The ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' (''EAe'') is a basic English-language
encyclopaedia for
Ethiopian
Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
and
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...
n studies.
The ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' provides information in all fields of the discipline, i.e. anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, history, geography, languages and literatures, art, religion, culture and basic data. Although the main audience is academic, most articles are readable also for non-specialists. The ''EAe'' is illustrated with maps and photographs. It employs an in-house form of
romanization
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...
of
Geez,
Amharic
Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
, and other languages, which varies greatly from standard formats, such as
BGN/PCGN
BGN/PCGN romanization are the systems for romanization and Roman-script spelling conventions adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) and the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use (PCGN).
The syste ...
: the emperor
Menelek II's name, for example, is written as "Mənilək II".
Authorship and structure
The ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' has hundreds of authors from at least thirty countries. High academic standards are secured by an editorial team based at the Research Unit Ethiopian Studies (since 2009
Hiob Ludolf
Hiob or Job Ludolf ( la, Iobus Ludolfus or '; 15 June 1624– 8 April 1704), also known as Job Leutholf, was a German orientalist, born at Erfurt. Edward Ullendorff rates Ludolf as having "the most illustrious name in Ethiopic scholarship".
...
Centre for Ethiopian Studies) at the
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...
in Germany, and experts on all important fields and a board of international supervisors supported the editors. Editor-in-chief is Prof. Dr.
Siegbert Uhlig Siegbert is the given name of:
*Siegbert Horn (born 1950), former East German slalom canoer
*Siegbert Hummel (1908−2001), Tibetologist and cultural historian
*Siegbert Salomon Prawer (born 1925), professor of German language and literature
*Siegb ...
, former holder of the chair of Ethiopian Studies at the
Asia-Africa Institute of Hamburg University, and (since 2009) his successor Prof. Dr.
Alessandro Bausi. At a presentation of the Encyclopaedia in Rome, Bausi described some of the process of producing this set of volumes.
[Bausi, Alessandro. "The Encyclopaedia Aethiopica and Ethiopian Studies." ''Aethiopica'' 19 (2016): 188-206.]
The series consists of five volumes (published in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014). The first volume includes letters A-C, the second volume is dedicated to letters D-Ha, the third volume covers He-N, the fourth volume has the terms starting with the letters O through X, and the final volume has the terms for letters Y-Z, including a comprehensive index, supplementary articles, and additional maps and material.
The ''EAe'' is funded by the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the
Zeit-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius
The charitable foundation ''Zeit-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius'' (house style: ZEIT-Stiftung) is registered in Hamburg. Its aim is to fund projects in research and scholarship, arts and culture, as well as education and training. It was fou ...
, the
Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the
German Israeli Foundation
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, the
Johanna und Fritz Buch Gedächtnis-Stiftung, the
Karl H. Ditze Stiftung Karl may refer to:
People
* Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne
* Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer
* Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...
, the
Sigrid Rausing Trust
Sigrid Maria Elisabet Rausing (born 29 January 1962) is a Swedish philanthropist, anthropologist and publisher. She is the founder of the Sigrid Rausing Trust, one of the United Kingdom's largest philanthropic foundations, and owner of ''Granta ...
and the University of Hamburg.
Critical reception
In 2010, following the 2007 publication of volume 3 of ''EAe'', Paolo Marrassini described the ''EAe'' as being "confidently classified as the most important systematic work in the field of Ethiopian studies ever undertaken."
References
Relevant Literature
* Siegbert Uhlig, et al. (eds.) (2003). ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'', Vol. 1: A-C. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
* Siegbert Uhlig, et al. (eds.) (2005). ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'', Vol. 2: D-Ha. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
* Siegbert Uhlig, et al. (eds.) (2007). ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'', Vol. 3: He-N. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
* Siegbert Uhlig in cooperation with Alessandro Bausi, et al. (eds.) (2010). ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'', Vol. 4: O-X. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
*Alessandro Bausi in cooperation with Siegbert Uhlig, et al. (eds.) (2014). ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'', Vol. 5: Y-Z, Supplementa, Addenda et Corrigenda, Maps, Index. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
Reviews
* Hussein Ahmed "Ethiopian Muslims and Islam: A Review Article" in ''
Journal of Ethiopian Studies'', vol. XXXVII, no. 2, Addis Ababa 2004, pp. 165–175.
* Hatem Elliesie "Der zweite Band der ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' im Vergleich" in: ''OLZ (
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung)'', vol. 102, issue 4-5, Berlin 2007, pp. 397–407.
* Manfred Kropp "Besprechung der ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' vol. 1 und vol. 2" in ''
Oriens Christianus'' 91, 2007, pp. 250-256.
* Manfred Kropp "Besprechung der ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' vol. 3" in ''Oriens Christanus'' 93, 2009, pp. 286-288.
* Tatiana Kryuchkova / Victor Porkhomovsky: ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' Volume 1. A-C." in ''ZDMG (
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft)'', vol. 156, Wiesbaden 2006, pp. 461–462.
* Joseph Tubiana "''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' vol. I" in: ''Aethiopica (International Journal of Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies)'', vol. 7, Wiesbaden 2004, pp. 194–211.
External links
''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica''''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'': A-C''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'': D-Ha''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'': He-N
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