples in the region, refused to be
converted to Christianity
• The Bete-Israel practiced Haymanot (religious practices, which are generally
recognized as Israelite religion that differs from Rabbinic Judaism). Many of
the Bete-Israel accounts of their own origins stress that they stem from the
very ancient migration of some portion of the Tribe of Dan to Ethiopia, led it
is said by sons of Moses, perhaps even at the time of the Exodus (1400-1200
B.C.).
• Other Bete-Israel take as their basis the account of return to Ethiopia of
Menilek I, who is believed to be the son of King Solomon (r. 974-932 B.C.)
of ancient Israel and Makeda, ancient Queen of Saba (Sheba), and considered
to be the first Solomonic Emperor of Ethiopia.
• Another group of Jews is said to have been arrived in Ethiopia led by Azonos
and Phinhas in 6th century A.D. Still others are said to have been Jewish
immigrants intermarried with the Agaws. Whatever the case, the Jews appear
to have been isolated from mainstream Jewish for at least a millennium.
 Christianity

• Christianity became state religion in 334 A.D. during the reign of

King Ezana (r. 320-360), who dropped pre-Christian gods like Ares
(Hariman/Maharram/war god), Arwe (serpent-python god), Bahir (sea
god) and Midir (earth god), and embraced Christianity. Instrumental
in conversion of the king were Syrian brothers, Aedesius and
Frementius (Fremnatos). When Fremnatos (Kasate Birhane or Abba
Salama) visited Alexandria, Patriarch Atnatewos (328-373) appointed
him as the first Bishop of Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC).
Consecration of bishops from Coptic Church in Egypt continued until
1959, when Abune Baslios became the first Ethiopian Patriarch.
• Christianity was further expanded to the mass of the society in later
part of fifth century, during the reign of Ella Amida II (478-86) by the
Nine Saints .
• The saints also translated Bible and other religious books into
Geez.
• Then expansion of Christianity continued in Zagwe period
(1150-1270) and chiefly gained fresh momentum during the
early Medieval Period (1270-1527), when many churches and
monasteries were constructed. These include Rock-hewn
churches of Lalibela, Debra-Bizan of Hamasen in Eritrea;
Debra-Hayiq in Wollo, Debre-Dima and Debre-Werq in Gojjam;
Debra-Libanos in Shewa, Birbir Mariam in Gamo and Debre-
Asabot on the way to Harar. These churches and monasteries are
not merely religious centers, but served through the ages as
repositories of ancient manuscripts and precious objects of art.
• From mid-sixteenth to the early seventeenth
centuries, Jesuits tried to convert Monophysite
EOC to Dyophysite Catholic. Yet, this led to
bloody conflicts that in turn led to expulsion of
the Jesuits. However, the Jesuits intervention
triggered religious controversies within EOC. As
of 1804, missionaries’ religious expansion was
one of the dominant themes of treaties concluded
between European diplomats and Ethiopian
authorities.
• Systematic approach of trained Protestants enabled them
to win confidence of local people. They translated
spiritual books into vernaculars. They adopted old names
for Supreme Being like Waqayyo, Tosa etc and used them
in new versions as equivalent to God. Village schools
were established as centers of preaching the faith. These
schools were open to all children of chiefs and farmers.
They also provided medical facilities. All these attracted
a large number of followers. Eventually, continuous and
systematic indoctrinations seem to have resulted in
grafting of new teaching on indigenous religion
 Islam

• When Prophet Mohammed started the teaching of Islam in Mecca in 610

AD, he faced opposition from the Quraysh rulers. Under this
circumstance, the Prophet sent some of his early followers including his
daughter Rukiya and her husband Uthman as well as the Prophet's future
wives Umm Habiba and Umm Salma to Aksum. The first group of
refuges was led by Jafar Abu Talib. In his advice to his followers, the
Prophet said of Ethiopia, "…a king under whom none are persecuted. It
is a land of righteousness, where God will give relief from what you are
suffering." The then Aksumite king, Armah Ella Seham (Ashama b.
Abjar or Ahmed al-Nejash in Arabic sources), gave them asylum from
615-28. Leaders of the Quraysh asked Armah to repatriate the refugees,
but the king did not comply. Armah is said to have replied, "If you were
to offer me a mountain of gold I would not give up these people who
have taken refuge with me.”
• Subsequently, Islam spread to the Horn of Africa not through Jihad,
but through peaceful ways including trade. Islam was well established
in Dahlak Islands on the Red Sea by the beginning of eighth century.
In the early tenth century, the Muslim community on the islands
developed a sultanate. In due course, Muslims settled other places on
the Red Sea coast. It was from these coastal areas that Islam gradually
spread among the predominantly pastoral communities of the interior,
largely through the agency of preachers and merchants.
• Notwithstanding the debates, the Dahlak route played a minor role in
introduction of Islam into the interior as Christianity was strongly
entrenched as a state religion in Aksum and later states of northern
Ethiopia and open proselytization of Islam was prohibited.
• . Thus, the port of Zeila on western coast of Gulf of Aden
served as an important gateway for the introduction of Islam
mainly in to the present day Shewa, Wollo and Hararghe.
• Islam firmly established itself in the coastal areas by the
eighth and ninth centuries. From there, it radiated to central,
southern, and eastern Ethiopia through the role of Muslim
clerics who followed in the footsteps of traders. In this
regard, it should be noted that Sheikh Hussein of Bale, a
Muslim saint of medieval period, played very important role
in the expansion of Islam into Bale, Arsi and other
southeastern parts of Ethiopia and the Horn. Another Islamic
center in this region is Sof Umar shrine.
• Islam was introduced into Somali territories in
8th century A. D. through Benadir coasts of
Moqadishu, Brava and Merca. Abu Bakr Ibn
Fukura al Din Sahil set up Moqadishu
Minirate c.1269.
• The mosques, Islamic learning and pilgrimage
centers have been the depositories of cultures,
traditions and literature of local Muslims.
 Quiz /24/11/2021

• 1.Write down the concept of history ,pre-

history , oral tradition and chronicles?
• 2.List and explain main source of writing
history and the major historical source of
Ethiopia?
• 3.Write down the main importance of studying
about history
• 4Write down the historical development of historiography
writing in Ethiopia the horn
5.Explia the main difference b/n the theory of creationist and
evolutionary view with regard to creation of different creatures

• 6 .Discus major categories of language families in Ethiopia

and the Horn and their geographical distribution in the
region, settlement pattern and economic formation of
Ethiopia and the horn of Africa
• 7 explain Cultural evolution related to technological changes
that brought socio-economic transformation on human life.
 Reference
• Bahru Zewde. A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991. AAU Press, 2002.
• _____.A Short History of Ethiopia and the Horn. AAU: History Department, 1998.
• _____. Society, State and History: Selected Essays. AAU Press, 2008.
• Balisky, E. Paul. “Wolaitta Evangelists”. Ph.D Thesis, Aberder University, 1997.
• Bender, M. L. et al. eds. The Languages of Ethiopia.London, 1976.
• Clark, J.D. The Prehistoric Cultures of the Horn of Africa. Cambridge University Press,1954.
• Finneran, Neil. The Archaeology of Ethiopia. London: Routledge, 2007.
• Gada Melba. Oromiya. Khartoum, 1988.
• Mohammed Hassen. The Oromo of Ethiopia 1570-1860. Cambridge, 1990.
• ______. The Oromo and the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia 1300-1700. James
• Currey, 2015.
• Pherron, Shannon P. MC et al. “Evidence for Stone-Tool-Assisted Consumption of Animal
• Tissues before 3.39 million years ago at Dikika, Ethiopia.” In Nature, Volume 466.
• Phillipson, David. African Archaeology. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
• ______. Ancient Churches of Ethiopia; Fourth-Fourteenth Centuries.New Haven
• and London: YaleUniversity Press, 2009.
• Sergew Hable-Selassie. Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to1270. Addis Ababa:
• Haile-Selassie I University Press, 1972.
• Taddesse Tamrat. Church and State in Ethiopia. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972.
• Trimingham, J. Spencer. Islam in Ethiopia. London: Oxford University Press, 1952.
• Workineh Kelbessa. Traditional Oromo Attitudes Towards Environment.Addis Ababa: OSSREA, 2001.
 UNIT THREE
• POLITICS, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN TO THE
END OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY
• Introduction
• From ancient times to the end of the 13thC societies in Ethiopia and the
Horn underwent political, economic, social and cultural changes. One
remarkable change in the period was
 the evolution of states with diverse socio-cultural and economic settings.
 agriculture and trade contributed to the evolution of states, religions
shaped the socio-cultural setup of the states in different parts of Ethiopia
and the Horn.
 The results of the period were socio-cultural achievements such as
architecture, writing, calendar, numerals etc.
 the external relations of the period that had significant role in shaping the
history of region.
 Unit Objectives

• At the end of this unit, students will be able to:

• Ø show the evolution of states in Ethiopia and the
Horn;
• Ø identify the factors for the rise and developments of
the prominent ancient states;
• Ø examine the relations among these states and the
effects there of;
• Ø explicate the external relations of the period;
• Ø elucidate (explain)socio-economic and cultural
achievements of the period
 Discussion points

• Discuss Emergence of States in Ethiopia and

the horn
• Discuss the formation and location of states of
punt and Daamat
• Explain the the aksumite state
• Discuss the formation of zagwa dynasty
 Emergence of States

 State refers to an
 autonomous political unit
 having population,
 defined territory,
 sovereignty and government with the power to decree and enforce laws.
 State was the outcome of regular cultural process. In this regard, it should be
emphasized that, states arose independently in different places and at different
times.
 Favorable environmental conditions helped to hasten the rate of transformation in
some regions.
 The first states were the ocratic states and priests (shaman) maintained the social and
religious affairs of their people.
 As production became market oriented, the were gradually replaced by chiefs, who
began collecting regular and compulsory tributes known as protection payments with
which they maintained themselves; their supporters chiefly the army, the
bureaucracy and other followers.
 Factor for the emergence state
 the beginning of sedentary agriculture.
 Emergence of permanent settlement
 live together forming larger communities for better
security and to help each other in hard works
 surplus produce to exchange with better tools and
clothes with the artisans who were able to specialize in
the production
 states were formed mainly through the expansion of
agriculture that gave rise to the class differentiation.
 the growth of trade facilitated the development of states.
Ethiopia and the Horn is one of the regions in Africa,
where early state formation took place. From small
beginnings, such states gradually developed into
powerful kingdoms and even empires with a well-
demarcated social structure.
 Geographical proximity to and control of the
international water bodies like Red Sea, Gulf of Aden
and Indian Ocean along with their ports as well as rich
interior favored some of them to become stronger than
their neighbors and eventually dominated them.
 Ancient States

North and Northeast

• A. Punt
• Punt was the earliest recorded state in Ethiopia and the
Horn. The evidence on Punt comes from Egyptian
hieroglyphic writings, accompanied by vivid paintings; tell
of a series of naval expeditions, which the Egyptian
Pharaohs sent to Punt. Pharaoh Sahure (r. 2743-2731 B.C.)
sent expedition to collect myrrh, ebony and electrum (gold
and silver alloy). During Pharaoh Asosi, treasurer of God
Bawardede took dancing dwarf “dink" to Egypt from Punt.
• expedition was the one undertaken by the order of the
famous Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut (1490-1468 B.C.),
whose expedition is documented at her tomb in Dier El
Bahri. She sent five ships under the leadership of Black
Nubian Captain Nehasi via Wadi-Tumilat. The expedition
was warmly welcomed by the Puntites King Perehu, his
wife Ati, sons, daughters and followers. The expedition
was able to return collecting frank incense, cinnamon,
sweet smelling woods (sandal), spices, ivory, rhinoceros
horn, leopard and leopard skins, ostrich feathers and
egg, live monkeys, giraffes, people etc
 Scholars have not reached agreement as to the exact location of
Punt.
 The varieties of incense and myrrh mentioned in the writings have
suggested northern or northeastern Somalia to some
 others are inclined more towards Northern Ethiopia because of the
reference to gold, ebony and monkeys.
 The latter reinforce their guess arguing that at that early period,
Egyptian sailboats might not have been strong enough to pass
through the Strait of Bab-el Mandeb into the Gulf of Aden and the
Indian Ocean.
 Considering the two suggestions, still some others argue that it was
probably stretched from Swakim or Massawa to Babel Mandeb
(Gate of Tears) and Cape Gardafui.
 Da’amat and Other Cultural Centers in Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea

• The state known as Da’amat had a center a little to the south of

Aksum.
• Inscription of the king of Da’amat tentatively dated to the 5 th c
BC shows that he used politico-religious title known as
Mukarib.
• Various gods and goddesses like Almouqah (principal god),
Astater (Venus god), Na’uran (light god), Shamsi (sun god),
and Sin (moon god) were worshipped in the domain of the
Da’amat state and other northern Ethiopian pre-Aksumite
cultural
• There were a number of cultural centers in northern Ethiopia.
The major ones are:
 Yeha:
• located 30 kms to the northeast of Aksum and was the
oldest of these centers.
• It probably emerged around 1, 000 BC as a small
emporium where South Arabian merchants and their
agents bought and stored ivory, rhinoceros horn and
other commodities coming from the interior.
• It seems that the period of its prosperity was from about
750 to 500 B.C.
• Remains of walls of some of its buildings and stone
masonry as well as still standing temple and inscriptions
indicate Yeha’s glory.
 Hawulti Melazo:
• situated to southeast of Aksum, where stone
tablets that are inscribed in rectangular temple
surrounded by a wall decorated with paintings
representing herds of cattle have been
excavated.
 Addi-Seglemeni:
• located at 10kms southwest of Aksum, from
where a stone slab is fetched and the oldest
Ethiopian monumental inscription is
discovered.
• There were also other cultural centers like
Addi Gelemo, Addi Grameten, Addi Kewih,
Atsbi Dera, Feqiya, Hinzat, Sefra, Senafe,
Tekonda etc.
 The Aksumite State

• The nucleus of the Aksumite state was formed around 200-100

B.C.
• Initially, its power was limited to a relatively small area
comprising the town of Aksum and its environs. Gradually,
however, it expanded to include large territories in all
directions.
• In its heyday, Aksumite territories extended from:
• The Red Sea coast in the East to the Western edge of Ethiopian
plateau overlooking the vast Nile Valley in the west and
• From the northern most corner of Eritrea and possibly as far
south as northern parts of Shewa.
• According to Periplus of Erithrean Sea, Adulis on the western coast
of the Red Sea was the major port of Aksum. The long distance trade
routes from Adulis and other posts on the Red Sea coast passed
inland through such centers as Kaskasse, Coloe, Matara and even
further west across Tekeze River.
• The document also mentioned ports of Aden Gulf likeZayla and
Berbera, and Indian Ocean Benadir Coasts like Serapion
(Moqadishu), Nicon (Brava) and Merca.
• The major items of export of the Aksumite state consisted mainly of
the natural products such as ivory, myrrh, emerald, frankincense and
some spices (like ginger, cassia and cinnamon), gold, rhinoceros
horns, hippopotamus hides, tortoise shells and some curiosity
animals like apes
• In turn, a number of manufactured products like garments and textiles from
Egypt, India, Roman Empire, and Persia; glassware and jewelry from Egypt
and other places; metallic sheets, tools or utensils of various kinds, oil and
wine from Roman Empire and Syria were imported.
• Zoscales (c. 76-89), the then king of Aksum, used to communicate in Greek
language, Lingua Franca of Greco-Roman world.
• The Adulis inscription written in Greek about an unknown king, which
eventually was published in Cosmas Indicopleustes’ book, the Christian
Topography, describes commercial activities of the Red Sea areas. It also
mentions the internal long distance trade between Aksum and a distant
region called Sasu, most probably in Beni Shangul and the adjoining lands
beyond the Blue Nile. A big caravan made up of close to five hundred
merchants some of them special agents of the kings of Aksum would take to
Sasu cattle, lumps of salt (probably salt blocks) and iron to exchange for gold
• Aksumite kings had extensive contacts with the outside
world notably with the South Arabian region, leading to
exchange of ideas, material and spiritual culture.
• Sometimes such contacts involved conflicts between
the two regions. One of such known recorded conflict
between areas on both sides of the sea took place
around 200 A.D. Accordingly, peoples in Southern
Arabian Peninsula, in present day Yemen, had
difficulties in defending themselves against the army of
the Aksumite king, Gadarat.
• From the third to seventh centuries, Aksumite kings like
Aphilas, Endybis, Wazeba, Ezana, Ousanas II,etc. minted and
issued different kinds of coins in gold, silver and bronze for
both overseas and local transactions.
• Aksum was one of the four great powers of the world (i. e.
Roman Empire, Persia, China and Aksum) at the time. It was a
major naval and trading power from the first to the seventh
centuries. Aksumite ships were the main means of transporting
goods. Aksum was the only one with sufficient sources of
timber for shipbuilding and in those days, the technology for it
existed in Adulis. Aksum had a large fleet of ships, which was
used not only for trade but also for its wars across the Red Sea.
• Kaleb (r. 500-35) expanded overseas territories of Aksum beyond
Himyar and Saba, but the local prince Dhu-Nuwas was converted
to Judaism, marched to Zafar and Nagran, and killed many
Christians. Byzantine Vasaliev Justinian (r. 527-65) with
sanctification of Patriarch Timit III (518-538) provided Kaleb with a
number of ships transporting armies led by Julianos and Nonossus
against Dhu Nuwas. Dhu Nuwas was defeated and Kaleb
appointed Abraha as governor of Arabia that continued until 570
A. D.
• Kaleb was succeeded by his son Gabra Masqal (535-48) who built
church at Zur Amba in Gayint. It was during Gabra Maskal that
Yared developed Ethiopian Orthodox Church liturgical songs and
hymns.
 The Aksumite state had begun to decline since the late seventh century
because of internal and external challenges.
 Environmental degradation, decline in agricultural productivity and
possibly infestation started to weaken it.
 With the destruction of the port of Adulis by the Arabs around 702, the
international lifeline of the state was cut. The whole network of Aksumite
international trade came under the control of the rising and expanding Arab
Muslims, and Aksumite state was isolated from its old commercial and
diplomatic partners. Consequently, the Aksumite state declined
economically , political and military power not only on the Red Sea coast
but also in its interior provinces, where Aksumite hegemony (dominance)
was challenged by local rebellions.
 The recurring rebellions of the Beja, the Agaw and Queen Bani al
Hamwiyah (Yodit) finally sealed the collapse of the Aksumite state.
• However, as a civilization, Aksum had a profound impact
upon the peoples of the Horn of Africa and beyond, and
on its successorsi. e. the Zagwe, ‘Solomonic Dynasty’,
the Gondarine period etc. Some of its achievements
include Sub-Saharan Africa’s only surviving indigenous
script and calendar as well as EOC hymns and chants,
paintings etc; diversified ceramic and lithic tools, ivory
curving, and urbanization and sophisticated building
traditions (palaces, stele, rock-hewn churches…). It also
developed complex administrative and governance
system, and agricultural system including irrigation etc.
 Zagwe Dynasty
After its decline, the center of Aksumite state
shifted southwards to Kubar rural highland in
the territory of the Agaw, extend from Eritrean
Plateau and Jema River, and to the west up to
the Blue Nile valleys. After integrating so well
with Aksumite ruling class, they successfully
took over the state administration.
• Accordingly, the Agaw prince Merra Teklehaimanot married
Masobe Worq, the daughter of the last Aksumite king Dil Na'od.
Later he overthrew his father-in-law and took control of power.
Merra-Tekle-Haimanot's successors include Yimirahana Kirstos,
Harbe, Lalibela (1160-1211), Ne'akuto La'ab, Yetbarek etc.
• The Zagwe Dynasty made its center in Bugna District within
Wag and Lasta, more exactly at Adafa near Roha (Lalibela). The
territory of the Zagwe kingdom extended from most of the
highland provinces of the ancient Aksumite kingdom in the
north down to northern Shewa in the south; the Lake Tana
region and the northern part of what is today Gojjam in the
west.
• The Agaw maintained the ancient Aksumite traditions almost
intact. Zagwe rulers renewed cultural and trade contact with
eastern Mediterranean region. The most important export
items included slaves, ivory and
• rare spices while cotton, linen, silver and copper vessels,
various types of drags and newly minted coins were
imported.
• Furthermore, the Zagwe period was a golden age in Ethiopia's
paintings and the translation of some of religious works from
Arabic into Ge'ez. That said, Zagwe rulers are best known for
the construction of cave, semi-hewn and monolithic churches:
• 1. Cave: with some decoration inside, almost similar with natural cave, eg. Bete-
Mesqel.
• 2. Semi-hewn: with detailed interior decoration and partial decoration outside.
They are not totally separated from surrounding rock. Their roofs or walls are
still attached to rock, eg. Bete Denagil, Bete Debresina/Mikael, Bete Golgota,
Bete Merqoriwos, Bete Gabri’el-Rufa’el and Bete Abba Libanos.
• 3. Monolithic: with detailed decoration inside including roof and outside. They
are completely separated (carved out) from surrounding rock, eg. Bete Amanuel,
Bete Giyorgis, Bete Mariyam and Bete Medhanialem.
• Among the eleven churches of Lalibela, Bete Medhanelem is the largest of all
and Bete Giyorgis is said to be the most finely built in the shape of the cross.
• Lalibela wanted to establish the second Jerusalem, and mitigate or even avoid
difficulties, which Ethiopian Christians encountered in journey to Holy Lands at
least once in their lifetime. This was done by constructing churches based on the
model of Holy Lands in Israel.
• The Zagwe Dynasty came to end due to internal problems
of:
• royal succession and oppositions from groups claiming
descent from the ancient rulers of Aksum.
• The latter considered Zagwe kings “illegitimate rulers”
based on the legend of the Queen of Sheba. The legend
was in turn based on a book known as Kebra-Negest
(Glory of Kings) that was translated from Coptic to Arabic
and then into Ge’ez. Based on the legend, the power
claimants contend that “Solomonic” Dynasty ruled the
Aksumite state until its power
 East, Central, Southern, and Western
States
Bizamo, Damot, Enarya and Gafat
• . Bizamo: was a kingdom located on the
southern bend of Abay River just opposite to
the present districts of Gojjam and around the
current Wambara area.
• It was founded in the 8thc and had early
connections with Damot.
• Damot: was strong kingdom that expanded its
territories into most of the lands to south of
Abay and north of Lake Turkana as well as
west of Awash and east of Didessa. Motalami
was a prominent king of Damot in the 13thc.
• Enarya: was a kingdom in the Gibe region in southwestern
Ethiopia.
• The royal clan was Hinnare Bushasho (Hinnario Busaso).
• In the ninth century, Aksumite king Digna-Jan is said to
have led a campaign into Enarya, accompanied by Orthodox
Christian priests carrying arks of covenant (tabots).
• Enarya kingship was a divine one: the king (Hinnare-Tato)
was secluded and considered as sacred. The real power
rested with Mikretcho (council) including Awa-rasha (king's
spokesman) and Atche-rasha (royal treasurer). The kings
had residences in Yadare and Gowi.
• Gafat: historically, the territory of Gafat lies south of Abay (Blue
Nile) River adjoining Damot on the south western periphery of the
Christian Kingdom.
• It was inhabited by Semitic speaking population related to
• and the Gurage.
• It is not clear from available records whether the Gafat formed a
“state” or not, but Gafat mountains provided a rich source of gold.
Despite efforts by Christian evangelists, the Gafat largely remained
practitioners of their own indigenous religion. As of early medieval
period, Gafat was paying tribute to the Christian Kingdom mainly in
cattle which came from six districts, among which Gambo and Shat
are Gafat clan names.
• The province was ruled by the title of Awalamo.
• Muslim Sultanates
• After the spread of Islam since the beginning
of the eighth century, viable Muslim
communities and states had been established at
many locations especially along the main trade
routes from Zeila and its many branches
penetrating the interior.
• These states include:
• A .Shewa: Makhzumi Khalid ibn al-Walid, who claimed decent from
Meca, set up Makhzumite Sultanate in 896 A. D (283 A.H.) on
northeastern foothill of Shewa.
• B. Fatagar: was founded around Minjar, Shenkora and Ada’a in the
11th c century.
• It was a hilly lowland area with thoroughly cultivated fields of
wheat and barley, fruits, and extensive grazing grounds full of
numerous herds of cattle, sheep and goats.
• C. Dawaro: located south of Fatagar between upper waters of
Awash and Wabi-Shebelle extending to Charchar in Northeast and
Gindhir in Southeast. It was much smaller than Ifat, but resembled.
• They have a currency called hakuna in which transition takes place.
• Bali: was an extensive kingdom occupying high plateau, separating basins of Shebelle and
Rift valley Lakes. It was separated from Dawwaro by the Wabi-Shebelle River and extended
southwards to the Gannale Dirre River.
• Bali was one of the largest of Ethiopia’s Muslim provinces. Its economic activity resembles
those of other nearby Muslim lands.
• Trade was mainly based on barter exchanging cattle, sheep, cloth etc. It had strong army
composed of cavalry and infantry.
• E. Ifat: was a state located in the adjacent to Shewan Sultanate. Its territory ran from
northeast-southwesterly in the Afar plain eastward to the Awash.
• It was established by Umar Walasma, who claimed decent from Hashamite clan and came
from Arabia between 1271 and 1285. The sultanate was fertile and well watered. Its
inhabitants earned their living from cultivation of wheat, sorghum, millet and teff, and animal
husbandry. Sugar cane, bananas, variety of fruits, beans, squashes, cucumbers, and cabbage
completed the diet. Chat was described for the first time as being consumed as a stimulant.
• F. Others: mutually independent states like Arababani (between Hadiya and Dawwaro),
Biqulzar, Dera (between Dawaro and Bali), Fadise, Gidaya, Hargaya, Harla, Kwilgora,
Qadise, Sharkah (West of Dawaro and North of Bali in Arsi) and Sim were established and
flourished.
• External Contacts
• Ethiopia and the Horn had contacts with Egypt since at least 3,000 B. C.
These relations may be the region’s earliest contacts with the
Mediterranean world or the Greco-Roman World. It had very close
relations with all commercially active South Arabian Kingdoms starting
sometimes before 1,000 B.C.
• The introduction of Christianity to Aksum established a new pattern of
relation between the region and Egypt. Until the introduction of Islam
into Egypt and the general reduction of the Christians into minority,
relations between the two were fairly smooth and friendly. Following
the introduction of Christianity, Aksum had established close
relationship with the East Roman or Byzantine Empire with which it
shared common commercial interest in the Red Sea area against their
rival Persians.
 Yet, in the seven century, this relation became complicated and
began to deteriorate.
 The rapid expansion of the Muslim Arabs through the Near and
Middle East, North Africa and the Nile valley led to the decline of
Aksumite land routes and shipping lines. Successive Egyptian
Muslim rulers began to use the consecration and sending of a
bishop as an instrument to further their own foreign policy
objectives and to squeeze concessions from Ethiopian Christian
rulers, who reacted by threatening to divert the Nile.
 The coming to power of the Mamluk was followed by the
reciprocal persecution of religious minorities. Moreover, the
Mamluk presented a barrier to the contacts between Christian
Ethiopia and European states.
• However, the tradition to visit Jerusalem and other
Holy places in the Middle East had begun at the end of
the first millennium AD. In order to arrive at Holy
places, Ethiopian Christian pilgrims used the land route
to Egypt. From Cairo, again they used the land route to
the Holy land. Consequently, there were considerable
numbers of Ethiopian Christian communities found in
different regions, in Egyptian monasteries, in the Holy
places of Palestine and Armenia, and in Italian city-
states in subsequent centuries.
• The communities living in different parts of
the world served as an important link or bridge
between Ethiopian Christian Kingdom and
Europe.
• When pilgrims met their fellow Christians of
Europe in the Holy places, they transmitted
information about the EOC and its exceptional
liturgical practices. They also explained about
the territorial extent of the Christian Kingdom.
• From the information, the Europeans began to consider Ethiopian Christian
Kingdom as a very powerful and wealthy state existing in the Horn of Africa.
Consequently, they wanted to use this imaginary strong Christian power
against the Muslim powers in the Holy land. Around the middle of the 12th
century, a myth about a very rich and powerful Christian ruler known as
Prester John began to circulate in Europe. The legend was developed when
the balance of the crusade war fought over Jerusalem between the Christians
of Europe and the Muslims of the Middle East was in favor of the latter. In
1165, a letter addressed to European kings, thought to be sent by the Prester
John appeared in Europe mentioning about the enormous power of the Prester
John. The geographical location of the country of Prester John was not
known to Europe for over a century. However, the Europeans began to regard
Ethiopian Christian Kingdom as the land of Prester John since the only
Christian kingdom between the Red Sea and the Indian sub-continent was the
Ethiopian Christian Kingdom.
 Economic Formations

• A. Agriculture and Land Tenure System

 The main stay of ancient states' economy in highland areas
was plough agriculture.
 The mastery of the technology of irrigation also
contributed to the growth of agricultural production.
 The people used diverse soil fertility enhancement
strategies like maturing, compost and spreading residues’
as well as fallowing, crop rotation, intercropping and
contour plowing.
 In times of labor shortage, farmers also developed
teamwork.
• Land has always been one of the most precious
possessions of human society throughout history. The rules
according to which members of the society hold, share and
use land constitute what is known as the land tenure
system. The most ancient system of land holding which
survived in many parts of Ethiopia and the Horn is the
communal land tenure system. Communal right to land is a
group right. Here group refers to the family, the clan and
the other lineage groups to which the individual belonged.
Each of these groups had communal right to the land they
lived in and freely exploited the resources of the land.
• Peasants in the north had rist rights in their respective areas.
• Rist is a kind of communal birthright to land by members of the families and
clans whose ancestors had settled and lived in the area over long periods. It
is inherited from generation to generation in accordance to with customary
law. All the subjects of the state had the rist rights. The rist owners were
known as bale-rist. Yet, they paid tributes to the state and all land belonged
to the state theoretically. Tribute was collected through a complex hierarchy
of state functionaries or officials who were given gult right over the areas
and populations they administered on behalf of the central government.
• Gult is a right to levy tribute on rist owners’ produce. The tribute collected
by bale-gults, partly allotted for their own up keep and the rest were sent to
the imperial center. Gult right that became hereditary was called Riste-Gult
as famous well-placed officials used to transfer their position to their
offspring.
• Handicraft
• Indigenous handcraft technology had existed since the
ancient period. The social, economic and political
conditions of ancient states had allowed the emergence of
artisans in various fields with diverse forms and
applications including metal work, pottery, tannery,
carpentry, masonry, weaving, jeweler, basketry and others.
• Metal workers produced spears’ points, swords , javelins,
bows, arrows, ornaments etc.
• Carpenters engaged in carving wood implements like
doors, windows, stools, chairs, tables, beds, headrests, etc
• Tanners produced leather tools used for bed, bed cover,
saddles, harness, ropes, footwear, prayer mats, sacks, honey
and butter container, drinking cup and clothes until replaced by
weavers’ cotton dresses.
• However, except the carpenters and masons in some cases, the
artisans were mostly despised and marginalized. The ruling
classes mostly spent their accumulated wealth on imported
luxurious items rather than the domestic technology. The
general public attitude towards artisans was not at all
encouraging. Consequently, the locally produced agricultural
implements and house furniture did not show any significant
improvement and sophistication.
• Trade
 Trade was another important economic activity of ancient states
that obtained considerable income from both internal and
international trade. The major socio-economic and political
centers of earliest states seem to have also been major trade
centers with wide ranging contacts in various directions within the
region itself and with merchants coming to the area across the
international water bodies. A network of roads connected the
centers with the coast and various dependencies in the interior.
Local and international merchants frequented these roads. The
regular flow of trade was so vital to the states in that one of their
major concerns was to protect the trade routes and make them
safe from robbers.
 .
Socio-cultural Achievements

• A. Architecture
• As the states expanded, architecture also began to flourish and one of the unique
architectural technologies was the engraving of stele around the third century AD.
There were totally fifty eight steles in and around Aksum that can be grouped into
well made and decorated, half completed and megaliths (not hewn). The longest one
of these stele measures 33meters heights (the first in the world). It is highly decorated
in all of its four sides.
• It represents a-14 storied building with many windows and a false door at the bottom.
• It also bears pre-Christian symbols, which are a disc and a crescent (half moon) at the
top. Some scholars suggest that this giant stele was broken while the people were
trying to erect it while others claim that it was broken during war. The second longest
obelisk measures 24 meters height that was successfully erected and represents a ten-
storied building with many windows and a false door at the bottom. The third longest
stele measures 21 meters and represents a nine-storied building with many windows
and a false door at the bottom. It is smooth at the back of its side. It is without any
decoration.
• The Zagwe churches are regarded as some of the finest
architecture of artistic achievements of the Christian
world and that is why they were registered by
UNESCO as part of world cultural heritage in 1978,
two years before that of the Aksumite stele. Further
refinement can be observed in the construction and
decoration of the rockhewn churches in the Zagwe
period. Zagwe architecture used a softer material like
sandstone, which was cut and shaped all round, except
the floor, into a variety of delicately decorated
churches.
Bete Giyorgis
• Writing System
• The Sabean language had an alphabet with boustrophedon writing type
that is paleographical writing from left to right and right to left
alternatively. The earliest Sabean inscriptions in Eritrea and Ethiopia
date to the ninth century BC.
• One peculiar feature of Sabean inscriptions is absence of vowels as most
of the words are written in consonants.
• After the seventh and sixth centuries BC, however, variants of script
arose, evolving in the direction of the Geʽez script (an alpha syllabary).
This evolution can be seen most clearly in evidence from inscriptions
mainly graffiti on rocks and caves. By the first century AD, "Geʽez
alphabet" arose, an abjad (26 consonant letters only) written left-to-right
with letters identical to the first-order forms of modern vocalized
alphabet.
• Though the first completely vocalized texts known are
inscriptions by Ezana (who left trilingual inscriptions in
Greek, Sabean and Ge'ez)c. 330 AD, vocalized letters
predate him by some years, as vocalized letter exists in
Wazeba’s coin some 30 or so years before. The process was
developed under the influence of Christian scripture by
adding vocalic diacritics for vowels, u, i, a, e, ə, o, to the
consonantal letters in a recognizable but slightly irregular
way, so that the system is laid out as a syllabary.
• Ethiopia's ancient indigenous writing system has immense
contribution to the development of literature, art and the
writing of history.
 Calendar

• People needed to know and remember the times when the rains
would begin and end as well as the rise and fall of the water level.
The responsibility of understanding these vital climatic cycles fell
on expertise. In due course, calendars were invented. In most cases,
the length of the month was based on the movement of the moon or
the apparent movement of the sun. Otherwise, the number of days in
the week or in the year varied from region to region.
• Calendars were developed and adopted among various peoples of
Ethiopia and the Horn. Oromo calendar has been based on
astronomical observations of moon in conjunction with seven or
eight particular stars or group of stars called Urjii Dhahaa (guiding
stars) and Bakkalcha (morning star). There are 29.5 dates in a month
and 354 days in 12 months of a year.
• The Sidama calendar rotates following movements of stars with 13
months a year, 12 of which are divided equally into 28 days while the
thirteenth month has 29 days. The Sidama week has only 4 days (Dikko,
Dela, Qawado and Qawalanka) and hence each month has 7 weeks.
Nominated Mote (King) is presented to Fiche Chambalala, New Year
ritual, for Qetela or popular demonstration.
• Ethiopic solar calendar has 12 months of 30 days plus 5 or 6 (is added
every 4 years) Epagomenal days, which comprise a thirteenth month. A
gap of 7–8 years between Ethiopic and Gregorian calendars results from
alternative calculation in determining date of Annunciation. Thus, the
first day of the year, 1 Meskerem/Enkutatash is usually September 11
(Gregorian). However, it falls on September 12 in years before the
Gregorian leap year. The Ethiopic solar calendar has evolved to become
the official calendar of the country
• The Muslim (Islamic) calendar is a lunar calendar
consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355
days. It employs the Hijra year of 622 AD, in which
Mohammed and his followers made flight from Mecca
to Medina and established the first Muslim community
(ummah). Dates in this era are usually denoted AH
(After Hijra, "in the year of the Hijra"). Years prior to
the Hijra are reckoned as BH ("Before the Hijra").
• Other peoples like the Agaw, Halaba, Hadiya, Wolayta,
Gedeo, the Nilotes, etc have their own dating system.
 Numerals

• Numerals appeared in Ethiopia and the Horn at

the beginning of 4th c AD. Geʽez uses numeral
system comparable to the Hebrew, Arabic and
Greek numerals, but it lacks individual
characters for multiples of 100. Numbers are
over- and underlined in proper typesetting,
combined to make a single bar, but some less
sophisticated fonts cannot render this and show
separate bars above and below each character.
 References

• Asmarom Legesse. Gada: Three Approaches to the Study of African Society.

New York: The Free Press, 1973.
• Bahru Zewde. A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991. Addis Ababa
University Press, 2002.
• _____.A Short History of Ethiopia and the Horn. Addis Ababa University,
1998.
• Gada Melba. Oromiya. Khartoum, 1988.
• Lange, Werner J. History of Southern Gonga.Wiesbaden, 1982.
• Sergew Hable Sellassie. Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to
1270.Addis Ababa: HIU Press, 1972.
• Taddesse Tamrat. Church and State in Ethiopia. Oxford, Clarendon Press,
1972.
• Trimingham, J. Spencer. Islam in Ethiopia. London: Oxford University Press,
1952
 UNIT FOUR

• POLITICS, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY FROM THE LATE THIRTEENTH

TO THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURIES (6 hours)
• Introduction
• The period from the late thirteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth
centuries experienced dynamic political, economic, and socio-
cultural developments that lay the foundation for the formation of
modern Ethiopia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The
"restoration" of the "Solomonic" Dynasty, succession problems,
territorial expansion, evangelization, flourishing and development of
trade as well as expansion of extensive socio−cultural interactions
among different peoples who lived in different agro−ecological
zones were some of the events that shaped the course of history in
the region.
• Unit Objectives
• At the end of this unit, students will be able to:
• Ø explain the concept of the “restoration” of “Solomonic” Dynasty;
• Ø Explain the succession problems and the role of Amba Gishen in Christian
Kingdom;
• Ø scrutinize dynamics of territorial expansion of the Christian Kingdom;
• Ø elaborate the relationship between trade and expansion of Islam in the region;
• Ø identify the characteristics of inter-state relation during the period under
discussion;
• Ø identify the factors for interaction of the people of the region in the period;
• Ø discuss the rivalry between the Christian Kingdom and Muslim Sultanates in
the region;
• Ø point out the nature of Ethiopia's relations with the outside world during the
period.
• 4.1. The “Restoration” of the “Solomonic’’ Dynasty
• The rulers of the “Solomonic” Dynasty claimed that they were
dependents of the last king of Aksum and hence, they were legitimate to
take over state power from the “illegitimate” rulers of the Zagwe
dynasty. As the claim has no historical evidence, the name “Restoration”
is put in quotation mark.
• Similarly, the name “Solomonic” is placed in quotation marks because
the claim of descent from King Solomon of Israel is legendary. The
claim has been elaborated in the Kibre Negest (“Glory of Kings”) that
associated Ethiopia with the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Kibre Negest
claims that Ethiopian ruling class descended from the line of Menilek I,
son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Israel. As a result,
Ethiopian monarchs from Yikuno-Amlak to Emperor Haile Silassie I
claimed descent from Menilek I.
• . Power Struggle, Consolidation, Territorial Expansion and
Religious Processes
• 4.2.1. Succession Problem and the Establishment of a ‘Royal
Prison’ of Amba Gishen
• Following the end of the reign of Yikuno-Amlak in 1285, a
political instability caused by constant power struggles among
his sons and grandsons for succession occurred. A letter
written by Yegba-Tsion (r.1285-94) to the Sultan of Egypt and
the Patriarch of Alexandria in 1290 reflected the existence of
those struggles. The power struggle intensified during the
reigns of Yegba-Tsion’s five sons who reigned from 1294 to
1299.
• The succession problem seems to have been partly resolved
in 1300 during the reign of Widim-Ra’ad (r. 1299-1314)
following the establishment of a 'royal prison' at Amba-
Gishen located in present day southern Wollo. According to
the rule, all male members of the royal family were
confined at the Amba. Loyal soldiers to the reigning
monarch guarded the royal prison. When the monarch died,
court dignitaries would send an army to the royal prison to
escort the designated successor and put him on the throne.
This practice continued until Amba-Gishen was destroyed
by Imam Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Ghazi's force in 1540.
 Consolidation and Territorial Expansion of the Christian Kingdom

• From 1270 until the establishment of Gondar in 1636, the medieval

monarchs had no permanent capital. Initially, the center of the
“restored” dynasty was in medieval Amhara (today’s South Wollo)
around Lake Haiq. However, it gradually shifted southward to the
districts of Menz, Tegulet, Bulga, and finally to the regions
dominated by the great height of the Yerer, Entoto, Menagesha,
Wachacha, Furi and Zequalla mountains.
• After coming to power, Yikuno-Amlak embarked on consolidating
his authority throughout the empire. In this regard, he quickly
subdued Ifat, the Muslim center adjacent to Shewa. Yet, until the
coming of Amde-Tsion (r.1314-44), the center and the territorial
limit of the Christian Kingdom was mainly in present day Tigray,
Lasta, medieval Amhara and Shewa.
• Amde-Tsion was the first "Solomonic" King, who
embarked on a policy of a wider and rapid
territorial expansion. His main motives of
expansion were economic and political i.e. to
control the trade routes and territorial seizures.
The Christian Kingdom controlled extensive
territories during the reign of Emperor Amde-
Tsion. The period also witnessed the expansion of
trade leading to the flow of commodities to the
coast following the major routes.
• In the process of consolidating his power, Amde-Tsion subdued rebellions
in an attempt to end centrifugal tendencies, which threatened the unity of
the Christian Kingdom. In the process, he expanded his territory into Agaw
(Awi) of Gojjam around 1323/4; Bizamo and Damot in 1316/7; Bete-Israel
(located between Dambiya and Tekeze River) around 1332; and the Red
Sea Coast. To consolidate the control of the Christian state over the
provinces of the north extending to the coastal areas of Massawa, Amde-
Tsion gave Enderta (in today’s northeastern Tigray) to his wife Bilen-Saba.
Amde-Tsion's army faced stiff resistance from among Ifat and Shewa,
which might have cooperated with the rebellious army at Enderta, led by
Yibeka-Igzi in 1320s. However, Bahr-Sagad, the son of Amde-Tsion,
became the governor of Tigray. In 1325, Amde-Tsion campaigned to
today’s Eritrean region. After controlling the whole region, he appointed a
governor with a title of Ma'ekale-Bahir, which later on changed to Bahire-
Negash.
• In the southeast, Muslim sultanates paid tributes
to the Christian Kingdom. In the south, Gurage
speaking areas and a few of the Omotic kingdoms
like Wolayta and Gamo were brought under the
influence of the Christian state. Amde-Tsion was in
full control of all the trade routes and sources of
trade of the Ethiopian region in the early 1330s.
The consolidation and territorial expansion of the
Christian Kingdom continued during the successors
of Amde-Tsion.
 Group test

1.Explain the concept of state and factors contributed for state

formation?
2.Describe the cause of gradual decline of state of Aksumite
and Zagwe daynasty?
3. Explain the contribution state of AKsumite and Zagwe
dynasty in Ethiopian history?
4.Who was Queen Bani al Hamwiyah (Yodit) and what was its
role for the down fall of aksumite state?
5.write short history about Menilek I?
6.Write short history about crusade war and Ethiopian
contribution for the war ?
• . Evangelization, Religious Movements, and Religious Reforms of Zara-
Yaqob
• I. Evangelization-preach the gospel and convert to Christianity
• Christianity had a long history of expansion. Churches and their believers had
been in existence long before expansion of the Christian Kingdom in various
parts of the Horn of Africa. For instance,
 Shewa there were early Christians who maintained contacts with their distant
relatives in Northern part of Ethiopia.
 Those early Christians played an important role in the spread of Christianity in
several areas.
 Iyesus-Mo'a opened new opportunities of learning for Christians who lived in
the central part of Ethiopia and later evangelized the newly incorporated areas
where the influene of Christianity had either been non−existent or minimal.
 The territorial expansion carried out by Amde−Tsion during the medieval period
set an addition momentum for the spread of Christianity(shewa and Gojjam)
• Abune Tekle-Haymanot played a key role in
reviving Christianity in Shewa, which was
followed by the evangelization of areas in southern
Ethiopia including medieval Damot. He baptized
and converted Motalami to Christianity. The clergy,
under the direction of the bishop in Ethiopia,
Yaqob, spread Christianity to different areas of
Shewa such as Kil'at, Tsilalish, Merhabite, Wereb,
Moret and Wegda, and Fatagar, Damot, Waj and
Enarya.
 Religious Movements

• A. The Ewostatewos Movement

• Monasticism became a dominant practice in Ethiopian Orthodox
Church in the mid 13th C . The period witnessed development of
monasticism and religious movements of which the major one was
the Ewostatewos movement, named after the founder.
• Ewostatewos established his own monastic community in Sara'e (in
present day Eritrea). There, he was joined by many students and
taught until about 1337. Among his teachings was the strict
observance of Sabbath.
• When he was opposed by an organized religious rival group of the
clergy in Sera'e, he fled the country to Egypt.
• He faced the same opposition in Cairo by Ethiopian pilgrims.
• After Ewostatewos left Ethiopia, the movement was weakned although his
followers led by Abba Absad tried their level best to maintain its momentum.
• The movement revived when some of his followers such as Bekimos,
Merkoryewos and Gebre–Iyasus returned home from Armenia.
• The followers of Ewostatewos soon became active and dispersed to Enfranz,
northern Tigray, and Hamessen. The King(Z Y) and the Abun(ATH) opposed
the movement.
• Hence, the anti-Ewostatewos group led by the Abbot of the Hayq Monastery
called Aqabe-Se’at Sereqe-Birhan was supported by the Abun and the
monarch. The monarch imprisoned some of the Ewostatiansowing to the fact
that he feared that dispute in the church could divide his kingdom.
• The clergy expelled Ewostatians from their church services; some of the
Ewostatians were forced to withdraw and settle in peripheral areas and some of
them sustained their movement in monasteries like Debre- Bizen, Debre-San,
etc.
Deqiqe Estifanos/ the Estifanosites
 founder and spiritual leader abba Estifanos.
• The movement rose to prominence in the 15 th _
• The head of the movement, abbaEstifanos, established a rigid monastic organization which
emphasized poverty, absolute self-subsistence, equality and independence from secular
authorities.
• His adversaries in the monastic circles made attempts to discredit him, but the movement gained
followers in various monastic communities. When summoned to the royal court, Estifanos was
initially able to convince the emperor (probably atse Takla Maryam, r. 1430-33) that he posed no
threat to royal power or the unity of the Church.
• Later, however, he collided with Zara-Yaqob. Estifanos appears to have disapproved of the
Emperor’s religion initiatives, rejected royal supremacy and authority in spiritual matters and
refused to participate in court judiciary procedures.
• Zara-Yacob took very harsh measures against the Estifanosites allegedly for their opposition of the
veneration of St. Mary.
• Naod appears to have been more favourably inclined towards the Estifanosites and to have been
instrumental in their reintegration into the EOC during the period of Metropolitan abune Yeshaq.
For their part, Estifanosites appear to have softened their position; the excommunication was
lifted by the Metropolitan
 .
The Religious Reforms of Emperor Zara-Yaqob

• Emperor Zara-Yaqob (r.1434-68) took several measures to stabilize and consolidate the
Orthodox Church.
 , he settled the conflict among the Ethiopian clergy towards the creation of a suitable
church-state union. In this regard, he made peace with the House of Ewostatewos by
reviving Sabbath in the Ethiopian church and the Ewostatian agreed to receive Holy
orders from the Ethiopian prelates.
 he urged the clergy to preach Christianity in remote areas. Besides, he ordered the
people to observe fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays and get Father Confessors.
 Lack of sufficient religious books was another problem. Thus, the king encouraged the
establishment of a library in every church. This was followed by revival of religious
literature. He himself wrote some books like
 Metsafe-Birhan,
 Metsafe-Me’lad,
 Metsafe-Sillasie,
 Metsafe-te'aqebo Mister,etc.
 Te’amre-Maryamwas translated from Arabic to Geez.
 Political and Socio-Economic Dynamics in Muslim Sultanates

 A number of strong sultanates emerged since the 14th c.

 Trade was one of the major factors that resulted in the rise
and development of those sates.
 Trade served not only as a major source of livelihood but
also acted as a major agent that resulted in the formation of
Muslm sultanes and remained a major source of conflict
between the Christian Kingdom and Muslim sultanates.
 One of the strong Muslim sultanates that emerged along
trade routes and became a center of resistance against the
Christian Kingdom until the second half of the sixteenth
century was the Sultanate of Adal.
 The Rise of Adal

• After its establishment, Ifat conducted a series of campaigns against its

neighbouring sultanates thereby extending its hegemony (dominance)over
these areas. It also resisted the expansion of the Christian Kingdom.
However, one branch of the Walasma family, which realized that Ifat was
becoming an easy target to the Christian Kingdom due to its location, moved
further to the southeastern lowlands and established new and vigorous
Muslim Sultanate of Adal in the highland districts around Harar in 1367.
• The first center of this extended Walasma Dynasty was at a place called
Dakar, a place located on the southeast of Harar. The Walasma family
consolidated its power in the new center, and began another phase of military
campaigns against the frontiers of the Christian Kingdom. The center of Adal
in 1520 changed to the city of Harar and after the defeat of Imam Ahmed; a
growing threat from a new force-the Oromo forced the sultanate to change
its capital to Awsa in 1576/7, to the present Afar region.
• . Trade and the Expansion of Islam
• Islam spread into the central and southwestern parts of the
Ethiopian region through Muslim merchants and preachers.
Trade served as channel for the expansion of Islam in the
Muslim Sultanates while at the same timeit formed the base
of the economy of those states. The most known Muslim
Sultanates during this period were Ifat (1285-1415) and Adal
(1415-1577).
• The main trade outlet shifted to Zeila and the old city-states of
Mogadishu, Brava, and Merca were used as ports for their
hinterland. In the meantime, for the trade in the northeast,
Massawa served as an outlet.
• With the revival of trade, different towns and trade centers emerged along the route from
Zeila to the interior.
• Travelers' accounts and chronicles referred to these towns and ruins of mosques and
residences mark the existence of market centers, which followed and served the trade coasts.
• The ruins that mark the landscape around:
• Jigjiga
• Harar
• Weez-Gebeya
• Suq-Wayzaro
Gandabalo was largely inhabited by Muslim and Christian merchants serving the kings and sultans
as agents. Other big market towns include the ones that linked medieval Amhara with Awsa,
called Wasel near what is today Ware-Illu, Qorqora/Qoreta (north of Waldiya) and Mandalay
in southern Tigray. The towns of Dabarwa, the seat of the Bahre-Negash (“Lord of the Sea”),
and Asmara were the two important entrepots of caravans in the hinterland of Massawa.
• Muslim states had significant control over trade routes that passed through Zeila due to their
geographical proximity, although contested by “Solomonic” Kingdom especially after its revival
and consolidation.
• Rivalry between the Christian Kingdom and the Muslim Sultanates
• Zeila was the main outlet to the sea during the medieval period. The
ambition to control this trade route and commodities that passed
through Zeila led to rivalry between the “Solomonic” rulers and the
Sultanate of Ifat. The first recorded conflict between the Christian
Kingdom and Ifat took place in 1328. It was because the Muslim
Sultanates organized their armies to take military action against the
Christian Kingdom. The Sultan of Ifat, Haqaddin I stopped merchants
belonging to the Christian King, Amde-Tsion, confiscating the goods,
capturing, and imprisoning the king's agent, Ti’iyintay returning from
Cairo. These actions forced Amde-Tsion to wage a campaign against
Haqaddin I; defeated and took him prisoner and eventually replaced him
by his brother Sabradin. Both Ifat and Fatagar came under Sabradin. The
Sultanates of Hadiya and Dawaro made an alliance with Sabradin.
• Yet, Ifat was defeated and Sabradin was captured on his retreat. As
a result, Ifat, Fatagar and Dawaro were incorporated. Amde-Tsion
required from them annual tributes and freedom of movement for
all caravans through Zeila. Following the decline of Ifat, other
Muslim Sultanates like Sharkha, Harar, Bali, Dara, and Arbabani
were also seriously weakened.
• It was based on these grounds that some members of the Walasma
moved their seat of power further east to Adal, from where they
continued their struggle. To check their attacks on the highlands,
the successors of Emperor Amde-Tsion conducted repeated
campaigns into the lowlands. In 1376, Haqadin II came to power
and refused to pay tribute and rebelled against Neway-Maryam
(1371-80), the son of Amde-Tsion.
• However, he died fighting in 1386. Similarly, the successor of
Haqadin II, Sa’d ad-Din II (C. 1386-1402) gained initial success
until king Dawit I (r. 1380-1412) in 1402/3 extended his
expansion and defeated him. Sa’d ad-Din II became refuge in
Zeila until King Yishaq (r.1413-30) killed him in 1415. Since
then the area was called "the land of Sad ad-Din." Following
the death of Sa’d ad-Din and loss of Zeila to Christian Kings,
the Muslim sultanates declined in power. Sa’d ad-Din’s sons
who took refuge in Yemen came back to succeed their father.
Yet, Adal continued to challenge the Christian state and were
successful in killing Tewodros (1412-13) and Yeshaq. This led
to intense struggle for predominance.
• During the mid-fifteenth century, Emperor Zara Yaqob
gained some access to the Red Sea. In 1445, Zara Yaqob
defeated Sultan Ahmed Badlay at the battle of Yeguba. As
a result, the son and successor of Ahmed Badlay,
Mohammed Ahmed (r.1445-71) sent a message of
submission to Ba’ede Mariam (r. 1468-78) to remain
vassal of the Christian Kings. On the death of
Mohammed, however, Adal was still strong and continued
its struggle. Hence, the reigning monarch, Ba’ede-Mariam
campaigned against Adal. Despite initial successes, the
army of Ba'ede-Mariam lost the battle in 1474.
• The successors of Ba'ede-Mariam proved weak in their
dealings with the rulers of Muslim Sultanates. At the same
time, leaders of the Muslim Sultanate sought to resolve the
problem peacefully. As a result, Mohammad ibn Azhar ad-Din
(1488-1518) attempted to harmonize relations with the
Christian Kingdom. However, among the various Sultans of
the Muslim sultanates, Emir Mahfuz carried out some
effective military campaigns into the highlands. However, in
1517 Emir Mahfuz died fighting against Emperor Lebne-
Dengel's (r. 1508-40) force and his son-in-law, Imam Ahmed
ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, puplarly known as Ahmed Gragn or the
"left-handed" took over the leadership
• Apart from the hostile relations, there were wider socio-economic
and cultural interactions between the Christian Kingdom and
Muslim principalities. As in earlier periods, trade continued to be
the major channel of social integration. Also, it had long been the
source of friendship, interaction, interdependence, and conflict
among the states of the region. The long distance trade and local
markets served as core areas of social ties. Relatively, the
difference in ecology of the Muslim sultanates and the Christian
Kingdom created economic interdependence, which in due course
strengthened socio-economic bondage. Merchants of the two
regions often moved from the highlands to the coast and vice
versa. It was through such caravan merchants that the social links
were strengthened and religions spread.
• These interactions and interdependence in economic, social,
cultural and political spheres lay the foundation for modern
Ethiopia.
• Beside the above dusscused socio-cultural and economic
interactionas, the period witnessed the flourishing of Geez
literature as is evident from the works of Abba Giorgis Ze-
Gasicha and others and philosophies epitomzed by Zara-
Ya'iqob (not to be confused with the king).
•
• On the Muslim side, literature had developed including the
works of Arab writers such as Ibn Fadil al Umari, Ibn Khaldun
and others.
 External Relations

• 4.5.1. Relations with Egypt

• From the late 13th century onwards, Christian Kingdom
continued to maintain relations with Egypt, which was
mainly religious in character.
• In 1272, Yekuno-Amlak sent an emissary to Egypt’s
Sultan, Baybars requesting an Abun from the Coptic
Church. Furthermore, both Egypt and Ethiopia continued to
act as protectors of religious minorities in their respective
domain. Egypt also wanted to ensure secure flow of the
Nile (the Abay River) that originated from Ethiopia.
• In the early 14th century, Mohammed ibn Qala’un persecuted the
Copts and destroyed their churches in Cairo. In response, Amde-
Tsion demanded the restoration of the churches and warned that the
failure to do so would result in the diversion of the Nile waters.
Patriarch Marqos (1348- 63) sent a message to Sayfa-Arad (r.1344-
71), revealing his imprisonment by the then Egyptian Sultan.
Sayfa-Arad is said to have mobilized a huge army against Egypt
after which the Sultan released the patriarch and sent a delegation
to the King. Besides, Patriarch Matewos (1328-1408) delegated by
the Sultan, established harmonious relations between King Dawit
and Egypt. The Sultan is said to have sent a piece of the "True
Cross" and in return, Dawit is said to have given a number of
religious paintings to the Sultan.
• In 1437/8, Zara-Yaqob wrote a friendly letter to
Sultan Barsbay requesting the protection of
Christians in Egypt. Three years later, however,
Patriarch Yohannes XI wrote Zara-Yaqob a letter
stating the demolition of the famous church of
Mitmaq (Debre-Mitmaq). Then Zara-Yaqob sent an
envoy to Sultan Jaqmaq (1438-53) with a strongly
worded letter. In reply to this message, Jaqmaq sent
an envoy to Ethiopia, with complimentary gifts to the
King but rejected the reconstruction of the church.
• . Relations with Christian Europe
• As with the Muslim Arab world, the Christian Kingdom
maintained relations with Christian Europe. During the
medieval period, contacts between the two regions were
strongly influenced by the legend of “Prester John” .This
was followed by sustained relations in subsequent decades.
For example, it is stated that Ethiopian delegation was in
attendance of Gian Galeazzo Visconti’s coronation in Milan
in 1395. In 1418, three Ethiopians attended the Council of
Constance. In another report, message from an Ethiopian
monarch, Amde-Tsion was presented to King Phillip of
France in 1332.
• The earliest known message to Ethiopia from a European
monarch is the letter of King Henry IV of England dated 1400
A.D. and addressed to “Prester John”,the purported king of the
Christian Kingdom. The identification of the King with “Prester
John” was firmly established in the fourteenth century. They
even thought that it was possible to liberate Jerusalem with
the help of this King. Hence, during the reign of King Dawit,
the leaders of Rome, Constantinople, Syria, Armenia and Egypt
sent letters to the king in which they asked for support. King
Dawit received some Italian craftsmen consisting mainly of
Florentines. In 1402, King Dawit sent his first delegation to
Europe led by a Florentine man called Antonio Bartoli.
• Alphonso de Paiva V of Aragon received a delegation from Yishaq in the
city of Valentia, in 1427. Yishaq’s delegation to Europe was to ask for
more artisans and military experts. The embassy of the Duke of Berry
consisting craftsmen, Neapolitan Pietro, a Spaniard and a Frenchman
reached Ethiopia during the reign of Yishaq.
• In 1450 a Silican Pietro Rombulo, who had been in Ethiopia since the last
years of Dawit's reign and who had previously carried out a successful
trade mission to India on behalf of the King, was now sent to Europe as
Zara-Yaqob’s ambassador. An Ethiopian priest, Fikre-Mariam and two
other individuals accompanied him. The mission was to Alphonso of
Aragon, (also ruled as king of Naples and Sicily). King Zara-Yaqob sent
delegates to Alphonso to get political, military, and technical assistance.
Alphonso wrote a letter to Zara- Yaqob and informed him that he sent
him artisans and masons he requested.
• The most authentic pieces of evidence on Ethio-Europe links
are the maps of Egyptus Novelo (c. 1454) and Fra Mauro's
Mappomondo (1460) which clearly depicted many places and
peoples. Venetian Gregorio or Hieronion Bicini visited
Ethiopia in 1482. Pedros da Covilhao/Peter de Covilham
arrived at court of Eskindir (1478-1494) in 1493.
• The beginning and continued rivalry between the Christian
Kingdom and Muslim Sultanates in the fifteenth century
strengthened the relation between the Christian Kingdom and
Christian Europe. Queen Elleni (the daughter of Hadiya Garad
and married to King Zara Yaeqob) played an important role in
the strengthening of these relations
• She had foreseen the threat that came from the Ottoman Turkish
who showed a clear interest to support the Muslim Sultanates. She
also had foreseen the possibility to consolidate relations with and
get support from Portugal that was against the Tukish. In 1508,
Portugal sent a person to act as an ambassador to Christian
Ethiopia. Around 1512, Queen Elleni, the mother and regent of
Lebne-Dengel sent an Armenian called Mathew to Portugal. The
Portuguese court doubted his authenticity and was received
coldly. The Portuguese Embassy led by Rodrigo di Lima, Duwarto
Galliba and Francisco Alvarez reached Ethiopia in 1520 and
remained for six years. The objective was to establish a naval port
against the expanding Turkish power in Red Sea Area. The mission
was not successful.
 Write short answer for the following questions

6.Describe the main concept of state?

7.Hwo was menilik I and his contribution in
Ethiopian history?
8.Write down the main causes that contributed for
the decline of Zagwe dynasty?
9.Write briefly about lalibela church and main
reason for the construction of lalibela church
during zagwe dynasty?
10.what does hijira mean and its relation with islamic
calendar?
 Class test one/15/12/21(DDM&MLS)
Choose the correct answer for the following questions

1 .Mukarib used as politico-religious title for ___________State

A. punt B. Da’amat C. Hawulti Melazo D Yeha
2.Who was the last Aksumite king
A.Kaleb B .Zoscales C. Dil Na'od D.Ezana
3 kingdom in the Gibe region in southwestern Ethiopia was
A Bizamo B. Damot C. Enarya D. Gafat
4.Who was the first Aksumite king who accept Christianity as
state religion?
A Kaleb B Zoscales C Dil Na'od D.Ezana
5. The Zagwe Dynasty made its center in Bugna District within Wag
and Lasta, more exactly at
A .Adafa B . Menz C.Bulga D.Menagesha
 Class test one/15/12/21(DM)

Choose the correct answer for the following questions

1.The akumite king who expanded overseas territories of aksume upto yemen?
A .Kaleb B .Zoscales C. Dil Na'od D. Ezana

2.Who was the first king for the restoration of zagwe dynasty
A .Merra-Tekle-Haimanot B .Yimirahana Kirstos C. Lalibela D .Ne'akuto La'ab,

3- Which one of the following port serve as the main import and exports of different
commodies during Aksumite period?
A .zeyla B Berera C. Adolis D .Massawa

4 Motalami was a prominent king of :

A.Bizamo B. Damot C. Enarya D. Gafat:

5 Zagwe daynasty was known in Ethiopian history for its

A . Large scale territorial expansion B. Monopoly over the red sea trade
C .Monolithic church D .Rivalry with Muslim Arabs
 Write short answer for the following questions

6Write down the main factors which contributed for the

formation of state and list and explain the ancient state
emerged in Ethiopia the horn?
7.Write down the internal and external factors led to the
decline of aksumite state and zagwe dynasty?
8. The major economic base and items of import and export
of the Aksumite state?
9.write down the concept of Riste-Gult in the Ethiopian land
tenure e system and contribution of early and medieval state
in Ethiopian history
10.who was yodit Gudit and its role for the down fall of Aksumit
state