Jesuits in the Kingdom of Prester John

Des jésuites au royaume du prêtre Jean (Ethiopie): stratégies, rencontres et tentatives d'implantation, 1495-1633 by Hervé Pennec is another study of the Jesuits and the mission in Ethiopia. Since the scholarly literature and written sources on the topic is vast, Pennec proposes new interpretations and questions about the subject. While revisiting the sources and challenging readers to reconsider the strategies and tactics employed by both the Jesuits and ruler Susenyos, one can see that the topic of the Jesuits in Ethiopia and this transformation of Prester John of myth into the "real" Ethiopia which the Latin West engaged in the Early Modern Period still raises many questions.

The first third of the book begins with Portugal's early relations with the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia, and how Ignatius of Loyola (and others) mistakenly assumed the Abyssinian ruler was ready to submit to Christ. Relying on outdated information from Alvares, plus the issue of Bermudes and his claim to be Roman Catholic patriarch, confusion abounded. Despite being well-informed on some aspects of Ethiopia, the founder of the Jesuit order wrongly believed that Ethiopia was ready for submission to the papacy. Of course, Galadewos had no interest in doing such a thing, and the early wave of Jesuits in Ethiopia found themselves largely on the periphery. Still, despite their small numbers in the second half of the 16th century, Ethiopian religious literature engaged in a Christological written (and oral) debate with the Jesuit missionaries, particularly once Susenyos converted to Catholicism in 1622. Despite their complete lack of success in converting Ethiopian rulers, the early Jesuits did proselytize and preach to Luso-Ethiopians, maintaining Roman Catholicism among descendants of Portuguese in Abyssinia. Moreover, Goa, as the capital of Portuguese India and center of the Jesuit missions in the Orient, was also an early example of a periphery being arguably more important or essential for the survival of the Jesuit mission in Ethiopia than Rome, Portugal and Spain. Goa, much closer to the Jesuit missions and capable of receiving and sending information more quickly, shaped the decisions on personnel who were ultimately sent to Ethiopia. This was no simple matter, since Ottoman control of the Red Sea made the matter more difficult.

Pennec likewise focuses on how the Jesuits, once able to establish a foothold again in 1603, particularly with the arrival of Pero Paes. Whilst it would take several more years before an Ethiopian ruler converted to Catholicism, one can begin to see here the Jesuits establishing stone churches and residences (with Ethiopian workers and at least one Indian). By erecting churches in stone, some beautifully designed, the Jesuits were implanting themselves in the kingdom on a more permanent basis. By doing so, they were also increasingly drawn into what Pennec sees as royally-sponsored churches. Gifts of land (gult), money, supplies, and the involvement of Susenyos in the ceremony culminating the completion of churches was partly a way for Susenyos to assert his power. This meat that Susenyos, and his brother who converted to Catholicism before him, were incorporating the Jesuits into a familiar patter of royal sponsorship and assertions of power, particularly in Gojjam and around Lake Tana. While the Jesuits undoubtedly benefitted from receiving lands, supplies, funds, and elite backers, they were also part of a strategy of Ethiopian rulers to express their power, which even included enlisting the Jesuits (or the masons among them) to construct stone palaces and monumental architecture for him. This complex process was followed by the Jesuit experience in Ethiopia after the conversion of Susenyos. Part of this complex relationship was also due to Susenyos's desire for Spanish troops to be sent to Ethiopia to help him as a prerequisite for converting, while the Jesuits told him he would have to submit to the papacy before any European troops would come to his aid.

With the 1620s, Pero Paes died but Susenyos's conversion gave the Jesuits their legitimacy and renewed the mission by the arrival of more missionaries. Although a failure within ten years, as Susenyos abdicated and his son, Fasiladas, later exiled the Jesuits, one can see this experience as the zenith of the mission. More missionaries on the ground, conversions of more Ethiopians (although the numbers given by the Jesuits are problematic, it seems that Gojjam had more converts), and Susenyos sidelining his Catholic brother as a supporter of the Catholics. Nonetheless, the mission's short-lived success came to an end with Susenyos's abdication. Pennec's study is less focused on this period, highlighting how Paes and d'Almeida's histories of Ethiopia must be analyzed carefully for the ways in which the authors engaged with Ethiopian written sources, especially the royal chronicle on the reign of Susenyos. Paes especially, despite his nearly 20 years spent in Ethiopia and his familiarity with ge'ez and Amharic, must be interpreted for the ways they cite, paraphrase, and refute Ethiopian sources. For instance, the question of the metropolitan accused of fathering children, drinking, and abusing his ecclesiastical authority in Paes's redaction of the chronicle of Susenyos, and being involved in a revolt in 1617 against the king, may not necessarily be an insertion by Paes. It is possible that later versions of the chronicle after Susenyos's reign censored that segment of the chronicle, but Paes, who was of course biased against the metropolitan sent from Egypt, may have been closer to the truth.

On the Zagwe

Marie-Laure Derat's L’énigme d’une dynastie sainte et usurpatrice dans le royaume chrétien d’Ethiopie, XIe-XIIIe siècle is an intriguing and challenging work. The lack of adequate documentation for most of the rulers of the Zagwe dynasty and the problematic reliance on oral traditions, hagiographies and historiography based on the Solomonic legend of the subsequent dynasty makes it rather difficult to establish with greater clarity what was the Zagwe dynasty. However, using the available Arabic sources (particularly Copts writing the history of the Patriarchate of Alexandria), later hagiographies, archaeological evidence, and inscriptions, land grants and kings lists, Derat proposes some new interpretations while raising more questions. Derat does this while endeavoring to understand the paradox of how the Zagwe rulers were seen as both usurpers yet holy.

For example, the assumption of an Agaw or Cushitic origin of the Zagwe dynasty is far from clear. Further, the oral traditions compiled by Conti Rossini are contradictory and difficult to make sense of. Instead of assuming a Cushitic or Agaw origin, Derat proposes a model in which the Zagwe rulers emerged from a long-lasting second wave of Christianization that occured in the late Aksumite and post-Aksumite period in eastern Tigray. Archaeological evidence indicates there an area of ongoing church construction and thriving Christian communities, perhaps leading to a reunified Ethiopian Christian kingdom that reestablished contact with the Patriarchate in Egypt. Derat even suggests that the famous rock-hewn churches at the site associated with the most illustrious Zagwe ruler, Lalibela, were not built because of Muslims prohibiting Ethiopians from making the pilgrimage there. Indeed, the Zagwe appear to have contributed to the Christianization of an already used space, building marvels that were associated with rulers like Lalibela. Their donations to churches and ecclesiastical groups similarly exemplify their efforts to reinforce their rule as patrons of the Church and monasteries. 

Unfortunately, since it is so difficult to disentangle the problematic sources written during the Solomonic era and shed light on the Zagwe dynasty from sources written during their dynasty. The genealogy of rulers is uncertain, the hagiographies were written after their fall and promote the idea of the holiness of some as saints while also accepting the Solomonic legend of the legitimate dynasty which took over in 1270. Nonetheless, it does seem like the standard narrative on the Zagwe dynasty in Ethiopian historiography is in need of substantial change. Portraying them as "Cushitic" or Agaw usurpers against "legitimate" Semitic Solomonic rulers or implying that the former practiced matrilineal succession based on the contradictory sources available indicate this problem quite well. All one can say is that the Zagwe rulers such as Lalibela and Yemrehanna Krestos achieved sainthood while modeling an idealized kingship, one which was later adopted by Zara Yaq'ob and subsequent Solomonic rulers. This paradox of usurpers and holy rulers may reflect that long process of Christianization in other regions of the kingdom which, influenced by the traditions of the Kebra Negast and apocalyptic literature from Coptic and Syriac sources, later emerged the Solomonic dynasty as heirs to Aksum. 

Southern Ethiopia and the Christian Kingdom, 1508-1708

Southern Ethiopia and the Christian Kingdom, 1508–1708: With Special Reference to the Galla Migrations and Their Consequences  is Merid Wolde Aregay's seminal thesis on the Solomonic kingdom. Seeking to elucidate the fall of the centralized state and the decline of imperial control of a regimented military which had made the Solomonic state's expansion to the south possible, Aregay's state contextualizes this development with the history of Ahmad Gran's invasion, Oromo expansion, the Jesuits, and religious controversies between unctionists and tewahedo groups of the Ethiopian Church. Drawing on the voluminous royal chronicles, Jesuit sources, land charters, and travelogues, Aregay presents a convincing case for the various crises being so devastating to the Solomonic state due to the rise of the provincial nobility in power against the emperor. 

Over time, imperial control was effectively lost in some provinces while the chewa regiments and professional soldiers either formed mutinous bands or became part of the provincial elite's retainers. Emperors like Lebna Dengel exacerbated these above problems through tyrannical rule and slave raiding that aroused opposition and even support for Ahmad Gran's conquest. The past ability of the Solomonic state to check the expansion of pastoralist lowland groups into the highlands was lost through the united Muslim front of Adal and the weakening of the military defenses and centralized imperial government. This only facilitated Oromo expansion as, in their early migration waves, Oromo clans were often more effective as there was enough land and booty for various clans to collaborate in their raids. The military, through its ineffectiveness or imperial abandonment of provinces, led to some peasants and tributaries bearing arms to defend themselves or becoming dependents or clients of Oromo groups. 

Subsequent emperors, particularly after Galadewos, continued the trend of weakening central authority and the military by relying on slave raiding, not resisting the growing autonomy of regional governors and nobility, and failing to check rapid Oromo expansion. Minas, who was a pawn of his mother and her influence, and Sarsa Dengel who succeeded him, were often ineffective or unable to check provincial officials like the bahr negash Yeshaq. Later neguses, such as Susenyos, a former bandit, tried to administer the empire by allowing the provinces to be mostly ruled by his brothers and sons-in-law. Susenyos, according to Aregay, weakened the position of emperor by rejecting the pomp and ritual associated with his office. His reliance on slave raids targeted non-rebellious pagan Agaw and other groups to raise revenue instead of reforming the administrative structure of the empire to increase revenue derived from the provinces. The attempt to impose Catholicism on the population drove the Church into revolt, further weakening the central government as it illustrated for posterity that the Church could act independently of the emperor. 

This contributed to the later conflicts within Ethiopian Christianity between the unctionists and orthodox positions on Christological controversies. Unfortunately, these religious controversies became even more problematic in the 17th and 18th centuries as emperors from Fasiladas to Iyasu I struggled to contain the conflicts between clerical and monastic groups that involved nobles, warlords, and Oromo groups in their struggles with each other and the imperial court. Thus, even a "traditionalist" emperor like Fasiladas appeared to rule a state with flimsy foundations as the Solomonic state faced internal Christian religious division, Oromo raiding, nobility vs. imperial court intrigues or civil wars, and pretenders to the throne. In other words, the system which had been established by the early Solomonic rulers that had led to the formation of an empire was not maintained.

For the interests of this blog, it is interesting how the Solomonic Dynasty appears to have followed a similar trajectory to the Sayfawa during this same period. The Sayfawa appear to have reasserted themselves in the Central Sudan as a major power from c.1500 until the early 18th century. While Sayfawa rule seems to have declined after Ali b. Umar in the 17th century, Sayfawa rule may have suffered from overtaxation of the peasantry, slave raiding on certain tributary or predatory areas that could have been more effectively integrated into the core, and the increase of mallamtis and Sufi centers that might have challenged the imperial court's authority or religiously-based legitimacy. Some of the seeds of their decline may have already been evident in the uprisings, political discord and factions over succession, and inability to protect the western frontier from Tuareg bandits, lacustrine settlements from Yedina attacks and Kanem and Kawar from Tubu and Tuareg incursions. However, like their Solomonic counterparts, the Sayfawa occasionally produced great or competent mai who attempted to challenge the decay or complacency of the court. But circumstances eventually reached the point where the mais were unable to stamp resistance from former tributaries like Mandara.

Sayfa Ar'ad and Solomonic Rulers

Tarik Amba is one of the better podcasts on Ethiopian history. Sadly, it has not been updated frequently. For our purposes, we wanted to share an episode on some of the Solomonic rulers in the medieval era. One of them, Sayfa Ar'ad, or Seife Ared, became a character representing Ethiopia (and Black Africa) in a romance of Sayfa b. Dhi Yazan in Mamluk Egypt.

Bahrey on the Oromo

Although the writings of Bahrey are sadly too brief for a deeper history of the Oromo peoples of the 16th century, his History of the Galla is a fascinating document. As an early ethnographic document of sorts, the Ethiopian monk sought to elucidate the social structure of the Oromo and its role in their often victorious raids and battles with Solomonic Ethiopia. Furthermore, in spite of his own Christian biases and panegyrical allusions to Sarsa Dengel's military prowess and zeal for Christian expansion, Bahrey strikes the modern reader as a relatively balanced source on the Oromo. He blames the small size of the Ethiopian warrior class and the egalitarian (or relatively so) Oromo social system in which all men are reared for war. 

If true, this meant the Oromo age-grade system and their lubas were able to expand and raid several parts of the Solomonic kingdom due to their large source of warriors. Their social system also, according to the end of Bahrey's brief account, included a division of labor on the behalf of the village or community. Their system, though lacking the kind of permanent centralized authority of the Abyssinians or the later Oromo kingdoms, was flexible and able to adapt to different conditions. For instance, the adoption of horses and mules under Mesle in the years 1554-1662 represented an innovation in Oromo military tactics. Thus, it is less surprising to understand how and why the Oromo migrations of the 16th century were so successful, despite occasional internal disputes or divisions. 

The success of the Oromo and the Solomonic dynasty's struggles to contain them during the 16th century remind us of other African states facing similar problems during the same era. The infamous "Jagas" of Kongo, for instance, appear to have formed effective warbands that allowed them to threaten Kongo and other kingdoms in West Central Africa. The Songhai, in West Africa, had Fulani marauders and other issues. Borno, under the Sayfawa dynasty, was also dealing with ongoing rebellions or insecurity near Lake Chad. According to Ahmad b. Furtu, whose chronicles of Idris b. Ali's military campaigns in Kanem and Borno have survived for posterity, the Sayfawa mais had to deal with the rebellious Bulala in Kanem, Tuareg incursions, Kano raids, and attacks from Sao populations near the imperial capital. Like Sarsa Dengel, Idris b. Ali appears to have been quite effective as a military leader. The displaced populations, war captives, and nearly exterminated peoples who felt the wrath of Borno were, for the most part, pacified or reduced to tributary status. 

Unlike the Solomonic rulers, Borno appears to have been far more effective at securing its internal borders by the late 16th century. Part of this must have been due to the different socioeconomic structures of their respective enemies, as well as internal factors like military tactics, adoption of firearms, and administrative practices. One wonders what the Sayfawa would have done if faced with an enemy comparable to the Oromo peoples of the 16th century. The closest enemy might have been the Tuareg along the northwestern border and some of the Tubu and Arab populations in Kanem who were initially aligned with the Bulala sultans. We know Idris b. Ali, at least, won over some of the latter two groups and was able to force some of the Tuareg raiders into vassal status.

Rambling on Modern Ethiopia

Although our major interest is in the Solomonic Dynasty's medieval and early modern history, one cannot avoid the fascinating history of modern Ethiopia in the 19th and 20th centuries. Like Liberia and Haiti, Ethiopia was rather unique for being one of the few independent black countries in the imperial world order after the Scramble for Africa. Like Haiti, it also offers an example of a country of heterogeneous origins with a recognized yet compromised sovereignty. In the case of Ethiopia, it was the tripartite alliance of Britain, France, and Italy which ensured post-Adwa Ethiopia could not have developed too independently. In Haiti, the Western powers were also present and helped to ensure Haitian economic development would be limited. Thus, Haiti and Ethiopia share a common history of heroic political sovereignty won through the sword but failed economic development through internal dynamics and foreign imperialism. The Ethiopian case also adds another dimension of imperialism since modern Ethiopia's borders were based on the expansion of the Shawan ruler Menelik II and he had to defeat the legacy of the Zamana Masafent's regionalism.

Bahru Zewde's A History of Modern Ethiopia, 1855–1991 seems to be one of the better general introductions to understand this dynamic in Ethiopian history: political independence accompanied by economic dependency. Beginning with the late Zamana Masafent and the striking rise and fall of Tewodros II, Zewde suggests Tewodros possessed a modern vision without practical steps or a process for achieving it. Later emperors, like Yohannes IV, were able to muster enough power to defeat expansionist Egypt but did not fully centralize the empire. That great task was left to Menelik II, an astute leader who managed to secure the throne and expand the more to a greater extent than any of the medieval great Solomonic dynasts. Zewde's study demystifies the Battle of Adwa and shows the failure of Menelik II to follow through after Adwa. Thus, Italy retained significant influence in Italian Somaliland and Eritrea while the French exerted influence through the Djibouti railway extension to Ethiopia. The British, the major imperial power in northeast Africa, sought to protect their interests in Sudan and were willing to, with the French, allow Italy the ability to exert itself in the Horn. 

Unfortunately, Menelik's modernizing attempts were restricted and succession posed another threat to the fragile state. Lej Iyyasu, who eventually became emperor, was removed from power for his alleged immoral conduct and interest in integrating minority populations such as the large Muslim population. Eventually, the future Haile Selassie, an ambitious man and an absolutist, secured the throne over the course of several years. According to Zewde, Haile Selassie's ascent to absolute power was based on favoring men of humble or lower rank as appointees to political office instead of the hereditary nobility. This tactic, however, did not mean the Emperor was interested in any meaningful social, economic or democratic reforms. Land, especially in the southern provinces, was increasingly privatized and the lot of the Ethiopian peasantry declined. Industrialization remained weak and foreign economic penetration of the economy was strong. Much like Haiti, actually, Ethiopia was dependent on exports of coffee. This generally dismal condition continued after the restoration of imperial power with the Liberation of Ethiopia from the fascist Italian occupation. Despite a few attempted coups and assassinations, and a bourgeoning student movement, Haile Selassie clung to power until 1974, when the Solomonic lineage came to an ignominious end. 

The depressing and horrifying annals of the Derg years and the role of the TPLF and Eritrean independence forces in toppling it conclude Zewde's history. The Derg administration, which arose out of the military, was not initially Marxist, but adopted its rhetoric. Land reform was implemented, albeit not in a way that actually gave inalienable land rights to the peasant or included them in the political process. The depressing condition of the economy, widespread practice of executions and political persecution and the catastrophic famine of the 1980s shed additional light on the failures of the Derg regime. This tragic recent history highlights how the struggle for political centralization had to, in some fashion, restructure itself along federal lines, come to accept the loss of Eritrea and confront the question of ethnic and religious diversity. However, throughout the 1900s, some of the reforms which had interested some Ethiopian intellectuals since the beginning of the century finally saw the light of day, albeit after several decades of collaborating with various members of the traditional elite or through influence on the military and students. Unfortunately, throughout the period Ethiopia remained economically weak and internally divided. Replacing Britain with the US and, later on, the USSR, as major sources of financial and technical support, did little to improve the lot of the impoverished masses. Limited import substitute industrialization under Selassie remained embryonic. Thus, without real economic development, political autonomy meant little. 

Luso-Ethiopian Relations and Church Unification

Because it was co-written by Merid Wolde Aregay and frequently cited in Cohen's study of the Jesuit mission, The Question of the Union of the Churches in Luso-Ethiopian Relations, 1500-1632 was the next read on Solomonic Ethiopia. Although a short study of Luso-Ethiopian Relations and the failed unification of the respective churches under Roman authority, Aregay and Girma Beshah has written a cogent introduction to the complex topic of Portuguese-Ethiopian interactions beginning with the legend of Prester John and early contacts between the Latin West and the Horn in the late medieval period. While the authors do not seek to blame the Jesuits for the mission's failure or see in it a colonial relationship, they do acknowledge that expecting to uproot centuries-old customs and beliefs quickly was perhaps misguided. 

Ultimately, Susenyos, our Catholic negus, like Za Dengel before him, also lacked the means to effectively impose Catholicism. The dreamed for or expected Portuguese troops never arrived and resistance from the local clergy, nobility, and peasantry became too consistent and dangerous for Susenyos's rule to survive without freedom of religion. The role of peasant resistance in this process cannot be overlooked, and this essay suggests there was an aspect of class conflict expressed in the numerous revolts and rebellions. Indeed, if Za Dengel, as Crummey suggested, had hoped to win peasant support by attacking gult and building a new military base of peasant conscripts (presumably less destructive to the peasants than the older imperial military units), Susenyos alienated the peasantry with his imposition of Catholicism and the insecurity caused by frequent rebellions, Oromo raids, and banditry. 

As stated by later scholars on the Jesuits in Ethiopia, the Society of Jesus relied on the patronage of local rulers and elites. Once circumstances changed and those groups could not or would not back them, the Jesuit mission declined and often a mass support to rally it. Ethiopian Catholicism may have had that if Susenyos's brother, Sela Christos, had been able to rally forces around him and the defeated patriarch against Fasiladas. However, due to the forced conversions and general resistance to Roman Catholicism from above and below, one doubts local Catholics would have been able to stage an effective military resistance. Aregay and Beshah cite Jesuit sources suggesting over 100,000 local Catholics by 1630, but how many of these were the result of forced or coerced conversions or, perhaps like some of the conversions to Islam under Ahmad Gran, merely acts of opportunism or self-preservation in the face of a new boss or bully? One wishes Susenyos had found a way to consolidate his government and centralize the state without imposing Catholicism, perhaps a method that could have carried out some of Za Dengel's reforms with freedom of religion for Orthodox, Catholic, Muslims, Falasha, and "pagans." Ironically, his son would go on to establish a reinvigorated Solomonic dynasty that resisted the resurgence of the provincial nobility until the mid-18th century.

Jesuit Missionary Strategies in the Horn

Although we are still only beginning to grapple with the large body of literature on the Jesuits in Ethiopia, Cohen's Missionary Strategies of the Jesuits in Ethiopia (1555-1632) is a good overview on Jesuit strategies of evangelizing. Based on Portuguese, Jesuit, and Ethiopian sources, Cohen succeeds in demonstrating the key areas of religious, political, cultural, and theological contention and proselytization. Unlike other areas of Africa, Asia, or the Americas, the Jesuits perceived Ethiopia to be more "civilized" (like China and Japan) and an area of schismatic Christianity in need of reformation. For these reasons, the Jesuits employed sophisticated techniques of Christological debate, biblical exegesis, translation, theater, architectonics, and top-down evangelization based on the hopes of converting the emperor and nobility. The Catholic Counter-Reformation also influenced the Jesuit mission as a reformed Church sought to standardize rituals, centralize authority, and counter Protestant theological debate. 

Ethiopian Christianity's encounter with Roman Catholicism naturally led to conflict, evolution, and the discovery of shared commonalities. Jesuits, for instance, realized the Ethiopian Church drew from the same sources (the Bible, patristic literature). Both also shared a similar belief in the uses of icons and visual arts and the practice of Eucharist and baptism. Nonetheless, Ethiopian persistence in circumcision, anti-Chalcedonian perspectives, adherence to the Alexandrian See, lack of uniformity in some sacraments, observance of the Sabbath, and frequency of divorce revealed huge differences. The debate between the two Churches appears to have played a major role in fomenting Ethiopian religious literature that sought to clarify and define the tenets of the church. Some of this literature was clearly influenced by earlier Ge'ez translations of Church Fathers, and appears to have influenced subsequent internal theological debate within the Ethiopian Christian tradition. The Jesuit debate with local clergy and monks reminds us of their arguments with Buddhist priests in Japan. 

However, according to Cohen, the Jesuits did not properly prepare themselves for the centrifugal forces in Ethiopian Christianity which opposed them, particularly monastic clergy, members of the nobility, and the political crises and rebellions which forced Susenyos to restore freedom of worship. The near total conquest by Muslims in the 1500s had further fragmented the Church while ongoing Oromo expansion further weakened the authority of the Solomonic emperors. Perhaps seeing the absolutizing tendencies of the Jesuits as something that could strengthen their authority, Za Dengel and Susenyos favored the Jesuits. Unfortunately for the latter, Za Dengel's assassination and the inability of Susenyos to end revolts flight of hermits or monks, and stifle resistance to the prohibitions imposed on the Orthodox faith entailed an end of the mission when the political support from the top disappeared under the next emperor. Anyway, it looks like our next read into this topic will have to be either Caraman, the short work coauthored by Merid Wolde Aregay or the hagiography of Walatta Petros. 

Gult in Solomonic Ethiopia

Donald Crummey's Land and Society in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia: From the Thirteenth to the Twentieth Century has been on our reading list for quite some time. Crummey was one of those scholars interested in the larger "Sudanic" context for Christian Ethiopia, one that is often forgotten or neglected due to the religion and perceived isolation of the Ethiopian highland kingdom from other parts of Africa. For our purposes, Crummey's examination of gult is directly linked to the "fiefs" of Kanuri or Borno "feudalism" that appears in the works of Cohen, Palmer, Brenner, and other specialists. Additional parallels can be found with the Darfur Sultanate of the Keira dynasty and the land charters of the Funj. Where the Ethiopian case differs is in the much larger corpus of surviving written material and the role of the Church. 

Moreover, the case of Borno differs in that the mahrams collected and translated by Palmer do not appear to be represent the type of "fief" allocated to courtiers and the nobility from the central administration. In Borno's case, the recipients of "fiefs" received rights in tribute to the land in question, and were expected to reside in the capital while appointing representatives to maintain order and collect the tribute. A part of the collected tribute was also given to the Sayfawa administration (or that of the al-Kanemi dynasty which followed). The surviving mahrams of Borno, however, do not appear to represent cases like these but separate forms of land charters in which the recipient received tax-free land or territories. These were, presumably, usually distinct from the "fiefs" allocated by the mai to dependents and allies in the provinces.

Nonetheless, the Ethiopian institution of gult clearly resembled that of Kanem-Borno with regards to land grants in the rights of tribute from free peasant landholders. In Borno, the peasantry appeared to enjoy usufruct land rights and a certain mobility was in practice so they could migrate to other areas or fiefs if unhappy or overtaxed by the chima kura or his representatives. In Solomonic Ethiopia, free peasants benefited from rest to inherit land through an ambilineal descent system (at least among the Amhara). Both had to pay tribute, usually in kind, to an overlord (or the church in Ethiopia). While the antiquity of gult probably goes back to the Aksumite era of expansion and military colonies, some Borno mahrams purportedly date from the early centuries of Sayfawa conversion to Islam. Due to the obvious differences between Islam and Christianity, Borno mahrams granted to illustrious or pious mallams and settlements like Kalumbardo might represent the equivalent to Ethiopia's many monastic institutions which spread further across the region under the Solomonic dynasty. 

Additional parallels might be found in the role of elite marriages and class formation of a ruling class that enjoyed its higher status through the exploitation of tribute. Members of the Magumi ruling clan, for instance, sometimes received tax-free land grants and rights of exploitation, according to Muhammad Nur al-Kali. They also formed a distinct group that married among themselves and apparently resisted the alifa of Kanem due to his attempts to tax them. They were probably also distinguished by their sponsorship of Islamic scholars and holymen, such as the noble who paid Ali Eisami's father for his services. Unfortunately, their lives are not as well-documented as their Ethiopian counterparts, particularly during the Gondarine era. Crummey's study includes numerous details of the inheritance, sale, and gifting of gult lands and uses the surviving manuscripts, land charters, and edicts to illustrate how the Ethiopian ruling class did dominate a class-based society. Their lives of luxury and leisurely activity like chess, literacy, hunting elephants, consumption of mead, and the use of silks and expensive imported cloth certainly distinguished them from the average Ethiopian peasant or slaves. Their elite marriages connected them to the Solomonic dynasty and powerful provincial elites while patronage of the church demonstrated the close relations between church and state that was a cornerstone of Solomonic power for most of its 7 centuries of existence. 

Lamentably, we still know far too little about the peasantry exploited by gult. With some suggestive evidence that one Solomonic monarch, Za Dengal, actually tried to align himself with the free peasantry against the regional nobility, thereby threatening gult foundations of the empire, Crummey points to class conflict as a major factor in 16th and 17th century Ethiopia. Susenyos's conversion to Catholicism and religious conflict certainly contributed to this turmoil and instability until the early Gondarine period. Later moments of rural banditry, peasant revolts under Haile Selassie, or the formal end of gult under the Derg administration clearly attest to social conflict in the countryside. Modern Ethiopia's conquest of new territories in the late 19th century and land legislation favoring Amharic-speaking settlers over local inhabitants suggest an ethnic dimension that does not manifest itself in the earlier Gondar era. There is also too little information in the extant corpus on gult and the military in Solomonic history. What differences, if any, existed between military holders of gult and the ecclesiastical organizations who possessed gult lands? Did something akin to the influential mallams of Borno who appealed to the peasantry or the charismatic holymen of the Funj sultanate influence peasant resistance or negotiation of gult conditions? How did gender dynamics shape land ownership or rights in other parts of "Sudanic" Africa? Crummey definitely demonstrates how women could assert gult rights and, in some cases, effect policy on a "national" scale under Mentewab. 

Monastic Holy Men of Early Solomonic Ethiopia

In our current quest to read as much as possible on Ethiopian history, with an emphasis on the Solomonic dynasty, we found Kaplan's The Monastic Holy Man and the Christianization of Early Solomonic Ethiopia to be a very readable overview and analysis. Drawing mostly from the hagiographical literature, Kaplan endeavors to elucidate the rise, function and socio-political context of the holy man. As in the case of Peter Brown's study of the Christian holy man, Kaplan finds some commonalities. However, the distinct origins of Christianity in Ethiopia in the Aksumite period, particularly its top-down origins, and the limitations faced by its Church, led to some important differences. This is perhaps most evident in the Ethiopian Church's dependence on Alexandria, and the lack of interest in evangelization shown by the Egyptian bishops and most of the Solomonic dynasts (except for Zara Yaeqob). 

Although monasticism and saints in the Ethiopian tradition predate the Solomonic "restoration" of 1270, Kaplan argues that the reigning dynasty created conditions favorable for monasticism. Local or provincial nobles who would have remained in political office gradually shifted to a religious vocation as heads of monastic communities in order to retain their power or authority in the face of an expanding Solomonic state, especially during the consolidation of the state under Amda Seyon. While Solomonic rulers supported monastic communities through gult lands and gifts, Kaplan's study suggests the monastic holy men, who were mostly from noble families, would have been partly pushed to monastic life in order to preserve their noble prerogatives as abbots. These abbots, who came from noble families and then received gult in some cases, often ran their gult in a similar manner as the provincial nobility or chiefs. While some holy men were not abbots, the vast majority in the hagiographical literature were heads of monastic communities. 

Some "houses" periodically entered into conflict with the Solomonic dynasty over doctrinal issues or the royal government's attempts to control the Church. Yet the noble origins of the monastic holy man and his frequent involvement with the state's military (through prayer and predictions) led to constant relations. Indeed, the holy man came to be a mediator between the government and the masses, just as he served a similar function as the intermediary of the Christian believers and God. The holy man likewise served as healer, tamer of wild beasts, exorcist, and missionary, spreading the Gospel to pagan or Muslim subject peoples. Unsurprisingly, the monastic holy man often became an important figure based on the variety of his services, connections to powerful people, leadership, and spiritual or religious power. Our hagiographical literature reflects this, and since they were initially written to glorify a saint, often contain numerous miracles or stories meant to enhance the stature of the holy man as an almost angelic being. 

Unfortunately, as missionaries, they usually failed to deeply plant the seed of Christian belief. Their ability to gain adherents to the faith was often through showing the superiority of Christianity in magic rituals or, in some cases, through political advantages Christianity presented to pagan secular leaders eager to limit or remove the religious leadership they shared their authority with. This might help explain why the Muslim invasions of the 16th century were often able to quickly convert parts of Ethiopia, since their Christianization never supplanted their previous traditional religious worldview. Nor were converts necessarily deeply imbued with Christian doctrine or belief. Of course, the lack of support for evangelization from the Solomonic state and Alexandria placed severe limitations on what the monastic centers could accomplish. Without an adequately trained clergy in sufficient numbers, Christianization of the empire was necessarily limited.

In spite of its brevity, and the problematic nature of the sources (though often validated by other traditions, chronicles, or sources), anyone interested in monasticism in Ethiopia or Christianity should read this. It helps us gain a better understanding of exactly who the monks and clerical leadership were in Ethiopia. Moreover, it helps to create a clearer picture of what happened on the ground as Christianity expanded beyond the traditional core of the Aksumite and Zagwe kingdoms. We think a possible comparison could be made with the ulama and the state in Borno or the mallam and the holy man. Perhaps there are similarities between the two beyond the superficial, and in spite of the differences between Christianity and Islam. 

Jews of Ethiopia

Although we are not primarily interested in the history of Ethiopian Jewry, we found this video to be one of the more interesting options out there on Youtube relevant to Ethiopian history. We first encountered this Youtube channel several months ago when we were interested in Jewish history, albeit in that case mostly the Sephardim. Anyway, this is an excellent introduction to a topic we have not dedicated enough attention to in our brief forays into Ethiopian history. There is just so much material to read when it comes to northeastern Africa. 

Medieval Ethiopia and Latin Europe

After reading about the Jesuits in Ethiopia, it made sense to go back a little further in time to understand relations between Solomonic Ethiopia and Latin Europe in the Middle Ages. Medieval Ethiopian Kingship, Craft, and Diplomacy with Latin Europe by Verena Krebs is a good place to start since it focuses on a period from c.1402 to the 1520s, a period before the calamitous invasions of Ahmad Gran. Arguing against the grain of past scholarship which has emphasized Ethiopian interest in military alliances or "superior" European technology, Krebs focuses on the various diplomatic missions from Ethiopia as examples of Solomonic kingship and prestige. No clear interest from the Ethiopian side in a military alliance with Rome or Aragon or Portugal emerges until the 1500s, in an era of millenarian prophecies, Ottoman expansion, and Adal incursions. 

Nor were Ethiopians necessarily interested in European "technology" per se. According to Krebs, Solomonic rulers were instead primarily interested in acquiring relics, ecclesiastical items such as chalices or vestments, and master craftsmen associated with construction. While one could argue that these craftsmen represented an aspect of European "technology" through their assumed superiority as builders, masons, carpenters, or smiths, Solomonic interest in their skills was associated with the ambitious royal churches, chapels, and monasteries constructed throughout the highlands. Solomonic dynasts saw the construction of stone churches decorated with luxurious imports from abroad as a way to strengthen their authority, prestige, and continue the legacy of the Biblical Solomon, their purported ancestor. 

Krebs is quite persuasive and reanalyzes some of the same textual sources used by other historians to demonstrate how Solomonic diplomacy with the Latin "West" was based on their own terms. Instead of seeing Christian Ethiopian as a passive recipient of Western technology or diplomatic initiatives, it was, beginning with Dawit and ending with Lebna Dengel, a largely Ethiopian initiative to acquire relics, religious paraphernalia and skilled artisans to boost their power. One is tempted to see an example of possible Solomonic adoption of architectonics of Western or foreign origin as an additional source of power through ecclesiastical power, something visible in the Jesuit-era churches, yet Krebs points to several examples of local churches that followed earlier Ethiopian precedents or influences. So Solomonic relations with Rome, Venice, Aragon, or Portugal should not be seen as one of European technological superiority motivating Ethiopian diplomacy but properly contextualized in the nature of the highland state. In fact, it was usually European perceptions of Ethiopia or Prester John's might and ability to divert the Nile that interested the papacy or European courts in establishing relations. Unfortunately for them, relations were not consistently maintained and later Solomonic rulers sent fewer envoys to Europe in the later period covered in this study. 

One wonders where and how Christian Nubia fit into this period of Ethiopian and Latin European relations. Mamluk Egypt was unavoidable as an land passed through by Ethiopians and Europeans in the period, but what about Nubia? The kingdom of Dotawo was still relevant and perhaps future scholarship can shed light on an interest in the Crusades from Nubia that was absent in the Solomonic state. Some of the medieval sources demonstrate knowledge of Ethiopian geography, languages, and the regional political climate. Nubia, on the other hand, appears to have been little known or a terra incognita, in spite of European contacts with Nubian kingdoms in the Middle Ages. 

Envoys of a Human God

Several months ago, we were invited to participate in a reading group formed to devour several books on Ethiopian history, with an emphasis on the Jesuits. It took us quite some time to get to it, but we have been periodically reading whatever we can find on Ethiopian history, particularly the medieval and early modern eras of the Solomonic kingdom. Since there are so many studies and translated sources on the Jesuits in Ethiopia, we decided Envoys of a Human God: The Jesuit Mission to Christian Ethiopia, 1557-1632 to be a good introduction to a complex topic with such an ample documentary trail. Andreu Martínez d'Alòs-Moner's study contextualizes the Mission in the larger East of Jesuit missionary activity during the 16th and 17th centuries, an approach we appreciate due to our readings of Jesuit relations in the Americas and China. 

This is not to ignore the specificity and distinct place of Ethiopia in the Jesuit and Western Christian imagination. After all, Ethiopia's ruler has been associated with the Prester John and even the founder of the Society of Jesus conceived of Ethiopia's "restoration" into the Roman Catholic fold as one of the special projects of the order. And, of course, the Solomonic state's already Christian population was not the same as non-Christian Japanese or Chinese or Muslims and Hindus in India. But Jesuit perceptions of Ethiopian Christianity as wayward or aberrant because of the observance of the Sabbath, the widespread practice of circumcision, belief in the uniquely divine nature of Christ, excessive fasting and the negative influence of the Coptic Church of Alexandria made Ethiopians in need of a restitution of their original Roman tutelage. Several chapters explore these theological, political, and social differences between Ethiopian Christianity and the Catholicism of the Counter-Reformation and Jesuits. Some of these aforementioned differences in practice and interpretation led to problems for the missionaries that they could never resolve, particularly over their more pronounced use of icons and certain rites in public, which were perceived by Ethiopians as profaning the sacred mysteries. 

Unlike the previous historical works we have read which have touched upon the Jesuit interlude in Ethiopian history, Envoys of a Human God challenges previous scholarship's unproven assumptions. For example, the idea that the Jesuit missionaries were attractive to Susenyos because the order supported political absolutism is completely absent from the voluminous sources left behind by the Jesuits. Instead, Susenyos probably saw in the Jesuits and the Portuguese a cosmopolitan group whose support for rationalization of the royal court would have appealed to a ruler in a politically decentralized kingdom or empire with recent upheaval for much of the 16h and early 17th centuries. Of course, the impressive architectural and technological knowledge of Europe and India also appealed to Susenyos and their foreign textiles, exotic wares, and trade connections could not have hurt. Likewise, one cannot blame Mendes or Paez for the successes and failures of the overall Mission since their personalities and perceived policy differences were not significant enough to have caused the failure of the mission. Both Paez and Mendes pursued a policy of "Latinization" of Ethiopian Christianity through a top-down strategy of winning over Susenyos and key nobles. Both believed Ethiopian Christianity needed to be aligned with Catholic dogma and practice and were largely opposed to compromise. 

This lack of compromise and a few other practices of the Jesuits, unsurprisingly, sparked unrest, conflict, debate, and, eventually, outright rebellions that led to the fall of Susenyos and the restoration of the local Church. The Jesuit reliance on royal and local elite donors contributed to the precarious nature of the Mission, too. Perceived as attacking local traditions and beliefs, they further antagonized the population as recipients of land grants and donations which worried traditionalists fearful of losing land and influence. When one thinks about it in the larger picture, it is not surprising that the Jesuits failed so quickly after several decades because, as Envoys of a Human God argues, their moment of greatest success was in a period of socio-political transition with a sympathetic ruler whose patronage was necessary to maintain and expand. Once those conditions changed and the ruler was unable to fund or publicly support the Jesuits, they were exiled, persecuted, forced underground, or killed. Outside of a legacy in architecture, painting, and, perhaps, new theological discourse within Ethiopian Orthodoxy, the Jesuit legacy disappeared with the expulsion of the last Ethio-Portuguese or their complete assimilation by the late 17th century. As for what else happened to the converts to Catholicism is not entirely clear, probably due to a paucity of sources. We know several local Catholics faced persecution and execution but it would be fascinating to find out more about crypto-Catholic communities during the reign of Fasiladas and Yohannes. We have encountered the figure of 100,000 for local converts to Catholicism in other studies, which seems small, but the eventual suppression and disappearance of this population and those of mixed-race Ethio-Portuguese descent as a recognized group might suggest something about the nature of the state and nation-building in Gondarine Ethiopia. 

Last but certainly not least, one cannot understand the Ethiopia Mission without mentioning India, particularly Goa and Diu. Without the strong Portuguese base in Goa and relationships with banyan and Muslim traders passing between Diu and the Red Sea, the Portuguese would have struggled to send missionaries to the Ethiopian highlands. Furthermore, Indian craftsmen, masons, and building techniques (Indo-Portuguese and Mughal) seem to have clearly influenced Jesuit constructions in Ethiopia, an example of what the author calls architectonics that shaped Gondarine architecture long after the suppression of Catholicism in the 1630s and beyond. Undoubtedly, the Church infrastructure organized in Goa, and Indian artisans and masons were central to the project until the decline of Portuguese India and the Mission's greater reliance on Susenyos and local, elite backers. Indian textiles, artisans, architectural styles, and the cosmopolitan world of the Indian Ocean were a necessary background for the Jesuits to pass through Red Sea ports and enter Ethiopia. Despite never establishing a foothold in Massawa or the coast of today's Eritrea, which would have facilitated the Jesuits tremendously, Portuguese India served as an essential base for communication, supplies, educated missionary personnel, and skilled workmen 

Extracts of Royal Chronicles

Although Pankhurst's compilation of royal Ethiopian chronicles consists only of extracts and omits some of the emperors, it is a worthwhile read for an introduction to Ethiopian royal chronicles. Unfortunately, Pankhurst does not tell us too much about the authors and audience of these documents, but by compiling extracts from several of them (plus an inscription of Ezana), one gets a sense of historical writing from several centuries of Ethiopian history. These chronicles occasionally hint or mention interesting things, even if some undeniably altered, obscured, or bent the "truth" to flatter certain emperors or patrons. If one is looking for a great example, compare the Funj Chronicle of Sinnar with the Ethiopian royal chronicle that mention the military conflict between the two kingdoms! Nonetheless, Pankhurst's compilation is a nice primer of chronicles from an African civilization with occasionally interesting noodles of information or surprises. For instance, we here at the blog did not expect to come across so many references to imperial interests in foreign technology, innovation, and, perhaps, agricultural practices. It would be interesting to learn more about early Ethiopian interests in sugarcane, for example, or the history of naval, architectural, and military innovation in Ethiopia (and why they were not usually sustainable). 

Abir and the Zemene Mesafint

Mordechai Abir's history of the "Era of the Princes" in Ethiopia was not what we expected. We thought we were in for a lengthy analysis of the various puppet emperors and the effective rulers embodied in the ras who actually exercised authority in the name of the emperor while the various provincial nobles and warlords resisted the central authority. There is definitely some of that in Abir's short work, particularly the influence of the Oromo dynasty of regents who faced the challenges of the local lords, an expansive Egyptian state, a Tigre eager to use firearms to assert itself, and an autonomous Showa expanding to the south and southwest. Like his other work on Ethiopia and the Red Sea, Abir introduces the larger regional factors at play in the late 18th and 19th centuries, particularly the resurgence of Red Sea traffic, Muhammad Ali of Egypt's interests in Sudan and Ethiopia, the decline of the coastal Muslim states in the area surrounding the Ethiopian highlands, and British and French interests. 

The various states or kingdoms that developed in the south and southwest of Ethiopia, under Oromo rulers (and perhaps mixed Sidama and Oromo origins), were economically important as the source of the musk, ivory, gold, civet, and slaves exported from Ethiopia to the outside world. Control of the trade or routes in the transit of those goods, the principal Ethiopian exports, became increasingly important despite the frequent rebellions, wars, and conflicts of northern Ethiopia's contending nobles and factions. In addition, theological disputes also contributed to the rebellions, wars, and antagonisms involving the Church, the abuna appointed by Alexandria and Muslims or "pagan" Oromo perceived as threats to the Christian foundation of the empire. 

Then the rest of this short book shifts to detailing the rise of Teodros (Tewodros) and the ascent of the Showa kingdom based on its sound administration, integration of some of its Oromo subjects, tolerance for religious diversity, and protection of law and order, thereby establishing the kingdom as a major transit for trade. The Egyptian threat during the period examined, from  the 17770s to Tewodros, appears to have never been a serious threat to Ethiopia, but one can see how important the British were as a block to grander Egyptian ambitions in the Horn of Africa. A few local dynasties, particularly that of Showa, appear to have laid the foundations for modern Ethiopia through what Abir describes as an "archaic welfare state" that invested in infrastructure, provided pensions and staples to the poor, established law and order while favoring trade, and embodied religious toleration and the integration of non-Amhara. Surprisingly, neither the Tigre or Showa seem to have invested in guns manufacturing, coming to rely on limited imports. By now, there must be more detailed histories of this turbulent era in Ethiopian history. Nonetheless, this is a good start. 

Solomonic and Sayfawa

We highly recommend anyone interested in "Sudanic" Africa or the history of the Sayfawa dynasty to take a look at  LaVerle Bennette Berry's dissertation on the Gondarine period in Ethiopian history. Although The Solomonic Monarchy at Gonder, 1630-1755: An Institutional Analysis of Kingship in the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia is focused on a very specific period in the history of the Solomonic monarchs before the the Zemene Mesafint, Berry argues in favor of placing the Ethiopian kingdom in its African context and sees strong parallels with Borno's ruling dynasty. Of course, Berry's understanding of Borno political and economic history is through the lens of Cohen, particularly on Borno feudalism, but there are some interesting parallels between the two dynasties which might suggest some utility of contextualizing both as "Sudanic" states of a particular type. 

We would also add the Keira sultans of Darfur, the Istambulawa of Agadez, the Askiyas of Songhai, the Funj, probably Wadai, and maybe Bagirmi to our list as examples of other "Sudanic" states which, despite their religious differences (Islamic, Christian, or "pagan"), hint at deeper commonalities, influences, and particular "African" responses to universalistic religions, long-distance trade linked to the Mediterranean and Eurasia, warrior states, and centralizing authority. Naturally, one can find vast differences among the various polities and kingdoms that developed across the region, but some of their commonalities and perhaps similar relationships to the outside world can be illustrative of dynamic African polities. Nonetheless, the Sayfawa and Solomonic dynasties, both lasting several centuries, offer a better possible comparative approach despite the much richer corpus of sources for Ethiopia. 

In addition to their longevity, they were regional powers, used vertical rather than horizontal links, supported a universalist faith, claimed illustrious ancestry through their respective religions as a political "fact," were built on, at least somewhat, on war and raids, and relied on a system of "fiefs" with delegated authority for administering the provinces and countryside. To a certain extent, one can see periods of Bornoan decline when the mai was less active, something akin to the problem of Ethiopian emperors who did not campaign and thereby lost one of the major sources of their authority: providing booty, captives, and honor to soldiers who served them. But the parallels between the two dynasties and their respective declines may be due to divergent causes by the 18th century. 

Certainly the rise of al-Kanemi in the 19th century was due to external pressure on Borno from the west while the reduction of the Ethiopian emperor to figurehead by the time of Iyasu II was, according to Berry, a product of several decades of internecine strife among the nobility, clerics, and factional strife that saw the rise of the ras and assassinations or depositions. Unfortunately, we don't have enough sources on the Sayfawa dynasty to track all the coups, assassinations, and depositions to the same degree, yet Borno's eventual reliance on enslaved officials may have been a mitigating factor. Nor does one find evidence for the type of internecine theological disputes and factions in Borno that characterized Gondarine Ethiopia, unless one wants to try to argue that Sufism under Umar b. Idris represented a threat of sorts or later conflicts between the royal administration and non-aligned ulama was comparable. Thus, one should not overstress the commonalities or deny the obvious differences in environment, ethnicity, religion, and the vast corpus of chronicles that have survived in Ethiopia versus the smaller corpus from Borno. 

Ethiopia and the Red Sea

Mordechai Abir's Ethiopia and the Red Sea probably should have been given an alternative title. Besides one chapter on the role of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean in Ethiopia's trade networks and Ottoman versus Portuguese conflicts for dominance of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean, this book is mostly a narrative history of the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia from it's expansion in the 1300s to the era right before the Gondarine period. So, Abir's study builds on earlier research by the author and the scholarship of Tamrat and other Ethiopianists to analyze why the Solomonic dynasty failed to establish a more integrated, centralized state in the Horn of Africa. Lacking familiarity with most of the sources utilized by Abir, we cannot determine how accurate or misleading some of his interpretations are, but he did not really utilize Ethiopian sources in Ge'ez so one cannot help but think that skews his interpretation of certain figures, like Susenyos or the conflicts within the church between the two monastic orders over theological debates.

Besides disastrous events like the jihad of Ahmad Gran and the Oromo migrations which continued with very little Ethiopian resistance from the royal court, Abir outlines a plethora of additional factors behind the failure of the Solomonic state to develop an effective, centralized polity capable of integrating or resisting Oromo migration, modernizing, or expanding its influence in the Horn. These include an elite Church dependent on appointed abuns from Egypt, little sustained efforts at evangelizing and integrating conquered peoples, tensions between the Amhara and the northern population of Tigre, regional lords and nobility using succession and factions in the royal court to challenge or revolt the emperor, attempted military and administrative reforms that, in some cases, aided and abetted Oromo expansion into provinces of the empire. The particularly long reign of Sarsa Dengel seems to be a great example of wasted opportunities for reform and centralization, processes that could have helped Ethiopia resist or integrate the Oromo and build a "modern" state beyond the "feudal" military-administrative structure Abir describes. It's hard for this blog to not read Abir's chapter on Sarsa Dengel and not think of the opposite trends in Borno under Idris b. Ali, or Idris Alooma, who appeared to have been far more effective at defending and expanding the borders of Borno while also promoting a monotheistic religion that must have served an integrative function in its vast domains.

Of course, the most interesting and perhaps too brief chapters analyze Susenyos and the Jesuits. Susenyos is depicted as someone who believed in the superiority of Catholic or European civilization and wanted to use it as a way of modernizing the state. Earlier rulers, who had expressed an interest in European military technology and artisans, were supposedly not modernizers, despite some of them attempting various administrative and military reforms with Mamluk or European aid. Susenyos, however, was pressured by the Jesuits into thinking Portuguese-Spanish military aid would flow to Ethiopia if he agreed to impose Catholicism as the official religion. With their aid, presumably Susenyos could have created a state based on different lines, reclaimed territories lost to the Oromo, and "modernized" Ethiopia. Abir presents this as an early attempt by a non-European state to modernize long before the more famous examples of the Middle East and Egypt, but one which Ethiopia was not prepared for due to the very unlikely chances of a Portuguese military presence or expedition and the fierce resistance to the Jesuits from members of the emperor's inner circle, the native religious hierarchy, Jesuit dogmatism attacking local culture and the "feudal" lords opposed to political centralization. Since more recent scholarship has focused on the period of the Jesuit mission, we shall return to this period in Ethiopian history and some of the conclusions reached by Abir of the Gondarine period as one of decline or, perhaps, failure. 

The Glorious Victories of Amda Seyon, King of Ethiopia

Although obviously from a different time and era than the chronicles of Ahmad b. Furtu, Huntingford's translation of the royal chronicle of Amda Seyon's 1332 campaigns brought us back to Borno and the campaigns of Idris Alooma. Of course, the chroniclers of their respective kings relied on their own religious traditions and unique political and dynastic claims to legitimacy, but both created relatively detailed and panegyrical chronicles of specific military campaigns during the lengthy reigns of pivotal rulers in the Solomonic and Sayfawa dynasties. 

For instance, both Ahmad b. Furtu and the anonymous chronicler of Amda Seyon undeniably sought to justify the military campaigns of their patrons on religious grounds, with their respective kings reestablishing or restoring the true faith while engaging in large-scale military campaigns that transformed the larger region with population displacement and realignments through imperial expansion. Similarly, both chroniclers compare their patrons to their alleged illustrious forebears, Sayf and the House of Solomon with the expected references to the holy texts of their respective faiths. The major difference here, of course, would be the primary antagonism between Islam and Christianity in the case of Ethiopia while Christianity was a non-factor in Borno's campaigns during the the reign of Idris Alooma.

Despite these probably superficial parallels, we are fascinated by the idea of a comparative study of the Sayfawa and Solomonic dynasties as examples of long-lasting African political systems. Both drew on "world religions" of Christianity and Islam but of course owed much of their origins to an ancient, deeper past in their regions of the Lake Chad Basin and the Ethiopian highlands. Both also provide interesting examples of the vicissitudes of these dynasties during the 19th century and European imperialism as they transformed, declined, or, in the case of the Solomonic rulers, maintained their independence.

Church and State in Ethiopia, 1270–1527

Due to its central importance as a key study of medieval Ethiopian history, we finally read Taddesse Tamrat's important study. While definitely reflecting some of the older biases in the scholarship on ancient Ethiopia, particularly the role of speakers of Semitic languages from South Arabia as civilizing agents, it remains a definitive study of the early centuries of the Solomonic dynasty. Indeed, Tamrat's work demonstrates how effective hagiographical literature from the region can be for reconstructing the distant past. These sources of course have their limitations and raise additional problems, but Tamrat seems judicious and capable of parsing the likely and factual information from them to form a coherent historical narrative of Church-State relations. In addition to hagiographies, Ethiopian land grants, royal chronicles, and external Arabic and European sources, Tamrat occasionally uses local traditions to shed further light on the contours of the Solomonic state's development.

Tamrat's study basically outlines the development of the Solomonic dynasty from 1270 until the period before Ahmad Gragn nearly defeated the Solomonic rulers of the Christian state. Beginning with the somewhat dated overview of Aksumite origins and Christianity in the region through the Zagwe dynasty, Tamrat proceeds to cover the next few centuries. Territorial expansion under the Solomonic rulers, particularly Amda-Seyon, favored the resurgence and growth of monastic communities, evangelization of some conquered peoples, an efflorescence of Ethiopian literature, and the Christian kingdom becoming the dominant power in the region. Already one can see Ethiopian Christianity diverging from the Coptic Church, especially over the issue of observance of the Sabbath (seen as a Jewish custom by the Patriarchs in Alexandria). 

Religious differences within the Ethiopian Christian community, conflicts with pagan and Muslim neighbors and subjects, and complications with Muslim rulers of Egypt and Alexandria all illustrate how Ethiopian Christianity was never isolated or removed from the fate of the state. Thus, under strong rulers like Zara Yaqob, the Church was unified and the force of the government assisted monastic communities, the spread of churches, and even Ethiopian communication with Christian Europe. Unfortunately, the problems of succession, the dependence on the Egyptian bishop to ordain local priests, Muslim expansion under Adal, and the failure to integrate subjugated "pagan" and Muslims paved the path to the near disintegration of the Empire in the 1500s.

In some respects, the Solomonic dynasty reminds this blog of our favorite African imperial line, the Sayfawa. Although obviously distinct as one was Muslim and the other Christian, both lasted for several centuries. Both experienced periods of decline, civil war, succession crises, conflicts with "pagan" neighbors (and, according to some sources, "Christian Kwararafa" or Christian "Gaoga" opposed the Sayfawa), and a strong association with their official religions. Indeed, studies of the ulama and Islam in Kanem-Borno illustrate a similar close association between the ruling house and their monotheistic religion. Of course, the surviving written sources from Ethiopia significantly outnumber what we have for Kanem-Borno, but one wonders to what extent a comparative perspective on the two dynasties might reveal for African precolonial political longevity, religion, intellectual development, or even statecraft. Naturally, the Horn of Africa was better known to the outside world at an earlier date than the Lake Chad Basin, but we still think there is something to be said for contextualizing the development of these long-lasting dynasties in a "Sudanic" context.

Poncet's Voyage to Ethiopia

Charles Jacques Poncet's relation of his voyage to Ethiopia in the late 17th century is a fascinating portrait of the Funj Sultanate in today's Sudan and Solomonic Ethiopia under Emperor Iyasu I. Ostensibly voyaging to Ethiopia to provide medical services to the Ethiopian ruler, Poncet was involved with a plan to reintroduce the Jesuits into Ethiopia while also promoting the idea of an Ethiopian embassy to Louis XVI. As a reputable physician in Cairo, Poncet seemed perfect for the mission, and left behind a very flattering portrait of Ethiopia for his French and European readers. While the Jesuits never did become a significant force in Gondarine Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian embassy to France failed to reach the court of Louix XIV, Poncet is one of our richest sources on Ethiopia and the Funj Sultanate. 

Ethiopians may have distrusted Jesuits and Catholics, as well as practicing forms of discrimination against local Muslims, but Ethiopia from Fasiladas to Iyasu I cannot be said to have practiced isolationist policies. In addition to attempted overtures to the Mughals in India and the Dutch East India Company in Batavia during the second half of the 17th century, Poncet portrays close relations and economic ties between the Funj Sultanate and the Solomonic rulers of Ethiopia. Indeed, a brother of reigning king of Sennar was living at the court of Iyasu I, and trade ties were close between the two regions. One almost sees Ethiopia, and the capital Gondar, as being part of the larger "Sudanic" and Nile Valley trade systems that intersected with Mediterranean and trans-Saharan networks. In addition, Ethiopia benefited from the Funj's trade across the Red Sea and Indian Ocean while also having relations with the Ottoman Pasha in Massawa. Thus, Gondarine Ethiopia appears to have been a node in Sudanic, trans-Saharan, Northeast African caravan trade, and Indian Ocean networks that stretched to India and Europe. 

Unfortunately, Poncet did not provide more details on the movement of people and goods between the Funj Sultanate and Gondarine Ethiopia. Both rulers split the duties on cotton exported to Ethiopia from Sennar at the market town of Chelga, and "Gebertis" Muslims from Ethiopia seem to have played a key role in commerce between the states. Poncet also mentioned an Ethiopian in Sennar who had converted to Islam, a Joseph, who was executed. Nevertheless, it makes one ponder the links Gondarine Ethiopia may have already had with lands further west, such as Kordofan, Darfur, and the Lake Chad Region. If caravans were active between Borno and the Funj, and Muslim pilgrims from "Takrur" were possibly already traveling the "Sudan" road, perhaps Gondarine Ethiopia also looked to western lands for additional economic and political relations. This is pure speculation on our part, but we hope to learn more about Gondarine Ethiopia's relations with the Funj and other lands to the west in order to examine this larger African context.