UnitThree:
Politics,Economy& Societyin Ethiopia& the Horn to the end
of the 13th C
Emergence of States
.State is an autonomous political unit having a population, defined territory,
sovereignty & gov’t with the power to decree & enforce laws.
One important factor for it was the beginning of sedentary agriculture.
1
.
Ox-drawn plow & farmers acquired surplus produce to exchange
with better tools & clothes with the artisans who were able to
specialize in the production of these items.
. Gradually, intermediaries also began to buy the products of both
to take to predetermined places or markets for exchange.
.States were formed mainly via the expansion of agriculture that
gave rise to class differentiation.
.The growth of trade also facilitated the dev’t of states.
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.State was the outcome of a regular cultural process that arose
independently in d/t places & at d/t times.
.Favorable environmental conditions helped to hasten the rate of
transformation in some regions.
. As production became market-oriented, religious elites were
gradually replaced by chiefs, who began collecting regular &
compulsory tributes, their supporters chiefly the army, the
bureaucracy & other followers.
.Ethiopia & the Horn is one region where early state formation took
place.
.Geographical proximity to & control of the international water bodies
like the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden & Indian Ocean along with their ports
favored some of the states to become stronger than their neighbors &
eventually dominated them. 3
2. Ancient States
1. North and Northeast
A. Punt
-was the earliest recorded state in Ethiopia & the Horn.
• Evidence of it comes from Egyptian hieroglyphic writings,
accompanied by vivid paintings.
• Pharaoh Sahure sent an expedition to collect myrrh, ebony & gold &
silver alloy.
• The expedition was able to return collecting frankincense, cinnamon,
sweet-smelling woods (sandal), spices, ivory, rhinoceros horn, leopard
& leopard skins, ostrich feathers & eggs, live monkeys, giraffes, people
etc.
Iron, bronze, asses, foxes, cattle, animal fur, dying & medicinal
plants were also
exported from Punt to Egypt.
.In return, axes, daggers, swords, knives, sickles, clothes,
bracelets, necklaces, beads & other trinkets were imported from
Egypt to Punt.
.Scholars have not reached an agreement as to the exact location of
Punt.
Still some others argue that it probably stretched from Swakim or
Massawa to Babel Mandeb (Gate of Tears) & Cape Guardafui.
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B. Da’amat & Other Cultural Centers in N. Ethiopia & Eritrea
. Da’amat had a center a little to the S of Aksum.
.Inscription of the king of Da’amat tentatively dated to the 5th C
BC shows that he used a politico-religious title known as Mukarib.
• Various gods & goddesses like Almouqah (principal god),
• Astarr (Venus god),
• Na’uran (light god),
• Shamsi (sun god), &
• Sin (moon god) were worshipped in the domain of the Da’amat
state
• There were also similar practices in South Arabia at the time.
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• Other cultural centers in N. Ethiopia include:
Yeha:
• was the oldest of these centers.
• Emerged around 1,000 BC as a small emporium where S. Arabian
merchants & their agents bought & stored ivory, rhinoceros horn &
other commodities
• Its zenith period was from about 750 to 500 B.C.
• Remains of walls of some of its buildings & stone masonry & still
standing temple & inscriptions indicate its glory.
• Hawulti Melazo:
• stone tablets that are inscribed in rectangular temples surrounded by
a wall decorated with paintings representing herds of cattle have
been excavated.
• Addi-Seglemen:
• A stone slab is found & the oldest Ethiopian monumental inscription
is discovered.
• Other cultural centers include; Addi Gelemo, Addi Grameten, Addi
Kewih, Atsbi Dera, Feqiya, Hinzat, Sefra, Senafe, Tekonda etc.
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C. The Aksumite State
• Its nucleus was formed around 200-100 B.C.
• Initially, its power was limited to a relatively small area
comprising the town of Aksum & its environs.
• Gradually, however, it expanded to include large territories.
• In its heyday, its territories extended from the Red Sea coast in the E
to the W edge of the Ethiopian plateau from the N most corner of
Eritrea & possibly as far S as N parts of Shewa.
• According to Periplus of Eritrean Sea, Adulis on the W coast of the
Red Sea was the major port of Aksum.
• The LDT routes from Adulis & other posts on the Red Sea coast
passed inland through such centers as Kaskasse, Coloe, Matara &
even further W across the Takaze River.
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• Its major items of export consisted mainly of natural products like ivory,
myrrh, emerald, frankincense & some spices
• Manufactured products like garments & textiles from Egypt, India, the
Roman Empire, & Persia; glassware & jewelry from Egypt & other places;
metallic sheets, tools, or utensils of various kinds, oil & wine from the
regions of the Roman Empire & Syria were imported.
• Zoscales (c. 76-89), the then king of Aksum, used to speak the
Greek language, the Lingua Franca of the Greco-Roman world.
• Aksum also had relations with Ceylon (Sri Lanka) & Laodicea (Asia Minor).
• The Adulis inscription written in Greek about an unknown king,
published in Cosmas Indicopleustes’ book, the Christian Topography,
• Describes commercial activities of the Red Sea areas, the internal
LDT b/n Aksum & a distant region called Sasu, most probably in Beni
Shangul & the adjoining lands beyond the Blue Nile.
• they did not speak each other’s language, & did not even trust to be
near to each other to bargain via signs & gestures, the whole
exchange was done without one side seeing the other. This was a
good e.g. of silent trade.
• Kings had extensive contacts with the outside world notably with the
S. Arabian region, leading to the exchange of ideas, material &
spiritual culture.
• Sometimes such contacts involved conflicts b/n the two regions.
• One such known recorded conflict b/n areas on both sides of the
sea took
place around 200 A.D in S. Arabian Peninsula (present-day Yemen).
• From the 3rd to the 7th Cs, kings like Aphilas, Endybis, Wazeba,
Ezana, Ousanas II, etc. minted & issued d/t kinds of coins in gold,
silver & bronze for both overseas & local transactions.
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• Aksum was one of the 4 great powers of the world (i. e. Roman
Empire, Persia, China & Aksum) at the time.
• It was a major naval & trading power from the 1st to the 7th Cs.
• It was the only one with sufficient sources of timber for
shipbuilding
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 & Saba,
• Kaleb was succeeded by his son Gabra Masqal (535-48) who built a
Church at Zur Amba in Gayint.
During this time Yared developed EOC liturgical songs &
hymns.
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• The Aksumite state has begun to decline since the late 7th C b/c of
internal & external challenges.
[Link] degradation, the decline in agricultural productivity
& possibly plague infestation started to weaken it.
2. With the destruction of the port of Adulis by the Arabs around
702, the
international lifeline of the state was cut.
• Aksumite international trade came under the control of the rising
& expanding
Arab Muslims, isolating the Aksum from its old commercial &
diplomatic partners.
• Then it declined economically.
• This naturally led to the decline of its political & military power not
only on the Red Sea coast but also in its interior provinces, where
Aksumite hegemony was challenged by local rebellions.
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.
3. The recurring rebellions of the Beja, the Agaw & Queen Bani al
Hamwiyah (Yodit) finally sealed the collapse of the Aksumite state.
• But as a civilization, it had a profound impact upon the peoples of the
region & beyond, & on its successors i.e. the Zagwe, ‘Solomonic Dynasty’,
the Gondarine period, etc.
• Some of its achievements include Sub-Saharan Africa’s only surviving
indigenous script & calendar & EOC hymns & chants, paintings, etc;
diversified ceramic & lithic tools, ivory carving, & urbanization &
sophisticated building traditions (palaces, stele, rock-hewn churches…).
• It also developed complex administrative & governance system, &
agricultural system including irrigation, etc.
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D. Zagwe Dynasty
• After Aksum’s decline, the center of the state shifted S. wards to the
territory of the Agaw.
• This gave Agaw elites serving as soldiers & functionaries for at least 4
Cs.
• After integrating with the 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 & took control of power.
• Merra-Teklehaimanot's successors include Yimirahana Kirstos, Harbe,
Lalibela (1160-1211), Ne'akuto La'ab, Yetbarek, etc.
• Notwithstanding the debates, the Zagwe Dynasty is believed to
have ruled from c. 1150 to 1270.
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• Its territory extended from most of the highland provinces of the
ancient Aksumite kingdom in the N down to N. Shewa in the S,
the Lake Tana region & the N. part of what is today Gojjam in the
W.
• The Zagwe maintained the ancient Aksumite traditions almost
Intact.
• Zagwe rulers renewed cultural & trade contact with the E.
Mediterranean region.
• The most important export items included slaves, ivory &
rare spices.
• Cotton, linen, silver & copper vessels, various types of drugs
& newly minted coins were imported.
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• was a golden age in Ethiopia's paintings & the translation of some religious
works
from Arabic into Ge'ez.
• Zagwe rulers are best known for the construction of:
1. Cave Churches:
Bete-Mesqel.
2. Semi-hewn Churches:
eg. Bete Denagil, Bete Debresina/Mikael, Bete Golgota, Bete Merqoriwos, Bete
Gabri’el-Rufa’el & Bete Abba Libanos.
3. Monolithic Churches:
• eg. Bete Amanuel, Bete Giyorgis, Bete Mariyam & Bete Medhanialem.
• Among the 11 churches of Lalibela, Bete Medhanelem is the largest of all &
Bete Giyorgis is said to be the most finely built in the shape of the Cross.
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.Lalibela wanted to establish the 2nd Jerusalem, & mitigate or even avoid
difficulties.
The Dynasty came to a n end due to internal problems of royal succession
&
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 based on a book called Kebra-Negest (Glory of Kings) that
was translated from Coptic to Arabic & then into Ge’ez.
.Based on the legend, the power claimants contend that t h e “Solomonic”
Dynasty ruled the Aksumite state until its power was “usurped” by the Zagwes.
.Yekuno-Amlak (r. 1270-1285), who claimed descent from the last Aksumite
king Dilna’od, organized his forces with the assistance of the ecclesiastical
hierarchy & engaged the last king of Zagwe, Yetbarek in battle.
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3.2.2. East, Central, Southern, & WesternStates
[Link]. Bizamo, Damot, Enarya & Gafat
A. Bizamo:
was a kingdom located on the S. bend of the Abay River just opposite the
present districts of Gojjam & around now Wambara area.
• Founded in the 8th C & had early connections with Damot.
B. Damot:
was a strong kingdom that expanded its territories into most of the lands the S
of Abay & N of Lake Turkana & W of Awash & E of Didessa.
• Motalami was a prominent king of Damot in the 13th C.
C. Enarya:
was a kingdom in the Gibe region in SW Ethiopia.
.The royal clan was Hinnare Bushasho (Hinnario Busaso).
.The real power rested with Mikretcho (council)
.In the 9th C, Aksumite king Digna-Jan is said to have led a campaign into Enarya,
accompanied by Orthodox Christian priests carrying arks of the covenant (tablets).
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D. Gafat:
E. its territory lies S of Abay (Blue Nile) River adjoining Damot
on the SW periphery of the Christian Kingdom.
• It was inhabited by Semitic speaking population related to Harari &
the Gurage.
• It is not clear from available records whether the Gafat formed a
“state” or not, but Gafat mts provided a rich source of gold.
• Despite efforts by Christian evangelists, the Gafat largely remained
practitioners of their own indigenous religion.
• As of the early medieval period, Gafat was paying tribute to the
Christian Kingdom mainly in cattle, which came from six districts,
among which Gambo & Shat are Gafat clan names.
• The state was governed by rulers bearing the title of Awalamo.
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[Link]. Muslim Sultanates
• After the spread of Islam in the early 8th C, viable Muslim communities
& states had been established along the main trade routes from Zeila
& its many branches penetrating the interior. The states include:
[Link]:
Makhzumi Khalid ibn al-Walid, who claimed descent from Mecca, set
up the Makhzumite Sultanate in 896 A. D
B. Fatagar:
founded around Minjar, Shenkora & Ada’a in the 11th C.
C. Dawaro:
located S of Fatagar b/n upper waters of Awash & Wabi Shebelle
extending to Charchar in NE & Gindhir in SE.
• It was much smaller than Ifat but resembled it in many aspects.
• It had a currency called Hakuna for transactions.
D. Bali:
was an extensive kingdom occupying a high plateau, separating basins of
Shebelle & Rift Valley Lakes.
• It was one of the largest of Ethiopia’s Muslim provinces.
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• Its economic activity resembles those of other nearby Muslim lands.
• Trade was mainly based on barter exchanging cattle, sheep, cloth etc.
• It had a strong army composed of cavalry & infantry.
E. Ifat:
was a state located adjacent to Shewan Sultanate ran from NE-S. westerly in the Afar
plain E. ward to the Awash.
• It was established by Umar Walasma, who claimed descent from the Hashamite
clan & said to have come from Arabia b/n 1271 & 1285.
• He intervened b/n quarrelsome Makzumite princes Dil-Marrah & Dil-Gamis,
weakened & annexed the sultanate of Shewa.
• Chat was described for the 1st time as being consumed as a stimulant.
F. Others:
autonomous states mutually independent states like Arababani (b/n Hadiya &
Dawaro), Biqulzar, Dera (b/n Dawaro & Bali), Fadise, Gidaya, Hargaya, Harla,
Kwilgora, Qadise, Sharkah (W. of Dawaro & N. of Bali in Arsi) & Sim were
established & flourished.
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3.3. External Contacts
• The region had contact 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 S. Arabian Kingdoms
starting sometimes before 1,000 B.C.
• The introduction of Christianity to Aksum established a new pattern of relation
b/n the region & Egypt.
• Until the introduction of Islam into Egypt & relations b/n the 2 were fairly
smooth & friendly.
• F/g the introduction of Christianity, Aksum established close r/sh with the East
Roman (Byzantine) Empire against their rival Persians.
• Yet, in the 7th C, this relationship became complicated & began to deteriorate
because of the rapid expansion of the Muslim Arabs
• Egyptian Muslim use the consecration & sending of a bishop as an instrument
for their own foreign policy objectives & 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.
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• The Mamluk also presented a barrier to the contacts b/n Christian
Ethiopia & European states.
• Thus, there were considerable no. of Ethiopian Christian communities found
in Egyptian monasteries, in the holy places of Palestine & Armenia, & in
Italian city-states in subsequent Cs.
• The communities living in d/t parts of the world served as an important
link or bridge b/n Ethiopian Christian Kingdom & Europe.
• When pilgrims met their fellow Christians of Europe in the holy places, they
transmitted information about the EOC & its exceptional liturgical practices.
• They also explained the territorial extent of the Christian Kingdom.
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• The Europeans began to consider Ethiopian CK as a very powerful & wealthy
state in the Horn of Africa.
• They wanted to use this imaginary strong Christian power in their struggle
against the Muslim powers in the Holy Land.
• Around mid-12th C, a myth about Prester John began to circulate in Europe.
• The legend was developed when the balance of the crusade war
• In 1165, a letter addressed to European kings, thought to be sent by Prester
John appeared in Europe mentioning the enormous power of Prester John.
• The geographical location of the country of Prester John was not known
to Europe for over a century.
• Europeans began to regard Ethiopian CK as the land of Prester John since the
only Christian kingdom b/n the Red Sea & the Indian sub-continent was the
Ethiopian CK.
• Then, they began to search for the location of the Kingdom & to make an
alliance with it.
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3.4. Economic Formations
A. Agriculture & Land Tenure System
• Plow agriculture was the main economy in highland areas
• Irrigation technology also contributed to the growth of agricultural
production.
• Small valley head wetlands were drained for dry-season cultivation.
• 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 & use land
constitute what is known as the land tenure system.
• The most ancient system of land holding which survived in many parts of the
region is the communal land tenure system.
• Communal right to land is a group (family, clan & other lineage groups
to which the individual belonged) right.
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• Peasants in the N had rist rights in their respective areas.
• Rist is a kind of communal birthright to land by members of the families &
clans whose ancestors had settled & lived in the area over long periods.
• is inherited from generation to generation in accordance to
customary law.
• Most of the subjects of the state had rist rights.
• The rist owners were called bale-rist.
• They paid tributes to the state & all land belonged to the state
theoretically.
• Tribute was collected via a complex hierarchy of state functionaries or
officials who were given guilt right over the areas & populations they
administered on behalf of the central gov’t.
• Gult is a right to levy tribute on rist owners’ produce.
• The tribute collected by bale glutes was partly allotted for their own upkeep
& the rest was sent to the imperial center.
• Gault’s right that became hereditary was called Riste-Gult as prominent
well-placed officials used to transfer their position to their offspring.
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B. Handicraft
• Indigenous handcraft technology had existed since the ancient
period.
• ]including metalwork, pottery, tannery, carpentry, masonry, weaving,
jewelry, basketry & others.
• Metal workers produced spears’ points, swords, javelins, bows, arrows,
traps, slings, slashers, shields, knives, axes, sickles, hoes, plowshares,
spades, machetes, hatchets, iron tripods, ornaments, etc.
• Carpenters engaged in carving wood implements like doors, windows, stools, chairs,
tables, beds, headrests, mortars, bowls, beams, yokes, stilt, coffins, etc.
• Potters produced ceramic utensils like saucepans, ovens, jars, pot,
kettle, cooking tripod, plates, granary etc.
• Tanners produced leather tools used for bed, bed cover, saddles, harness,
ropes, footwear, prayer mats, sacks, honey & butter container, drinking
cup & clothes until replaced by weavers’ cotton dresses.
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• Except f o r carpenters & masons in some cases, the
artisans were mostly despised & marginalized.
• The ruling classes mostly spent their accumulated wealth on imported
luxurious items rather than domestic technology.
C. Trade
• was both internal & international trade.
• The major socio-economic & political centers of the earliest states seem to
have also been major trade centers.
• The region was crisscrossed by various trade routes connecting various
marketplaces in all directions.
• The regular flow of trade was so vital to the states that one of their major
concerns was to protect the trade routes & make them safe from robbers.
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3.5. Socio-cultural Achievements
A. Architecture
• As the states expanded, architecture also began to flourish & one of the
unique architectural technologies was the engraving of stele around the 3rd
CAD.
• There were 58 steles in & around Aksum that can be grouped into
well-made & decorated, half completed & megaliths (not hewn).
• They were engraved esp. at Gobodara from which they were transported &
planted in Aksum.
• The longest measures 33ms heights (the 1st in the world).
• It is highly decorated on all of its 4 sides. It represents a-14 storied building
with many windows & a false door at the bottom.
• It also bears pre-Christian symbols, which are a disc & a crescent (half moon)
at the top.
• This giant stele was broken while the people were trying to erect it.
• The 2nd longest obelisk measures 24 ms in height that was successfully
erected & represents a 10-storied building with many windows & a false
door at the bottom.
• The 3rd longest is 21 ms & represents a 9-storied building with many
windows & a false door at the bottom. It is smooth at the back of its side
with no decoration. 44
• The Zagwe churches are regarded as some of the finest architecture of
artistic achievements of the Christian world
• Zagwe architecture used a softer material like sandstone, which was cut
& shaped all round, except the floor, into a variety of delicately decorated
churches.
B. Writing System
• Sabean language had an alphabet with boustrophedon writing type that
is paleographical writing from left to right & right to left alternatively.
• The earliest Sabean inscriptions in Eritrea & Ethiopia date to the 9th CBC.
• One peculiar feature of Sabean inscriptions is absence of vowels as most
of the words are written in consonants.
• For e.g., Da’amat was inscribed as D’mt, while its successive kings are
written as RDM, RBH &LMN using title, mlkn.
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• After the 7th & 6th CBC, however, variants of script arose, evolving in
the direction of the Geʽez script
• This evolution can be seen most clearly in evidence from inscriptions
mainly graffiti on rocks & caves.
• By the 1st C AD, "Geʽez alphabet" arose, an abjad (26 consonant letters
only) written left-to-right with letters identical to the 1st-order forms of
modern vocalized alphabet.
• Though the 1st completely vocalized texts known are inscriptions by Ezana
(who left trilingual inscriptions in Greek, Sabean & 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.
• Ethiopia's ancient indigenous writing system has immense
contribution to the dev’t of literature, art & the writing of history.
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C. Calendar
• The no. of days in the week or in the year varied from region to region.
• Calendars were developed & adopted among various peoples of the region.
• Oromo calendar has been based on astronomical observations of moon in
conjunction with 7 or 8 particular stars or group of stars called Urjii Dhahaa
(guiding stars) & Bakkalcha (morning star).
• There are 29.5 dates in a month & 354 days in 12 months of a year.
• The Sidama calendar rotates f/g mov’ts of stars with 13 months a year, 12 of
which are divided equally into 28 days while the 13th month has 29 days.
• The week has only 4 days & hence each
month has 7 weeks.
• Nominated Mote (King) is presented to Fiche Chambalala, New Year ritual, for
Qetela or popular demonstration.
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• Ethiopic solar calendar has 12 months of 30 days plus 5 or 6 (is
added every 4
years). Epagomenal days, which comprise a 13th month.
• A gap of 7–8 years b/n Ethiopic & Gregorian calendars results
from alternative calculation in determining date of Annunciation.
• The 1st day of the year, 1 Meskerem/Enkutatash is usually Sep.11
(Gregorian). But it falls on Sep. 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 & his
followers made flight from Mecca to Medina & established the first
Muslim community (ummah).
• Dates 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.
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D. Numerals
• Numerals appeared in region at the beginning of 4th CAD.
• Geʽez uses numeral system comparable to the Hebrew, Arabic &
Greek numerals, but it lacks individual characters for multiples of
100.
• No’s are over & underlined in proper typesetting, combined to
make a single bar, but some less sophisticated fonts cannot render
this & show separate bars above & below each character.
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