Aze was the
Garad
Garad ( Harari: ገራድ, , , Oromo: ''Garaada'') is a term used to refer to a clan leader or regional administrator. It was used primarily by Muslims in the Horn of Africa that were associated with Islamic states, most notably the Adal Sultanate ...
(chief) of the
Hadiya seven houses which consisted of
Siltʼe,
Wolane The Wolane people are an ethnic group in southern Ethiopia. Wolane people speak a Semitic language which is closely related to Sil'te, Zay and Harari languages. One of the Wolane peoples ancestor was Kabir Hamid who arrived from Harar. Wolane’s ...
, Ulbarag, Azernet, Barbare, Wuriro, and Gadabano, speakers of Semitic
Harari language
Harari is an Ethiopian Semitic language spoken by the Harari people of Ethiopia. According to the 2007 Ethiopian census, it is spoken by 25,810 people. Most of its speakers are multilingual in Amharic and/or Eastern Oromo. Harari is closely rel ...
. He was defacto ruler of the
Hadiya state. During the reign of Emperor
Sarsa Dengel
Sarsa Dengel ( gez, ሠርጸ ድንግል ; 1550 – 4 October 1597), also known as Sarsa the Great, was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was throne name Malak Sagad I (መለክ ሰገድ ).
Biograp ...
of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, Aze initiated a revolt after killing the Abyssinian administrator Rom Sagad in Hadiya which led to his defeat at the
Battle of Hadiya
The Battle of Hadiya was fought between the forces of the Hadiya led by their Garad (chief) Aze, and the Ethiopian Empire under Emperor Sarsa Dengel. The Hadiya ruler had refused to pay tribute to the Ethiopian emperor, which lead to the conflict ...
in 1569.
References
{{reflist
16th-century Ethiopian people
People from Harari Region