Reino de Tigr
Reino de Tigr, also known as Kingdom of Tigray, was a kingdom dominated by Tigray people in northern Ethiopia from 1270 after the collapse of the Zagwe dynasty[citation needed] until conquest by the Ethiopian Empire in 1876. The Ethiopian Empire expanded into Eritrea through the Tigray Region, under Yohannes IV king of Tembien, whose forces led by Ras Alula won the Ethiopian-Egyptian War, decisively beating the Egyptian forces at the Battle of Gundet, in Hamasien.
Reino de Tigr | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c.1270–1876 | |||||||||
| Prior to its incorporation to Ethiopian Empire, it is believed that the kingdom of Tigray and its people had administrative areas extended from Hamasien to Temben, from the borders of Dankel to the Adwa mountain. Divided into 24 smaller political units (principalities), twelve of which were located south of the Mereb and governed by the Tigray Mekonen, based in Enderta. The other twelve were located north of the Mereb, Prior to its incorporation to Ethiopian Empire, it is believed that the kingdom of Tigray and its people had administrative areas extended from Hamasien to Temben, from the borders of Dankel to the Adwa mountain. Divided into 24 smaller political units (principalities), twelve of which were located south of the Mereb and governed by the Tigray Mekonen, based in Enderta. The other twelve were located north of the Mereb, | |||||||||
| Common languages | Tigrinya · Tigre · Beja · Ge’ez | ||||||||
| Religion | Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages to Early modern period | ||||||||
• Established | c. 1270 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1876 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Eritrea
Tigray Region (in present day Ethiopia) Afar Region (in present day Ethiopia) | ||||||||
History[edit]
In the 14th century the Tigrinya-speaking lands (Tigray-Mareb Melash) were divided into two provinces, separated by the Mereb River, by the newly enthroned Amhara emperors. The governor of the northern province received the title Bahre Negash (Ruler of the sea), whereas the governor of the southern province was given the title of Tigray Mekonen (Lord of Tigray). The Portuguese Jesuit Emanuele Baradas's work titled "Do reino de Tigr", written in 1633–34, states that the "reino de Tigr" (Kingdom of Tigray) extended from Hamasien to Temben, from the borders of Dankel to the Adwa mountain. He also stated that Tigray-Mereb Melash was divided into 24 smaller political units (principalities), twelve of which were located south of the Mereb and governed by the Tigray Mekonen, based in Enderta. The other twelve were located north of the Mereb, under the authority of the Bahre Negash, based in the district of Serae.[1]:259
The Book of Aksum, likely written and compiled before the 15th century, shows a traditional schematic map of Tigray with the city of Aksum at its center, surrounded by the 13 principal provinces: "Tembien, Shire, Serae, Hamasien, Bur, Sam’a, Agame, Amba Senayt, Garalta, Enderta, Sahart and Abergele."[2]
During the Middle Ages, the position of Tigray Mekonnen ("Governor of Tigray") was established to rule over the area. Other districts included Akele Guzay (now part of Eritrea), and the kingdom of the Bahr negus, who ruled much of what is now Eritrea and Shire district and town in Western Tigray. At the time when Tigray Mekonnen existed simultaneously with that of Bahr negus, their frontier seems to have been the Mareb River, which is currently constitutes the border between the Ethiopian province of Tigray and Eritrea.
After the loss of power of the Bahr negus in the aftermath of Bahr negus Yeshaq's rebellions, the title of Tigray mekonnen gained power in relation to the Bahr negus and at times included ruling over parts of what is now Eritrea, especially in the 19th century. By the unsettled Zemene Mesafint period ("Era of the Princes"), both designations had declined to little more than empty titles, and the lord who succeeded them used (and received from the Emperor) the title of either Ras or Dejazmach, beginning with Ras Mikael Sehul. Rulers of Tigray such as Ras Wolde Selassie alternated with others, chiefly those of Begemder or Yejju, as warlords to maintain the Ethiopian monarchy during the Zemene Mesafint.
By the beginning of the 19th century Henry Salt (Egyptologist), who travelled in the interior of Ethiopia, divided the Ethiopian region, like James Bruce into three distinct and independent states. These three great divisions (based arbitrarily on Language) are Tigre, Amhara, and the province of Shoa. Henry considered Tigre as the more powerful state of the three; a circumstance arising from the natural strength of the country, the warlike disposition of its inhabitants, and its vicinity to the sea coast; an advantage that allowed it to secure a monopoly on all the muskets imported into the country. He divided the Tigre kingdom into several provinces as the centre where it was considered the seat of the state being referred as Tigre proper a region around Adwa. The other Provinces of this kingdom includes Enderta, Agame, Wojjerat, Tembien, and Shire.
In the mid-19th century, the lords of Tembien and Enderta managed to establish an overlordship of Tigray. One of its members, Dejazmach Kahsay Mercha, ascended the imperial throne in 1872 under the name Yohannes IV. Following his 1889 death in the Battle of Metemma, the Ethiopian throne came under the control of the king of Shewa, and the center of power shifted south and away from Tigray.[citation needed]
First mention of Tigray in ancient sources[edit]
The oldest inscriptions and texts referring to the population of the Aksumite kingdom and its neighbors do not know the term Tigray yet; they show an ethnic diversity, which has partially disappeared today. A variant of the term Tigray, first appears in a 10th-century gloss to Cosmas Indicopleustes, i.e. after the Aksumite period; according to this source important groups of the region were the "Tigrētai" and the "Agazē" (i.e. the Agʿazi), the latter being the Aksumites.[3][verification needed] The toponym Tigray is probably originally ethnic, the "Tigrētai" then meant "the tribes near Adulis". These are believed to be the ancient people from whom the present-day Tigray Reino de Tigr, the Eritrean tribes Tigre and Biher-Tigrinya descended from. There is no indication that the term Tigray could be explained through Ge'ez gäzärä ("subdue"), with the meaning "the submitted" (in supposed contrast to the "free" Agaziyan linked with the rulers of Aksum), as this could not explain why the area where the city of Aksum itself located took the name Tigray. The term might even not be Ethiosemetic and predate the Sabaen presence in Ethiopia. It is not excluded that the term tkɜr.w ("Tekaru") from a list of southern peoples and countries allegedly subdued by Pharaonic Egypt in the 15th century BC may already be linked with the term Tigray; in this case, it should mean a region within or in the vicinity of Punt.[citation needed]
The majority of Tigrayans trace their origin to early Semitic-speaking peoples whose presence in the region dates back to at least 2000 BC, based on linguistic evidence (and known from the 9th century BC from inscriptions).
The first possible mention of the group dates from around the 8th to 10th centuries, in which period manuscripts preserving the inscriptions of Cosmas Indicopleustes (fl. 6th century) contain notes on his writings including the mention of a tribe called Tigretes.
A Portuguese map from the 1660 shows Medri Bahri consisting of the three highland provinces of Eritrea and distinct from Ethiopia. That 16th century also marked the arrival of the Ottomans, who began making inroads in the Red Sea area. Bruce noted "They next passed the Mareb, which is the boundary between Tigre and the Baharnagash".[dubious – discuss]
Rulers of Tigray[edit]
A "Tigrayan dynasty" in the proper sense never came into existence, the competing dynasties of the respective Tigray provinces being too strong. At times, local provincial rulers managed to establish their rule over most Tigrayan provinces under the Etheopian Empire.
Temporarily, the northern provinces were unified under one or two rulers, since at least the 14th century, mainly the Təgre Mäkännən, usually seated in the Hawzen or Adwa area (i.e. Tigray proper), and, further north, the kingdom of Mdre Bahri (bahər nägash), who controlled the trade routes to the Red Sea. Only rarely were its territories united under one man; notable examples being Dejazmach Kəflä Wahəd in the late 16th century, the 17th century ruler Dejazmach Gäbrä Krəstos of Hamassien.
The 18th century Regent of Ethiopia Mikael Səhul formed a great Tigray, which after him virtually became a separate kingdom. He was succeeded by Ras Wolde Selassie of Enderta, who ruled Tigray independently in the Zamane mesafent; and he in turn by däggiyat Sabagadis of the shum agame dynasty, whose successor was his son-in-law Wube of the Amharic-speaking Semien.[4] Rulers of Tigrayan provinces were almost always of Tigrayan origin.[4]
The King Ezana's Stela in Axum, Tigray Region
The Obelisk of Axum in Axum, Tigray region
References[edit]
- ↑ Trivelli, Richard M. (1998). "Divided Histories, Opportunistic Alliances: Background Notes on the Ethiopian-Eritrean War". Africa Spectrum. 33 (3): 257–289 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ Pankhurst, Richard (1982). History of Ethiopian Towns v. Wiesbaden; Franz Steiner Verlag. p. 201. Search this book on
- ↑ Wolska-Conus, Wanda (1968). "Cosmas Indicopleustès". La Topographie chrétienne. Paris. 1.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Adahana, Adhana Haile (1998). "Tigray-The Birth of a Nation within the Ethiopian Polity". Ethnicity and the State in Eastern Africa. Uppsala: 42–49.
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