Chapter Four

Politics, Economy and Society from the Late

Thirteenth to the Beginning of the Sixteenth
Century
 Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, students will be able to:
• explain the concept of the “restoration” of “Solomonic” Dynasty;
• explain the succession problems and the role of Amba Gishen in Christian
Kingdom;
• scrutinize dynamics of territorial expansion of the Christian Kingdom;
• elaborate the relationship between trade and expansion of Islam in the region;
• identify the characteristics of inter-state relation during the period under
discussion;
• identify the factors for interaction of the people of the region in the period;
• discuss the rivalry between the Christian Kingdom and Muslim Sultanates in the
region;
• point out the nature of Ethiopia's relations with the outside world during the
period.
The “Restoration” of the “Solomonic’’ Dynasty
• rulers of the “Solomonic” Dynasty claimed that they were descendants of the
last king of Aksum and hence, they were legitimate to take over state power
from the “illegitimate” rulers of the Zagwe dynasty.
• They considered the Zagwe as “usurpers” of the legitimate throne
• The “Solomonic” claim is legendary and it has been elaborated by the Kibre
Nagast “Glory of Kings” translated from the Egyptian Arabic into Ge’ez.
• It claims that the Ethiopian ruling class are descended from the line of Menilek
I, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Israel.
• As a result, Ethiopian monarchs from Yikuno Amlak to Emperor Haile Silassie I
claimed descent from Menilek I.
• Yikuno-Amlak who ruled from 1270-1285 was considered as the restorer of the
“Solomonic” Dynasty.
He ruled in his reginal name Tesfa Eyesus.
Power struggle

• However, later there was a political instability caused by constant power

struggles among his sons and grandsons for succession.
• There was also opposition from the Zagwe and Beja. The Falasha were building
their independent kingdom.
• During this period, the independent kingdoms of Damot, Gojjam and Hadiya
were flourished in the west and south west.
• The succession problem seems to have been partly resolved in 1300 during the
reign of Widim-Ra’ad (r. 1299-1314) following the establishment of a 'royal
prison' at Amba-Gishen located in present day southern Wollo.
• According to the rule, all male members of the royal family were confined at
the Amba. Loyal soldiers of the reigning monarch guarded the royal prison.
When the monarch died, court dignitaries would send an army to the royal
prison to escort the designated successor and put him on the throne.
• This practice continued until Amba-Gishen was destroyed by Imam Ahmad
Ibrahim Al-Ghazi's force in 1540.
Consolidation and Territorial Expansion of the Christian Kingdom
• From 1270 until the establishment of Gondar in 1636, the medieval monarchs
had no permanent capital. The kings lived in moving tents.
• Initially, the center of the “restored” dynasty was in medieval Amhara (today’s
South Wollo) around Lake Haiq.
• However, it gradually shifted southward to the districts of Menz, Tegulet,
Bulga in north Shawa.
• finally to the regions dominated by the great height of the Yerer, Entoto,
Menagesha, Wachacha, Furi and Zequalla mountains.
• After coming to power, Yikuno-Amlak embarked on consolidating his authority
throughout the empire.
• he quickly subdued Ifat, the Muslim center adjacent to Shawa. Yet, until the
coming of Amde-Tsion (r.1314-44), the center and the territorial limit of the
Christian Kingdom was mainly in present day Tigray, Lasta, medieval Amhara
and Shawa.
• Amde-Tsion was the first "Solomonic" King, who embarked on a policy of a wider and rapid
territorial expansion. He was called the “warrior king” and regarded as the founder of the
Ethiopian state.
• His main motives of expansion were economic and political i.e. to control the trade routes
and territorial seizures. The Christian Kingdom controlled extensive territories during the
reign of Emperor Amde-Tsion.
• The period also witnessed the expansion of trade leading to the flow of commodities to the
coast following the major routes.
• In the process of consolidating his power, Amde-Tsion subdued rebellions in an attempt to
end centrifugal tendencies, which threatened the unity of the Christian Kingdom. The areas
he subdued include:
Bizamo and Damot in 1316/7
Agaw (Awi) of Gojjam around 1323/4
Bete-Israel or Falasha (located between Dambiya and Tekeze River) around 1332
Amde-Tsion gave Enderta (in Tigray) to his wife Bilen-Saba, which led to Enderta’s
rebellion, led by Yibeka-Igzi in 1320s who was corroborated by Ifat and Shawa.
Later Bahr-Sagad, the son of Amde-Tsion, became the governor of Tigray.
Cont’d
In 1325, Amde-Tsion campaigned to today’s Eritrean region. After controlling the whole
region, he appointed a governor with a title of Ma'ekale-Bahir, which later on changed to
Bahire-Negash.
In the southeast, Muslim sultanates paid tributes to the Christian Kingdom since 1328
In the south, Gurage speaking areas and a few of the Omotic kingdoms like Wolayta,
Gamo and Hadiya were brought under the influence of the Christian state and were
paying tributes.
Amde-Tsion was in full control of all the trade routes and sources of trade of the Ethiopian
region in the early 1330s.
Amde Tsion also annexed the hostile Muslim states of Ifat and Fatagar and farther south
Dewaro and Bali.

Because of this an Arab writer during 1340s described the king as ruler over ninety-nine
kings! (Levine,1972,p.73).
The consolidation and territorial expansion of the Christian Kingdom continued during the
successors of Amde-Tsion.
Evangelization, Religious Movements, and Religious Reforms of Zara-Yaqob

early Christians played an important role in the spread of Christianity in several

areas.
Iyesus-Mo'a of Haiq Istifanos opened new opportunities of learning for
Christians who lived in the central part of Ethiopia and later evangelized the
newly incorporated areas.
The territorial expansion carried out by Amde−Tsion during the medieval period
set an additional momentum for the spread of Christianity.
Abune Tekle-Haymanot played a key role in reviving Christianity in Shawa, which
was followed by the evangelization of areas in southern Ethiopia including
medieval Damot. He baptized and converted Motalami to Christianity.
During the reign of emperor Zara Yaqob the pagan subjects of the empire were
ordered to abandon their traditional religions/rites for Christianity and the king
specially ordered to have tattoos of the cross.
Religious Movements
The Ewostatewos Movement
established by Ewostatewos who led his own monastic community in Sara'e (in present day
Eritrea)
he was joined by many students and taught until about 1337.
the strict observance of Sabbath.
Deqiqe Estifanos
Was founded and led by Abba Estifanos of Agame
He established a rigid monastic organization which emphasized poverty, absolute self-
subsistence, equality and independence from secular authorities.
This monastic movement gained followers in various monastic communities, though adversaries
made attempts to discredit the movement and the leader.
Zara-Yacob considered this as a heretical movement and took very harsh measures against the
Estifanosites allegedly for their opposition of the veneration of St. Mary.
King Naod (1494-1508) appears to have been more favorably inclined towards the Estifanosites
and to have been instrumental in their reintegration into the EOC during the period of
Metropolitan Abune Yeshaq.
Reading on The Religious Reforms of Emperor Zara-Yaqob
Political and Socio-Economic Dynamics in Muslim Sultanates
Trade was one of the major factors that resulted in the rise and development of Muslim Sultanates.
The need to control the trade routes remained a major source of conflict between the Christian
Kingdom and Muslim sultanates.
The most known Muslim Sultanates during this period were Ifat (1285-1415) and Adal (1415-1577).
The Sultanate of Adal was one of the strong Muslim sultanates that emerged along trade routes and
became a center of resistance against the Christian Kingdom until the second half of the sixteenth
century.
The Rise of Adal
A branch of the Walasma family, which realized that Ifat was becoming an easy target to the Christian
Kingdom due to its location, moved further to the southeastern lowlands and established new and
vigorous Muslim Sultanate of Adal in the highland districts around Harar in 1367.
The first center of this extended Walasma Dynasty was at a place called Dakar, south east of Harar.
From Dakar conducted military campaigns against the frontiers of the Christian Kingdom.

The center of Adal in 1520 changed to the city of Harar

Rivalry between the Christian Kingdom and the Muslim Sultanates
• Zeila was the main outlet to the sea during the medieval period.
• The ambition to control this trade route and commodities that passed through Zeila led
to rivalry between the “Solomonic” rulers and the Sultanate of Ifat.
• The first recorded conflict between the Christian Kingdom and Ifat took place in 1328.
It was because the Muslim Sultanates organized their armies to take military action
against the Christian Kingdom.
• The Sultan of Ifat, Haqaddin I stopped merchants belonging to the Christian King,
Amde-Tsion, confiscating the goods, capturing, and imprisoning the king's agent,
Ti’iyintay returning from Cairo.
• This forced Amde-Tsion to wage a campaign against Haqaddin I; defeated and took him
prisoner and eventually replaced him by his brother Sabradin.
• In 1376, Haqadin II came to power and refused to pay tribute and rebelled against
Neway-Maryam (1371-80), the son of Amde-Tsion. However, he died fighting in 1386.
• Similarly, the successor of Haqadin II, Sa’d ad-Din II (C. 1386-1402) gained initial success
until king Dawit I (r. 1380-1412) in 1402/3 extended his expansion and defeated him.
• Sa’d ad-Din II became refuge in Zeila until King Yishaq (r.1413-30) killed him in
1415. Since then the area was called "the land of Sad ad-Din."
• Following the death of Sa’d ad-Din and loss of Zeila to Christian Kings, the
Muslim sultanates declined in power.
• Sa’d ad-Din’s sons who took refuge in Yemen came back to succeed their father.
Yet, Adal continued to challenge the Christian state and were successful in
killing Tewodros (1412-13) and Yeshaq.
• This led to intense struggle for predominance.
• after the defeat of Imam Ahmed; a growing threat from a new force-the
Oromo- forced the sultanate to change its capital to Awsa in 1576/7, to the
present Afar region.
• In 1445, Zara Yaqob defeated Sultan Ahmed Badlay at the battle of Yeguba. As a
result, the son and successor of Ahmed Badlay, Mohammed Ahmed (r.1445-71)
sent a message of submission to Ba’ede Mariam (r. 1468-78) to remain vassal of
the Christian Kings.
The successors of Ba'ede-Mariam proved weak in their dealings with the rulers of
Muslim Sultanates.
At the same time, leaders of the Muslim Sultanate sought to resolve the problem
peacefully. As a result, Mohammad ibn Azhar ad-Din (1488-1518) attempted to
harmonize relations with the Christian Kingdom.
Emir Mahfuz carried out some effective military campaigns into the highlands.
However, in 1517 Emir Mahfuz died fighting against Emperor Lebne-Dengel's (r.
1508-40) force and his son-in-law, Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, popularly
known as Ahmed Gragn or the "left-handed" took over the leadership.