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1.1 The Nature and Uses of History

A. Nature of History
❖ The origin of the word History is associated with the Greek word “istoria” which means
“enquiry” or learning through investigation.
❖ The term first is attributed to ancient Greek historians, Herodotus (c. 484–425 B.C), who
is often held to be the “father of history.
❖ Deferent people define history in different way; History has been defined differently by
different scholars.
❖ In ordinary usage, history means all the things that have happened in the human past.
❖ In the past history teaching originally focused on the facts of political history such as
wars, leaders and dynasties.
❖ Academically, history can be defined as an organized and systematic study of the past.
❖ The study involves the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of
information about past events.
❖ The experts who study and write history in the form of accounts of the past are called
historians.
❖ They study all aspects of human life i.e. social, cultural, economic and political in the
past.
❖ What distinguishes history from other social science is that it studies the interaction of
human being and his natural environment through the passage of time.
❖ Because of the length of time, for example they divide the human past into two major
categories. These are:
➢ Pre-history - is the study of human past before the beginning of writing
➢ People who study pre-history are called archaeologists.
➢ History: On the other hand, studies the period after the beginning of writing.
❖ Historians have divided the discipline into 3 periods for the sake of convenience. These
are:
▪ Ancient history
▪ Medieval and
▪ Modern history
➢ This is what we call periodization in history; one of the key characteristics of the
discipline.
➢ This is because history is a continuous process. The events and processes that took place
in ancient and medieval times have their effects in modern times.
➢ History can also be defined as the interaction between change and continuity.
The Uses of History
The major contributions of History are
➢ It helps us to know exactly what people did in the past.
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➢ It is the bridge among yesterday, today and tomorrow.

➢ It helps us to understand people and societies
➢ It is useful in our decision-making in everyday life;
➢ It contributes to the development of a well-informed, self-reliant (confident) citizens;
❖ History Provides a Sense of Identity
❖ History Teaches Critical Skills
❖ History Helps us To Develop Tolerance and Open-Mindedness
❖ Is essential for good citizen ship.
❖ To conclude, history should be studied because it is essential to the individual and the
society.
Sources and Methods of Historical Study
❖ Historians are not creative writers like novelists.
❖ The work of historians must be supported by evidence arising from sources.
❖ History is the study of human past based on sources
❖ Sources are the key to the study and writing of history.
❖ It is the bridges that link the historian with the past.
❖ Good sources make possible the writing of good history.
❖ Historical sources are broadly classified into two types: primary and secondary
Primary sources
❖ Primary sources are original or first hand in their proximity to the event both in time and
space.
❖ They are more reliable then secondary source.
❖ 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, and
buildings.
Secondary Sources
❖ Secondary source are sometimes referred to as historical reconstructions.
❖ They are less reliable then primary source.
❖ These are not firsthand sources.
❖ They are remote both in space and time.
❖ Secondary sources can be based on primary sources
❖ Examples of secondary sources are articles, books, textbooks, biographies, and published
stories or movies about historical events.
Oral Sources
❖ Oral data constitute the other category of historical sources.
❖ Oral sources are valuable to study and document the history of non-literate societies.
❖ In many societies, people transmit information from one generation to another through
folk songs.
❖ This type of oral data is called oral tradition.
❖ Oral tradition can be taken as both primary and secondary sources depending on the
situation they describe.
❖ An eye witness account can be taken as primary source whereas oral traditions from
other are considered as secondary source.
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❖ Oral tradition is considered by some historians to be unreliable source for the study of
history.
❖ However, other historians consider it to be a valid means for preserving and transmitting
history.
❖ The use of oral tradition as a source of history has a very recent beginning.
❖ It began in the 1960s in the study of African history.
❖ The most commonly known problems related with oral traditions are:
• The difficulty to go back many years and got intact information.
• Distortion of time: they may elongate or shorten the duration of past event.
• Distortion of ideas for personal cases, or misunderstanding of the researcher.
Etc
➢ For the history of Ethiopia and the Horn, historians use a combination of the sources
described above.
➢ However, whatever the source of information-primary or secondary, written or oral- the
data should be subjected to critical evaluation before it is used as evidence.
The Development of Ethiopian Historiography
❖ Historiography can be defined as the history of historical writing.
❖ The organized study and narration of the past was introduced by ancient Greek historians
like 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 nineteenth century
first in Europe and subsequently in other parts of the world.
❖ The German historian, Leopold Von Ranke, made the most significant contribution to
the development of modern historiography.
❖ He established history as an independent discipline in Berlin with its own set of modern
historical methodology
❖ Ranke is therefore, known as the father of modern historiography.
❖ Ethiopian history is the result of the joint effort made by both Ethiopian and
foreign writers of history
❖ The earliest known reference on the history of Ethiopia and the Horn is the Periplus of
the Erythrean Sea, written in the first century A.D.
❖ Another document describing Aksum’s trade and the Aksumite king’s campaigns on both
sides of the sea is the Christian Topography composed by Cosmas Indicopleustes, a
Greek sailor, in the sixth century A.D.
❖ Another document which is contributing for the development of Ethiopian historiography
was found in Abba Gerima monastery in Yeha written in seventh century A.D.
❖ This was followed by a manuscript discovered in Haiq Istifanos monastery of present day
Wollo in the thirteenth century A.D.
❖ The manuscript 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.
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❖ Written in Ge’ez language

❖ The issues discussed in this document are the development of the church and the state
including territorial conquests by ruling monarchs.
❖ A parallel hagiographical tradition existed among Muslim communities of the country.
❖ One such account was Shaykh Ja’far Bukko of Gattira, in present day Wollo, in the late
nineteenth century.
❖ The development of indigenous Islam and contacts between the region’s Muslim
community and the outside world are some of the issues discussed in this document.
❖ Ethiopia had also an indigenous tradition of history writing called chronicles.
❖ Chronicles are records of the day to day activities of the king.
❖ The writers of chronicles were called chroniclers.
❖ Chroniclers were church men because they were the only people who could read and
write.
❖ Chronicles in the ancient Ethiopian Ge’ez tongue first appeared in the fourteenth century
and continue (sometimes in Amharic) into the early twentieth century.
❖ The first chronicle was the chronicle of Amde Tsiyon (r.1314-1344).
❖ Emperor appointed special man known as Tsehafe Tezaz (Chronicler) to study and write
the history emperors with emphasis on his own time.
❖ All chronicles from Amde Tsiyon to Emperor Tewodros were written in Ge’ez.
❖ The earliest and the last of such surviving documents are the Glorious Victories of Amde-
Tsion and the Chronicle of Iyasu 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
are known for their factual detail and strong chronological framework, even if it would
require considerable labor to convert their relative chronology to an absolute one. They
are also averse to quantification.
❖ Chronicles explain historical events mainly in religious terms; they offer little by way of
social and economic developments.
❖ However, in conjunction with other varieties of written documents, such as hagiographies
and travel accounts by foreign observers, chronicles can provide us with a glimpse into
the character and lives of kings, their preoccupations and relations with subordinate
officials and, though inadequately, the evolution of the Ethiopian state and society.
❖ Written accounts of Arabic-speaking visitors to the coast also provide useful information
on various aspects of the country history.
❖ For example, al-Masudi and Ibn Battuta described the culture, language and import-
export trade in the main central region of the east African coast in the tenth and in the
fourteenth centuries respectively.
❖ For the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries we have two documents composed by
Yemeni writers who were eyewitnesses to the events they described.
❖ The first document titled Futuh al Habesha was composed by Shihab al-Din, who
recorded the conflict between the Christian kingdom and the Muslim principalities in the
sixteenth century.
❖ The other first-hand account was left to us by Al-Haymi, who led a Yemeni delegation to
the court of Fasiledes in1647.
❖ Other materials that appeared in the sixteenth century were Abba Bahrey’s Geez script
written in 1593.
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❖ The document provides us with first-hand information about the Oromo population
movement including the Gadaa System.
❖ European missionaries and travelers are also playing significant role for the development
of Ethiopian historiography.
❖ From the early sixteenth until the late nineteenth centuries, missionaries (Catholics and
Protestants) came to Ethiopia.
❖ The missionaries’ sources provide us with valuable information on religious and political
developments within Ethiopia, and the country’s foreign relation.
❖ One of such account is The Prester John of the Indies, composed by Francisco Alvarez
who led the Portuguese mission to the court of Lebne-Dengel in 1520.
❖ In addition to the missionary sources, travel documents had important contribution to the
development of Ethiopian historiography.
❖ One example of travel documents is James Bruce’s Travels to Discover the Source of the
Nile.
❖ All these works played a considerable role in the development of Ethiopian
historiography.
❖ 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 seventeenth century.
❖ 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.
❖ In the nineteenth century, August Dillman published two studies on ancient Ethiopian
history.
❖ Compared to Ludolf, Dillman showed objectivity in his historical research endeavors.
❖ Historical writing made some departures from the chronicle tradition in the early
twentieth century.
❖ The earliest groups of these writers include Aleqa Taye Gebre- Mariam, Aleqa Asme
Giorgis and Debtera Fisseha-Giorgis
❖ Later, Negadrases Afework Gebre-Iyesus and Gebre-Hiwot Baykedagn joined them.
❖ Unlike chroniclers, these writers dealt with social justice, administrative reform and
economic analysis to history.
❖ Taye and Fisseha-Giorgis wrote books on the history of Ethiopia while Asme produced a
similar work on the Oromo people.
❖ Negadrases Afework Gebre-Iyesus wrote the first Amharic novel, Tobiya, in Ethiopian
history
❖ While Gebre-Hiwot has
➢ Atse Menilekna Ityopia (Emperor Menilek and Ethiopia)
➢ Mengistna Yehizb Astedader (Government and Public Administration) to his
name.
❖ 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),
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➢ Yehiwot Tarik (A Biographical Dictionary)

➢ and Yeityopia Tarik (A History of Ethiopia).
❖ In contrast to their predecessors, Gebre-Hiwot and Hiruy showed relative objectivity and
methodological sophistication in their works.
❖ Unfortunately, the Italian occupation of Ethiopia interrupted the early experiment in
modern history writing and publications.
❖ After liberation, they were followed by Tekle Tsadik Mekuria who has written a number
of books covering the whole span of Ethiopian history from Axum to the 20th c.
❖ 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.
❖ Blatten Geta Mahteme-Selassie Wolde-Meskel also contributed his share. Among others,
he wrote Zikre Neger.
❖ Zikre Neger is a comprehensive account of Ethiopia’s prewar land tenure systems and
taxation.
❖ Another work dealing specifically with aspects of land tenure is left to us by Gebre-Wold
Engidawork.
❖ Another writer of the same category was Dejazmach Kebede Tesema.
❖ Kebede wrote his memoir of the imperial period, published as Yetarik Mastawesha in
1962 E.C.
❖ The 1960s was a crucial decade in the development of Ethiopian historiography for it was
in this period that history emerged as an academic discipline.
❖ The Department launched its BA, MA and PhD programs.
❖ The department directed the activities of the college until the Institute of Ethiopian
Studies (IES) was founded in the early 1960s.
❖ Richard Pankhurst was the first Director and founding member of the Institute.
❖ He has authored or co-authored twenty-two books and produced several hundred articles
on Ethiopian history.
❖ Since its foundation, the IES has been publishing the Journal of Ethiopian Studies for the
dissemination of historical research.
UNIT TWO
PEOPLES AND CULTURES IN ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN
2.1. Human Evolution
➢ There are two theories that suggested about the origin of human beings. These are:
❖ The creationist view: The creationists believed in the assumption that God creates
humans and the whole universe.
❖ 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 process by which human being as well as living organisms had
been formed through gradual natural process since about4. 5 billion years B. P.
❖ Green algae, small plants, fishes, birds and other small beings emerged at 800 million
years B. P.
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❖ Primates branched of placental mammal were formed at 200-170 million years B. P. and
some primates developed into Pongidae (such as gorilla, chimpanzee, gibbon etc) while
others evolved into Hominidae (human ancestors).
❖ Ethiopia and the Horn are referred to as the cradle of humankind.
❖ Evidences related to 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 million B. P. was unearthed in Anchar (in West
Hararghe) in 2007.
❖ Ardipithicus ramidus kadabba (dated 5.8-5.2 million years BP) was discovered in Middle
Awash.
❖ Ardipithicus ramidus (dated 4. 2 million B.P.) was discovered at Aramis in Afar in 1994.
❖ Other 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 Australopithecus afarensis, Selam, dated to 3.3
million years B.P was also discovered at Mille, Afar in 2000.
❖ Another 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.
❖ The Fossil named as Australopithecus garhi (means surprise in Afar language) dated to
2.5 million years B.P was discovered at Bouri, Middle Awash, between 1996 and 1999.
❖ In addition to the Australopithecine species, paleo-anthropologists have discovered other
hominid species.
❖ These fossil evidences are called genus homo.
❖ The discovered species have smaller tooth, thin face, and a high cranium with the ability
to use tools.
❖ The genus homo have been discovered in different parts of Ethiopia and the Horn.
❖ a fossil named as Homo habilis, which is derived from Latin terms "Homo" (human
being) and "Habilis" (skillful use of hands), dated 1.9 million years B. P. has been found
in the Lower Omo.
❖ 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 have originated in Africa and then spread out to the rest of the world.
❖ Skeleton of 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 grouped in to Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.
❖ Stone tools had been the first technologies to be developed by human beings.
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❖ 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), Mode II (Acheulean, named after the first report at St. Acheul, France) and
Mode III (Sangoon).
❖ The Mode I stone tools are mainly characterized by crude and mono-facial styles, and
produced by the direct percussion.
❖ Mode II stone tools were mainly characterized by bifacial and convex features. And
produced by indirect percussion.
❖ Mode III stone tools are characterized by flexible and finest form of production by the
use of obsidian.
❖ Examples of the above types of stone tools have been found in Ethiopia and the Horn.
❖ Homo Habilis produced Olduwan tools dated 2.52 million years B.P. in 1992, discovered
near Gona and Shungura in Afar.
❖ Homo erectus produced Acheulean tools dated back to 1.7.million years B.P, invented
fire and started burial practice.
❖ Acheulian tools (over a million years old) were found at Kella, Middle Awash in 1963.
❖ Homo sapiens produced Sangoon tools that trace back to 300,000 years B. P.
❖ The period of usage of stone tools is divided into 3.
❖ These are the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age from 3.4 million to 11, 000 years B. P.)
✓ Human being developed language
✓ Contracting shelter in cave using stone, bone and wood
✓ Using skin materials to prepare food and clothing
✓ There was sex-age labor division
❖ Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age 11, 000-10,000 B. P.) was transition between Paleolithic
and Neolithic (New Stone Age).
2.2. Neolithic Revolution
❖ During the Neolithic period human beings transformed from mobile to sedentary way of
life.
❖ There was a radical shift from hunting and gathering to the domestication of plants and
animals.
❖ The process of domestication took place independently in the various parts of the world.
❖ In Ethiopia and the Horn chiefly in the more elevated parts, people cultivated plants
including Teff (Eragrotis teff), dagussa (Eleusine coracana), nug (Guzotia abyssinica),
enset (Ensete ventricosum) 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.
❖ Stone tools used for cutting grass and grass like plants as well as rock paintings of
domesticated animals have been found at Laga Oda rock shelter near Charchar.
❖ Evidence for domesticated cattle also comes from around Lake Basaqa near Matahara.
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❖ Playa Napata and Kado in the Sudan, Cyrenaica in Libya and Futajalon in West Africa
were among known places of domestication of animals like Nidamawa and Zebu (Bos
indicus) cattle that in due course expanded to Ethiopia and the Horn.
2.3. The Peopling of the Region
2.3.1. Languages and Linguistic Processes
❖ Language is the most important element to understand human culture.
❖ Over 90 languages are spoken in eth and the horn.
❖ Linguists classify languages of Ethiopia and the Horn into two major language super
families.
❖ These are Afro-Asiatic and Nilo-Sahara
1. Afro-Asiatic: this super family is sub-divided into the following families:
A. Cushitic: The majority of the peoples of Ethiopia and the horn are speaker of the Cushitic
family.
❖ It is divided in to 4 branches they are north Cushitic, central Cushitic, east Cushitic and
southern Cushitic.
➢ Northern Cushitic: is represented by Beja people who are living in north western
Eritrea and same district of republic of Sudan.
➢ Central Cushitic: The central Cushitic languages are spoken by the Bilen, Agaw,
Hamtang and Qimant.
➢ Eastern Cushitic: among Cushitic branches, the most diversified and the
largest in the region is the east Cushitic.
➢ This branch is further divided in to two, named lowland east Cushitic and high
land east Cushitic.
• The speakers of highland east Cushitic are include Hadiya, Kabata,
Sidama, Gedeo, Alaba and Burji.
• The speakers of lowland Cushitic are Oromo, Afar, Somalia and Konso.
➢ Southern Cushitic: is spoken outside the horn of Africa in Tanzania and
Kenya. It is represented by Dhalo in Kenya and Nbugua in Tanzania.
B. Semitic: The Semitic language is the second widely spoken language in the region.
❖ The Semitic language of Ethiopia and the horn are generally known as Ethio- Semitic.
❖ The Ethio- Semitic languages are sub divided in to two, this are north Ethio- Semitic and
south Ethio- Semitic.

➢ The North Ethio Semitic language: Ge'ez, Rashaida (spoken around Eritrea-
Sudanese border); Tigre (spoken in Eritrean Lowland); Tigrigna (spoken in
highland Eritrea and Tigray).
➢ The South Ethio Semitic language is further divided into two
✓ Transverse: Amharic, Argoba, Harari, Silte, Wolane and Zay.
✓ Outer: Gafat (extinct), Gurage and Mesmes (endangered).
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C. Omotic: the Omotic family is spoken mainly by the peoples living in Omo valley
in southern and south western Ethiopia.
❖ Except the Shinasha, who live in Benishngul-Gumuz and the South Mao in
Wallagg
❖ The main speakers of this family are Anfillo, Ari, Bambasi, Banna, Basketo,
Bench, Boro-Shinasha, Chara, Dawuro, Dime, Dizi, Dorze, Gamo, Ganza, Gayil,
Gofa, Hamer, Hozo, Kachama, Ganjule, Karo, Keficho, Konta, Korete, Male,
Melo, Nayi, Oyda, Sezo, Shekkacho, Sheko, Wolayta, Yem, Zayse etc.
❖ Nilo-Saharan: It is one of the main language families spoken in the western border
lands of Ethiopia.
❖ The majority of the speakers of these languages live in the present regional states of
Benishangul Gumuz and Gambella.
❖ The main speakers of this super family are Anywa, Berta, Gumuz, Kacipo-Balesi, Komo,
Kunama, Kwama, Kwegu, Majang, Mi'en, Murle, Mursi, Nara, Nu’er, Nyangatom, Opo,
Shabo, Suri and Uduk.
2.3.3. Economic Formations
❖ The domestication of plants and animals gave humanity two interdependent modes of
life: agriculture and pastoralism.
❖ In Ethiopia and the Horn, these two forms of livelihood have coexisted and quite often
intermingled.
❖ Topographic features and climatic conditions largely influenced economic activities in
Ethiopia and the Horn.
❖ A predominantly pastoral economy has characterized the eastern lowland region since
early periods.
❖ Pastoral economy namely the production of camel, goat, and cattle has been the most
common economic practice among the Afar, Saho and Somali as well as Karayu and
Borana Oromo.
❖ While the Afar and Karrayu have depended on the Awash River, the Somali have owed a
great deal to Wabi Shebelle and Genale (Jubba) Rivers.
❖ 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.
❖ The major economic activity of the Omotic has been mixed farming and trade in northern
Omo while southern Omo have predominantly practiced pastoralism and fishing.
❖ Many of the Omotic groups have also been famous in metallurgy, weaving and other
crafts.
❖ In the sparsely populated western lowland region, the dominant economic formations
were pastoralism, shifting agriculture, fishing, apiculture and hunting.
❖ For instance, sorghum, millet, cotton and other crops have been largely cultivated in the
lowlands along Ethio-Sudanese border since antiquity.
❖ The Nilotes along the Blue Nile and Baro-Akobo Rivers have been shifting cultivators
where sorghum has been a staple food.
❖ Among majority Nilotic communities, cattle have high economic and social values.
❖ Berta and other Nilotes had trade and other social contacts with northern Sudan.
2.4. Religion and Religious Processes
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❖ The major four religions which are practiced in Ethiopia and the horn are: Traditional
belief, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
2.4.1. Indigenous Religion
❖ In Ethiopia and the Horn traditional beliefs have been practiced.
❖ Traditional religion includes the variety of beliefs and practices which are native and
followed by the local people since ancient time
2.4.3. 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 and members of the royal family into Christianity
were Syrian brothers, Aedesius and Frementius (Fremnatos).
❖ When Fremnatos (Kasate Birhane or Abba Salama) visited Alexandria, Patriarch
Atnatewos appointed him as the first Bishop of Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC).
❖ The appointment 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 shown in the table below:

Name Origin Church/Monastery Location of the

Church
Abuna Aregawwi Constantinopole Debre Damo Eastern Tigray
(Abba Za Mika’el)
Abuna Isaq (Abba Constantinopole Debre Gerima Medera (East of
Gerima) Adwa )
Abba Pentelwon Constantinopole Debre Pentelwon Asbo (North East
of Aksum)
Abba Afse Ladocia Debre Afse Yeha (Northeast of
Aksum)
Abba Alef Qa’esare’a Debre Haleluya Biheza (Northeast
of Aksum)
Abba Gubba Cilicia Debre Gubba West of Medera
Abba Liqanos Constantinople Debre Qonasel North of Aksum
Abba Sehama Antioch Tsedania Southeast of Adwa
Abba Yima’ata Qosa’iti Debre Yima’ata Ger’alta

❖ The Nine Saints came to escape the persecution against Christianity in their home
country.
❖ They brought with them priests, church articles and religious books.
❖ In their stay, they translated many religious books including the Bible into Ge’ez, built
many churches and monasteries.
❖ The expansion of Christianity continued in Zagwe period (1150-1270) and gained fresh
momentum during the early Medieval Period (1270-1527), when many churches and
monasteries were constructed.
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❖ 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 only religious centers, but also served as sources
of ancient manuscripts and precious objects of art.
❖ From mid-sixteenth to the early seventeenth centuries, Jesuits tried to convert EOC to
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.
❖ Religious expansion was one of the dominant themes of treaties concluded between
European diplomats and Ethiopian authorities in 1804.
❖ The Catholic and Protestant missionaries preach their faith to the local people.
2.4.4. Islam
❖ When Prophet Mohammed started the teaching of Islam in Mecca in 610 AD, he faced
opposition from the Quraysh rulers.
❖ When he encountered persecution at the hands of the Quraysih, Mohammad advised his
followers to go to Ethiopia there was “…a king under whom none are persecuted.”
❖ The first group who arrived at Ethiopia in around 615 A.D consisted of twelve men and
five women including his daughter Rukiya.
❖ The first group of refuges was led by Jafar Abu Talib.
❖ The Aksumite king, Armah Ella Seham (Ahmed al-Nejash in Arabic sources), gave them
asylum from 615-28.
❖ Leaders of the Quraysh asked Armah to expel 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.”
❖ The Aksumite king allowed them to exercise their religion freely.
❖ Islam spread to the Horn of Africa not through Jihad, but through peaceful ways.
❖ Islam first entered Ethiopia and the Horn in the 8th century through two points on the Red
Sea and Gulf of Aden coast: through Dahlak Islands and then through Zeila.
❖ The Dahlak route played a minor role in introduction of Islam into the interior mainly
because the Christian kingdom did not allow its open propagation.
❖ The port of Zeila on the Gulf of Aden served as the second gateway for the introduction
of Islam into present day Shewa, Wollo and Hararghe.
❖ Islam established itself in the coastal areas by the eighth and ninth centuries.
❖ From there, it expanded to central, southern, and eastern part of Ethiopia through the role
of Muslim clerics who followed in the footsteps of traders.
❖ In this regard, 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 cave.
❖ 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.
Judaism
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❖ Judaism is considered as the expression of the covenant that Yahweh/Jehovah (God)

established with the ancient Hebrew community.
❖ Sources indicate that Judaism has been followed in Ethiopia and the Horn by peoples
before Christianity reached the region.
❖ 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 trace their religion 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.)
❖ Alternative timelines include perhaps the later crises in Judea, e.g., split of the northern
Kingdom of Israel from the southern Kingdom of Judah after the death of King Solomon
or Babylonian Exile.
❖ 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.
❖ There are also other stories that attribute the presence of the Bete-Isreal in Ethiopia to an
intermarrige between Jewsh immigrants with native Agaws.
❖ On the other hand, scholars such as Tadese Tamirat and Kay Shelmay argue that the
Bete-Israel are remenants of old testament followers of orthodox Christianity rather than
Jews who migrated from abroad.
❖ Whatever the case, the Jews appear to have been isolated from mainstream Judiac
practice for at least a millennium.
❖ The Jews developed and lived for centuries in northern and northwestern Ethiopia.