SUMMARY OF THE ETHIOPIAN HISTORY WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE CREATION OF TOURISM ATTRACTIONS

INTRODUCTION
This paper makes a summary of the History of Ethiopia that contributed to the creation of tangible and intangible tourism attractions. This period run from the ancient times where pr per ci!i"i#ati ns ar $se n the H rn % A%rica t the era % Emper r Hai"e Se""assie I. The Derg regime and the actual EPRDF on power might have directly or indirectly contributed to tourism attractions but my paper intended that specific period indicated above.

THE NATURE OF HISTORY

History is a systematic study of the past. !t studies changes in the development of societies. !t also studies the political social economic and cultural life of the past societies. Prehistory is the study of the past before the art of writing developed.

S $rces in Hist r&

"ll historical writings have to be supported by sources#evidences. There are two types of sources in history$ Primary and %econdary.

Primar& s $rces
These are materials that have direct relations to the event they describe. E.g. written accounts monuments tools coins etc... They are more reliable than secondary sources.

Sec n'ar& s $rces

These sources do not have direct relations to the event they describe. E.g. history books movies nobles etc.

Datin( in Hist r&

!n history past events are organi&ed according to their se'uence of time called chronology. (alendars are used in arranging events chronologically. The two widely used calendars in the world are )regorian and !slamic (alendars. )regorian calendar uses the time of *irth of +esus (hrist to count time. The !slamic calendar uses Hi,rah -the flight of Prophet .ohammed from .ecca to .edina/ to count time. The )e0e& calendar is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and also serves as the liturgical calendar for (hristians in Eritrea and Ethiopia belonging to the 1rthodo2 Tewahedo churches Eastern (atholic (hurch and 3utheran 1rthodo2 (hurch.

HUMAN E)O*UTION
.odern human is different from other animals physically and culturally. .odern human has larger brains and smaller ,aws and teeth is bipedal manipulates ob,ects uses language etc4 These uni'ue characteristics of modern human took millions of years to develop. Humans and apes originated from a common ancestor. Then the human branch known as hominid passed through various stages of evolution until the emergence of modern humans. The oldest hominid species is known as "ustralopithecus "farensis. The most famous of these findings is 3ucy -5.67 million years old/ found in "far region -Hadar/ in 689:. 1ther important remains of this species have been found in other parts of Ethiopia ;enya and Tan&ania. !n 689: another hominid remains known as "ustralopithecus Ramidus -:.< million years old/ was found in "far Region. The genus homo believed to have emerged = > =.< million years ago has three sub species -Homo habilis Homo erectus Homo sapiens/ listed chronologically. Habilis -denotes growing human ability to make tools/. Erectus -walking upright/. %apiens -improvement in knowledge/.

N te$ The region of Ethiopia and the Horn of "frica has sites illustrating the three species mentioned
above. Remain of Homo habilis has been found in lower 1mo basin. Remains of Homo erectus have been found in lower 1mo basin ;onso )ardula area and .elka ;unture. Remains of Homo sapiens have been found in *odo -.iddle "wash/ ;ibish area in the lower 1mo basin and Porc Epic (ave near Dire Dawa.

*AN+UA+ES OF ETHIOPIA
The languages spoken in Ethiopia can be broadly categori&ed in to two ma,or groups$ A%r ,Asiatic and Ni" ,Saharan.

-. A%r ,Asiatic
This covers the largest parts of Ethiopia. !t is further divided into (ushitic %emitic and 1motic language groups. (ushitic 3anguage group includes$ *e,a "gaw "far 1romiffa %omali Hadya ;embata %idama etc4 %emitic 3anguage group includes$ )ee& "mharic Tigrigna "rgoba )uraghe Harari etc4 1motic 3anguage group includes$ ?olayta )amo )ofa ;ullo ;onta %heko .a,i etc4

/. Ni" ,Saharan
3anguages that belong to this group are found on the western border lands of the country. E.g. "gnuak )umu& ;unama *erta @uer .e,enger etc...

C*ASSES AND STATE FORMATION

Ci!i"i#ati n
This refers to every aspect of organi&ed social life and behavior$ material basis interaction in the community and how the community regulates its affairs and relates with other communities around it. The emergence of civili&ation was a gradual process. The beginning of division of labor based on se2 and age was one aspect of civili&ation. The main cause for the beginning of civili&ation was the domestication of plants and animals. E2planations for the shift from hunting and gathering to domestication include$ climatic changes and an increase in the population of hunters. *oth lead to reduction of animals. The beginning of domestication of plants and animals is generally placed at about 6A AAA years ago. The process of domestication took place independently in various parts of the world -.esopotamian valley @ile valley (hina !ndia etc4/ Domestication of plants and animals is believed to have begun in @orth East "frica around :AAA>BAAA years ago. Evidences about domestication of plants and animals are found near "ksum -)obo Dura rock/ on the southeastern shore of 3ake Tana 3aga 1da rock -near (hercher/ around 3ake *asa'a -near .etehara/. Farming brought about a significant change in patterns of human settlement$ Farmers begun to live around their plots building house. !t led to population growth as a result of surplus food production 3ed to technological revolution. %ophistication in the spiritual life of humans -religious paintings Priests emerged/. (alendars came in to e2istence. %tates which assumed the character of a theocracy -rule by priests/ emerged. (raftsmen evolved.

Emer(ence % states
(ivili&ations and states have their own indigenous roots. The development of material conditions of society led to greater social differentiation and division of labour. (auses of state formation in Ethiopia and the horn$ *eginning of farming. (lass and wealth differentiation -craftsmen traders priests chiefs/.

)rowth of trade -because of surplus production/.

*AND TENURE SYSTEM

!t refers to the rules and regulations about the holding and use of land in a society. The most ancient system of land holding is the communal land tenure system -people had communal right to land they lived on. !t is a group right. )radually the ancient form of land tenure changed in many parts of Ethiopia.

Rist$ > a kind of birth right to the land. " right en,oyed by members because they are born on the land
because they belong to a particular family or clan settled on the land. !t is inherited from generation to generation.

+$"t$ > this is not a land right. !t is a right to levy tribute on the owners of rist and the produce of their rist
land. This was started when states begun to collect tribute form the people. This tribute was collected mainly through a hierarchy of officials who were granted a gult. These officials who were granted gult were called Cbale gultD. )ult was not hereditary. The )ult right holders$ (ollect tribute from the local people. They administer the area and maintain law and order. They ensure the safety of the trade routs. They administer ,ustice in the area. They recruit local militia when needed.

)ult right was given for individuals institutions like churches and monasteries. Those who were granted gult right had right to impose labor and other personal services on the local people. The people who were re'uired to pay tribute and render such wide range services were called CgebbarD. Rist gult> hereditary gult right.

RE*I+IONS IN ETHIOPIA
Tra'iti na" Re"i(i ns
This refers to variety of beliefs and practices in Ethiopia. !t is based on different natural phenomena such as the sun moon rivers etc 4 E.g.$ E&anaEs paying tribute to .ahren -god of ?ar/ and belief in supernatural power -?a'a/ among the 1romos. Traditional religions are fused with (hristian and .uslim beliefs by practitioners and practiced till this day.

Christianit&
(hristianity emerged in 6st c ".D in +udea part of Palestine with the teachings of +esus. The teaching included a belief in single )od eternal salvation in heaven. Roman emperors considered (hristianity as threat to their power as it teaches loyalty to +esus against the worship of Roman emperors as lord. "t the beginning (hristianity attracted the poor and the oppressed as it teaches e'uality of men before )od and eternal salvation in heaven. 3ater Roman Emperors (onstantine -5=: > 559/ became (hristian and Theodosius -598 > 58</ declared it as official religion. Roman Empire had two parts -East and ?est/ Rome and (onstantinople that competed for religious power. (onflicts over church rituals language arouse. !n 6A<: the two churches were separated into Roman (atholic and Eastern 1rthodo2 churches. !n 6<69 with the Reformation the western church was split into two Roman (atholic and Protestant church.

The intr '$cti n an' E0pansi n % Christianit& t Ethi pia

Christian r ts

"lthough (hristianity e2isted long before the rule of ;ing E&ana the )reat of the ;ingdom of "2um the religion took a strong foothold when it was declared a state religion in 55A "D. Pinpointing a date as to when (hristianity emerged in Ethiopia is uncertain. The earliest and best known reference to the introduction of (hristianity is in the @ew Testament -"cts 7$=B>57/ when Philip the Evangelist converted an Ethiopian court official in the 6st (entury "D. %cholars however argue that Ethiopian -which in )reek

means Fhaving a dark skin colorF/ was a common term used for black "fricans and that the Gueen (andace served by this official actually ruled in nearby @ubia -modern %udan/. "ccording to church historian @icephorus the apostle %t. .atthew later preached the (hristian )ospel to modern>day Ethiopia -then called (olchis/ after having preached in +udea.

Saint Fr$menti$s
%aint Frumentius was the first *ishop of "ksum -or "2um/ and he is credited with bringing (hristianity to the "ksumite ;ingdom. He was a %yro>Phoenician )reek born in Tyre. "ccording to the :th century historian Rufinus circa 56B ".D. two boys called Frumentius and "edesius accompanied their uncle .etropius on a voyage to Ethiopia. ?hen their ship stopped at one of the harbors of the Red %ea people of the neighborhood massacred the whole crew with the e2ception of the two boys who were taken as slaves to the ;ing of "2um. The two boys soon gained the favor of the king who raised them to positions of trust and shortly before his death gave them their liberty. The widowed 'ueen however prevailed upon them to remain at the court and assist her in the education of the young heir E&ana and in the administration of the kingdom during the prince0s minority. They remained and -especially Frumentius/ used their influence to spread (hristianity. First they encouraged the (hristian merchants present in the country to practice their faith openlyH later they also converted some of the natives. ?hen E&ana came of age "edesius returned to Tyre where he stayed and was ordained a priest. Frumentius on the other hand eager for the conversion of Ethiopia accompanied "edesius as far as "le2andria where he re'uested "thanasius Patriarch of "le2andria to send a bishop and some priests to Ethiopia. *y "thanasius0 own account he believed Frumentius the most suitable person for the ,ob and consecrated him as bishop traditionally in the year 5=7 or according to others between 5:A>5:B. Frumentius returned to Ethiopia erected his Episcopal see at "2um bapti&ed ;ing E&ana who had meanwhile succeeded to the throne built many churches and spread (hristianity throughout Ethiopia. The people called Frumentius ;esate *erhan -Revealer of 3ight/ and "bba %elama -Father of Peace/ and he became the first "bune I a title given to the head of the Ethiopian (hurch.

Christians in c ntemp rar& Ethi pia

(hristianity in Ethiopia dates to the 6st century "D and this long tradition makes Ethiopia uni'ue amongst sub>%aharan "frican countries. (hristianity in this country is divided into several groups. The largest and oldest is the Ethiopian 1rthodo2 Tewahedo (hurch is an 1riental 1rthodo2 church in Ethiopia that was part of the (optic 1rthodo2 (hurch until 68<8 when it was granted its own Patriarch by (optic 1rthodo2 Pope of "le2andria and Patriarch of "ll "frica (yril J!. The only pre>colonial (hristian church of %ub>%aharan "frica the Ethiopian (hurch has a membership of between :A and :< million the ma,ority of whom live in Ethiopia and is thus the largest of all 1riental 1rthodo2 churches. @e2t in si&e are the various Protestant congregations who include 65.9 million Ethiopians. The largest Protestant group is the Ethiopian Evangelical (hurch .ekane Kesus with about < million members. Roman (atholicism has been present in Ethiopia since the 6Bth century and numbers <5B 7=9 believers. !n total (hristians make up about BAL of the total population of the country.

Is"am

Emerged in the .iddle East in the early 9 th century -B6A ".D./ with the teachings of prophet .ohammed who was born in <9A ".D. Pre>!slamic "rabia was politically disunited and "rabs were organi&ed in to clans. "ccording to the teaching there is only one )od and .ohammad is his messenger or prophet and all .uslims are e'ual before )od.

The intr '$cti n an' E0pansi n % Is"am t Ethi pia

Hist r&
.uslims arrived in the "2umite Empire as immigrants from .ecca persecuted by the ruling Guraysh tribe. They were received by the ruler of "2um whom "rabic tradition has named "shama ibn "b,ar and he settled them in @egash located in the Tigray Region. 1n the other hand the principal center of !slamic culture learning and propagation has been Harar in Eastern Ethiopia which according to M@E%(1 is Fconsidered 0the fourth holy city0 of !slam F with 7= mos'ues three of which date from the 6Ath century and 6A= shrines. The Guraysh sent emissaries to bring them back to "rabia but the ;ing of "2um refused their demands. The Prophet himself instructed his followers who came to the "2umite Empire to respect and protect "2um as well as live in peace with the native (hristians. ?hile the city of .edina north of .ecca ultimately became the new home of most of the e2iles from .ecca a 9th>century cemetery e2cavated inside the boundaries of @egash shows the .uslim community survived their departure. !slam later developed more in the coastal regions of the southern horn of "frica particularly among the %omali. This was challenged by the mostly (hristian northern people of "byssinia including "mhara Tigray and north western 1romo. However the north and northeastern e2pansion of the 1romo who practiced mainstream traditional ?a'a affected the growth of !slam in its early days. Historian Mlrich *raukamper says FThe e2pansion of the non>.uslim 1romo people during subse'uent centuries mostly eliminated !slam in those areas.F However following the centrali&ation of some 1romo communities some of them adopted !slam and today constitutes over :AL of their population. !n the 6Bth century .uslims from "dal invaded the Ethiopian Empire under the command "hmad ibn !brihim al>)ha&i.

The First M$a'h'hin

The "byssinian *ilal was one of the foremost companions of .uhammad and the first .ue&&in the caller to prayer.

The First Hi1rah

?hen .ohammed saw the persecution to which his followers were sub,ected to in .ecca he told them to find safe haven in northern Ethiopia "byssinia where they would Ffind a king there who does not wrong anyone.F !t was the first Hi,rah -migration/ in !slam history.

M$s"ims in c ntemp rar& Ethi pia

.uch as the rest of the .uslim world the beliefs and practices of the .uslims in Ethiopia are basically the same$ embodied in the Gur0an and the %unnah. There are also %ufi brotherhoods present in Ethiopia such as the Gaddiriyah order in ?ollo. The most important !slamic religious practices such as the daily ritual

prayers -%alat/ and fasting during the holy month of Ramadan are observed both in urban centers as well as in rural areas among both settled peoples and nomads. @umerous .uslims in Ethiopia perform the pilgrimage to .ecca every year. !n Ethiopia0s .uslim communities as in neighboring %udan and %omalia many of the faithful are associated with but not necessarily members of any specific %ufi order. @evertheless formal and informal attachment to %ufi practices is widespread. The emphasis seems less on the contemplative and disciplined mysticism and more on the concentration of the spiritual powers possessed by certain founders of the orders and the leaders of local branches.

PRE,A2SUMITE STATES
P$nt
1ne of the ancient states of the horn of "frica which e2isted in the third millennium *.(. The e2act location of this state is not known -+ust @orth East "frica/. Had e2tensive trade relations with Egypt.

D3mt
?as a state located south of "ksum. Had trade relations with south "rabia. Msed "dulis port for trade.

A2SUMITE STATE 4-st c. AD 5 6th c. AD7

The first verifiable kingdom of )reat Power to rise in Ethiopia was that of "2um in the 6 st century "D. !t was one of many successor kingdoms to DEmt and was able to unite the northern Ethiopian plateau beginning around the 6st century *(. They established bases on the northern highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau and from there e2panded southward. The Persian religious figure .ani listed "2um with Rome Persia and (hina as one of the four great powers of his time. !nscriptions have been found in southern "rabia celebrating victories over one )DRT described as Fnegashi of Habashat Ni.e. "byssiniaO and of "2um.F (oins showing the royal portrait began to be minted under ;ing Endubis toward the end of the 5rd century.

The Christian A0$mite Empire

(hristianity was introduced into the country by Frumentius who was consecrated first bishop of Ethiopia by %aint "thanasius of "le2andria about 55A. Frumentius converted king E&ana who left several inscriptions detailing his reign both before and after his conversion. 1ne inscription found at "2um states that he con'uered the nation of the *ogos and returned thanks to his father the god .ars for his victory. 3ater inscriptions show king E&ana0s growing attachment to (hristianity and king E&ana0s coins bear this out shifting from a design with disc and crescent to a design with a cross. E2peditions by king E&ana into the ;ingdom of ;ush at .eroe in %udan may have brought about its demise. Toward the close of the <th century a great company of monks known as the @ine %aints are believed to have established themselves in the country. %ince that time monasticism has been a power among the people and not without its influence on the course of events. The "2umite ;ingdom is recorded once again as controlling part P if not all P of Kemen in the B th century. "round <=5 the +ewish king Dhu @uwas came to power in Kemen and announcing that he would kill all the (hristians attacked an "ksumite garrison at Qafar burning the city0s churches. He then attacked the (hristian stronghold of @a,ran slaughtering the (hristians who would not convert. Mpon re'uest of Emperor +ustin ! of the Eastern Roman empire around <=< king ;aleb invaded and defeated Dhu @uwas appointing his (hristian follower %umuafa0 "shawa0 as his viceroy.

The ' wn%a"" % the A0$mite Empire

Details of the "2umite ;ingdom never abundant become even scarcer after this point. The last king known to mint coins is "rmah whose coinage refers to the Persian con'uest of +erusalem in B6:. %ome people believed the end of the "2umite ;ingdom is as much of a mystery as its beginning. 3acking a detailed history the kingdom0s fall has been attributed to a persistent drought overgra&ing deforestation plague a shift in trade routes that reduced the importance of the Red %ea > or a combination of these factors.

THE 8A+WE DYNASTY 4--9:,-/6:7

"fter the downfall of "ksum the Qagwe dynasty took over the political center in northern Ethiopia. This dynasty was the dynasty of the "gaw people. The founder of the dynasty was .era Teklehaimanot around 66<A "D. The "gaw had closer interaction with the "ksumite state. The capital of this dynasty was "defa in 3asta -later renamed 3alibela/. The territorial e2tent included the former highland "ksumite provinces in the north and the present northern %hewa in the south. !n the west it e2tended to the 3ake Tana region. The economy of the Qagwe ;ingdom was based on agriculture and trade. The trade was conducted in two outlets$ The Dahlak !slands on the Red %ea coast and the Qeila port. The Qagwe maintained the cultural traditions of the "ksumite state$ (hristianity continued to be official religion of the state. )ee& was maintained as language of church and writing. The cordial relation with Egypt continued. The tradition of visiting the Holy 3and in Palestine continued.

The Qagwe dynasty is renowned in Ethiopian history for building the monolithic rock>hewn churches. Eleven rock>hewn churches were built during the reign of Emperor 3alibela -668A > 6==</.

The ' wn%a"" % the 8a(we '&nast&

Reasons$ (onflict within the dynasty. Problem of succession among the Qagwe princes. E2ternal opposition to the Qagwe based on the legend of 'ueen %heba according to which all the (hristian kings must trace their descent from .enelik !.

1n the battle field an "mhara chief Kekuno "mlak defeated the last Qagwe ;ing Kitbarek. Then Kekuno "mlak -6=9A "D > 6=7< "D/ declared himself an emperor and restored the %olomonic dynasty.

MEDIE)A* ETHIOPIA 4-/6: AD , -9/;AD7

Rest rati n % S " m nic '&nast&

The %olomonic dynasty which is based on the legend of Gueen %heba was restored by Kekuno "mlak in 6=9A and all Ethiopian monarchs claimed descent from the dynasty until the deposition of Emperor Haile %ellassie ! in 689:.

Characteristics % Me'ie!a" Christian 2in(' m

The kings maintained the political and cultural traditions of "ksum. (hristianity continued to be official religion of the state and e2panded to different areas. The rulers e2ercised both political and religious powers. There was large scale territorial e2pansion of the (hristian kingdom in this period. The (hristian kingdom used a feudal system of administration -gult system/. !n this period the (hristian kingdom had no permanent capital like "ksum and 3alibela-They ruled from mobile capital/. The (hristian kings continued foreign relations with Egypt .iddle East and Europe. The Europeans had interest to build alliances with Ethiopia at that time because they were engaged in crusades with .uslim rulers of Palestine. Europeans had reports of stronger (hristian king in the east -Ethiopia/ and the tradition of priest +ohn of the !ndies who could assist Europeans to fight the .uslim rulers of the .iddle East developed. There were continuous conflicts between (hristian and .uslim states in this period over the control of the eastern trade.

The M$s"im States in Ethi pia '$rin( the Me'ie!a" Peri '
%ince the beginning of 7th century !slam spread in Ethiopia and the horn. %ince then many .uslim communities and states had been established along the main trade route from Qeila to the interior. The earliest one was the .uslim sultanate of %hewa founded around 78B by those who claimed descent from the .akh&umite clan of %outh "rabia. They founded the .akh&umite dynasty. Yi%at was another .uslim sultanate founded by Mmar ?alasma who established the ?alasma dynasty. !t was the importance of these .uslim states in the 65 th century which controlled the main trade route from Qeila in to central provinces of "mhara and %hewa. 1ther .uslim states include Fatagar -%outh ?est of Kifat/ Dawro -between "wash and ?abishebele/ *ale -south of ?abishebele/ and Hadya -?est of *ale and Dawro/.

Characteristics % the M$s"im States

The economy of these states was based on agriculture and trade. They were ruled by a local elite group. The internal organi&ation and administration structure of these states seem to have been generally similar to central (hristian state. 3ike the (hristian kings the .uslim rulers e2ercised both secular and religious powers.

The .uslim rulers were also hereditary rulers.

N te$ > *y 655= during the reign of warrior king "mdetsion -r. 656: > 65::/ the (hristian state had
incorporated all these states as tributary states. This domination of (hristian state over the .uslim states continued until the end of the 6Bth century. Dynastic marriages were also used as a means to smooth the relations between the (hristian highland state and the .uslim states. The (hristian kings like Qaraya'ob his successor *eide .aryam and 3ebna Dengel were married to Hadyia princesses. The .uslim states were important for the (hristian kingdom because of their rich natural resources and also because they were located on the trade route from Qeila to interior pass way. "fter the destruction of "dulis port by "rabs Qeila became the main out let for e2ternal trade.

C n%"icts <etween the M$s"im an' Christian states

The whole period of medieval Ethiopian history was characteri&ed by conflict between (hristian and .uslim states. The need to control the Qeila trade route became the main source of conflict between the two states. From the 6:th century onwards .uslim resistance against the (hristian kingdom begun to revive with the emergence of the .uslim sultanate of "dal in Harar. "dal was established by the descendants of the ?alasma ruling family of Kifat. %o the center of .uslim resistance was shifted from Kifat to Harar. This resistance was led by Ha'adin !! and later by %abradin who descended from the ?alasma dynasty. *oth were defeated by "mdetsion as mentioned in the account named CThe glorious victories of AmdetsionD. The sultanate of "dal coordinated the whole lowland communities to rebel against the (hristian rule. The (hristian kings Dawit -r. 657A>6:6=/ and Kisha' -r. 6:65>6:5A/ made unsuccessful campaigns against "dal. Emperor Qaraya'ob -r.6:5:>6:B7/ defeated and killed the ruler of "dal %ultan "hmed *adley. "nother .uslim leader Emir .ahfou& also died in the 6<69 fighting with 3ibne Dengel. The (hristian dominance continued until Emperor 3ibne Dengel -r. 6<A7>6<:A/ who was defeated in late 6<=As. !n 6<=As "hmed !bn !brahim "ligha& -)ragn/ became the leader of "dal. He was able to rally the lowland populations against the (hristian kingdom. "hmed !bn !brahim defeated the (hristian king 3ibne Dengel at the battle of %himbra ;ure in 6<=8.

Internati na" 'imensi n % the c n%"ict

1ttoman Turks and Portuguese were engaged in a struggle for supremacy over the Red sea and !ndian 1cean. The Portuguese sought the alliance of the (hristian kingdom of Ethiopia. The Portuguese sent about :AA soldiers led by (hristopher Da )ama -the youngest son of Jasco Da )ama/ to help the (hristian kingdom led by )elawdewos -r. 6<:A>6<<8/. The 1ttoman Turks also supported the .uslim army. Finally in 6<:5 with the support from Portugal the (hristian army defeated the .uslim army at the battle of ?oina Dega. "hmad )ragn was also killed at this battle.

Ma1 r P p$"ati n M !ements

-.

P p$"ati n M !ements % the A%ar an' S ma"is

This was begun before the 1romos population movements at about 6<== "D. The "far and the %omalis movement were from southeastern parts of Ethiopia towards the Harar plateau. This movement was caused by drought famine and land pressures. The ob,ective of this population movement was to occupy new territories. This population movement had strengthened the sultanate of "dal and helped "hmad !bn !brahim -)ragn/ to win the (hristian kingdom.

/.

The Or m P p$"ati n M !ements

The original place of the 1romos is believed to be in the %outh eastern highlands -east of the Rift Jalley lakes/. *efore their movement the 1romos were grouped around tribal confederacies. The two most important confederacies were the *arentu and the *orena. *efore their movement the 1romo practiced a mi2ture of sedentary agriculture and pastoralism. !n terms of their social and political organi&ation the 1romo had an age grade system known as the )ada.

Ca$ses % r the Or m p p$"ati n m !ements

The wars of late 6<th and early 6Bth centuries have put pressure on the 1romos. (limatic changes in their area. The need to ac'uire new territories as the number of people is increasing.

The +a'a s&stem

)ada refers to a system whereby age>sets succeed each other every eight years in carrying out political and military functions. The transfer of power was marked by a military campaign in to a new territory. This was the *uta ceremony which combines a ,oyous occasion of feasting and singings as well as a campaign where by the age set due to assume power. This ceremony had important implications for the successful military campaigns that carried the 1romo through much of Ethiopia. "ccording to the )ada system the male members of an 1romo tribal community were divided in to generation sets and gada grades. Each age grade lasted for a period of eight years. )ada classes succeed each other every eight years. People moved from one age grade to the other as they advanced in age. ?hile the gada cycle normally consisted of ten grades the first five are important age grades -period of :A years/ when the 1romo youth were trained to assume leadership of the community. The first five gada grades are described as follows$ Daballe Folle Gondalla Raba Dori for (hildren aged 6>7 years 7>6B years 6B>=: years =:>5= years 5=>:A years

The si2th age grade is stage of political social military and ritual leadership. The main decision making body in the )ada system is the gada assembly known as the (haffe. "ll power ultimately

emanated from this assembly. The gada system is egalitarian and the head of the assembly is elected democratically among the gada age grade. The head of the assembly had the title of "bba *oku or "bba )ada. The military leader -"ba Dula/ was also elected by the assembly. !n the )ada system there is peaceful transfer of power from one gada class to the other every eight years. Factors for the success of the 1romo Their socio>political organi&ation. The mutual e2haustion of both the (hristian kingdom and .uslim sultanates by the wars of 6<=8>6<:5. Their mechanism for the adoption of subdued people. The adoption had both collective and individual forms. "doption of individual by a clan is moggassa while the adoption of a child by a foster parent was known as guddifecha. (onse'uences of the 1romo population movement. The .uslim power came to be confined to the walled city of Harar. The wall was constructed by Emir @ur to defend the city from the 1romo. The (hristian ;ingdom lost most of its territories and established its center in Dembiya -@orth of 3ake Tana/. %ome medieval kingdoms such as *i&amo and Damot disappeared. (ultural assimilation of the 1romos with other peoples.

CATHO*ICISM AND THE CHRISTIAN 2IN+DOM

The 6Bth century witnessed the first significant contact between Ethiopia and Europe. The legend of Priest +ohn of the !ndies had played significant role in this relation. !n 6<=A the Portuguese sent an official mission to the court of the (hristian kingdom. (atholic missionaries known as the +esuits -the %ociety of +esus/ came to Ethiopia in 6<<9. The society was one of the products of the (ounter Reformation -the movement within the (atholic (hurch to withstand the challenge of protestant reformation/. These missionaries came to Ethiopia to convert the Ethiopians to (atholicism. They tried to convert the (hristian Emperors. Their attempt to convert Emperor )elawdewos -r. 6<:A>6<<8/ failed. However they succeeded with %usenyos -r 6BA9>6B5=/ who accepted (atholicism in 6B6=. %usenyos was attracted to the +esuits not so much by their catholic faith as by the prospect of getting arms from the Portuguese. He also admired the organi&ation and discipline of the +esuits. These were the 'ualities that he needed to revitali&e the monarchy which had been seriously undermined by the wars of )ragn and the attendant insubordination of the nobility. "s the clergy had tended to side with the nobility %usenyos found in the +esuits an alternative ideological support. !t was such considerations that moved %usenyos to embrace (atholicism and try to impose it on the country as a whole. !n 6B== %usenyos declared (atholicism as official and state religion of Ethiopia. That involved the prohibition of circumcision and the observance of the %abbath. !t also meant re>baptism and lifting the food restrictions and rigorous fasting of the 1rthodo2 faith. *ecause of this %usenyos faced widespread rebellion from the nobility peasantry and clergy. Reali&ing the effects of the opposition %usenyos handed over power to his son Fasiledes -r. 6B5=>6BB9/. Fasiledes restored the 1rthodo2 faith and e2pelled the +esuits from Ethiopia. This brought to an end a period of EthiopiaEs intimate contacts with Europe. Ethiopia closed her door to all Europeans and everything European until the beginning of 68th century. During this period of closed door policy Ethiopia had good relations with the traditionally hostile .uslim neighbours on both sides of the Red %ea.

ARTS AND CRAFTS

"s a region which has witnessed the emergence and consolidation of successive civili&ations Ethiopia and the Horn of "frica has hosted considerable advances in arts and crafts.

*efore "ksum the temple of Keha represented a high level of architectural achievement. %ome of the achievements from the "ksumite civili&ation are$ building technology -such as palaces giant stelae which served as tombstones monuments with inscriptions in )ee& )reek and %abean languages minting of coins from bron&e silver gold. The introduction of (hristianity during "ksum gave rise to the construction of churches of high architectural merit and to religious art music and the carving of elaborated crosses The works of Kared -the father of 1rthodo2 liturgy who lived in the B th century/ the monastery of Debre Damo -founded in the < th century/ monolithic churches of 3alibela and the )onderine architectural forms. The )onderine period brought these artistic traditions to its height. The castles which were built by a succession of )onderine kings beginning from Fasiledes are ma,or indicators of this achievement. Mnlike the monolithic churches of the late "ksumite and Qagwe periods these buildings were erected with the use of mortar. The )onderine period was noted not only for its castles but also for its bridges and numerous churches. !n addition to the contribution of (hristianity to the artistic development there were also some representatives of !slamic architecture for instance in the ?alled (ity of Harar the Palace of "ba +ifar in +imma and the shrine of %heikh Hussein in *ale. The southern peoples of Ethiopia have also left us a fine tradition of art and crafts. E2amples include the wood carvings of ;onso the elaborate and colorful weaving skills of the Dor&e and the ?olayta the artistic houses of the Dor&e and the )urage. 1ne ma,or challenge that has impeded the advancement of secular crafts and technical skills has been the fact that in much of the highland Ethiopia craftsmen were a despised class and in many cases social outcast. The Felashas in @orthern Ethiopia the Fuga in )urage ;embata and Hadya the ?eyto in many parts of Ethiopia are few e2amples. "s a result of these discriminations crafts and technology could not fully reali&e their potentials and attain higher level of development.

THE +ONDERINE PERIOD AND THE 8EMENE MESAFINT

"fter he e2pelled the +esuits from Ethiopia Emperor Fasiledes established )ondar as his capital around 6B5B. ?ith that the medieval tradition of ruling from mobile capitals ended and )onder became capital of Ethiopia like "ksum and "defa -3alibela/. )ondar remained a permanent seat of imperial power until the middle of the 68th century. The selection of )ondar as a capital was partly

because of its commercial importance as it is located on the long>distance trade linking the southern regions to .assawa on the Red %ea coast and .etemma on the %udan border. The city was densely populated. Prostitution and the payment of cash for domestic service were started in the city. " significant .uslim population engaged mostly on trading and weaving resided in a separate 'uarter known as "ddis "lem. "nother 'uarter was reserved for the Felashas who dominated the crafts. )ondar also had a significant foreign community consisting of "rmenians )reeks and !ndians. )ondar e2perienced its period of glory and splendor during the first three kings$ Fasiledes -r. 6B5=>6BB9/ Kohannes ! -r.6BB9>6B7=/ and !yasu ! -r.6B7=>69AB/. The assassination of !yasu marked the beginning of a period of instability that lasted for nearly two decades. Thereafter the monarchy could not regain its former prestige and power. )ondar declined as political center because of political disorder military weakness. )ondar was also noted for the relative sophistication of its ruling class who led a life of leisure. )ondarEs court life was also marked by what has come to be known as *y&antine politics -a life of intrigues and poisoning of mutinies and assassination/. The period from 69=7 to 69B7 is dominated by !tegue .entwab who came to the )onderine court as wife of king *akaffa -r.69=6>695A/. ?hen *akaffa died in 695A their young son ascended to the throne as !yasu !! -r.695A>69<</. The Gueen -.entwab/ e2ercised power in her sonEs name. !n 695= she appointed her brother Ras ?elde>3eul to the most powerful and prestigious post of Ras *itweded. ?hen !yasu !! died in 69<< she and ?elde>3eul continued to rule by putting on the throne her grandson !yoas -r. 69<<>69B8/. !n 69B9 Ras *itweded ?elde>3eul died. From 69B9 to 69B8 there was power struggle in )ondar between groups of ?ollo -represented by ?ubit the wife of !yasu !!/ and Guara -represented by .entwab/. .entwab had given a power base to the ?ollo 1romo by arranging political marriage between her son !yasu !! and ?abi from the 1romo family. Her intention was to secure the military support from ?ollo to consolidate her own power. )radually the ?ollo 1romo began to play leading political role. This endangered .entwab and she invited Ras .ichael %ehul powerful lord in Tigray. Ras .ichael %ehul became Ras *itweded and killed !yoas in 69B8. "fter this the period of 8emene Mesa%int -69B8>67<</ was started and the prestige and authority of the monarch declined. "lso the post of Ras *itweded became important. From then on the regional rulers begun to compete for the possession of the post of Ras *itweded to influence the )onderine monarch. From 69B8 to 6996 .ichael %ehul became kingmaker. He enthroned and dethroned different kings such as Kohannes !! Teklehaimanot. *ecause of this .ichael %ehul was opposed by the regional warlords of )o,am ?ollo and 3asta who defeated him at the battle of %abarkusa in 6996. However the tradition of making and unmaking kings continued after .ichael %ehul. !n 697B "li )uangul -"li !/ member of the Ke,,u 1romo family founded a new dynasty known as the Ke,,u dynasty or the ?arasheh. This dynasty dominated the imperial politics until the middle of 68 th century. .embers of this dynasty made Debre Tabor their base and ruled from there. The Ke,,u dynasty strengthened its power during its strongest ruler Ras )ugsa -r. 67A5>67=</ who managed to secure the submission of the lords of )o,am ?ollo 3asta %emien ?ogera and Dembiya. The two important provinces that were not fully under the control of the ?arasheh dynasty were %hewa and Tigray.

%hewa continued to lead a more or less independent e2istence. %hewaEs most powerful ruler %ahile %ellassie -6765>67:9/ assumed the title of @egus. Ras ?olde %ellassie of Tigray also challenged the ?arasheh hegemony. "fter the death of Ras )ugsa in 67=< the ?arasheh dynasty faced series of challenges from %emien )o,am Dembiya and Tigray. This dynasty came to an end in 67<5 when its last ruler "li !! was defeated by ;assa Hailu -Emperor Tewodros/ at the battle of "yshal.

Re"i(i $s 'isp$tes within the rth ' 0 %aith

The political power struggle of the Qemene .esafint had an ideological dimension. The priests in the church were engaged in doctrinal debates. The controversy had its roots to the teachings of +esuits during )onderine period. The controversy was over the nature of (hrist. The +esuits had propagated the catholic doctrine of two different natures of (hrist the divine and the human. The doctrinal controversies were usually subsumed under the two Hulet 3idet and %ost 3idet. The Tewahedo represented Hulet 3idet. Different rulers tried to resolve these doctrinal disputes but failed because the different doctrines had come to be associated with particular regions.

Characteristics % 8emene Mesa%int

!mperial power was dominated by regional war lords. ?eaker monarchs. Endless civil wars. Doctrinal controversies in the 1rthodo2 (hurch. !mpoverishment of the peasantry. )ondar declined as political and cultural center. The development of trade was also affected because of insecurity.

THE STATES OF SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

.any states flourished in the southern parts of Ethiopia and the Horn of "frica. %ome of these states emerged before the )onderine period and others during the )onderine period. These states had virtual independence from the north. The historical developments for some of these states are described below.

-.

The Om tic States

These states were located around the 1mo River. The ma,or states in this group include 2e%%a and W "a&ta.

2e%%a$ emerged in 6:th century and come to prominence in 69th century. !t was ruled by members of the
.in,o dynasty. !t had close contact with the medieval kingdom of Enarya from which ;effa got its royal title Tato as well as (hristianity. "lthough (hristianity spread among the ruling elite the masses continued to practice a traditional religion. Economically enset constituted the staple diet of the population. The natural wealth of the kingdom made possible a prosperous trade with the 1romo states of the )ibe region. The ma,or items of trade were ivory tusk coffee honey gold slaves. Politically the authority of the Tato was moderated by a powerful council of advisors known as the Mikrecho. The ;ingdom had a very good defense mechanism against invasion. The )o,eb River and a strong tradition of digging defensive trenches and fences contributed to the survival of the ;ingdom as independent state. Finally it was Emperor .enelik !! who con'uered ;effa and captured the last king of the kingdom )aki %erocho in 6789.

W "a&ta$ the origins of this state go back to the medieval state of Damot which was con'uered by
"mdetsion. ;ing .otalami -who was converted to (hristianity by "buna Teklehaimanot in 65 th century/ is traditionally referred as the founder of ?olayta state. His dynasty known as the ?olayta .alla was succeeded by another dynasty of northern origin known as CTegreD in 6< th century. Economically it was a prosperous state which enabled it to e2ercise a prominent influence in the eastern 1mo region among both 1motic and (ushitic speaking peoples. The kings were known by the title of Kawo and they were assisted by a class of warriors the goqa. ;awo Tona was the last independent king of ?olayta state who was defeated and captured by Emperor .enelik !! in 678:.

/.

The Or m M narchies

Two groups of 1romo monarchies emerged towards the end of the 67 th and the beginning of 68th centuries$ The +i<e states and the *e=a states.

The +i<e states$ were clustered around the )ibe River. The earliest of these states was 3immu>Enarya
which was founded over the remains of the medieval kingdom of Enarya. !t controlled the long distance trade as a result of its strategic location. !t attained the height of its power during the period of "ba *aggibo -!bsa/ who ruled from 67=< to 67B6. Towards the mid 68th century it was replaced by a new state +imma. +imma became popular under the rule of "bba +ifar. +imma submitted to .enelik !! in 6776 under its ruler "ba +ifar -r. 679<>685:/ but +imma survived as an autonomous state until 685:. 1ther )ibe states that emerged at about the same time were$ )umma )omma and )era.

The *e=a States$ in the present day ?ollega a similar process of state formation took place among the
3e'a 1romo. Two powerful states that emerged in the early 68th century were 3e'a @e'amte -founded by *akare and e2panded under .oroda and ;umsa/ and 3e'a Gellam -founded by Tulu and +ote/.

>.

The Shewan 2in(' m

%hewa had been the center of the medieval (hristian state. *ecause of the wars of "hmed )ragn and the 1romo e2pansion of the 6Bth century the centre of imperial power moved to the north and %hewa was marginali&ed. The .en& ruler @egasi was able to establish a dynasty which reached its peak of power under %ahile %ellassie -grandfather of .enelik !!/. %hewa under %ahile %ellassie attracted a number of foreign travelers. !n 67:6 the *ritish sent an official mission which concluded a Ctreaty of friendship and commerceD with the king.

?.

The Harar Emirate

Harar continued to serve as the capital of the ?alasma rulers until 6<99 when they were forced to move to "wsa as a result of the pressure of the 1romo who had begun to occupy the Harar plateau. !t was at this time that the Harar wall was built to defend the city from the 1romo. Towards the mid 69thcentury its ruler Emir "li ibn Daud -r. 6B:9>6BB=/ founded a dynasty that ruled for two and half centuries. The emirate of Harar continued to serve as a strong center of !slamic culture and political power. Trade links marriage alliances and the spread of !slamic teaching all helped the establishment of Harari hegemony over the surrounding 1romo and %omali. %ince 679< Harar was occupied by the Egyptians for about a decade. The local Harari Emir "bdullahi revived the Harari dynasty between 677< and 677B. Harar was finally incorporated in to .enelikEs Empire in 6779.

9.

The shei@' ms % the Ethi ,S$'anese B r'er"an'

" number of sheikdoms were established through a parallel process super>imposition of "rabic speaking mercantile families of %udanese origin over the *erta and )umu& inhabitants of the region. *y virtue of their rich gold deposits and the %udanese origin of the ruling class the region attracted first the Egyptian and then .ehadists penetration. Finally the region became part of Ethiopia in 6789.

E+YPTIAN EAPANSION
The %irst phase % e0pansi n
The first phase of e2pansion was started by .uhammad "li and continued by his successors. This e2pansion came from the west. !n 67=6 .uhammad "liEs troops overrun the Fun,i ;ingdom of %ennar. %ince then Egyptians ruled %udan until the .ehadists revolution of 6776. "fter the occupation of northern and central %udan the Egyptians pushed on towards the Eastern boarders. This brought them into confrontation with Ethiopians on three frontsH in the %emien in the .etemma area and further south in the sheikdoms of north>western ?ollega. De,ach ?ube in %emien and De,ach ;infu in Dembiya resisted the Egyptian aggression. De,ach ;infu defeated the Egyptians at the battle of ?ad

;altabu in 6759. During this phase due to the weakness of the imperial power the local chiefs and peoples along the Ethio>%udanese border were responsible to check the Egyptian e2pansion. ;assa Hailu -half brother of ;infu/ also continued the struggle with Egyptians whom he referred the CTurksD. The Egyptians defeated ;assa Hailu -Tewodros/ at the battle of Debar' in 67:7. ;assaEs enduring interest in military organi&ation and modern arms was born in this battle.

The sec n' phase % e0pansi n 4-B6-,-B6C7

This e2pansion came from the East in the Red %ea direction under the Egyptian ruler ;hedive !smail Pasha. !n 67:7 Egypt occupied .assawa claiming to be the legitimate successor to 1ttoman Turks. "lthough the 1ttoman Turks occupied the Red %ea port since 6<<9 they had e2ercised little effective control over the region in the following centuries. They only ruled indirectly through their agents. The Egyptian leader during this phase ;hedive !smail had the ambition of building an empire that had complete control of the waters of the @ile. "s the source of the *lue @ile Ethiopia became an important target of this e2pansion. The agent who put !smailEs policy into effect was the %wiss born adventurer ?erner .un&inger. .un&inger launched the penetration of the Ethiopian interior with the occupation of *ogos -;eren in present day Eritrea/ in 679=. "t this time the Ethiopian Emperor was Kohannes !J -r. 679=>6778/. He sent diplomatic mission to European powers re'uesting their support against the Egyptian occupation of Ethiopian territory. *ut Europeans support did not come to Emperor Kohannes !J. !smail ,ustified his e2pansion by saying that the e2pansion was to promote western civili&ation and to eradicate slavery and slave trade in the region. !n 679< Egyptian aggression to Ethiopia came in three fronts$ !n south>eastern direction a force led by RaEuf Pasha occupied Harar -pretending to be on a scientific mission/. !n the northeastern direction from Tad,oura -in present day D,ibouti/ .un&inger led Egyptian penetration in the direction of %hewa. This force was defeated by "far people and .un&inger himself was killed. !n the north from .assawa Egyptian army led by Danish (olonel "rendrup penetrated to Ethiopian interior.

The Egyptian aggression in the northern direction was the most serious one. *ut Emperor Kohannes !J of Ethiopia was still hoping for European diplomatic intervention but that did not work. "t the battle of )undet in 679< -@ovember/ Egyptians were defeated by Ethiopians led by Emperor Kohannes !J. The Egyptian to Ethiopia came again in .arch 679B with better organi&ation led by .uhammad Ratib Pasha and "merican )eneral 3oring. "gain the Egyptians were defeated by Ethiopians at the battle of )ura.

The A%termath % +$ra

Ethiopia and Egypt did not make conclusive peace agreement after the battle of )ura. Egyptians re'uested Emperor Kohannes !J to return the arms captured from the battles and to free prisoners of war. Emperor Kohannes !J released the prisoners of war but refused to the captured weapons. Emperor Kohannes !J sent an envoy *latta )ebre Eg&iabher to (airo to transmit his conditions for peace$ restoration of *ogos -;eren/ and free access to the sea. Egyptians detained the envoy. Egypt agreed to free trade with Ethiopia but Egypt was not willing to restore Ethiopian territories. !n 6799 ;hedive !smail of Egypt sent the *ritish )eneral )ordon to Ethiopia to negotiate on behalf of Egypt. *ut this also failed because )ordon was not prepared to make any significant concessions either on the 'uestion of the restoration of *ogos -;eren/ or that of a sea outlet for Ethiopia.

The Hewett Treat& an' the Ethi ,Meha'ists c n%"ict

Emperor +ohannesEs re'uest for peace was reali&ed only in 677: as a result of two important developments. First in 6776 the .ehadists movement against the Egyptian rule was started in %udan. %econd in 677= Egypt was occupied by the *ritish. %o *ritain intervened on behalf of Egypt. The concern of the *ritish was the evacuation of Egyptian troops that had been trapped in eastern %udan following the .ehadists movement. The only way to evacuate them was across the Ethiopian territory and then through the Red sea. !n 677: the *ritish sent their envoy Rear "dmiral ?illiam Hewett to Ethiopia to negotiate with Emperor Kohannes !J in the name of *ritain and Egypt. Then a treaty which was also known as Hewett treaty -after the *ritish negotiator/ was signed on +une 5 677:. "ccording to Hewett treaty Emperor Kohannes !J of Ethiopia agreed to facilitate the evacuation of Egyptian troops trapped in Eastern %udan. !n return the *ritish agreed to restore *ogos -;eren/ to Ethiopia and to give Ethiopia free use of the port of .assawa. Emperor Kohannes of Ethiopia assisted the process of evacuation of Egyptian troops through Ethiopian territory. ?ith that Ethiopia entered in to series of conflicts with .ehadists$ Ras "lula defeated the .ehadists at ;ufi in 677<. Ras )obena defeated the .ehadists at )ute Dili in 6777. !n the direction of )ondar the .ehadists raided )ondar in 6777. !n 6778 Emperor Kohannes !J of Ethiopia was killed by .ehadists at the battle of .etemma but the .ehadists did not proceed with their victory and they left Ethiopia.

"ccording to the Hewett treaty the *ritish restored *ogos -;eren/ to Ethiopia. However the 'uestion of free use of the port of .assawa remained unresolved. !n 677< *ritain invited !taly to take control of the Port of .assawa instead of returning it to Ethiopia. The *ritish did this in order to stop the possible French occupation to that area.

EMPEROR TEWODROS II 4r.-B99,-BCB7

*efore he was crowned Emperor ;assa Hailu defeated powerful warlords of Qemene .esafint between 67<= and 67<<. He defeated De,ach )oshu of )o,am at )ur "mba in @ovember 67<=. He defeated *iru "ligha& and other warlords at the battle of )orgora *ichen in "pril 67<5. He defeated Ras "li !! -the last ruler of ?arasheh dynasty/ at "yshal in +une 67<5. He defeated De,ach ?ube of %emien and Tigray at the battle of Deresghe in February 67<<.

Mnlike his predecessors during the Qemene .esafint Tewodros !! -the former ;assa Hailu/ had the intention to restore the imperial power and wanted to become a ruler of an empire that is united. !n order to achieve this Emperor Tewodros had taken many reform measures some of which include$

He tried to create religious unity. He declared the 1rthodo2 Tewahedo as official faith and e2pelled the leader of (atholics in Ethiopia -De +acobis/. He tried to create a centrali&ed state by con'uering the different independent and semi>independent regional rulers. He tried to establish a national salaried army. He also introduced a hierarchy of command in his army. He planned to manufacture modern arms in Ethiopia by bringing in skilled craftsmen from Europe.

The ' wn%a"" % Emper r Tew 'r s II

Finally TewodrosEs restoring the imperial power failed and his period ended in 67B7 because of internal and e2ternal factors. Different regional lords fought against his centrali&ation idea. He entered into conflict with the clergy due to his plan of redistributing church lands. He also imprisoned the bishop "buna %elama in 67B:. This antagoni&ed the mass. Tewodros entered in to conflict with Europeans because they did not respond to his re'uest for skilled technicians. *ecause of this he imprisoned some Europeans. Then the *ritish military e2pedition led by )eneral Robert @apier came to Ethiopia and defeated the army of Tewodros !! at the battle of Eroghe on "pril 6A 67B7. Then Tewodros committed suicide on "pril 65 67B7.

N te$ "lthough TewodrosE policy of strengthening imperial authority failed the idea of strong imperial
power that he initiated survived after his death. There was no return to the period of Qemene .esafint. "ll the three power contenders after him -?ag %hum )obe&e )ebremedhin of 3asta Ras ;assa .ircha of Tigray and @egus .enelik of %hoa/ wanted to become emperor over a politically united empire. !mmediately after the death of Tewodros !! ?ag %hum )obe&e )ebremedhin of 3asta took the throne and became emperor Tekle )iyorgis -r. 67B7>6796/. !n 6796 Ras ;assa .ircha of Tigray defeated emperor Tekle )iyorgis at the battle of "ssem in Tigray. Then ;assa .ircha became emperor Kohannes !J of Ethiopia -r. 679=>6778/.

THE PERIOD OF EMPEROR YOHANNES I) 4-B6/,-BB;7

"s successor to Tewodros !! Kohannes inherited regional opposition and foreign threats. Mnlike Tewodros Kohannes did not persist with the use of force for building imperial authority. !nstead he recogni&ed the local hereditary chiefs as long as they accepted him as overlord and paid him annual tribute. %o he shared power with local rulers. The local rulers of %hoa -.enelik/ and )o,am -Teklehaimanot/ were recogni&ed as kings.

The *iche Treat&

%ince the death of Tewodros .enelik was competing for the throne. He did not recogni&e Kohannes as an emperor and .enelik called himself as king of kings. .enelik had also foreign contacts with the states like *ritain France Egypt !taly and he imports fire arms from these countries. .enelik and Kohannes !J signed 3iche treaty in 6797 in %hoa near "nkober. ?ith the treaty Kohannes secured peaceful submission of .enelik. .enelik also agreed to pay annual tribute to Kohannes to drop the title C;ing of ;ingsD and to use only the title king to stop independent contacts with foreigners. 1n his part Emperor Kohannes recogni&ed king .enelik and his descendants as hereditary rulers of %hoa. He also accepted .enelikEs control over %hoa.

!n spite of the 3iche treaty .enelik continued to be a threat to Kohannes$ he continued his secret contacts with foreigners and he continued e2pansion of his %hoan territories. !n 677= .enelikEs army from %hoa led by Ras )obena was e2panding in the southwestern direction. "t the same time the army of )o,am under De,a&mach Dereso was e2panding in the same direction. The two forces fought at the battle of Embabo on +une B 677= on which the army of )o,am -Teklehaimanot/ was defeated by .enelikEs army. Kohannes punished both$ he took ;effa and "gaw .idir from Teklehaimanot and ?ollo from .enelik. Kohannes also arranged political marriage between .enelikEs daughter Qewditu and his son Ras "raya %ellassie.

B r$ Me'a c $nci"
!n .ay 6797 Kohannes called a religious council at *oru .eda in ?ollo to solve religious problem. "t the end of the council Kohannes declared the 1rthodo2 Tewahedo faith as the only official doctrine. He also declared that all .uslims should become (hristians. The two prominent converts were .ohammed "li who became .ikael and "hmed 3iben who became Haile .ariam.

Ita"ian A((ressi n '$rin( Emper r Y hannes I)

"fter their occupation of .assawa in677< !talians started gradually to move into Ethiopian interior. The governor of .ereb .elash "lula Engida or "bba @egga defeated the !talians at the battle of Dogali on +an =< 6779. To revenge this defeat the !talians first they strengthened their force at .assawa second they started to look for local collaborators against Kohannes and third they needed *ritish support. The *ritish intervened by sending a negotiator )erald Portal in @ovember 6779 called the portal mission. The portal mission asked Kohannes to apologi&e for "lulaEs Cun,ustD attack on !talians at Dogali but Kohannes refused this and the portal mission failed. !talians tried to get the support of strong local regional lord .enelik of %hewa. They wanted .enelik to fight Kohannes from south. *ut .enelik refused this and he signed treaty of neutrality with !talians in 1ctober 6779. ?ith that .enelik promised to remain neutral in the fight between Kohannes and !talians on condition that they would not take Ethiopian territory. Emperor +ohannesEs effort to solve the problem diplomatically failed. "s a result he declared war on !talians and he marched to %aati in .arch 6777. *ut !talians refused to come out of their fort to fight with Ethiopians. .eanwhile Kohannes heard about .ehadists invasion of )ondar and rebellion of .enelik -%hewa/ and Teklehaimanot -)o,am/. (onse'uently he came to south and got the submission of Teklehaimanot then he went to fight with .ehadists and he died fighting in .etemma on .arch 8 6778.

THE PERIOD OF EMPEROR MENE*I2 4-BB;,-;->7

.enelik was the king of %hewa and main contender to power during the period of Kohannes. "fter the death of Kohannes .enelik declared himself Emperor. The period of formation of modern Ethiopian Empire was completed during .enelik. .enelik had already begun territorial e2pansion towards the southern south>western and south>eastern regions of Ethiopia when he was king of %hewa. "fter he became Emperor .enelik continued territorial e2pansion. The Territorial e2pansion under .enelik can be divided into three phases$

First Phase 4-B69,-BB;7

During this phase .enelik con'uered )uraghe !llubabor ?ollega )ibe %tates "rsi and Harar. "rsi resisted but defeated at the battle of "&ule in 677B. The .usil )urage resisted led by Hassen En,amo but defeated in 6777. Harar resisted but defeated at the battle of (helengo in +anuary 6779.

Sec n' Phase 4-BB;,-B;C7

During this phase .enelik con'uered ?olayta *ale -other than *orena/. ?olayta under ;awo Tona resisted .enelik but defeated in 678:. The e2pansion coincided with the )reat Ethiopian Famine known as ;ifu Gen caused by cattle epidemics.

Thir' Phase 4-B;C,-;::7

The motive for territorial e2pansion during this phase was to demarcate boundary between Ethiopia and neighbouring colonial powers. During this phase .enelik con'uered 1gaden "ssosa )ambella *enishangul *orena and ;effa. ;effa resisted led by Tato )aki %erocho but defeated in 6789. The present shape and si&e of Ethiopia is the result of territorial e2pansion carried out by .enelik and demarcation of Ethiopian boundaries with neighboring colonial powers.

A'ministrati n in the c n=$ere' areas

.enelik used both forceful sub,ugation and peaceful submission. .enelik followed different types of administration in different areas. Peacefully submitted areas were saved from raids and 'uartering and of neftegnas. !n those areas local rulers kept positions. !n those areas submitted by force locals were looted and in some cases were forced to flee. !n these areas .enelik appointed his own representatives known as neftegnas$ Tesemma -!llubabor/ ?olde )iorgis -;effa/ and Ras .ekonnen -Harar/. @eftegna>)ebbar relationship developed in those areas between the locals and the appointed rulers.

W$cha""e treat&
This treaty was signed between Emperor .enelik !! of Ethiopia and !talians in 6778. The treaty has created conflict between .enelik and the !talians. The main controversial issue in the treaty was article 69 -RJ!!/. This article has different meanings in "mharic and !talian language. "mharic version of the article says .enelik could use !taly in his contact with foreign countries. !talian version of the article says .enelik must use !taly in his contact with foreign countries. !n 678A !taly declared Eritrea as its colony. They used this as a stepping for their occupation of Ethiopia. .enelik refused to accept the ?uchalle treaty and publicly abrogated the treaty in 6785. The !talians secured the agreement of almost all European powers e2cept Russia.

Mere< C n!enti n
!n this convention Ras .engesha Kohannes -heir of Kohannes/ e2pressed their solidarity with !talians in 6786 but later they changed their decision. !n Eritrea there was peasant uprising in "kale )u&ay led by De,a&mach *ahta Hagos.

A'wa Batt"e
*efore "dwa Ethiopians led by Fitawrari )ebeyehu and !talians fought at "mbalage in December 678<. !talians were defeated in this battle. *etween +anuary 9 and =6 678B !talians were also defeated "t .ekelle. Finally the !talians were defeated by Ethiopians at the battle of "dwa on .arch 6 678B.

"fter the Ethiopians victory at "dwa the treaty of "ddis "baba was signed between Ethiopia and !taly on 1ctober =B 678B. "ccording to this treaty the ?uchalle treaty was void. "lso it recogni&ed the absolute independence of Ethiopia. The treaty marked the !talian occupation of Eritrea. EthiopiaEs boundary with Eritrea was formali&ed in boundary delimitation agreement which the two parties signed in 68AA modified in the agreement of 68A=. The eastern boundary was defined in 68A7. "lso neighbouring colonial powers signed boundary agreements with Ethiopia$ French %omaliland or D,ibouti -.arch 6789/ *ritish %omaliland -+une 68AA/ "nglo>Egyptian %udan -.ay 68A=/ *ritish East "frica or ;enya -December 68A9/ and !talian %omaliland -.ay 68A7/. !taly was able to use her two colonies Eritrea and !talian %omaliland to launch a relatively more successful invasion in 685<.

The Attempt at M 'erni#ati n

(ontacts with Europeans impressed on Ethiopian rulers the importance of introducing European technologies into Ethiopia. @o ruler was more acutely aware of this need than Tewodros. He e2pressed this in his letters to European rulers. His attempt to introduce reforms also indicates his desire to moderni&e the country. *ut much of TewodrosEs moderni&ing effort was frustrated by his difficult relation with both his own people and the foreigners. Kohannes !J had been very busy fighting with Egyptians .ehadists !talians and he had no time for introducing reform measures. The relative peace and security after "dwa were conducive to the introduction of reform measures like the following ones$ The construction of Ethio>D,ibouti railway line. Establishment of postal service and telecommunications. The setting up of ministries. The opening of *ank -*ank of "byssinia/ P 68A<. The opening of hotel -!tegue Taitu hotel/ P 68A9. .odern school -.enelik !! school/ P 68A7. Hospital -.enelik !! hospital/ P 68A8.

The founding of "ddis "baba in 677B brought to an end the tradition of ruling from mobile capital. The )reat Ethiopian Famine -6777>678=/ also known as ;ifu Gen affected the whole of Ethiopia. !t was caused by cattle epidemic and it had affected also the people.

PERIOD OF TRANSITION AND EMER+IN+ AUTOCRACY 4-;:C,-;>97

Tripartite Treat&
This was signed between *ritain France and !taly in 68AB. This treaty partitioned Ethiopia into three spheres of influence belonging to each signatory. These powers were attracted to Ethiopian internal crisis in 68AB. !n that year .enelik suffered a stroke. "lso Ras .ekonnen ?olde .ichael a cousin of .enelik and who was e2pected to become .enelikEs successor died. The three neighboring colonial powers e2pected that the country had internal crisis and they want to take the opportunity to maintain their interest. Despite the deterioration of his health .enelik took the following measures$ He wrote a letter to the signatories of the tripartite treaty in which he underlined the need to maintain the unity and independence of his country. He established a council of ministers in 1ctober 68A9 to ensure the normal running of his government. To solve the problem of succession he officially announced 3i, !yasu -grandson of .enelik from his daughter %hewareged and Ras .ichael/ as his heir. !yasu was only 6= during this time and Ras *itweded Tesemma @adew was assigned as regent to 3i, !yasu.

P wer str$(("e <etween Empress Tait$ an' Shewan n <i"it&

Taitu resisted the selection of 3i, !yasu as heir to the throne. %he was worried about her political future after the death of .enelik. %he feared that the coming to power of a ruler with no blood or marriage ties to her might affect her role in the future politics of the country. Taitu preferred Qewditu -the daughter of .enelik by other women/ to 3i, !yasu. Qewditu was married to TaituEs nephew Ras )ugsa ?ole. Msing her positions as the wife of the emperor Taitu tried to build a power group centered on her blood and marital relations. %he appointed her close allies and relatives while she dismissed her political opponents. These measures by Taitu threatened the political supremacy of the %hoan nobility. The father of !yasu Ras .ichael allied with the %hoan nobility and Taitu was removed from politics in 686A. .enelik died in 6865 and Taitu died in 6867.

THE REI+N OF IYASU 4-;->,-;-C7

3i, !yasu started to e2ercise his power with the death of his regent Ras *itweded Tesemma in 6866.

S me re% rms intr '$ce' <& I&as$

*anned the practice of confiscating the property of someone accused of embe&&lement. !ntroduced a regulation for the levying of "srat -Tithe/ on the basis of the declaration of peasants themselves. Took measures against the Guaregna system whereby both accused and accuser were chained until ,ustice was delivered. "bolished the 3ebashay practice -way of detecting thieves/. !ntroduced municipal police. !yasuEs reign was more controversial because of his religious policy. He tried to introduce an e'uitable system whereby both (hristians and .uslims would live as e'ual citi&ens.

Opp siti n t I&as$

Interna"
%hewan nobility opposed !yasu -since he was son of Ras .ikael of ?ollo/. "lso his religious policy created opposition. !yasu also dismissed many old %hewan nobilities and replaced them with new ones. He also made his father @egus of ?ollo and Tigray in 686:.

E0terna"
!yasu had opposition from *ritain France and !taly because he was strengthening friendly relations with )ermany and 1ttoman Turks who were enemies of *ritain France and !taly during ??! -686:>6867/. Finally !yasu was deposed in 686B. His father -.ikael/ tried to restore his son to power. *ut he was defeated at the battle of %egele in 686B. The coup makers made daughter of .enelik Empress Qewditu and the nominated Ras Teferi .ekonnen as heir to the throne.

THE DIARCHY 4DUA* RU*E7

From 686B to 685A Empress Qewditu and Teferi ruled Ethiopia in alliance. )radually TeferiEs power grew while the empress became increasingly powerless. Teferi was more ambitious and he had also foreign support. Teferi had also the support of almost all educated Ethiopians. !n this period of diarchy the power struggle was between the traditionalists and the progressives. The traditionalists consisted of the old nobility the Empress Qewditu and the council. The progressives include the commercial strata the young educated and Teferi himself. The traditionalists opposed the growing power of Teferi moderni&ation. The progressives had opposite ideas. !n 6867 Teferi dismissed the council of ministers and it was replaced by a new crown council known as the crown council. !n 68=5 Teferi won the EthiopiaEs admission to the 3eague of @ations. !n 68=B the death of Fitawrari Habte )iorgis and "buna .athewos removed serious obstacles to Teferi. !n 68=9 Teferi obtained the surrender of one of the powerful opponents to power De,a&mach *alcha %afo -*alcha "bba @efso/. Finally on .arch 56 685A TeferiEs forces defeated and killed Ras )ugsa ?ole -husband of Empress Qewditu/ at the battle of "nchem. Qewditu died two days later and Teferi ascended to the throne as Emperor Haile %ellassie ! -685A>689:/.

EMPEROR HAI*E SE**ASSIE I 4-;>:,-;6?7

The emer(ence % A$t crac& 4-;>:,-;>97
%ince his coronation to the !talian invasion in 685< Haile %ellassie was able to consolidate his power by taking series of administrative and legal measures. The first step he took was the promulgation of EthiopiaEs first constitution in 6856.The constitution was designed to bring the nobility under the full control of the monarchy. This constitution served as legal basis for the autocratic rule of the Emperor. Emperor Haile %elassie ! built his government with a highly centrali&ed system of rule. +imma and )o,am became under the full control of the central government in 685=.

The Ita" ,Ethi pia war an' the patri tic resistance 4-;>9,?-7
Fascist !taly invaded Ethiopia on 1ctober 5 685< and occupied for five years. The root cause for !talian aggression was the sense of humiliation that the !talians had felt as a result of their defeat at the battle of "dwa on .arch 6 678B. The leader of !taly .ussolini who came to power in 68== was determined to restore the power and glory of ancient Rome. The immediate cause of the war was the clash between Ethiopian and !talian troops at ?al ?al in 1gaden. The clash arose out of a dispute over the ill>demarcated boundary between Ethiopia and !talian %omaliland. !n 685< !talian aggression to Ethiopia came from two directions. !n the north the !talian military operation was led by .arshal Emilio De *ono who was replaced by Pietro *adoglio. !n the south the !talian army was led by )eneral Rodolfo )ra&iani.

!n the north the Ethiopian patriotic resistance was led by Ras .ulugeta Kige&u Ras ;assa Ras %eyoum .engesha and Ras !miru Haile%ellassie. The Ethiopian army did not stop the !talians though scored some minor victories. !n the south the Ethiopian resistance was organi&ed by De,a&mach @esibu Qeamanuel De,a&mach Desta Damtew De,a&mach *alcha %afo and De,a&mach .ekonnen !ndalkachew. *ut they were defeated by !talians. Ethiopian better trained army led by Emperor Haile %ellassie fought the !talians at the battle of .aychew on .arch 56 685B. The Ethiopians were defeated by !talians at this battle. 1n .ay = 685B Emperor Haile %ellassie left for Europe via D,ibouti. 1n .ay < 685B !talian army led by .arshal *adoglio controlled "ddis "baba. Fact rs % r s$ccess % Ita"ians .ilitary superiority. 3ack of proper coordination on the Ethiopian resistance. !talians obtained some local collaborators.

Fascist R$"e !er Ethi pia 4-;>9,-;?-7

!n 685B !taly declared the establishment of !talian East "frica by putting the three territories together. *adoglio was assigned as !talian viceroy first but later he was replaced by )ra&iani who was later replaced by "madeo DE"osta. %ome factories were established during the !talian period. "lso there was e2pansion of hotels prostitution and road construction. Throughout their occupation !talians faced nation>wide opposition. The first attempt to liberate "ddis "baba was led by *lack 3ion 1rgani&ation headed by Ras !miru Haile%ellassie. *ut this failed. The second attempt to liberate "ddis "baba was organi&ed by De,a&mach "berra ;assa "sfawossen ;assa De,a&mach *alcha %afo Ras "bebe "regay and De,a&mach Fikre.ariam. 1n Feb 68 6859 .oges "sgedom and "breha Deboch made an attempt to assassinate the !talian viceroy )ra&iani. !talians revenged by carrying out large scale massacre of Ethiopians in the city. "nother patriotic resistance which assumed the character of guerrilla warfare was carried out in the regions of %hewa )o,am )ondar organi&ed by Haile .ariam .ammo )eresu Duki "bebe "regay *ekele ?oya *elay Qeleke and "moraw ?ubineh.

The "i<erati n % Ethi pia

!n 68:A !taly entered ??!! on the side of )ermany. This led to the *ritish military intervention in the liberation campaign of Ethiopia. " ,oint "nglo > Ethiopian liberation campaign was launched from the %udan and ;enya. The two *ritish officers ?ingate and %andford led a ,oint army known as )edion force that entered )o,am in "pril 68:A. "nother *ritish commander (unningham entered Ethiopia through ;enya and his army controlled "ddis "baba on "pril B 68:6. Emperor Haile %ellassie re>entered "ddis "baba on .ay < 68:6.

Rest rati n % the M narch&D British an' U.S ' minati n

"fter the liberation Emperor Haile %ellassie ! restored the monarchy. !n the post liberation period the *ritish dominated in Ethiopia in the 68:AEs and the "mericans dominated in the 68<AEs. !n 68:= the "nglo> Ethiopian treaty was signed and that lead to the *ritish domination of the 68:AEs in the areas of foreign affairs administration finances and the military in Ethiopia. !n 68:= the second "nglo> Ethiopian treaty was signed and with this the *ritish made some concessions. (onsidering that the *ritish occupy two areas$ Eritrea and 1gaden they had the plan to make 1gaden part of )reater %omalia merging it with the former !talian %omaliland and their own *ritish %omaliland. They had a plan also to detach the western and northern lowlands and add them to the %udan and unite the Tigrigna speaking highland with Tigray to form separate state. The *ritish returned the whole 1gaden to Ethiopia in 68<:. !n Eritrea the population was divided into two opposing groups$ Those who seek union with Ethiopia were led by the unionist party. Those who seek separation were led by first 3iberal Progressive party and later by .uslim 3eague.

!n 68<= under the M@ )eneral "ssembly decision Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia. The 68<AEs in Ethiopia was dominated by the Mnited %tates. !n his effort to moderni&e the country and consolidate his power Haile %ellassie ! begun to look towards the Mnited %tates as a more powerful and more prosperous ally than *ritain. "merican interest in the region began to grow after they ac'uired the communication base in "smara known as Gannaw. !n 68<= the point four agreement was signed between "merica and Ethiopia. !t led to "merican assistance in the fields of education and public health. The second Ethio>M.% treaty was signed in 68<5 and this led to M.%. military assistance to Ethiopia. !n 68BAEs under the Peace (orps program the M.% gave support in the field of education.

S ci ,Ec n mic 'e!e" pments

There was e2pansion of large scale commercial farming in this period. From the late 68<AEs the government began to formulate a strategy for the countryEs economic development. There were series of five year plans. The first was 68<7>68B= focused on the development of infrastructure. The second -68B5>68B9/ was geared towards the e2pansion of agriculture and the manufacturing industry. The third -68B8>689:/ shifted government priority to the ma2imi&ation of growth and the attainment of a higher standard of living. "s a result of these plans the Ethiopian economy showed some progress in the period of 68:6>689: particularly after 68<A. 1verall domestic output increased nearly three and half times. The physical

infrastructure also showed considerable e2pansion especially electricity. Public revenue and e2penditure increase nine and ten folds respectively. There was e2pansion of banking services including the setting up of the (ommercial and @ational *anks of Ethiopia. The number of industrial enterprises grew to over four hundred. The Ethiopian society also witnessed a degree of unprecedented moderni&ation. Road and "ir communication linked various parts of the country. Mrbani&ation e2panded rapidly.

The e! "$ti n % pp siti n

There was opposition to Emperor Haile %ellassie ! from some members of the nobility after his period of e2ile. The most serious challenge to the Emperor came in 68BA. ?hen the emperor was in *ra&il the two brothers *rigadier )eneral .engistu @eway -commander of the imperial bodyguard/ and )ermame @eway led an attempted coup. *ut the "ir force and the army refused to side with them. The coup failed finally. )ermame committed suicide and his brother .engistu was hanged. "lthough the coup failed it set a pattern for different oppositions to the regime which grow in the ne2t years.

Peasant Re<e""i ns
The first peasant rebellion to the regime was the 68:5 ?oyane rebellion of Tigray led by *latta Haile.ariam Reda. !t was caused by administrative inefficiency and corruption. "nother peasant rebellion broke out in *ale in 68B5 caused by land alienation because of the introduction of land measurement in 68<6. 1ther factors were cultural and political domination by (hristian settlers from the north. This rebellion was led later by an 1romo (ommander ?a'o )utu. This rebellion was crushed by an army led by )enerals +agama ;ello and ?elde%ellassie *araka. "nother peasant rebellion broke out in )o,am in 68B7. Dissatisfaction with a succession of governors appointed by central government particularly De,ach Tsehay !n'u%ellassie formed the background to this uprising. *ut the immediate cause of the rebellion was the governmentEs attempt to implement the agricultural income ta2 of 68B9.

The Eritrean pr <"em

"fter the 68<= Federation of Eritrea the Ethiopian government made many efforts to unite Eritrea with Ethiopia. 1n December 6: 68B= the "ssembly dissolved and Ethiopia was merged with Ethiopia. "n armed struggle for independence was started in 68B6. !t was first led by the Eritrean 3iberation Front -E3F/. !n 689= a new coalition of forces known as the Eritrean PeopleEs 3iberation Front emerged. There was civil war between the two fronts and finally the EP3F established its hegemony over the independent movement.

The Ethi pian st$'ents3 m !ement

This was started by university students but later it spread to schools in 68B7. The awareness of university students increased because of students from other "frican countries through scholarship. The university service which was launched in 68B: also contributed for the studentEs movements as it gave them to reali&e

the various situations in the country. %ome radical students embraced .ar2ist>3eninist ideas and this also contributed to greater militancy in the studentsE movements. .oreover Ethiopian students in Europe and "merica formed unions and they supported the studentsE movement locally.

The p p$"ar $prisin( % -;6? an' 'ep siti n % Hai"e Se"assie

.ass uprising was started in February 689:. Teachers throughout the country opposed the implementation of education reform program. Ta2i drivers went on strike because of <AL increase in petrol price introduced following the global energy crisis that had come in the wake of the 6895 "rab>!sraeli war. 1n February 689: unable to cope with the tide of popular uprisings the "klilu Habtewold cabinet resigned and was replaced as prime minister by !ndalkachew .ekonnen. Throughout .arch and "pril workers of various government and private organi&ations went on strike protesting against bad working conditions inefficient and corrupt management. There were protests from soldiers too. The Derg officially came into e2istence on +une =7 689:. Finally Emperor Haile %elassie was deposed and Derg came to power on %eptember 6= 689:.