HISTORY OF ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN

(HIST.1102)

Set by Yonas Tefera

 UNIT FOUR
4.1. The “Restoration” of the “Solomonic’’ Dynasty
4.2. Power struggle, consolidation, territorial expansion & religious Processes
4.2.1. Succession problem & the establishment of a ‘royal prison’ of Amba Gishen
4.2.2. Consolidation & Territorial Expansion of the Christian Kingdom
4.2.3. Evangelization, Religious Movements, & Religious Reforms of Zara-Yaqob
4.3. Political & Socio-Economic Dynamics in Muslim Sultanates
4.3.1. The Rise of Adal
4.3.2. Trade & the Expansion of Islam
4.4. Rivalry between the Christian Kingdom & the Muslim Sultanates
4.5. External Relations
4.5.1. Relations with Egypt
4.5.2. Relations with Christian Europe
4.1. The “Restoration” of the “Solomonic’’ Dynasty
(Do you remember the legend of the Queen of Sheba & its role
in Ethiopian politics? )
 Kibre Negest associated Ethiopia with the Judeo-Christian tradition
(Ethiopian monarchs from Yikuno Amlak to Emperor Haile-Silassie I
claimed descent from Menilek I )

4.2. Power Struggle, Consolidation, Territorial Expansion &

Religious Processes
4.2.1. Succession Problem & the Establishment of a ‘Royal Prison’ of Amba
Gishen
 the end of the reign of Yikuno-Amlak in 1285
- marked by power struggle among his sons & grandsons especially,
- during reigns of Yegba-Tsion’s five sons who reigned from 1294 to 1299

 a ‘Royal Prison’ of Amba Gishen (present day southern Wollo)

- established during the reign of Widim-Ra’ad (r. 1299-1314)
- all male members of the royal family were confined
- the practice continued until it was destroyed by the forces of
Ahmed Gragn (Imam Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Ghazi's force) in 1540
 4.2.2. Consolidation &Territorial Expansion of the Christian Kingdom
- until 1636, the medieval monarchs had no permanent capital
- until the coming of Amde-Tsion (r.1314-44), the center & the territorial
limit of the CK was present day Tigray, Lasta, medieval Amhara & Shewa.
- it was during Amde-Tsion the CK controlled extensive territories
- Agaw (Awi) of Gojjam around 1323/4;
- Bizamo & Damot in 1316/7;
- Bete-Israel (located b/n Dambiya & Tekeze River) around 1332;
- the Red Sea Coast & today’s Eritrean region(1325)
(appointed governor: Ma'ekale-Bahir/later Bahire-Negash)

 In the early 1330s he was in full control of all the trade routes & sources of
trade of the Ethiopian region
The Christian Kingdom during the Reign of Emperor Amde-Tsion
4.2.3. Evangelization, Religious Movements, and Religious Reforms of Zara-
Yaqob (r.1434-68)
I. Evangelization
- the territorial expansion gave a new momentum for the spread of Christianity
- Eyesus-Mo'a(13th c) central part of Ethiopia & newly incorporated areas
- Abune Tekle-Haymanot-reviving Christianity in Shewa & evangelizing
southern Ethiopia (including medieval Damot/its king-Motalami)

II. Religious Movements

A. The Ewostatewos Movement (named after its founder, Ewostatewos)
- he established his monastic community in Sara'e (present day Eritrea)
- his teachings include the strict observance of Sabbath
- later he fled the country for Egypt, which weakened the movement
- it revived when Bekimos, Merkoryewos & Gebre-Iyasus came from Arm..
- soon it spread to d/f areas like Enfraz, northern Tigray & Hamassen
- faced opposition from the king & the abun
- forced to withdraw & settle in peripheral areas, like Debre-Bizen,
Debre-San
B. Deqiqe Estifanos /the Estifanosites ( named after Abba Estifanos)

- rose to in the 15th c & continued until the 16th c

- emphasized poverty, self-subsistence, equality & autonomy from
secular authorities, and collided with Zara-Yaqob,
- rejected royal supremacy & authority in spiritual matters
- Zara-Yaqob took harsh measures against the Estifanosites
(allegedly for their opposition of the veneration of St. Mary)
- Naod (r.1494-1508) instrumental in their reintegration into the EOC
- Estifanosites appear to have softened their position
- the excommunication was lifted by the Metropolitan (Abune Yeshaq)
III. The Religious Reforms of Emperor Zara-Yaqob
Zara-Yaqob took several measures to stabilize & consolidate the EOC
1. he settled the conflict among the Ethiopian clergy
(to create an amicable church-state relationship)
*he made peace with the Ewostatewosians by reviving Sabbath in the EC
*he urged the clergy to preach Christianity in remote areas
*he ordered the people to observe fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays &
get Father Confessors

2.. He encouraged the establishment of a library in every church to resolve

lack of sufficient religious books that 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.
- during his reign, some parts of Te’amre-Maryam were translated from
Arabic to Geez.
4.3. Political & Socio-Economic Dynamics in Muslim Sultanates
4.3.1. The Rise of Adal
- around1367 a branch of the Walasma dynasty moved to the eastern
lowlands, & established the sultanate of Adal
- its first center was called Dakar, located to the southeast of Harar
- the principal reason was to escape from the continued threat of the CK
- in 1520 its center shifted to Harar (later to Awsa in 1576/7, in Afar

4.3.2. Trade and the Expansion of Islam

 Trade was one of the major factors for the rise & develop’t of Muslim sates
(also a major source of conflict b/n the CK and Muslim sultanates)
 Ifat (1285-1415) & Adal (1415-1577) strong Muslim sultanates
 Market towns along the Zeila route:
* Weez-Gebeya on the Fatagar-Dawaro-Harar route,
* Suq-Wayzaro in old Damot,
* Suq-Amaja and Gandabalo on the Ifat-Awsa route
* Wasel near what is today Ware-Illu, Qorqora/Qoreta (north of Waldiya)
* Mandalay in southern Tigray
* Dabarwa, the seat of the Bahre-Negash, and Asmara
 Trade Routes and Muslim Sultanates in Medieval Ethiopia
Source: Bahru Zewde (Compiled), A Short History of Ethiopia and the Horn, p. 39.
4.4. Rivalry between the Christian Kingdom & the Muslim Sultanates
- the first recorded conflict b/n the CK & Ifat took place in 1328
- Haqaddin I, the Sultan of Ifat, stopped merchants belonging to the CK,
- confiscated the goods,& imprisoned the king’s agent, Ti’iyintay
- Amade-Tsion waged war; he defeated and captured Haqaddin I, and
replaced him by his brother, Sabradin
- Ifat, Fatagar & Dawaro were incorporated
- in 1376, Haqadin II came to power; refused to pay tribute & rebelled
against Neway-Maryam (r.1371-80), the son of Amde-Tsion, but died
fighting (1386) & succeeded by Sa’d ad-Din II (c. 1386-1402)
- despite his initial sucess defeated by king Dawit I (r.1380-1412) in 1402/3
- Sa’d ad-Din II became refugee in Zeila until King Yishaq (r.1413-30) killed him in
1415
- after the death of Sa’d ad-Din & loss of Zeila to the Christian Kingdom,
the Muslim sultanates declined in power; yet Adal continued to challenge
the CK, and killed Tewodros (r.1412-13) & Yeshaq (r.1414-1429)
- in 1445, Zara-Yaqob defeated Sultan Ahmed Badlay at the battle of Yeguba
- son & successor of Ahmed Badlay, Mohammed Ahmed (r.1445-71) submitted
to Ba’ede Mariam (r. 1468-78), but Adal continued its challenge.
- In 1517 Emir Mahfuz died fighting Emperor Lebne-Dengel(r. 1508-40)
- his son-in-law, Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Ahmed Gragn) took
the leadership

 Trade
- continued to be the major channel of social integration
- created interactions & interdependence in economic, social, cultural &
political spheres that lay the foundation for modern Ethiopia

This period also witnessed the flourishing of Geez literature, e.g.

- works of Abba Giorgis Ze-Gasicha &
- philosophies epitomized by Zara-Yaqob
- on the Muslim side the works of Arab writers like Ibn Fadil al Umari,
Ibn Khaldun, etc.,
4.5. External Relations
4.5.1. Relations with Egypt
- mainly religious in character; Egypt wanted to ensure secure flow of the Nile
- in 1272, Yekuno-Amlak sent an emissary to sultan Baybars requesting Abun
- in the early 14th c, Mohammed ibn Qala’un persecuted the Copts & destroyed
their churches in Cairo. Amde-Tsion demanded the restoration
- often Ethiopian rulers warned the diversion of the Nile waters
- Sayfa-Arad (r.1344-71) is said to have mobilized a huge army against Egypt
4.5.2. Relations with Christian Europe
- were strongly influenced by the legend of “Prester John”
- the Ethiopian rulers sent several delegates to Europe
(Milan in 1395; Council of Constance(1418); to King Phillip of France(1332)

- the letter of King Henry IV of England (1400) the earliest known message
to Ethiopia from a European monarch
- during the reign of King Dawit, the leaders of Rome, Constantinople,
Syria, Armenia, and Egypt sent letters to the king
- In 1402, King Dawit sent his first delegation to Europe led by a Florentine
man called Antonio Bartoli.
- in 1427,Yishaq sent delegate to Alphonso de Paiva V of Aragon (Valentia)
- In 1450, Zara-Yaqob sent a Sicilian Pietro Rombulo as his ambassador
to Alphonso of Aragon
- the maps of Egyptus Novelo (c. 1454) & Fra Mauro's Mappomondo (1460)
- in 1493, Pedros da Covilhao/Peter de Covilham arrived at the court of
Eskindir (r.1478-1494)
The continued rivalry b/n the CK & Muslim Sultanates in the 15th c
strengthened the relation b/n the CK & Christian Europe
 Queen Eleni (played a pivotal role in this relation)
- the daughter of Hadiya Garad & married to King Zara-Ya’qob
- the mother and regent of Lebne-Dengel
- around 1512, sent an Armenian called Mathew to Portugal
- the Portuguese court doubted his authenticity & received him coldly
- the Portuguese Embassy led by Rodrigo di Lima, Duwarto Galliba, &
Francisco Alvarez reached Ethiopia in 1520, & remained for six years
- its objective was to establish a naval port against the expanding Turkish
power in Red Sea area; yet the mission was not successful