Biqulzar also spelled as Baqulzar or Bequl zar was a historical region located in eastern
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 ...
. The state was positioned east of the
Awash River
The Awash (sometimes spelled Awaash; Oromo: ''Awaash'', Amharic: አዋሽ, Afar: ''We'ayot'', Somali: ''Webiga Dir'') is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia and empties into a chain of ...
. Historian Hussein Ahmed, proposes it was a general term for districts east of
Amhara region
The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Reg ...
in the fourteenth century.
Etymology
Biqulzar originates from the
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 ...
meaning verdure along a stream.
History
According to fourteenth century
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
historian
Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari
Shihab al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Fadlallah al-Umari ( ar, شهاب الدين أبو العبّاس أحمد بن فضل الله العمري, Shihāb al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Faḍlallāh al-ʿUmarī), commonly known as Ibn Fadlal ...
, Biqulzar was one of
Ifat's ancient metropolises or regions.
In the fourteenth century, Ethiopian emperor
Amda Seyon
Amda Seyon I ( gez, ዐምደ ፡ ጽዮን , am, አምደ ፅዮን , "Pillar of Zion"), throne name Gebre Mesqel (ገብረ መስቀል ) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1314 to 1344 and a member of the Solomonic dynasty.
He is best known i ...
fought the
Wargar
The Wargar (Harari language, Harari: ወርጋር) also spelled as Wergar were a clan inhabiting the Adal (historical region), Adal region, first mentioned in the fourteenth century chronicles of Emperor Amda Seyon of Ethiopia as allies of Imam Sal ...
or
Warjih people
The Warjih ( om, Warjii, amh, ወርጂ, so, Warjeex, ar, ورجي ), also known as Wargar or Tigri-Warjih, are an ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia. The prefix for their traditional name, ''Tigri'', comes from the word ''Tijaari'', which is an ...
in Biqulzar. According to Salvatore Tsdeschi, in 1332 Amda Seyon had summoned his vassal ruler of Ifat,
Jamal ad-Din I
Jamal ad-Din ( ar, جمال اد الدين) (flourished mid-14th century) was a governor of the Sultanate of Ifat. He was the son of Nahwi b. Mansur b. Umar Walashma (Umar ibn Dunya-huz) and a brother of Haqq ad-Din I.
Reign
The Emperor of Ethi ...
in Biqulzar however Manfred Kropp believes Amda Seyon met with a distinct ruler of Biqulzar.
References
{{reflist
Medieval Ethiopia
History of Ethiopia