History of Ethiopia & the Horn (Hist.

1102)
 UNIT ONE: INTRODUCING HISTORY
1.1. The Meaning and Uses of History
A. The Meaning of History
• The term history is derived from the Greek word “Istoria.”
• Istoria means “inquiry” or “an account of one’s inquiries.”
• The first use of the term is attributed to Herodotus.
• Herodotus (c. 484–425 B.C)- the “father of history.”
• In ordinary usage, history means all the things that have
happened in the human past.
• Academically, history can be defined as an organized and
systematic study of the past.
• History is the study of human society and its interaction
with the natural environment in the past.
• Greater part of event that happened in the past still exists
independently of the historian.
• What actually happened in the past is almost infinite.
• Historians select topics/problems they wish to study.
• To overcome the problem of longevity, historians
organize/divide the human past into separate periods:
• History is conventionally per iodized and divided into
ancient,
medieval and modern
• The issue of continuity and change is the concern of
historical study.
B. The Uses of History: in the context of the r/ship b/n the

past and the present.

 History helps better understand the present i.e., to
understand current problems by tracing their origins in the
past.
 History provides a sense of identity. It is useful to
understand who we are and where we fit in the world.

 History provides the basic background for other

disciplines including social science, natural science, art,
literature, theology, philosophy, anthropology, etc.

 History teaches critical skills; such as evaluating sources,

interpreting and analyzing evidences & making arguments.
 History Supplies Endless Source of Fascination. It
Provides one with excitement, because it discloses a sense
of beauty.
 History Helps Develop Tolerance, Open-Mindedness and
Flexibility.
1.2. Sources and Methods of Historical Study
Sources
Historians are not creative writers like novelists. Their works
must be supported by evidence arising from sources.
Sources are broadly classified into primary and secondary.
Primary sources are surviving traces of the past available to
us in the present. They are original or firsthand in their
proximity to the event both in time and in space.
Example
 inscriptions, manuscripts, travel accounts
 artifacts, fossils, ruins of buildings
 diaries, memoirs, letters
 minutes, court records
 photographs, video ……………
Secondary sources are interpretation of primary ones, written
long after the event has occurred. Example,
 Research works and literary works
 Books and biographies
 Published stories and movies
Oral sources (oral data)-either oral traditions or oral history.
They are valuable to study and document the history of non-
literate societies.
• No history work can be taken as final. New sources make
possible new historical interpretations.
Methods: refers to the ways by which historians:
 collect evidences of past events,
 evaluate that evidences,
 present a meaningful discussion of the subject.
 1.3. Historiography of Ethiopia & the Horn of Africa
• Historiography -- is the history of historical writing.
• It deals with how knowledge of the past is obtained and
transmitted.
• It studies the course of the growth of historical writing.
• Herodotus and Thucydides (c.455-400 B.C.E.) introduced
the organized study and narration of the past.
• Sima Qian (145–86 B.C.E.) was the most important early
figure in Chinese historical writing.
• History emerged as an academic discipline in the second
half of the nineteenth century.
• Leopold Von Ranke (1795–1886) founded history as an
independent discipline in Berlin.
• Ranke is praised as the “father of modern historiography.”
• Historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa has
experienced significant transformations in historical writing.
• This can be verified through examination of:
– earlier forms of historical writings
– personal and institutional contributions.
 Ancient travel accounts: Example,
1. Periplus of the Erythrean Sea:
– the earliest known reference on history of the region.
– written in the first century A.D.
– a handbook of anonymous author
– narrates Aksumite kings, territories and ports
2. Christian Topography:
– written in Greek about an unknown Aksumite king
– describes Aksum-Meroe rivalry
– explains Aksumite campaigns to South Arabia
– composed by Cosmas Indicopleustes in the 6 th c A.D.
– are hand writings, both secular and spiritual.
 Manuscripts:
– whose values are essentially religious.
– provide insights into the country’s past. Exa.,
o A manuscript that dates to the 7th century was discovered in
Abba Gerima Monastery, Yeha.
o A manuscript that was produced in the 13th century was
discovered in Haiq Istifanos monastery, Wollo.
 Hagiographies:
– are of Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Mosques origin.
– offers insight into the life of saints/martyrs.
– Invariably written in Ge’ez
– discuss the issues of both states and religions. Exa.,
o A hagiography of St. Teklehaymanot, Shewa.
o A hagiography of Shaykh Ja’far Bukko of Gattira, Wollo.
 Chronicles:
– are writings, past and contemporary, about the monarch.
– recognized scribes or clergymen around the court
– first appeared in the fourteenth century
– are known for their factual, not analytical detail.
 – offer little by way of social and economic developments.
– though inadequately, they narrate the evolution of the
Ethiopian state and society.
– explain historical events mainly in religious terms.
– characterized by relative chronological framework. Exa.
– Glorious Victories of Amde-Tsion- the earliest chronicle.
– Chronicle of Abeto Iyasu and Empress Zewditu- the last.
 Accounts of Arabic-speaking visitors:
– left first hand accounts about Eth. and the Horn. Exa.,
o al-Masudi had a recorded in the 10th century
o Ibn Battuta had documented in the 14th century.
o Shihab al-Din composed Futuh al Habesha in the 16th C.
o Al-Haymi, who led a Yemeni delegation in 1647 to Gonder.
 Accounts of European travelers & missionaries:
– cover religious & political developments in Ethiopia.
– include the country’s foreign relations. Exa.,
o The Prester John of the Indies, composed by Francisco
Alvarez
o Travels to discover the Source of the Nile, produced
by by J. Bruce.
Ethiopian Studies in Europe
• Foreign writers also developed interest in Ethiopian studies.
• Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704)-German writer who founded
Ethiopian studies in Europe.
• wrote Historia Aethiopica (A History of Ethiopia).
• Ludolf never visited Ethiopia and the Horn.
• met Ethiopian priest Abba Gorgorios (Abba Gregory) at
Rome.
• In the 19th c, August Dillman published two studies on
ancient Ethiopian history.
• Contribution of Ethiopian Writers to Ethiopian History
• Abba Bahrey’s Geez script on the Oromo written in 1593.
• Early 20th c saw the emergence of ‘traditional’ Ethiopian
writers who made some departures from the chronicle
tradition.
Aleqa Taye Gebre-Mariam
Aleqa Asme Giorgis
Debtera Fisseha-Giorgis Abyezgi
 Negadrases Afework Gebre-Iyesus- Tobiya
Gebre-Hiwot Baykedagn- Mengistna Yehizb
Astedader
Blatten Geta Hiruy Welde-Selassie (The most prolific
writer of the early twentieth century)- Ethiopiana
Metema
• Gebre-Hiwot and Hiruy exhibited relative objectivity and
methodological sophistication.
• The 1930s Italian invasion interrupted the Ethiopian efforts
to study their national history.
• After liberation, Tekle-Tsadik Mekuria formed a bridge
between pre-1935 writers and professional historians who
came after him.
 Yilma Deressa-Ye Ityopiya Tarik Be’asra Sidistegnaw Kifle
Zemen.
• Blatten Geta Mahteme-Selassie Wolde-Meskel- Zikre Neger
• Dejazmach Kebede Tesema- Yetarik Mastawesha.
• In the 1960s:
– History emerged as an academic discipline.
– Department of History began in 1963 at AAU (HSIU).
– The Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES) was founded in
1963.
• AAU launched MA and PhD programs in 1979 and 1990
respectively.
• IES housed a number of Ethiopian and expatriate scholars.
• IES has been publishing the Journal of Ethiopian Studies.
• The professionalization of history in other parts of the Horn
is a post-colonial phenomenon.
• Africans urged to: recast the historical record and recover
evidence of many lost pre-colonial civilizations
• In an effort to decolonize African history:
– conducted research centered at School of Oriental and
African Studies and University of Wisconsin-Madison
– opened African universities and trained their own
scholars
– sent many educated Africans overseas for further training
What are the common problems in the study of
Ethiopian history?
 1.4 The Geographical Context
• Knowledge of physiographical features is crucial for proper
understanding of the r/ships of the peoples in the region.
• The history of Ethiopia and the Horn has been shaped by:
contacts with others through commerce, migrations,
wars, slavery, colonialism, and the waxing and waning of
state systems.
geographical factors notably location, landforms,
resource endowment, climate and drainage systems were
the major factors.
• The Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean linked
the Horn of Africa with the rest of the world.
• Five principal drainage systems in Ethiopia and the Horn:
– Abbay/the Blue Nile +the White Nile
– Gibe/Omo–Gojeb,
– Genale/Jubba-Shebele,
– Awash River
– Ethiopian Rift Valley Lake systems.
• Ethiopia and the Horn can be divided into four major
distinct environmental zones.
– Eastern lowlands
– The highland massif
– The Great East African Rift Valley
– Western lowlands
• These physiographic features are inhabited by diverse
ethno-linguistic, religious, cultural and occupational groups.
• However, peoples of the region were never isolated; they
interacted throughout history from various locations.

End of Chapter 1