This document provides an introduction to the history of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. It discusses the meaning and uses of history, sources and methods of historical study, historiography of the region, and the geographical context. Some key points covered include: - History is the systematic study of past human events and societies. It helps understand the present and provides a sense of identity. - Historians rely on primary and secondary sources to study the past, including manuscripts, oral traditions, travel accounts, and archaeological evidence. - The writing of history in Ethiopia and the Horn has evolved from early travel accounts and manuscripts to the professionalization of history as an academic discipline in the 20th century. - The

1. History of Ethiopia and the Horn (Hist. 1012)
UNIT ONE
INTRODUCING HISTORY

2. 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” which later became to modern
scholars to mean “facts of history.”
The first use of the term is attributed to Herodotus.
Before Herodotus, no one has word for history in the sense
of writing a narration of past events.
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.

3. Cont…
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 discrete periods:.
History is conventionally divided into ancient, medieval
and modern: periodization.
The issue of continuity and change is the concern of
historical study.

4. Cont…
B. The Uses of History
 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 helps to
understand who we are and where we fit in the world.
 History provides the basic background for other
disciplines including social science and natural science
 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.

5. 1.2. Sources and Methods of Historical Study
1. 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. Eg.,
 inscriptions, manuscripts, travel accounts
 artifacts, fossils, ruins of buildings
 diaries, memoirs, letters
 minutes, court records

6. Cont..
Secondary sources are interpretation of primary ones,
written long after the event has occurred. Eg.,
 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.
2. Methods: refer to the ways by which historians:
 collect evidences of past events,
 evaluate that evidences,

7. 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 19th c.
Leopold Von Ranke (1795–1886) founded history as an
independent discipline in Berlin.
Ranke is praised as the “father of modern
historiography.”

8. Cont…
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: Eg.,
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

9. Cont…
2. Christian Topography:
a copy of the Adulis inscription (Greek script about
unknown Aksumite king).
composed by Cosmas Indicopleustes in the 6th c A.D.
are hand writings, both secular and spiritual.
Manuscripts:
whose values are essentially religious.
provide insights into the country’s past. Eg.,
o A manuscript that dates to the 7th century was
discovered in Abba Gerima Monastery, Tigray.
o A manuscript that was produced in the 13th century was
discovered in Haiq Istifanos monastery, Wollo.

10. Cont…
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. Eg.,
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

11. Cont…
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. Eg.
- 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 Ethiopia and the Horn. Eg.,
al-Masudi had a recorded in the 10th century
Ibn Battuta had documented in the 14th century.
Shihab al-Din composed Futuh al Habesha in the 16th C.
Al-Haymi, who led a Yemeni delegation in 1647 to Gonder.

12. Cont…
Accounts of European travelers & missionaries:
cover religious & political developments in Ethiopia.
include the country’s foreign relations. Eg.,
oThe Prester John of the Indies, composed by Francisco
Alvarez
oTravels to discover the Source of the Nile, produced
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).

13. Cont…
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 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

14. Cont. …
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.

15. Cont. …
 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 in Ethiopia.
Department of History in 1963 at the (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.

16. Cont…
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
oWhat are the common problems in the study of
Ethiopian history?

17. 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.

18. Cont…
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

19. Cont…
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.
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