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Taytu Betul
Taytu Betul ( am, ጣይቱ ብጡል; baptised as Wälättä Mikael; 1851 – 11 February 1918) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1889 to 1913 and the third wife of Emperor Menelik II. An influential figure in anti-colonial resistance during the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa, she, along with her husband, founded the modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in 1886. Early life According to Raymond Jonas, Taytu Betul (or Taitu) was born in Semien, North Gondar, Ethiopian Empire. Scholarly consensus is that she was born at about 1851. Taytu's father, Ras Betul Haile Maryam, was part of the ruling family of Semien that claimed to be descendants of the Solomonic Dynasty through Emperor Susenyos I. Taytu's uncle was the Amhara warlord Wube Haile Maryam who governed the Semien and Tigray princedom. Her Ancestry hailed from a lot of places the north, including Yejju, Semien and Tigray.''The Battle of Adwa:Reflections of Ethiopia's Herioic Victory against European Colonialism'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Itege
Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Mesafint ( gez, መሳፍንት , modern , singular መስፍን , modern , "prince"), the hereditary nobility, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class. The Mekwanint ( gez, መኳንንት , modern , singular መኰንን , modern or am, መኮንን , "officer") were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the aristocracy. Until the 20th century, the most powerful people at court were generally members of the ''Mekwanint'' appointed by the monarch, while regionally, the ''Mesafint'' enjoyed greater influence and power. Emperor Haile Selassie greatly curtailed the power of the ''Mesafint'' to the benefit of the ''Mekwanint'', who by then were essentially coterminous with the Ethiopian government. The ''Mekwanint'' were officials who had been granted specific offices in the Abyssinian government or court. Higher ranks from the titl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susenyos I
Susenyos I ( gez, ሱስንዮስ ; circa 1571-1575 – 17 September 1632), also known as Susenyos the Catholic, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1606 to 1632, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne names were Seltan Sagad and Malak Sagad III. He was the son of '' Abeto'' Fasil, as well as the grandson of ''Abeto'' Yakob and the great-grandson of Dawit II. As a result, while some authorities list Susenyos as a member of the Solomonic dynasty, others consider him—rather than his son, Fasilides—as the founder of the Gondar line of the dynasty (which is, however, ultimately a subset of the Solomonic dynasty). The life of Susenyos is known through his chronicle, written by several official writers (''sehafe te’ezaz''). The Jesuits, who were closely associated with Susenyos’s reign, also left numerous documents on their mission in Ethiopia. Manuel de Almeida, a Portuguese Jesuit who lived in Ethiopia during Susenyos' reign, described the emperor as tall with the featu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menelek II
, spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም ''sahlä maryam'') was King of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death in 1913. At the height of his internal power and external prestige, the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state was completed by 1898.Zewde, Bahru. A history of Ethiopia: 1855–1991. 2nd ed. Eastern African studies. 2001 The Ethiopian Empire was transformed under Emperor Menelik: the major signposts of modernisation were put in place, with the assistance of key ministerial advisors. Externally, Menelik led Ethiopian troops against Italian invaders in the First Italo-Ethiopian War; following a decisive victory at the Battle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Degazmach Wube
Wube Haile Maryam of Semien, (1799-1867), also called by his title ''Dejazmach'' Wube, Webé; his name is also given in European sources as ‘‘Ubie’’. Wube was one of the major figures of 19th century Ethiopia, during the closing decades of the Zemene Mesafint (lit: ''Era of the princes'') a period of regional lords vying for power, prestige and territory amid a weakened authority of the emperors. The regional ruler and ''Dejazmach'' of his hereditary province of Semien, and later as the conqueror and non-Tigrean ruler of the Tigray Province and other coastal territories in what is now part of central Eritrea. Wube is remembered in Eritrea and Tigray for barbarous military raids. A major claimant to the Ethiopian throne during his era, Wube was defeated and imprisoned in 1855 by another contender Kassa Hailu, the future emperor Tewodros II. Some sources date Wube's defeat as the end of Ethiopia's Zemene Mesafint. Ancestry Wube's family originated from the Semien moun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haile Maryam Gebre
Haile Maryam Gebre of Semien, Horse name: Abba Dammana (lit: Father of the Cloud) was an early 19th century governor of Semien, Welkait and Wogera. Haile Maryam tried to hold his hereditary possessions in the face of continuous pressure from rival lords during Ethiopia's Zemene Mesafint era. He is remembered as the guardian of Waldeba monastery. Ancestry Haile Maryam's family originated from the Semien mountains and belonged to the Orthodox Christian Amharas. His mother was Sahlitu Kefle Iyesus; and his father was Ras Gebre of Semien, the ruler of Semien, Tsegede, Welkait and Wogera. His sister Teshen Gebre was one of the wives of Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I. Life Yejju invasion In 1812 according to Nathaniel Pearce's journal, Ras Gugsa of Yejju ordered his head general Ackly Marro to wage war against Haile Maryam's father, Ras Gebre of Semien. However, Ras Gugsa's expansionist drive to subdue Semien came to an end when Haile Maryam defeated his retainer Woldi Comfu in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wollo Province
Wollo (Amharic: ወሎ) was a historical province of northern Ethiopia that overlayed part of the present day Amhara, Afar, and Tigray regions. During the Middle Ages this region was known as Bete Amhara and had Amhara kings. Bete Amhara had an illustrious place in Ethiopian political and cultural history. It was the center of the Solomonic Dynasty established by Emperor Yekuno Amlak around Lake Hayq in 1270, the original center of Amhara people, whose territorial reach extended from Lake Hayq and the Beshillo River in the north, the Afar and Argobba lowlands in the east, the Abbay River in the West, and the Awash River just south of modern Addis Ababa. Background Today's Wollo was long the center of Ethiopia (half under Agew/Zagwe and half under the Amhara/ Solomonic leadership). The people of Amhara and Zagwe Provinces (today's Wollo) were the strongest adherents of Christianity and both believed in Israelite Semitic Biblical Ancestry Agew/Zagwe claimed lineage from Mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yejju
Yejju Oromo people are a sub clan of the Barento branch of Oromo people. They are one of the northernmost communities of Oromo people residing in Ethiopia. During the 17th century, the Yejju dynasty, more specifically, the Warra Sheik, or sons of the Sheikh, ruled much of the Ethiopian Empire during the Zemene Mesafint or "Era of the Princes", changing the language in the court of Gondar to the Oromo language. Throughout the era, different ethnic groups, clans and communities made short-term alliances to acquire economic advantage and political power.The rulers of the Yejju dynasty were converts to Christianity, but their power base was the powerful Wollo Muslim principalities such as Yejju, Warra Himano, and Raayyaa. As early as 1890, under the reign of Menelik II, the homeland of the Yejju was organized into an Ethiopian province (awrajja) named for them. It was bordered by the Alewuha River to the north, separating it from Raya Qobbo awrajja, the Mille River to the south, se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lasta
Lasta (Amharic: ላስታ ''lāstā'') is a historic district in northern Ethiopia. It is the district in which Lalibela is situated, the former capital of Ethiopia during the Zagwe dynasty and home to 11 medieval rock-hewn churches. Its original name in the Middle Ages was Begwena. According to G.W.B. Huntingford, Lasta is first mentioned in the fourteenth century, although it obviously had been inhabited long before that. In the 18th century the Czech Franciscan Remedius Prutky listed Lasta as one of the 22 provinces of Ethiopia still subject to the Emperor, but singled Lasta out as one of the six he considered "large and truly deserving of the name of kingdom."J.H. Arrowsmith-Brown (trans.), ''Prutky's Travels in Ethiopia and other Countries'' with notes by Richard Pankhurst (London: Hakluyt Society, 1991), p. 131 Its neighbor to the west was Begemder, and to the north, Wag. See also *Lasta (woreda), the present district of the same name *Wagshum Until the end of the Ethi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Begemder
Begemder ( amh, በጌምድር; also known as Gondar or Gonder, alternative name borrowed from its 20th century capital Gondar) was a province in northwest Ethiopia. Etymology A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means "dry" in the local language, while another possible interpretation could be "sheep," where rearing of sheep is ''beg'' in Amharic. Thus, ''Begemder'' likely refers to "land that rears sheep" or "the dry area." Another etymology is that the first two syllables come from the Ge'ez language ''baggi`'' for sheep (Amharic: ''beg medir'') "Land of Sheep." Beckingham and Huntingford note that Begemder originally applied to the country east of Lake Tana, where water is scarce, and concluded, "The allusion to the lack of water suggests Amharic ''baga'', "dry season," as a possible source of the name." History The earliest recorded mention of Begemder was on the Fra Mauro map, (c.1460), where it is described as a kingdom. While Emperor Lebna Dengel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Senterej
Senterej (Amharic: ሰንጠረዥ sänṭäräž or Ethiopian chess) is a form of chess traditionally played in Ethiopia and Eritrea, cousin of international Chess and the last survival form of Shatranj. According to Richard Pankhurst, the game became extinct sometime after the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in the 1930s. A distinctive feature of Senterej is the opening phase – players make as many moves as they like without regard for how many moves the opponent has made; this continues until the first capture is made. Memorization of opening lines is therefore not a feature of the game. Rules Pieces Broadly, the pieces move the same way as in shatranj; however, there are regional variations. * Each king (''negus'') stands just to the right of the centerline from its player's point of view. It moves one step in any direction as a chess king. * At the left of the king stands the ferz, moving one square diagonally. (One source says it moves one step in any direction, but may o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Begena
The ''begena'', also known as ''bagana'' ( am, በገና) is a ten-stringed box-lyre instrument from the Amhara people of Ethiopia, and is the sole melodic instrument devoted only to the ''zema'', the spiritual part of Amhara music. Etymology and origin The instrument's name is derived from ''bägänä'', "to buzz, pluck, play;" it is etymologically related to the Hebrew (''nagan''), "touch/play stringed instrument" Oral tradition identifies the instrument with the ''kinnor'' of Ancient Israel, played by David to soothe King Saul's nerves and heal him of insomnia, and later brought to Africa by Menelik I. Its actual origin remains in doubt, though local manuscripts depict the instrument at the beginning of the 15th century AD. Instrument Known as the instrument of noblemen, monks and the upper class and performed by both men and women. The begena was used primarily as an accompaniment during meditation and prayer. It is played in the framework of religious occasions. Duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amharic Language
Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic languages, Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic languages, Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other populations residing in major cities and towns of Ethiopia. The language serves as the official working language of the Ethiopian federal government, and is also the official or working language of several of Regions of Ethiopia, Ethiopia's federal regions. It has over 31,800,000 mother-tongue speakers, with more than 25,100,000 second language speakers. Amharic is the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia, and the second most spoken Languages of Ethiopia, mother-tongue in Ethiopia (after Oromo language, Oromo). Amharic is also the second largest Semitic language in the world (after Arabic). Amharic is written left-to-right using a system that grew out of the Geʽez script. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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