UNIT THREE

POLITICS, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN ETHIOPIA AND THE HORN TO THE END
OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY
Emergence of States
Factors for the emergence of states: - Sedentary agriculture
-The growth of trade facilitated the development of states
❖ State refers to an autonomous political unit having population, defined territory,
sovereignty and government with the power to decree and enforce laws.
❖ Ethiopia and the Horn is one of the regions in Africa where early state formation took
place. such states gradually developed into powerful kingdoms due to:-
✓ Geographical proximity to water bodies like Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian
Ocean
✓ Their proximity to ports as well as rich interior
Ancient States: North and Northeast
A. Punt
✓ the earliest recorded state in Ethiopia and the Horn
✓ The evidence on Punt comes from Egyptian hieroglyphic
✓ Series of naval expeditions, which the Egyptian Pharaohs sent to Punt
✓ Pharaoh Sahure sent expedition to Punt to collect myrrh, ebony and electrum
During the famous Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut:
✓ best described and illustrated expedition was undertaken
✓ the expedition is documented at her tomb in Dier El Bahri
✓ She sent five ships under the leadership of Black Nubian Captain Nehasi
✓ The expedition was warmly welcomed by the Puntites King Perehu & his
wife Ati
❖ Scholars have not reached agreement as to the exact location of Punt. Example:
✓ Some scholars suggested northern or northeastern Somalia
✓ While others Northern Ethiopia
✓ still some others argue that it probably stretched from Swakim or Massawa
to Babel Mandeb
B. Da’amat and Other Cultural Centers in Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea
 ✓ located a little to the south of Aksum
✓ kings of Da’amat used the politico-religious title known as Mukarib
Various gods and goddesses
✓ Almouqah (principal god)
✓ Astarr (Venus god)
✓ Na’uran (light god)
✓ Shamsi (sun god), and Sin (moon god)
❖ There were a number of cultural centers in northern Ethiopia. Examples:
➢ Yeha:- located 30 kms to the northeast of Aksum
-It probably emerged around 1, 000 BC
-from about 750 to 500 B.C, it was prosperous (zenith)
➢ Hawulti Melazo:-located to southeast of Aksum
-Had temples decorated by paintings
➢ Addi-Seglemeni:- located at 10kms southwest of Aksum
-From where a stone slab is found
-The oldest Ethiopian monumental inscription is also discovered
C. The Aksumite State
✓ The nucleus of the Aksumite state was formed around 200-100 B.C
✓ Gradually, it expanded to large territories in all directions
❖ According to Periplus of Erithrean Sea: - Adulis was the major port of Aksum
- The document also mentioned ports of Aden
Gulf like Avalites (Zayla) and Malao (Berbera), and others.
▪ Zoscales, the then king of Aksum, used to speak the Greek language, the Lingua Franca
of Greco-Roman world.
Christian Topography
✓ Written by Cosmas Indicopleustes
✓ describes commercial activities of the Red Sea areas
✓ It also mentions the internal long distance trade between Aksum and a distant
region
✓ The book describes silent trade (conducting trade without verbal communication)
 ❖ Aksum and South Arabia had made leading exchanges of ideas, material and spiritual
cultures. Sometimes these contacts had led to conflict. For instance, around 200AD,
Southern Arabians had difficulties in defending themselves against the army of the
Aksumite king, Gadarat.
▪ From the 3rd to the 7th centuries, Aksumite kings like Aphilas, Endybis, Wazeba, Ezana,
Ousanas II, etc minted and issued coins of gold, silver and bronze.
Aksum: - one of the three great powers of the world (Roman Empire, Persia, & China)
-had naval power
-Its ships were the main means of transporting goods
-It was the only sources of timber for ship building
-had also a large fleet of ships, used for trade & wars across the Red Sea
▪ Kaleb (r. 500-35) expanded overseas territories of Aksum beyond Himyar and Saba
▪ Gabra Masqal (535-48), the son & successor of Kaleb, built a church at Zur Amba in
Gayint
❖ During Gabra Masqal that Yared developed Ethiopian Orthodox Church liturgical songs
and hymns.
❖ challenges for the decline of Aksume since the late seventh century:
A. Environmental challenges- Environmental degradation
- Decline in agricultural productivity
- Plague infestation started to weaken it
B. External challenges- with the destruction of the port of Adulis by the Arabs around 702, the
international lifeline of the state was cut.
C. The recurring rebellions of the Beja, the Agaw and Queen Bani al Hamwiyah (Yodit)
Some achievements of Aksum
✓ surviving indigenous script and calendar as well as EOC hymns and chants, paintings etc
✓ diversified ceramic and lithic tools, and ivory curving
✓ Urbanization and sophisticated building traditions (palaces, stele, rock-hewn churches…)
✓ It also developed complex administrative and governance system, and agricultural system
including irrigation etc
D. Zagwe Dynasty
 ❖ After integrating so well the Agew with Aksumite ruling class, they successfully took
over the state administration.
❖ 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.
❖ The Zagwe Dynasty made its center in Bugna District within Wag and Lasta, more exactly at
Adafa near Roha (Lalibela)
The Zagwe- maintained the cultural tradition of Aksum almost intact
- Rulers renewed cultural and trade contact with eastern Mediterranean region
- Golden age in Ethiopia's paintings and the translation of some religious works from
Arabic into Ge'ez
- Zagwe rulers are best known for the construction of cave, semi-hewn and
monolithic churches:
1. Cave: - have some decoration inside,
-Almost similar with natural cave. Example: Bete-Mesqel
2. Semi-hewn:- Had detailed interior decoration and partial decoration outside
- Not totally separated from the surrounding rock
- Their roofs or walls are still attached to the rock. Examples:
✓ Bete Denagil
✓ Bete Debresina/Mikael
✓ Bete Golgota
✓ Bete Merqoriwos
✓ Bete Gabri’el-Rufa’el and Bete Abba Libanos.
3. Monolithic: -Decorated in the interior and exterior parts
-Completely separated (carved out) from surrounding rock. Examples:
✓ 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.
❖ King Lalibela constructed 11 churches based on the model of Holy Lands in Israel to establish
the second Jerusalem in Ethiopia.
 The Zagwe dynasty came to an end due to the problem of royal succession and
oppositions from Amhara and Tigrean chiefs, because the Zagwe kings were
considered as “illegitimate rulers” who had not descents from king Menelik I (the son
of Queen Sheba and king Solomon of Israel).
Yekuno Amlak, who claimed decent from the last Aksumite king Dilna’od, defeated
the last Zagwe king Yitbarek and proclaimed the “restoration” of “Solomonic”
Dynasty.
East, Central, Southern, and Western States
A. Bizamo: - Was a kingdom around the present day Wambara
-Had early connections with Damot
B. Damot: - was a strong kingdom
- Motalami was a prominent king of Damot in the 13th century
C. Enarya: was a kingdom in the Gibe region
-Hinnare Bushasho (Hinnario Busaso)-Royal clan
-The king (HinnareTato) was secluded and considered as sacred
-The king communicated with visitors through an intermediary, Afe Busho
-The real power rested with Mikretcho (council) including Awa-rasha (king's spokesperson)
and Atche-rasha (royal treasurer)
❖ Aksumite king Digna-Jan is said to have led a campaign into Enarya, accompanied by
Orthodox Christian priests carrying arks of covenant (tabots).
D. Gafat: - The territory of Gafat lies south of Abay (Blue Nile)
-Inhabited by Semitic speaking population related to Harari and the Gurage
- Not clear evidence whether the Gafat formed a “state” or not
- A rich source of gold
- Practiced their own indigenous religion
-was governed by rulers bearing the title of Awalamo
Muslim Sultanates
❖ Established after the spread of Islam especially along the main trade routes. Examples:
A. Shewa: - founded by Makhzumi Khalid ibn al-Walid on northeastern foothill of Shewa
B. Fatagar: - was founded around Minjar, Shenkora and Ada’a in the eleventh century
C. Dawaro: - located between upper waters of Awash and Wabi Shebelle
-Dawaro had a currency called hakuna for transaction
D. Bali: -was an extensive kingdom
-One of the largest of Ethiopia’s Muslim provinces
-It had strong army composed of cavalry and infantry
E. Ifat: - Its territory runs from Afar plain eastward to the Awash
-Established by Umar Walasma (said to have come from Arabia)
-Chat was described for the first time as being consumed as a stimulant
-Its inhabitants produced various crops
External Contacts
Ethiopia and the Horn had contacts with:
✓ Egypt since at least 3,000 B. C
✓ The Mediterranean world or the Greco-Roman World (the region’s earliest contacts)
✓ South Arabian starting sometimes before 1,000 B.C
With the introduction of Christianity to Aksum:
✓ Aksum established close relationship with the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Yet, in
the seven century, this relation became complicated and began to deteriorate due to the rapid
expansion of the Muslim Arabs.
✓ A new pattern of relation between Aksum and Egypt established. 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:
▪ Persecution of religious minorities
▪ the Mamluk presented a barrier to the contacts b/n Christian Ethiopia and European states
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 reach the places, Ethiopian Christian pilgrims used the land
route to Egypt.
❖ 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 Europeans began to consider Ethiopian Christian Kingdom as a very powerful and wealthy
state existing in the Horn of Africa
• Around the middle of the 12th century, there was a myth about:
✓ A very rich and powerful Christian ruler known as Prester John began to circulate in Europe
✓ The legend was developed during the crusade
✓ The geographical location of the country of Prester John was not known to Europeans
✓ Europeans began to regard Ethiopian Christian Kingdom as the land of Prester John
Economic Formations
A. Agriculture and Land Tenure System
Ancient states' economy in highland areas
✓ Was plough agriculture
✓ Irrigation also contributed to the growth of agricultural production
✓ The people used diverse soil fertility enhancement strategies
Land tenure system- The rules according to which members of the society hold, share and use land
❖ 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
Rist rights in north Ethiopia- 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
❖ Most of the subjects of the state had rist rights
❖ The rist owners were known as bale-rist
❖ Gult is a right to levy tribute on rist owners’ produce
❖ Gult right that became hereditary was called Riste-Gult
B. 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
✓ except the carpenters and masons in some cases, the artisans were mostly despised and
marginalized
C. Trade
✓ Trade was another important economic activity of ancient states
✓ political centers of earliest states seem to be a major trade centers
✓ The regular flow of trade was so vital to the states
Socio-cultural Achievements
 A. Architecture
One of the unique architectural technologies was the engraving of stele around the 3rd century AD. There
were totally 58 steles in and around Aksum that can be grouped into:
✓ well made and decorated,
✓ half completed and megaliths (not hewn)
▪ As local tradition says, the steles were engraved specifically at Gobodara from which they were
transported and planted in Aksum
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
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 with no decoration
The Zagwe churches:
✓ the finest architecture of artistic achievements of the Christian world
✓ Registered by UNESCO as part of world cultural heritage in 1978
✓ Zagwe architecture used a softer material like sandstone
B. Writing System
✓ The earliest Sabean inscriptions in Eritrea and Ethiopia date to the 9th century BC
✓ A Sabean inscription is absence of vowels as most of the words are written in consonants (its
peculiar feature)
✓ paleographical writing from left to right and right to left alternatively
After the seventh and sixth centuries BC, however, variants of script arose, evolving in the
direction of the Geʽez script. Example, By the 1st C AD, "Geʽez alphabet" arose, written left-to-
right
▪ Ethiopia's ancient indigenous writing system has immense contribution to the development of
literature, art and the writing of history
C. Calendar
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.
❖ 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)
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 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")
D. Numerals
Numerals appeared in Ethiopia and the Horn at the beginning of fourth century 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