Thus affairs continued until the sixteenth century, when the invasion of
Mohammad Graan led to the total dismemberment of the Ethiopic empire;
and Shoa, amongst other of the richer provinces, was overrun and
colonised by the Galla hordes. Nebla Dengel, the emperor of Gondar,
fell by the hand of the Moslem conqueror. Faris, the son of Dilbonach,
by a daughter of the house of Solomon, held a Ras-ship under the crown,
in the stronghold of Dair, and from his son Sumbellete sprang Nagasi,
the first monarch of Efat, who was born at Amad Washa, the capital of
Agamcha, and a century and a half ago held his capital in Mans. Prior
to the conquest of that province, which was followed by the gradual
subjugation of Shoa and its present dependencies, this prince occupied a
lofty fortress in the Yedjow country, where some of his descendants
still remain. From it are visible the high and impregnable mounts
Ambasel and Geshama; the latter of which fastnesses, in the more remote
periods of Ethiopic splendour, had served as a place of confinement for
the younger brothers of the reigning emperor; whilst the former is in
the hands of an independent ruler, whose ancestress becoming the
mistress of the Christian governor, the father of the Delilah contrived,
during the celebration of her nuptials, to surprise the garrison, and
put every man to the sword.
Nagasi repaired in due time to Gondar, to be formally invested by the
Emperor; but after receiving at the royal hands twelve "nugareet," he
died suddenly. To one of his four sons he bequeathed on his death-bed a
shield, to a second a spear, to a third a ring, and to Sabastiye, his
favourite child, a war-steed which he had always ridden to the combat.
The youths were summoned to court in order that they might receive their
legacies; and on opening an amulet attached to the horse's neck, it was
found to contain the will and testament of the deceased, nominating
Sabastiye the successor to his possessions.
This prince reigned twenty-five years, and was succeeded by Abiye, his
eldest son, who after fifteen years was gathered to his fathers at
Aramba, which he had wrested from the Areeo Galla. Emmaha Yasoos, who
succeeded next, and reigned thirty-two years, introduced several
matchlocks from Gondar, conquered Ankober, and removed his capital
thither from Dokaket. At the period of his accession, the sorcerers
predicted that if one Arkaradis should be appointed minister, the empire
would be doubled. Diligent search was made throughout the realm, but a
mendicant was the sole individual of that name who could be found. He
was duly inducted into office; and his first step was to revive among
the circumjacent Galla an ancient prophecy, that when fires should be
seen on the summits of the three loftiest peaks of the great barrier
range, their possessions would be overrun by the Christians. After the
lapse of a few months, Arkaradis caused beacon-fires to be kindled
during the night on the crests of Kondie, Ankober, and Mamrat; upon
beholding which many of the heathen fled, and without a blow being
struck, sundry districts were appended to Shoa.
Asfa Woosen, grandsire to the reigning monarch, succeeded to his father
Emmaha Yasoos, and reigned thirty-three and a half years. Of
forty-eight male children he was the bravest. He was a great Nimrod,
and an unparalleled warrior, slaying three hundred Pagans with his own
spear from the back of his favourite war-steed Amadoo. Amongst many
other despotic laws enacted during his reign, was one prohibiting the
manufacture of hydromel by the subject. Three great rebellions
threatened the stability of his empire, which had now shaken off all
allegiance to Gondar, but each in turn was quelled by his personal
valour. The last insurrection was headed by Woosen Suggud, the
heir-apparent. In a pitched battle the youth was wounded by the hand of
his father, taken prisoner, and immured throughout the term of the
monarch's life. During the last fifteen years of his reign, Asfa Woosen
was totally blind. It is fully believed that the sight of one eye was
destroyed by Thavanan, as already narrated in the legend of "the
tormentor," and that one of the royal concubines, whom that sorcerer had
spirited away, destroyed the other shortly afterwards, by means of a
powerful spell imparted by her paramour.
Since the commencement of the present century, the custom of consigning
to a dungeon the brothers and kindred of the reigning monarch has fallen
into desuetude in Northern Abyssinia. The princes of the blood-royal
now wander over the country unmolested and unheeded, attaching
themselves to any chief who may be willing to extend countenance and
support, and holding themselves at his disposal in the event of his
gaining ascendancy over his rivals, and requiring a titular emperor to
perform the indispensable ceremony of nominating a Ras. But the form is
still retained, of placing the crown upon the brows of a descendant of
the ancient line of Solomon, who is content to be a mere puppet in the
hands of the temporary minister; and enjoying a stipend of three hundred
dollars per annum, with the paltry revenues accruing from the tolls of
the hebdomadal market in the capital, he remains a prisoner upon parole
in his palace at Gondar.
Volume 3, Chapter III.