HISTORY OF ETHIOPIA AND

THE HORN, HiSt1012

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 CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION
1.1.Nature of History

 The term History derived from the Greek word Istoria, means
“inquiry” or “an account of one’s inquiries.” The first use of
the term is attributed to one of the ancient Greek historians,
Herodotus (c. 484–425 B.C), who is often held to be the
“Father of History.”
 In ordinary usage, History means all the things that have
happened in the human past.
 History is a branch of social science that deals with what
human beings did in the past. It studies changes in the
development of societies. It also studies the political,
economic, social and cultural life of past societies.
 Academically, History can be defined as an organized and
systematic study of the past. The study involves the discovery,
collection, organization, and presentation of information
about past events..
 In general History is a systematic study and organized
knowledge of the past. 04/17/2025 1
 ….Nature of History
In this regard, 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 that while the
latter(Second) study the interaction
between humans and their
environment in the present state,
History studies the interaction
between the two in the past within the
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 1.2.Uses of Studying History
o Peoples live in the present and they plan for and
worry about the future. History, however, is the
study of the past. Why bother with the past while
living in the present and anticipating what is yet to
come?
1.History helps us to know about the past, to
understand the present and to foresee the
future developments.
2. History provides a sense of identity. It also helps
us to have a broad understanding of national and
international issues including democratic
principles and nationalism.
3.History provides the basic background for other
disciplines- Historical knowledge is extremely
valuable in the pursuit of other disciplines such as
Literature, Art, Philosophy, Religion,
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Sociology, Political3
 …Uses of History
4.History teaches critical skills
 Studying history helps students to develop key
research skills. These include how to find and
evaluate sources; how to make coherent arguments
based on various kinds of evidence and present clearly
in writing. These analytical and communication skills
are highly usable in other academic pursuits. Gaining
skills in sorting through diverse interpretations is also
essential to make informed decisions in our day-to-day
life.
 History can also help us to develop the necessary
skill for collecting and analyzing information to
reach at conclusions.
5. History helps develop tolerance and open-
mindedness
6. History supplies endless source of fascination
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 1.3. Sources and Methods of historical studies

 Historical sources are broadly classified into two types:

Primary & Secondary
 1. Primary sources:- are surviving traces of the past available
to us in the present. They are original or first hand in their
proximity to the event both in time and in space.
 Are original materials that have direct relations to the events
they describe. These are original written materials. Primary
sources are more reliable than secondary sources.
 Examples of primary sources are manuscripts (handwritten
materials), diaries, letters, minutes, court records and
administrative files, travel documents, photographs, maps,
video and audiovisual materials, and artifacts such as coins,
fossils, weapons, utensils, and buildings.
 2.Secondary sources:- Do not have direct relations to the
events they describe. On the other hand, are 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, often
based on primary sources.
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 ….Sources and Methods of historical studies

 Examples of Secondary sources are

articles, books, textbooks, biographies, and
published stories or movies about historical
events. Secondary materials give us what
appear to be finished accounts of certain
historical periods and phenomena.
Nevertheless, no history work can be taken
as final, as new sources keep coming to
light. New sources make possible new
historical interpretations or entirely new
historical reconstructions.
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 1.4. Critical Analysis of sources
 Forthe history of Ethiopia and the Horn, historians
use a combination of the sources described above.
However, whatever the source of information-
Primary or Secondary, Written or Oral- the
data should be subjected to critical evaluation
before used as evidence.
 Primary sources have to be verified for their
originality & authenticity because sometimes
primary sources like letters may be forged.
Secondary sources have to be examined for the
reliability of their reconstructions. Oral data may
lose its originality and authenticity due to
distortion through time. Therefore, it should be7
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 1.5.Historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn
Historiography can be defined as the
history of historical writing that studying how
knowledge of the past, either recent or
distant, is obtained & transmitted.
On the other hand, refers to the history of
history; it explores changes in historical
interpretations through time.
The organized study and narration of the
past was introduced by ancient Greek
historians notably Herodotus &
Thucydides (c.455-400B.C.E.).The other
major tradition of thinking and writing about
the past is the Chinese. The most important
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 …Historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn

History emerged as an academic discipline in the

second half of the 19thC first in Europe and
subsequently in other parts of the world including the
US.
 The German historian, Leopold Von Ranke (1795–
1886), and his colleagues established history as an
independent discipline in Berlin with its own set of
methods and concepts by which historians collect
evidence of past events, evaluate that evidence, and
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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 …Historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn
The earliest known reference that we
have on history of Ethiopia and the
Horn is the Periplus of the
Erythrean Sea, written in the first C
A.D by an anonymous(unnamed)
author.
Another document describing
Aksum’s trade and the then Aksumite
king’s campaigns on both sides of the
sea is the Christian Topography
composed by Cosmas
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 1.6. Sources on Ethiopian History : Hagiographies &
Kitabs
 On the side Inscriptions, the earliest written Ethiopian
material dates from the 7thC A.D. The document was
found in Abba Gerima monastery in Yeha. This was
followed by a manuscript discovered in Haiq
Istifanos monastery of present day Wollo in the 13thC
A.D. The value of manuscripts is essentially religious.
Yet, for historians, they have the benefit of providing
insights into the country’s past.
 For example, the manuscript cited above contains the
list of medieval kings and their history in brief. The
largest groups of sources available for medieval
Ethiopian history are hagiographies originating from
Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Invariably written in Ge’ez,
an important function of hagiographies is enhancing the
prestige of saints.
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 1.6.1.HAGIOGRAPHIES AND KITABS

A parallel hagiographical tradition existed

among Muslim communities of the country.
One such account offers tremendous insight
into the life of a Muslim saint, Shaykh Ja’far
Bukko of Gattira, in present day Wollo, in
the late 19thC. Besides the saint’s life, the
development of indigenous Islam and
contacts between the region’s Muslim
community and the outside world are some
of the issues discussed in this document.

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 ….Chronicles & Kitabs
 Ethiopia had also an indigenous tradition of history writing
called Chronicles. Chronicles in the ancient Ethiopian Ge’ez
tongue first appeared in the 14thC & continue (sometimes in
Amharic) into the early 20th. Kings or their successors
entrusted the writing of chronicles to court scribes or
clergymen of recognized clerical training and calligraphic
skills.
 The earliest and the last of such surviving documents are
the Glorious Victories of Amde-Tsion and the Chronicle
of Abeto Iyasu & Empress Zewditu respectively.
Chronicles incorporate both legends and facts-past and
contemporary about the monarch’s genealogy, upbringing
military exploits, piety and statesmanship. Chronicles are
known for their factual detail and strong chronological
framework, even if it would require considerable labor to
convert their relative chronology to an absolute one. It is
also averse to quantification, have a limitation ( Bias and
Chronology ). 04/17/2025 13
 1.6.2. Arabic Documents
 Written accounts of Arabic-speaking visitors to the
coast also provide useful information on various aspects of
the region’s history.
For example, al-Masudi & Ibn Battuta described the
culture, language and import-export trade in the main central
region of the east African coast in the 10th & in the 14thC
respectively. For the 16th & 17thC we have two documents
composed by Yemeni writers who were eyewitnesses to the
events they described. The first document titled Futuh al
Habesha was composed by Shihab al-Din, who recorded
the conflict between the Christian Kingdom & the Muslim
principalities in the 16thC.
 The other first-hand account was left to us by Al-Haymi,
who led a Yemeni delegation in 1647 to the court of
Fasiledas (r. 1632-67).
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 1.6.3.Travel Account
 The contribution of European missionaries and
travelers to the development of Ethiopian historiography
is also significant. From the early 16thC until the late 19th
C, missionaries (Catholics and Protestants) came to the
country with the intention of staying, and who,
nevertheless, maintained intimate links with Europe.
 Thus, the missionaries’ sources provide us with valuable
information covering a considerable period. Some of the
major topics covered by these sources include religious
and political developments within Ethiopia, and the
country’s foreign relations. An example of such account is
The Prester John of the Indies, composed by a Portuguese
priest, Francisco Alvarez who accompanied the
Portuguese mission to the court of Lebne-Dengel in 1520.

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…Travel Account

In addition to the missionary sources, travel

documents had important contribution to
the development of Ethiopian historiography.
One example of travel documents is James
Bruce’s travels to discover the source of the
Nile. Like other sources, however, both the
missionaries and travelers’ materials can
only be used with considerable reservations
and with care for they are socially and
politically biased.
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 ……….Writers
Foreign writers also developed interest in
Ethiopian studies. One of these figures was a
German, Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704). Ludolf was
the founder of Ethiopian studies in Europe in
the 17thC. He wrote Historia Aethiopica
(translated into English as A New History of
Ethiopia). Ludolf never visited Ethiopia; he
wrote the country’s history largely based on
information he collected from an Ethiopian
priest named Abba Gorgorios (Abba Gregory)
who was in Europe at that time.

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 (……Contd.)
 The Emergence of traditional Ethiopian historical
writers made some departures from the chronicle
tradition in the early 20thC. The earliest group of these
writers include, Aleqa Taye Gebre - Mariam, Aleqa Asme
Giorgis and Debtera Fisseha-Giorgis Abyezgi. Later,
Negadrases Afework Gebre-Iyesus and Gebre-Hiwot
Baykedagn joined them.
 Unfortunately, the Italian occupation of Ethiopia
interrupted the early experiment in modern history
writing and publications.
o After liberation, Tekle-Tsadik Mekuria formed a bridge
between writers in pre-1935 and Ethiopia professional
historians who came after him. Tekle-Tsadik has published
about eight historical works. Tekle-Tsadik made better
evaluation of his sources than his predecessors.
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 (……Contd.)
 Another work of importance in this period is
Yilma Deressa’s Ye Ityopiya Tarik Be’asra
Sidistegnaw Kifle Zemen (A History of
Ethiopia in the 16thCentury). The book
addresses the Oromo population
movement and the wars between the
Christian kingdom and the Muslim
sultanates as its main subjects.
o The 1960s was a crucial decade in the
development of Ethiopian historiography for
it was in this period that history emerged
as an academic discipline.
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 (……Contd.)
 The pursuit of historical studies as a full-time
occupation began with the opening of the
Department of History in 1963 at the
then Haile Selassie I University (HSIU) &
the production of BA theses began towards
the end of the decade.
• The Department launched its MA and PhD
programs in 1979 and 1990 respectively. Since
then researches by faculty (both Ethiopians
and expatriates) and students have been
produced on various topics & a research
organization, the Institute of Ethiopian Studies
(IES) is the other institutional home of
professional historiography of Ethiopia. The
IES was founded in 1963. Since then the
Institute housed a 04/17/2025
number of historians of20
 1.7.The Professionalization of history in other parts of the
Horn
 The professionalization of history in other parts of
the Horn is a post-colonial phenomenon. With the
establishment of independent nations, a deeper
interest in exploring their own past quickly emerged
among African populations, perhaps stimulated by
reactions to decades of education in an alien
imperial historiography.
 With this came an urgent need to recast the
historical record and to recover evidence of many
lost pre-colonial civilizations. The decolonization of
African historiography required new methodological
approach (tools of investigation) to the study of the
past that involved a critical use of oral data and
tapping the percepts of ancillary disciplines like
archeology, anthropology and linguistics.
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 1.8. Geographical Context
 The term “Ethiopia and the Horn” refers to that
part of Northeast Africa, which now contains the
countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and
Somalia. The region consists chiefly of mountains
uplifted through the formation of the Great Rift
Valley.
 The major physiographic features of the region are a
massive highland complex of mountains and
plateaus divided by the Great Rift valley and
surrounded by lowlands, semi-desert, deserts and
tropical forests along the periphery. 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: they speak a vast number 04/17/2025
of different22
 … Geographical Context
 The history of Ethiopia and the Horn has been shaped by
contacts with others through commerce, migrations, wars,
slavery, colonialism, & the waxing and waning of state
systems. Yet, the evolution of human history owed much to
geographical factors notably location, landforms, resource
endowment, climate and drainage systems which continue
to impact, as incentives and deterrents, the movement of
people and goods in the region.
 Another element of geography factor that had profound impact
on human history is drainage system. Ethiopia and the Horn
has five principal drainage systems. These are the Nile River,
Gibe/Omo–Gojeb, Genale/Jubba-Shebele, the Awash River, and
the Ethiopian Rift valley lake systems.
 Ethiopia and the Horn can be divided into three major distinct
environmental zones. The major physiographic features of
the zone are complex of mountains, deep valleys, and
extensive plateaus.
 The countries of the Horn of Africa are, for the most part,
linguistically and ethnically linked
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 Have a nice
The End! time!
Have a nice
time!
The End!

Thank You!

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