Ethiopia is the classical appellation for Abyssinia, or Habesh, the most
ancient as well as the greatest monarchy in Africa. It is by the latter
title that the inhabitants themselves, and all their circumjacent
neighbours, still distinguish the highlands included between Nubia and
the sources of the blue Nile; and the limits of the Christian empire,
governed by the sovereigns of Axum, formerly extended over wide tracts
of country, now peopled by heathen and stranger nations.
The early history of Habesh is lost in the fogs of fable. In the
Chronicles styled Kebra za Negest, "the glory of the kings," a romance
which pretends to be a faithful repository of the past, Ittopia is
modestly stated to have divided with Romia the dominion of the world,
received in direct inheritance from Adam.--"Their rulers were both
descended from Shem, who was nominated the lineal descendant of Noah,
whence all the globe north of Jerusalem belonged unto the former, and
all south to the latter!"
This record is believed to have been discovered in the church of Saint
Sophia, and it claims for the present royal family descent from the
queen of Sheba, whose visit to king Solomon is stated to have placed the
sceptre in the hands of the tribe of Judah, with whom it has remained
until the present day; and from the peasant to the despot this legend is
firmly believed by every native of Abyssinia.
"The queen of Ethiopia," saith the Chronicle, "whose name was Maqueda,
had heard from the merchant Tamerin of the wisdom and the glory of king
Solomon; and resolving to visit him in his own country, she proceeded to
the land of Israel with all the rich presents that her empire could
afford."
After a season the royal lady returned; and her son Menilek, the result
of her visit to the greatest potentate of the age, was born, and in due
time transmitted to his august sire, that he might be duly instructed in
all the mysteries of Jewish law and science. Having been anointed king
under the name of David, he returned to his native land, with a large
suite of the nobles of Israel, and a band of her most learned elders
under the direction of Ascarias, the son of Zadok the High Priest.
But previously to his setting out, the gates of the temple of Jerusalem
were left unguarded, and the doors miraculously opened in order to
afford an opportunity, which was not neglected, of stealing and carrying
away the holy ark of Zion and the tables of the law. To queen Maqueda
also is attributed the inhuman treatment since experienced by the royal
princes, for on resigning the reins of authority to her son, about nine
hundred and seventy years before the birth of Christ, she caused a
solemn obligation to be sworn by all, that henceforward no female should
hold sway in the land; and that those princes of the blood-royal upon
whom the crown did not devolve, should, until the succession opened to
them, or during their natural term of existence, be kept close prisoners
on a lofty mountain; a cruel and despotic enactment, which, through a
long succession of ages, was jealously observed.
The Emperor of Ethiopia early adopted the title of Negoos, or Negash;
and the coast of the Indian ocean towards Sofala was held by his deputy
with the style of Bahr Negash, "the King of the Sea,"--a vicegerent with
the same title, governing Yemen, which from the earliest times down to
the Mohammadan conquest of Arabia belonged to Abyssinia. The family of
Menilek ibn Hakim are stated in the Kebra za Negest to have worn the
crown in uninterrupted felicity until the year of our Lord 960, when an
event occurred which nearly obliterated that dynasty, and first spread
anarchy, violence, and oppression throughout the once happy realm.
Christianity became the national religion of Abyssinia in the beginning
of the fourth century. The Falashas, descendants of the Jews, who are
believed to have accompanied Menilek from Jerusalem, had meanwhile waxed
extremely powerful, and refusing to abandon the faith of their
forefathers, they now declared independence. Electing a sovereign of
their own creed, they took possession of the almost impregnable mountain
fastnesses of Simien, where their numbers were augmented by continual
accessions from the Jews who were expelled from Palestine and from
Arabia. Under the constant titles of Gideon and Judith, a succession of
kings and queens held a limited sway until, in the middle of the tenth
century, the Princess Esther, styled, by the Amhara, Issat, which
signifies "fire," a woman of extraordinary beauty and talent, conceived
the design of subverting the religion, and with it the existing order of
succession in the empire. A fatal epidemic had swept off the Emperor,
and spread desolation through court and capital. Del Naad, who had been
nominated to the crown, was of tender years; and Esther, deeming no
opportunity more favourable, surprised the rock Damo, on which, by
virtue of the existing statute, the other scions of the royal house were
confined, and having massacred the whole, five hundred in number,
proclaimed herself the queen over Abyssinia.
The sole surviving prince of his race was hurried by the Amhara nobility
into the distant and loyal province of Shoa; and the reins of government
passed into the hands of a Christian family of Lasta, styled Zegue, with
whom they remained until the thirteenth century. During the
administration of Naakweto Laab, the last of this dynasty, Tekla
Haimanot the monk, a native of Abyssinia, was created Abuna, [Abuna, or
more properly Aboon, signifies "our father"] or Primate of Ethiopia. He
had previously founded in Shoa the celebrated monastery of Debra
Libanos, and was a man celebrated alike for the purity of his life, the
soundness of his understanding, and his devotion to his country.
Obtaining extraordinary influence over the mind of the king, he
prevailed upon him, for conscience-sake, to resign a crown which could
never be purified from the stain of usurpation. The banished line of
Solomon, content with the dominion of Shoa, had made no effort towards
the recovery of their ancient boundaries; but by a treaty now concluded,
Yekweno Amlak was restored to the throne of his ancestors. Naakweto
Laab was to retain Lasta in perpetual independence, with the golden
stool, the silver kettle-drums, and other insignia of royalty, whilst
one third of the realm was permanently ceded to the Primate for the
maintenance of his ecclesiastical dignity, and for the support of the
clergy, convents, and churches. This was styled the "Era of Partition;"
and it formed a stipulation, that the functions of Archbishop should in
future be vested in none save a Copt, appointed from Cairo by the chair
of Saint Mark.
Volume 3, Chapter II.