WOLAITA SODO UNIVESITY

COLLEGE OF SSH

Dep’t of History &Heritage Management

Course Title: History of Ethiopia & the

Horn

Course Code: Hist 1012

Cr Hr: 3

INSTRUCTOR: DEMEKE DALGA

The Horn of Africa
 UNIT ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1.The Nature & Uses of History

 History is originated from Greek word Istoria, meaning

“inquiry” or “an account of one’s inquiries.”
 History was 1st used by ancient Greek historians, Herodotus
(“father of history)

 History an organized & systematic study of past

 History is the study of what actually happened in the past

 History is an endless process b/n past, present & future

 Its major concern is study of & its interaction
with n
 cultural, economic, &politicalaspects of human life
in the past have been
 changing from time to time
 practiced exactly the same way as it was in the lifetime of
ancestors
 stayed the same for long periods
Example:Languages, beliefs & religious practices,
agricultural /pastoral ways of life, social
organization
 In the same vein (manner), the basic fabric (ties) of society
in Ethiopia & the Horn remains similar & continues to have
special characteristics
 Time helps historians to organize & divide past simply
in to manageable size
 Periodization is breaking large span of time in to
manageable size
 For the sake convenience, history is divided into
ancient, medieval & modern
The Nature of history
 Change & continuity
 Periodization
 contextualization
 dialogue b/n competing interpretations
 B Uses & Abuses (misuses) of History
..

a. Uses of History
1. To understand past, know present & foresee
future
2. Provides a sense of identity
3. A mirror in w/c society see themselves
4. Provides basic for other
disciplines
5. Teaches critical research skills
6. Helps develop tolerance & open-mindedness
7. Supplies endless source of fascination, i.e. sense of beauty
& excitement
 Factors that inspire people to study past are
• to grasp (understand) how & why things change
• to understand what elements of society persist despite
change
• aesthetic (appealing) & humanistic goals
Abuses of History
 When we study History we should avoid personal bias & abuses
 the abuse of history comes mainly from deliberate manipulation
(operation) of past to fit current political agenda, i.e. the past is
described & interpreted to justify present
 personal biases are not always avoidable in history
 Unlike a propagandist, a professional historian takes care
to document his judgment & assertions (claim) for
independent & external verification (confirmation)
1.2. Sources & Methods of Historical Study
Source- evidences to reconstruct human past
 Historians are not creative writers like novelists
 Historical studies must be based on sources, which are key
to study & write history
“where there are no sources, there is no history”
primary & secondary
1. Primary Sources
 original or first hand in their proximity to event in
time & in space
 are written & unwritten materials
 Examples of primary sources
-minutes -administrative files - manuscripts
-diaries -court records -travel documents
-letters - court records -photographs
-maps -audiovisual materials -code of law
-ornaments -coins -buildings
-tools -fossils -code of laws
-utensils -chronicles -weapons
-memoirs (personal experiences)
- eyewitness accounts, etc.
B. Secondary sources
 second-hand published & unpublished accounts
 all written materials based on primary sources
 provide historical interpretation of what happened, why it
happened & how it happened
Examples:

No history work can be taken as final, as new sources

keep coming to light, w/c make possible new historical
interpretations or entirely new historical reconstructions
Oral Data or Sources
 information that transmit from generation to
generation through spoken words
 valuable to study & document history of illiterate
societies like Africans
 can serve as primary source (when it is eye witness
account (information ) & secondary sources when it is
recount (second opinion)
 Two categories of Oral Data
A. Oral Tradition- information transmitted from
generation to generation through folk songs & folk
sayings
B. Oral History- oral testimonies or personal
recollections of lived experience
 Historical sources should be subjected to critical
evaluation before it is used as
have to be verified for originality &
authenticity
 Secondary sources have to be examined for their
reliability of reconstructions
 Oral Data should be crosschecked with written materials to
determine its b/c it may lose its
originality & authenticity due to distortion through time
1.3. Sources & Historiography of Ethiopia &Horn
What is historiography?
 the history of historical writing
 study of how historical knowledge is obtained &
transmitted
 an attempt to understand & represent descriptions of
past events in writing
A. Herodotus & Thucydides (Ancient Greek historians)
 introduced organized study & narration of past
 Herodotus was father of history
B. Sima Qian ( Chinese Grand Historian), 145- 85 B.C
 reminded for Chinese tradition of historical thinking
lived during Han Dynasty (206 B.C-221 A.D
 visited historical sites, interviewed eyewitnesses,
researched official records, & examined artifacts
 his books were: “Records of the Grand Historian” &
“The History of the Former Han Dynasty”
C. Leopold Von Ranke (German historian), 1795-1886
 established history as an independent academic
discipline in Berlin
 considered as the “father of modern historiography”
Sources of History of Ethiopia & the Horn
1. The Periplus of Erythrean Sea
 the earliest known reference of 1st c A.D
 written by an anonymous (unknown) Greek traveler
2. Christian Topography
composed by Greek traveler, Cosmos Indicopleustes in
6th c A
describes Aksum’s trade & its king's campaigns on both
sides of Red sea
3. Inscriptions- writings engraved on rocks, stones, walls
& monument shows past events
 The earliest inscription dating from7th c A.D. have been
found in Abba Gerima Monastery in Yeha, Tigray
4. Manuscripts
 manually recorded material of past in book forms
 the oldest was discovered in Haiq Istifanos Monastery in
13th c
 In addition to religious value, they contain list of medieval
kings & their history
5. Hagiography (gedle)
 written documents about life of saints & martyrs
 deals about both state & religion
 written in Geez
 enhances
 prestige of saints
 development of church & state
 territorial conquests by reigning monarchs
Example: Hagiography of
 T/Haymanot of Shewa
Shaykh Ja’far Bukko of Gattira in Wollo
6. Chronicles
 records of kings & life at court
 historical accounts of Kings
 Ethiopia’s indigenous tradition of history writing
 written by court scribes or clergymen, who were assigned
& controlled by reigning monarch
 first written in Geez & then in Amharic
 mainly religious aspects in content
 known for factual detail & strong chronological
framework
 written with out analysis & interpreted
7. Arab sources
 al-Masudi & Ibn Battuta described culture, language&
import-export trade of east African coast in 10th & 14th
centuries respectively
 Yemeni writers, Shihab al- Din & Al-Haymi
A. Shihab al- Din composed Futuh al Habesha (the
Conquest Habesha) in w/c he recorded his eye witness
account of Christian-Muslim conflicts (1527-35)
B.Al-Haymi led a Yemeni delegation to the Fasiledes court
in 1647
8. European missionaries & travelers
A. Francisco Alvarez
 Portuguese Catholic priest who wrote The Prester
John of Indies
 accompanied by Portuguese mission to court of Lebne-
Dengel in 1520
B. James Bruce: a Scottish traveler who left travel account
known as “Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile”
C. Abba Bahrey
 Orthodox monk in Gamo, who wrote “Oromo Population
Movement” in Ge’ez in 1593
D. Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704)
 founded Ethiopian studies in Germany in 17th c
 wrote Historia Aethiopica (A New History of
Ethiopia) collecting information from Abba Gorgorios
(Abba Gregory), who was an Ethiopian monk living in
Europe
E. August Dillman published two studies on ancient
Ethiopian history
 compared to Ludolf, he demonstrated objectivity
in his historical research endeavors
The Earliest Traditional Ethiopian Writers
 in 20th c, historical writings separated from chroniclers
traditions
 The earliest traditional Ethiopian writers were
• Aleqa Taye G/ Mariam
• Aleqa Asme Giorgis
• Debtera Fisseha-Giorgis Abyezgi
• Negadras afework G/Iyesus
• Negadras G/Hiwot Baykedagn
 Unlike chroniclers, these writers dealt with a range of
topics from social justice, administrative reform &
economic analysis to history
Writers /Authors The Author’s work
Taye & Fisseha-Giorgis A History of Ethiopia
Asme Giorgis The Oromo People
Afework G/Iyesus Tobya
Negadras G/Hewet Baykedagn Atse Menelik ena Ityopia
Mengistina Yehizb Astedader
 Blatten Geta Hiruy W/Selassie
 the most prolific writer of early 20thc
 published four major works:
1. Ethiopiana Metema (Ethiopia and Metema
2. Wazema(Eve)
3. Yehiwot Tarik (A Biographical Dictionary)
4. Yeityopia Tarik (A History of Ethiopia)
 T/Tsadik Mekuria
 formed a bridge b/n pre-1935 & Ethiopia professional
writers of 1960s
 Wrote
 Atse-Tewodros ena Ye-Ityophia Andinet
 Ye-Gragn Worera
A. Yilma Deressa
 wrote “A History of Ethiopia in 16thc” in w/c he
addressed
 Oromo population Movement

A. Blatten Geta Mahteme-Selassie W/Meskel

 wrote Zikre Neger, in which he wrote the account of
Ethiopia’s pre-1935
 land tenure systems
 taxation
C. Dejjazmach Kebede Tesema
 wrote memoir (Yetarik Mastawesha) in 1962 E.C
 The 1960s Developments
 a crucial decade & turning in development of Ethiopian
historiography
 history emerged as an academic discipline
 IES & History Department established were established at
HSIU in 1963
 the pursuit of historical studies as a full-time occupation began
 production of BA theses began towards end of 1960s
 History Department at AAU started MA & PhD programs
in1979 & 1990 respectively.

The Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES)

 Was/is institutional home of professional historiography
 Richard Pankhurst was its first Director &
founding member
 Publishes Journal of Ethiopian Studies for dissemination
of historical research
The professionalization of African History
 it is post-colonial phenomenon
 Europeans were considering Africa as a black
continent with out history
 During colonial era, African historiography was
Eurocentric
 In the post-colonial period, exploring African past quickly
emerged among Anglophone & Francophone African
& European scholars
 decolonization of African historiography required new
, i.e. the use of
 oral data (both oral tradition & oral history)
 ancillary disciplines (archaeology, anthropology & linguistics)
African historiography has been creation of effort of
Anglophone & Francophone of African & interested
European scholars
 Foundational research on African history was done at
 School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) in
London
 Department of History at theUniversity of
Wisconsin-Madison
Key Elements to Study History
 Sources
 Interpretation & analysis
 Presentation
 Objectivity
 4. The Geographical Context
 Ethiopia & Horn” comprises

 Ethiopia-the largest
 Somalia
 Eritrea
 Djibouti-the smallest
 Land scape diversity led to regional variations in
 Climate
 natural vegetation
 soil composition
 settlement patterns
 The geography of the regions has impact on scietal
organization & way of life life
 The region lies b/n Red Sea, Gulf of Aden & Indian
Ocean
 Red Sea & Gulf of Aden linked north east Africa to
Eastern Mediterranean
 Indian Ocean has linked east Africa to
 Near East
 Middle East
 India
 Far East
Drainage system
 had profound impact on human history
 The 5 principal drainage systems are
1. Nile River
2. Gibe/Omo–Gojeb,
3. Genale/Jubba-Shebele
4. Awash River
5. Ethiopian Rift Valley

 facilitated movement of peoples & goods across

 results in exchange of ideas, technology,
knowledge, cultural expressions, and beliefs
Environmental Zones
1. Eastern Lowlands
 covers narrow coastal strip running from northeastern
Eritrea to Somalia
  include much of lowland Eritrea, the Sahel, Danakil
Depression, lower Awash valley
2. Highland Massif
 starts from northern Eritrea & continues all the way to
southern Ethiopia
consists of the
C. Rift valley
 divides western & eastern parts of the zone
 major physiographic features are
 complex of mountains
 deep valleys
 extensive plateaus
 Horn of Africa are, for the most part, linguistically &
ethnically linked together
THE ED OF UNIT ONE