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Questions and Answers
What was the primary reason for the shift of the political center from the Shewan highlands to the Lake Tana region?
Which of the following best describes the nature of the capital before the founding of Gondar?
What was the strategic advantage of Gondar's location?
What were some of the major architectural achievements of the Gondarine period?
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How long did Gondar serve as the political center of the kingdom?
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Which of the following was NOT a characteristic of Gondar during its period of prosperity under the first three kings?
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Which of the following occupational groups was NOT mentioned as being present in Gondar during its prosperous period?
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What was the primary reason for the decline of Gondar after the reigns of the first three kings?
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Who was Itege Mentewab, and what was her role in the later stages of the Gondarine period?
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What was the significance of the title "Ras Bitweded" during the Zemene Mesafint period?
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Study Notes
Gondar Period
- Refers to the years during which the rulers of Ethiopia ruled from a new capital, Gondar.
- Began in the mid-16th century, when the Kingdom of Ethiopia shifted its political center from the Shewan highlands to the Lake Tana region.
- Caused by Adal's continued threat and the pressure of the Oromo population movement.
Founding of Gondar
- Founded by Fasiladas in 1636.
- Strategically located on the Lake Tana-Red Sea trade route, linking south western regions with Massawa on the Red Sea and Mettema on the Ethio-Sudanese border.
- Establishment as a permanent capital city ended the mobile camps.
Gondar's Achievements
- Known for its architectural achievements and building technology.
- Several kings built magnificent castles as palaces, churches, bridges, and swimming pools.
- Three successive kings: Fasiladas (r. 1632-1667), Yohanes I (r. 1667-1682), and Iyasu I (1682-1706), brought great prosperity and technological developments.
- The city grew, traditional schools built and expanded around their palaces and churches.
Urban Features
- Gondar had about 70,000 inhabitants, with different religious, cultural, indigenous, and foreign communities.
- Became an important commercial center with a daily market, attracting merchants, crafts, and rural people to exchange their products.
- Intense urban-rural interactions, with traders being Ethiopian Muslims (Jeberti) and other occupational groups (Bete Israel) engaged in crafts like masonry, pottery, basketry, and ironworks.
- Separate living quarters for Muslim communities, Bete Israel, and foreign communities (India, Greek, Armenia, and Persia).
- Cash payment for labor services was introduced.
Decline of Gondar
- After the reign of the first three kings, Gondar's political center and economic prosperity declined.
- Political disorder and social unrest became common in the city, with court conspiracies, poisoning, and assassinations of kings and princes.
- The monarchy could not keep its former political power due to its military weakness.
- Finally, they were unable to impose control over regional lords and provinces.
Later Years
- Following the assassination of Iyasu I in 1706, the imperial court had to be guarded by warlords with regional bases.
- The last stage of the Gondarine period was dominated by the growing power and importance of Itege Mentewab, a Quara-born woman who ruled as a regent for her young son and successor, Iyasu II.
- Mentewab lost power in 1767.
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Description
Test your knowledge on the major features and achievements of the Gondarine period in Ethiopian history. Learn about the shift in political center to Gondar and appreciate the rulers' accomplishments during this era.
