Ministry of Science and Higher Education
History of Ethiopia and The Horn (Hist. 1012)
Department of
History and Heritage Management
Hawassa University, Daye Campus, 2018 E.C.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Chapter Objectives
At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:
Differentiate between past and history.
Distinguish between popular and professional conceptions
of history.
Identify categories of historical sources.
Explain what methods historians use to study the past.
Discern basic patterns of continuity and change.
Explain the uses of history.
Avoid judging the past solely in terms of present-day
norms and values.
Explain how the writing of history has evolved over time.
Discuss the role of geography in human history.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
1.1. The Nature and Uses of History
A. Nature of History
The term history derived from the Greek word Istoria,
means “inquiry” or “an account of one’s inquiries.”
It was first used by the ancient Greek historian
Herodotus and he was considered the "father of
history.“
In basic terms, history refers to everything that has
happened in the human past.
Academically, it is defined as an organized and
systematic study of the past involving the discovery,
collection, organization, and presentation of
information about past events.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Con’t…
Historians select specific topics from the vast array of
past events.
Their main focus is studying human society's
interaction with the environment, which is also
explored by various other disciplines. While other
disciplines examine present interactions,
History deals into the past and looks at the ongoing
process of change over time.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Con’t…
Historians categorize the human past into distinct
periods by studying significant developments in
politics, society, economy, culture, and environment.
They analyze documents and artifacts left by people
from different times and places to identify these
periods.
Each period is labeled to convey its key characteristics
and developments.
Accordingly, history is conventionally divided into
ancient, medieval and modern history.
This process, known as periodization, is a key
characteristic of the discipline.
Con’t…
Historians have shown that all aspects of human life,
such as social, cultural, economic, and political, have
continually changed throughout history.
While some elements may remain relatively unchanged
for long periods, very few things remain exactly the
same as practiced by our ancestors.
For instance, we still speak their languages, follow their
beliefs and religious practices, wear similar attire, and
maintain certain fundamental aspects of their social
structure.
Similarly, the basic societal fabric in Ethiopia and the
Horn has retained its unique characteristics over time.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Uses of History
A. History Helps Better Understand the Present
Historical records offer valuable insights into
human behavior and actions,
allowing us to comprehend present challenges
by tracing their roots.
Understanding the past is vital to
comprehending contemporary societal and
global issues,
warranting the need for an inclusive
comprehension of historical contexts.
Con’t…
B. History Provides a Sense of Identity
Knowledge of history is indispensable to understand who
we are and where we fit in the world.
Memory shapes individuals, while history defines societies
and communities
allowing them to understand their identity, past, and
relationships
C. History Provides the Basic Background for Other
Disciplines
Historical knowledge is extremely valuable in the pursuit of
other disciplines
such as literature, art, philosophy, religion, sociology,
political science, anthropology, economics etc.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Con’t…
D. History Teaches Critical Skills
Helps students develop research skills, including source
evaluation, coherent argumentation based on evidence,
and clear writing.
Sorting through diverse interpretations is also
important for making informed decisions in daily life.
[Link] Helps Develop Tolerance and Open-Mindedness
Studying different societies in the past is like going to a
foreign country
contributes to free ourselves from some of our inherent
cultural provincialism
give them the range and flexibility required in many life
situations
Con’t…
F. History Supplies Endless Source of Fascination
Exploring the ways people in distant ages constructed their
lives
Studying history offers beauty, excitement, and a new
perspective on human life, helping us understand how and
why things change.
It enables us to identify the enduring elements of a society
despite change.
However, history can also be manipulated to serve current
political agendas, resulting in a distorted narrative. In such
cases, history is written backwards.
Historians differ from propagandists as they document their
judgments and assertions, allowing them to be independently
verified.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Sources and Methods of Historical Study
Historians rely on evidence from sources to support their
work.
Sources bring life to historical events and are vital for
the study and writing of history.
They are considered the key foundation for historical
research.
Historical sources are classified as primary sources,
which are original and first-hand accounts of events.
Examples of primary sources are Manuscripts, monuments,
tools, ornaments, artifacts (coins, fossils, inscriptions, weapons,
utensils, and ruins of buildings), written materials (manuscripts
or handwritten materials, chronicles, diaries, letters, codes of
laws, court records and administrative files, travel documents),
photographs, maps, video and audiovisual materials.
Con’t…
Secondary sources, on the other hand, are second-hand
published accounts that interpret historical events.
Examples of secondary sources are articles, books, textbooks,
biographies, published stories or movies about historical events.
Oral data consists of historical sources that are transmitted
through spoken word
They are particularly valuable for studying the history of
societies without a written tradition.
These sources can help fill gaps in knowledge and confirm
written accounts.
Oral data can qualify the position of primary or secondary
sources based on the nature of informants.
Oral tradition, such as folk songs and sayings, is one form of
oral data.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Con’t…
Personal testimonies and recollections are another form,
known as oral history.
Historians studying the history of Ethiopia and the Horn
region often utilize a combination of these oral sources along
with written records.
It is important to critically evaluate all sources of
information, whether they are primary or secondary, written
or oral.
Primary sources must be verified for originality and
authenticity, as they can sometimes be forged.
Secondary sources should be examined for the reliability of
their reconstructions.
Oral data may lose its authenticity over time and should be
cross-checked with written documents to determine its
veracity.
Historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn
Historiography
Historiography is the history of historical writings.
Historical writing, the study of obtaining and
transmitting knowledge about the past, has existed
since the beginning of humanity.
It began to be formally organized by ancient Greek
historians like Herodotus and Thucydides during
the 5th century BCE.
In Chinese history, the prominent figure in
historical thought and writing was Sima Qian
during the Han dynasty (145-86 BCE).
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Con’t…
History emerged as an academic discipline in the
second half of the 19th century first in Europe
beginning in Europe and spreading to other parts of
the world, including the US.
Leopold von Ranke (1795 – 1886), a German historian,
and his colleagues played a crucial role in establishing
history as an independent field in Berlin.
They developed their own set of methods for collecting
and evaluating evidence of past events allowing for
meaningful discussions on historical subjects.
Ranke's significant contribution to the scientific study
of the past led to him being regarded as the "father of
modern historiography.
Ethiopian Historiography
The historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa
has drastically evolved over the past century.
To understand the twentieth-century historiography of
the region,
It is crucial to examine earlier forms of historical
writing.
The earliest known reference that we have on history of
Ethiopia and the Horn is the Periplus of the Erythrean
Sea, written in the 1st century AD by an anonymous
author.
The text provides valuable insights into the geography,
commerce and cultures of the regions it describes.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Con’t…
Aksum's trade and the campaigns of its kings on both
sides of the sea are described in the Christian
Topography
written by Greek sailor Cosmas Indicopleustes in the
6th century AD.
Ethiopian written material, apart from inscriptions,
dates back to the 7th century AD.
One document was discovered in the Abba Gerima
Monastery in Yeha.
followed by a manuscript found in the Haiq Istifanos
Monastery in present-day Wollo in the 13th century
AD.
Con’t…
Manuscripts have religious significance and
provide historical insights.
For instance, a manuscript may contain a
concise history of medieval kings.
The main sources for medieval Ethiopian history
are hagiographies.
primarily written in Ge'ez by the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church. Hagiographies serve to
enhancing the status of saints.
Con’t…
In addition to discussing the development of the
church and state, other related anecdotes are
also introduced and often discussed in detail.
One such anecdote is the parallel hagiographical
tradition among Muslim communities in the
country.
A specific account provides valuable insight into
the life of Shaykh Ja'far Bukko of Gattira, a
Muslim saint in present-day Wollo during the
late nineteenth century.
Con’t…
The document discusses the development of
indigenous Islam and interactions between Ethiopia's
Muslim community and the outside world, in addition
to the lives of saints.
It also mentions the existence of a historical tradition
called "chronicles" in ancient Ethiopian Ge'ez
language,
emerged in the fourteenth century and persisted until
the early twentieth century.
Kings or their successors appointed court scribes or
trained clergymen with calligraphic skills to write
these chronicles, which were sometimes written in
Amharic.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Con’t…
The earliest and last surviving documents of medieval
Ethiopian history are Amde-Tsion's victories and the
chronicles of Abeto Iyasu and Empress Zewditu.
These chronicles contain a mix of legends and facts about the
monarch's genealogy, upbringing, military achievements, piety,
and leadership.
They are known for their detailed facts and strong
chronological structure, mainly explaining historical events in
religious terms.
However, they provide limited information about social and
economic developments, even within the palace surroundings.
The largest collection of sources for medieval Ethiopian history
comes from hagiographies originating from the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church.
[Link] Ever to Excel!
Con’t…
Written accounts of Arabic-speaking visitors to the
coast also provide useful information on various aspects
of the region’s 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
The first document titled Futuh al Habesha was
composed by Shihab ad-Din recorded the conflict
between the Christian kingdom and the Muslim
principalities in the sixteenth century.
Con’t…
Besides the operation of the war including the conquest of
northern and central Ethiopia by Imam Ahmed ibn
Ibrahim al-Ghazi the document describes major towns
and their inhabitants in the southeastern part of Ethiopia
The other first-hand account was left to us by Al-Haymi
who led a Yemeni delegation in 1647 to the court of
Fasiledes (r. 1632-67)
Other materials that appeared in the sixteenth century
include Abba Bahrey’s Geez script on the Oromo written
in 1593
the document provides us with first-hand information
about the Oromo population movement including the
Gadaa System.
Travel Account
The contribution of European missionaries and
travelers to the development of Ethiopian
historiography is also significant.
From the early sixteenth until the late
nineteenth centuries, missionaries (Catholics
and Protestants) came to the country
the missionaries’ sources provide us with
valuable information covering a considerable
period.
Con’t…
Some of the major topics covered by these
sources include religious and political
developments within Ethiopia, and the
country’s foreign relations.
An example of such account is The Prester John
of the Indies, composed by a Portuguese priest,
Francisco Alvarez who accompanied the
Portuguese mission to the court of Lebne-
Dengel in 1520.
Cont…
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.
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.
Con’t…
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
these writers dealt with a range of topics from
social justice, administrative reform and economic
analysis to history.
Con’t…
Taye and Fisseha-Giorgis wrote books on the
history of Ethiopia while Asme produced a
similar 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) to his name.
Con’t…
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.
Cont…
Tekle-Tsadik has published about eight
historical works
Tekle-Tsadik made better evaluation of his
sources than his predecessors.
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.
Con’t…
Blatten Geta Mahteme-Selassie Wolde-Meskel also
contributed his share
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
Con’t…
The 1960s was a crucial decade in the development
of Ethiopian historiography.
History emerged as an academic discipline in the
1960s.
The pursuit of historical studies as a full-time
occupation began with the opening of the
Department of History in 1963 at the then Haile
Selassie I University (HSIU)
The production of BA theses began towards the end
of the decade.
The Department launched its MA and PhD
programs in 1979 and 1990 respectively.
Cont…
A research organization, the Institute of Ethiopian
Studies (IES) is the other institutional home of
professional historiography of Ethiopia.
Since then the Institute housed a number of
historians of whom the late Richard Pankhurst, the
first Director and founding member of the Institute
He has authored or co-authored twenty-two books
and produced several hundred articles on Ethiopia
Since its foundation, the IES has been publishing
the Journal of Ethiopian Studies for the
dissemination of historical research.
Con’t…
The Institute’s library contains literary works of
diverse disciplines and has its fair share in the
evolution of professional historiography of Ethiopia.
The professionalization of history in other parts of the
Horn is a post-colonial phenomenon
Francophone scholars have been as influential as
Anglophones
African historiography has not been the sole creation
of interested Europeans.
African universities have, despite the instabilities of
politics and civil war in many areas trained their own
scholars and sent many others overseas for training.
The Geographical Context
The term “Ethiopia and the Horn” refers to that part of
Northeast Africa 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 Rift Valley is a fissure in the Earth’s crust running
down from Syria to Mozambique and marking the
separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates.
physiographic features of the region are a massive
highland complex of mountains and plateaus divided by
the Great Rift Valley surrounded by lowlands, semi-
desert, deserts and tropical forests along the periphery
Cont…
regional variations in climate, natural vegetation,
soil composition, and settlement patterns
people across the region are remarkably diverse:
they speak a vast number of different languages
profess to many distinct religions, live in various
types of dwellings, and engage in a wide range of
economic activities
however, peoples of the region were never
isolated; they interacted throughout history from
various locations.
Cont…
there are many factors that make people of a certain
area unique from the other
there are also many areas in which peoples of Ethiopia
and the Horn share common past
The history of Ethiopia and the Horn has been shaped
by contacts with others through commerce, migrations,
wars, slavery, colonialism, and the wax and waning of
state systems.
Yet, the evolution of human history owed much to
geographical factors notably location, landforms,
resource endowment, climate and drainage systems
which continue to impact that the region’s geography
has on the way people live and organize themselves into
societies.
Cont…
The factors include;
Spatial location
Ethiopia and the Horn lies between the Red Sea,
Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean
the present-day eastern frontiers of Sudan and
Kenya
the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden linked Northeast
Africa to the Eastern Mediterranean, the Near and
Middle East, India, and the Far East
the Indian Ocean has linked East Africa to the
Near and Middle East, India and the Far East
Drainage system
Ethiopia and the Horn has five principal
drainage systems
These are the Nile River, Gibe/Omo-Gojeb,
Genale/Jubba-Shebele, the Awash River, and
the Ethiopian Rift Valley Lake systems
Flowing from Uganda in the south to the Sudan
in the north, the White Nile meets the Blue Nile
(Abay in Ethiopia that starts from the environs
of Tana Lake) in Khartoum.
eventually, drains into the Mediterranean Sea
through Egypt
Con’t…
The Awash River System is entirely confined to
Ethiopia and links the cool rich highlands of
Central Ethiopia with the hot, dry lowlands of the
Danakil Depression.
The Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes System is a self-
contained drainage basin, and includes a string of
lakes stretching from Lake Ziway in the north to
Lake Turkana (formerly known as Rudolf) on the
Ethio- Kenyan border
The Gibe /Omo–Gojeb River System links
southern Ethiopia to the semi- desert lowlands of
northern Kenya.
Con’t…
The Shebele and Genale rivers originate in the Eastern
highlands flow southeast toward Somalia and the
Indian Ocean.
Only the Genale (known as the Jubba in Somalia)
makes it to the Indian Ocean;
• the Shebele disappears in sand just inside the coastline
The above watersheds are very important in the life and
history of the peoples
providing people with the source of their livelihood
facilitated the movement of peoples and goods across
diverse environments
resulting in the exchange of ideas, technology,
knowledge, cultural expressions, and beliefs
Con’t…
Ethiopia and the Horn can be divided into three major
distinct environmental zones
The vast Eastern lowland
covers the narrow coastal strip of northeastern Eritrea
widens gradually and descends southwards to include
much of lowland Eritrea, the Sahel, the Danakil
Depression
lower Awash valley
the arid terrain in northeast of the Republic of
Djibouti extends to the Ogaden, the lower parts of
Hararghe, Bale, Borana, Sidamo and the whole
territory of the Republic of Somalia.
Cont…
There is no much seasonal variation in climatic
condition in this zone
Hot and dry conditions prevail year-round
monsoon winds and irregular (little) rainfall
except in limited areas along the rivers Awash,
Wabe-Shebele and Genale/Jubba
Much of the lowland territories are covered by
shrub and bush as its major vegetation
Con’t…
The highland massif
starts from northern Eritrea and continues all the way
to southern Ethiopia
The eastern extension of the highland massif consists
the Arsi, Bale and Hararghe plateau.
features of the zone are complex of mountains, deep
valleys, and extensive plateaus
Hot lowlands
the western foothills or on the periphery of the plateau
and on borderlands of the Sudan stretching from
north to south
thick forests chiefly on the banks of the Nile and its
Con’t…
despite the varied physical environments discussed
above, the countries of the Horn of Africa are, for the
most part, linguistically and ethnically linked together
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.
Thank You!!!