UNIT ONE

THE NATURE
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AND USES OF
HISTORY
 NATURE OF HISTORY
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 The term history derived from the Greek word Istoria, meaning
“inquiry” and first used by ancient Greek historians, Herodotus (c.
484–425 B.C.E.)
 In ordinary usage, history means all the things that have happened in
the human past. This includes:
 The past that still waits to be recorded
 The accounts of the past provided by historians
 Historians apply their expertise to surviving records and write history
 Academically, history can be defined as an organized and systematic
study of the past that involves the discovery, collection, organization,
and presentation of information.
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 What actually happened in the past is almost infinite. Historians select

which topics and problems they wish to study.
 The major concern of history is the study of human society and its
interaction with the natural environment, which is also the subject of
study by many other disciplines.
 What differentiates history from other disciplines is -History:
past and others: present.
 Because of the longevity of that time, historians organize and divide
the human past into separate periods after identifying significant
developments in politics, society, economy, culture, environment etc.
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 History is conventionally divided into ancient, medieval and modern

history. This is what we call periodization in history; one of the key
characteristics of the discipline.
Change and continuity:
 When historians talk about continuities, they are not implying that a
particular pattern applied to everyone in the world or even in a
particular country or region.
 All aspects of human life that is, social, cultural, economic, and political
in the past have been changing from time to time.
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Why we bother with the past while living in

the present and anticipating what is yet to
come?
 6 Uses of History
1. History Helps Better Understand the Present: knowledge of relevant
historical background is essential for a balanced and in-depth
understanding of many current world situations.
2. History Provides a Sense of Identity: it is only through sense of history
that communities define their identity, orient themselves, and
understand their relationships with the past and with other societies.
3. History Provides the Basic Background for Other Disciplines: Historical
knowledge is valuable in the pursuit of other disciplines such as
literature, art, philosophy, religion, sociology, political science,
anthropology, economics, etc.
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3. History Teaches Critical Skills: Studying history helps to know how to

find and evaluate sources; how to make coherent arguments based on
various kinds of evidence and present clearly in writing.
4. History Helps Develop Tolerance and Open-Mindedness: Most of us
have a tendency to regard our own cultural practices, styles, and values as
right and proper. By studying the past, students of history acquire broad
perspectives that give them the range and flexibility required in many life
5. History Supplies Endless Source of Fascination: Exploring the ways
people in distant ages constructed their lives offers a sense of beauty and
excitement.
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To conclude,

 Through studying history can we grasp how and why things change;
and only through history are we able understand what elements of a
society persist despite change.
 As history can be useful, it can also be abused. Such abuses come
mainly from deliberate manipulation of the past to fit current political
agenda.
 While personal biases are not always avoidable, a historian is different
from a propagandist
 9 Sources and Methods of Historical Study

 The work of historians must be supported by evidence arising from

sources.
 Sources are instruments that bring to life what appear to have been
dead.
 It is said that “where there are no sources, there is no history”.
 Historical sources are broadly classified into

1. Primary sources: original or first hand in their proximity to the

event both in time and in space. Handwritten materials, diaries,
letters, minutes, court records …….
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2. Secondary sources: second-hand published accounts about past events. They are
written long after the event has occurred, providing an interpretation of what happened,
why it happened, and how it happened,

3. Oral data: valuable to study and document the history of non-literate societies, and used
to fill missing gaps and corroborate written words.

 Oral tradition: when people transmit information from one

generation to another, through folk songs and folk sayings.
 Oral history: when people provide oral testimonies of lived
experience.
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Whatever the source of information-primary or secondary, written or

oral- the data should be subjected to critical evaluation
o Primary sources have to be verified for their originality and
authenticity
o Secondary sources have to be examined for the reliability of their
reconstructions.
o Oral data may lose its originality and authenticity due to
distortion through time.
In short, historians (unlike novelists) must find evidence about the
past, ask questions of that evidence, and come up with explanations
 12 Historiography

Historiography: the history of historical writing, studying how knowledge

of the past, either recent or distant, is obtained and transmitted.

People have had some sense of the past since the beginning of
humanity. Yet historiography is an intentional attempt to understand
the past
The organized study and narration of the past was introduced by
ancient Greek historians notably Herodotus (c. 484–425 B.C.E.) and
Thucydides (c.455-400 B.C.E.)
Chinese historical thought and writing was flourished during the Han
dynasty by Sima Qian (145–86 B.C.E.).
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However history emerged as an academic discipline in the second half

of the 19th c first in Europe
The German historian, Leopold Von Ranke (1795–1886), and his
colleagues established history as an independent discipline
o Introduce set of methods and concepts by which historians
 collect evidence of past events
 evaluate that evidence
 present a meaningful discussion of the subject
 Ranke’s greatest contribution to the scientific study of the past is such
that he is considered as the “father of modern historiography.”
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The earliest known reference that we have on history of Ethiopia

1. Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, written in the 1st C A.D by an
unknown author.
2. Christian Topography: describing Aksum’s trade and the then
Aksumite king’s campaigns composed by Cosmas Indicopleustes
in the 6th c A.D.
3. The earliest written Ethiopian material dates from the 7th c A.D.
found in Abba Gerima monastery in Yeha.
4. A religious manuscript discovered in Haiq Istifanos monastery in
the thirteenth century A.D.
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All the above sources have the benefit of providing insights into the
country’s past as they contain the list of medieval kings and their
history
The largest groups of sources available for medieval Ethiopian
history are hagiographies originating from Ethiopian Orthodox
Church.

A parallel hagiographical tradition existed among Muslim

communities of the country
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Chronicles

 Ethiopia had also an indigenous tradition of history writing:

chronicles.
 First appeared in the in Ge’ez in 14th c and continue (sometimes in
Amharic) into the early twentieth century
o The earliest and the last of such surviving documents are
o the Glorious Victories of Amde-Tsion
o the Chronicle of Abeto Iyasu and Empress Zewditu
Chronicles:
o incorporate both legends and facts about the monarch’s
genealogy, upbringing, military exploits, piety and statesmanship
o known for their factual detail and strong chronological
framework
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 Other materials that appeared in the sixteenth century include

Abba Bahrey’s Geez script
 Was written in 1593
 Provide first-hand information about the Oromo
population movement and Gadaa System
 18 Arab writers

 Written accounts of Arabic-speaking visitors to the coast also provide

useful information.
 Al-Masudi and Ibn Battuta described the culture, language and import-
export trade.
 For 16th and 17th c we have two documents composed by Yemeni
writers who were eyewitnesses to the events they described.
1. Futuh al Habesha was composed by Shihab ad-Din, who recorded
the conflict between the Christian kingdom and the Muslim
principalities
2. Al-Haymi, who led a Yemeni delegation in 1647 to the court of
Fasiledes (r. 1632-67).
19 European Missionaries and
Travelers Accounts
 From the early 16th c until the late 19th c, missionaries provide us
with valuable information focusing
 Religious affairs
 Political developments
 Foreign relations
o Prester John of the Indies, composed by a Portuguese priest,
Francisco Alvarez who accompanied the Portuguese mission to
the court of Lebne-Dengel in 1520.
o James Bruce’s Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile
20 Foreign writers

Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704)

 founder of Ethiopian studies in Europe in the 17thc.
 Wrote Historia Aethiopica (translated into English as A
New History of Ethiopia)
 Never visited Ethiopia
 Wrote the country’s history largely based on
information he collected from an Ethiopian priest
named Abba Gorgorios who was in Europe at that time.
 Early twentieth century
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Historiography

 This period saw the emergence of traditional Ethiopian writers who

distance themselves from chroniclers
 Unlike chroniclers, these writers dealt with a range of topics from
social justice, administrative reform and economic analysis to history.
 Taye and Fisseha-Giorgis: the history of Ethiopia
 Asme: history of the Oromo people
 Afework: wrote the first Amharic novel, Tobiya
 Gebre-Hiwot: Atse Menilekna Ityopia and Mengistna Yehizb
Astedader
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 The most productive writer of the early twentieth century

Ethiopia was Blatten Geta Hiruy Wolde-Selassie.
o Published four major works namely Ethiopiana
Metema, Wazema, Yehiwot Tarik and Yeityopia Tarik
 Gebre-Hiwot and Hiruy exhibited relative objectivity and
methodological sophistication.
 Unfortunately, the Italian occupation of Ethiopia interrupted
the early experiment in modern history writing and
publications.
23 After liberation
 Tekle-Tsadik Mekuria: formed a bridge between writers in pre-
1935 and Ethiopia professional historians and known for better
evaluation of sources.
 Yilma Deressa: Ye Ityopiya Tarik Be’asra Sidistegnaw Kifle Zemen
 Blatten Geta Mahteme-Selassie Wolde-Meskel: Zikre Neger,
comprehensive account of land tenure systems and taxation.
 Another work dealing land tenure is left to us by

• Gebre-Wold Engidawork, Dejazmach Kebede Tesema who also

wrote his memoir of the imperial period, published as Yetarik
Mastawesha in 1962 E.C.
24 The 1960s
The 1960s: was a crucial decade in the development of
Ethiopian historiography
 Period that history emerged as an academic discipline
 Historical studies as a full-time occupation began
 The opening of the Department of History at Haile
Selassie I University (HSIU)
 The establishment of IES in 1963.
 Professionalization of history in other parts of the Horn is a
post-colonial phenomenon.
25 The Geographical Context

 “Ethiopia and the Horn” refers to that part of Northeast Africa

contains the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and
Somalia.

 The region consists chiefly of mountains uplifted through the

formation of the Great Rift Valley, running down from Syria to
Mozambique and marking the separation of the African and
Arabian tectonic plates.

 The major physiographic features of the region are a massive

highland complex of mountains and plateaus
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 The diversity of the terrain led to regional variations in

climate, natural vegetation, soil composition, and settlement
patterns.

 As with the physical features, people across the region are

remarkably diverse.

 As much as there are many factors that make people of a

certain area unique, there are also many areas in which
peoples of Ethiopia and the Horn share common past.

 The history of Ethiopia and the Horn has been shaped by

contacts with others through commerce, migrations, wars…
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 The evolution of human history owed much to geographical factors.

 Ethiopia and the Horn lies between the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and
Indian Ocean, and the present-day eastern frontiers of Sudan and
Kenya.

 Since early times,

 Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden linked Northeast Africa to the
Eastern Mediterranean, the Near and Middle East, India, and the
Far East.

 Indian Ocean has linked East Africa to the Near and Middle East,
India and the Far East.
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 Another element of geographical factor that had profound

impact on human history is drainage system.

 Ethiopia and the Horn has five principal drainage systems.

1. Nile River

2. Gibe/Omo–Gojeb

3. Genale/Jubba-Shebele

4. Awash River:.

5. Ethiopian Rift Valley Lake systems

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 Providing people with the source of their livelihood, the

drainage systems facilitated

 the movement of peoples and goods across diverse

environments, resulting in the exchange of ideas,
technology, knowledge, cultural expressions, and beliefs.

 Thus, studying the drainage systems of Ethiopia and the Horn

is crucial for proper understanding of the relationships of the
peoples.
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 Ethiopia and the Horn can be divided into three major

distinct environmental zones.

1. The Vast Eastern lowland

2. The highland massif

3. The hot lowlands

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 Despite the varied physical environments, the countries of

the Horn of Africa are, for the most part, linguistically and
ethnically linked together

 Population movements had caused a continuous process of

interaction, creating a very complex picture of settlement
patterns.

 The high degree of interaction and the long common

history of much of the population had weakened ethnic
dividing lines in large parts of the region.
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