Fwd: Book Review - The Ethiopians: A History

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From: Danny Yee

To: Book Review List

Subject: Book Review - The Ethiopians: A History

Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2001 06:36:38 -0400

http://dannyreviews.com/h/Ethiopians.html

TITLE: The Ethiopians

- A History

AUTHOR: Richard Pankhurst

PUBLISHER: Blackwell 2001

OTHER: 299 pages, bibliography, index

A narrative history focused on politics, _The Ethiopians_ makes an

excellent introduction to the fascinating past of Ethiopia. The first

chapter covers geography and human origins and the second runs all

the way down to the twelfth century, covering Aksum and the origins of

Ethiopian Christianity; it is not till historical sources become more

plentiful in the thirteenth century that the narrative picks up steam.

When _The Ethiopians_ does touch on archaeology and social history,

it tends to be descriptive of monuments or specific groups rather than

more broadly integrative; this may be to avoid overlap with Pankhurst's

separate _Social History of Ethiopia_.

After the Zagwe dynasty (1137 to 1270), best known for its rock-hewn

churches at Lalibala, came the so-called "Solomonic restoration" and a

shift to Shawa. The Shawan capitals were "mobile cities", but emperors

such as Amda Seyon could mobilise resources for wars with the lowland

Muslim states. Sources for the period include works in Ge'ez such as

the early fourteenth century chronicle _Kebra Nagast_ ("Glory of Kings")

and accounts by European travellers. Factors of ongoing importance

included access to weapons through Red Sea ports, the dependence of

the Ethiopian church on the Egyptian Coptic Church for the appointment

of its leaders, and the migration of the Oromo from the south.

The sixteenth century saw conflict with the Muslim emirate of Adal,

culminating in Ahmad ibn Ibrahim's conquest of most the Ethiopian

highlands, which was ended only with the aid of a 400-strong Portuguese

expedition. Other key events included the arrival of the Jesuits

and the Ottoman seizure of the Red Sea port of Massawa. There was a

Jesuit-inspired Roman Catholic interlude from 1622 to 1632, but imposition

of Catholicism from above failed in the face of popular opposition.

The later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries saw the rise and

fall of Gondar. There was then a long period during which the empire

had little more than notional control over many areas, with regional

powers such as Tegray almost completely independent.

In the second half of the nineteenth century three key figures from

different regions claimed the title of emperor and attempted unification

and centralisation. Relationships with the colonial powers -- Italy,

Britain, and France -- were now of critical importance. Tewodros became

embroiled in a dispute with the British, who attacked and sacked his

headquarters Maqdala in 1868, following which he committed suicide.

The reign of Yohannes saw the seizure of Massawa by the Italians and

conflict with Mahdists in the Sudan. Menilek defeated the Italians

at the battle of Adwa, but that only brought temporary advantage in

long-running negotiations and disputes over the border with Italian

Eritrea. This period saw the founding and growth of Addis Ababa and

steady modernization; the latter really took off under Iyasu and the

reformer Ras Tafari, who became emperor Haile Seilasie in 1930.

Fascist Italy attacked and occupied Ethiopia in 1936 (in the process

committing extensive war crimes, the perpetrators of which were never

brought to justice). The international response demonstrated the

impotence of the League of Nations and the pusillanimity of the British

and French (who, as with Spain, instituted a one-sided arms blockade).

After the entry of Italy into the Second World War, Ethiopia was liberated

in a rapid campaign in 1941, but subsequent relations with the British

were uneasy, with some areas were only returned to full Ethiopian control

in 1954. After the war Ethiopia allied itself with the United States

and took a leading role within the Organisation of African Unity, but

internal unrest persisted. The 1974 Revolution produced a troubled

socialist regime that lasted to the fall of Mangestu in 1991, where

Pankhurst's account stops.

%T The Ethiopians

%S A History

%A Pankhurst, Richard

%Y The Peoples of Africa

%I Blackwell

%C Oxford

%D 2001

%O paperback, bibliography, index

%G ISBN 0-631-22493-9

%P xiv,299pp

%K history, Africa

3 September 2001

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