History Unit 1 PDF

# UNIT ONE ## INTRODUCTION (3 HOURS) ### 1.1. Nature and Uses of History #### 1.1.1. Nature of History The term history is derived from the Greek word *istoria*, which means "learning through enquiry" or "an account of one's inquiries." The first writer to systematically investigate and document h...

# UNIT ONE ## INTRODUCTION (3 HOURS) ### 1.1. Nature and Uses of History #### 1.1.1. Nature of History The term history is derived from the Greek word *istoria*, which means "learning through enquiry" or "an account of one's inquiries." The first writer to systematically investigate and document historical events was the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484-425 BC). For this reason, he is regarded as the "father of history." In ordinary usage, history means all the things that have happened in the human past. The past signifies all the events that have taken place and the facts of the past. The distinction is between what actually happened in the past and which exists independently of the historian and still awaits to be recorded, and the accounts of the past reconstructed by historians. Historians apply their expertise to use surviving records and write history in the form of accounts of the past. History can thus be defined as a systematic study and organized knowledge of the past. The study involves the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. The purpose is not simply to produce a mere chronology of events and deeds of human beings in the past, but to find patterns and establish meaning through a rigorous study and interpretation of sources. Evidently, what actually happened in the past is infinite. Historians, just like natural scientists, select the topics and problems they wish to study. The major concern of history is the interaction between human society and the environment, which is also a subject of study in other social science disciplines. What differentiates history from other disciplines is that while the latter study the interaction between humans and their environment in the present state, history studies their interaction in the past within the framework of the continuous process of change taking place in time. Due to the longevity of that time, historians organize and divide the past into distinct periods after identifying significant developments through a careful study of documents and artifacts left by those who lived in the past. They then assign a label to each period to convey the key characteristics and developments of that era. This is called periodization. In this regard, history is conventionally divided into ancient, medieval, and modern. When historians talk about continuities or persisting patterns, they do not imply that a particular pattern applies to everyone in the world or even to a particular country or region. Nor are they claiming that absolutely nothing changes in the pattern they describe. All aspects of human life —social, cultural, economic, and political— in the past have been changing from time to time; and none of them were practiced in exactly the same way in the lifetime of our ancestors. Nevertheless, some things remain more or less the same for long periods since few things ever change completely. In the same vein, the basic fabric of society in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa remains similar and continues to have distinctive characteristics. #### 1.1.2. Uses of History Peoples live in the present and plan for and worry about the future. History, however, is the study of the past. So, why do we bother about the past? ##### History Helps Us Understand the Present History is the only storehouse of information available for the examination and analysis of how people behaved and acted in the past. People need to produce an account of their past because it is difficult to understand the problems that face humanity and society today without tracing their origins in the past. ##### History Provides a Sense of Identity Knowledge of history is indispensable for understanding who we are and where we fit in the world. As memory is to the individual, so is history to society. An individual without memory finds great difficulty in relating to others and making intelligent decisions. A society without history would be in a similar condition. It is only through a sense of history that communities define their identity, orient themselves, and understand their relationships with other societies. ##### History Helps Develop Tolerance and Open-Mindedness Most of us tend to regard our own cultural practices, styles, and values as the only ones that are right and proper. Studying different societies in the past is like going to a foreign country, which contributes to freeing ourselves from some of our inherent cultural provincialism. By studying the past, students of history acquire broader perspectives that give them the broad-mindedness and flexibility required in many life situations. ##### History Teaches Critical Skills Studying history helps students develop key research skills. These include how to find and evaluate sources; how to make coherent arguments based on various shreds of evidence and present them clearly in writing. These analytical and communication skills are highly useful in other academic pursuits as well. Gaining skills in sorting through diverse interpretations is also essential for making informed decisions in our day-to-day life. ##### History Provides a Basic Background for Other Disciplines Historical knowledge is valuable in the pursuit of other disciplines such as literature, art, philosophy, religion, sociology, political science, anthropology, economics, etc. With regard to the last four, it can be argued that history is a mother discipline because they arose out of historical investigation or formed part of historical writing. ##### History Provides Endless Source of Fascination Exploring the ways in which people in distant ages managed their lives offers a sense of wonder and excitement, and ultimately another perspective on human life and society. To conclude, history should be studied because it is essential to the individual and society. Only through studying history can we grasp how and why things change and only through history can we understand what elements of a society persist despite change. Aesthetic and humanistic goals also inspire people to study the past, which broaden the understanding of the present reality. Nevertheless, just as history can be useful, it can also be abused. Such abuses come mainly from deliberate manipulation of the past to fit current political agenda. In such cases, history is written backwards; the past is described and interpreted to justify the present. While personal biases are not always avoidable, historians are different from propagandists in that the former take care to document their ideas about the past so that they can be subjected to independent and external verification. Yet how do historians study and interpret the past and the changes that occurred in periods during which they have not lived? This takes us to the discussion of sources and historical methodology. ### 1.2. Sources and Methods of Historical Study Historians are not creative writers like novelists. Unlike the latter, the work of historians must be supported by evidence arising from sources. Sources bring to life what appears to have been dead. Therefore, sources are vital to the study and writing of history. Historical sources are broadly classified into two types: primary and secondary. Primary sources are surviving traces of the past that are available to us in the present. They are original or first hand in their proximity to the event both in time and space. Examples of primary sources include manuscripts (handwritten materials), diaries, letters, minutes, inscriptions, chronicles, hagiographies, court records and administrative files, travel documents, photos, maps, audiovisual materials, coins, fossils, weapons, utensils, and buildings. Secondary sources, on the other hand, are second-hand published and unpublished accounts of past events. They are written after the event has occurred, providing an interpretation of what happened, why it happened, and how it happened, often based on primary sources. Examples of secondary sources include articles, books, textbooks, biographies, theses, dissertations, reports and stories or movies about historical events. Secondary materials give us what appear to be finished accounts of certain historical periods and phenomena. Nevertheless, no history work can be taken as final, as new sources keep coming to light. New sources make possible new historical interpretations or entirely new historical reconstructions. Oral data constitute the other category of historical sources. Oral sources are especially valuable for studying and documenting the history of non-literate societies. In many societies, people transmit information from one generation to another through folk songs, folk sayings, etc. This type of oral data is called oral tradition. People can also provide oral testimonies of their lived experiences. Such source material is known as oral history and serves as primary source. For the history of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, historians use a combination of the sources described above. However, regardless of the source of information —primary or secondary, written or oral— the data should be subjected to critical evaluation before it is used as evidence. Primary sources must be verified for their originality and authenticity because sometimes primary sources like letters may be forged. Secondary sources must be examined for the reliability of their reconstructions. Oral data may lose originality and authenticity because of distortion over time and should be cross-checked with other sources to determine credibility. To conclude, historians must find evidence about the past, ask questions about that evidence, and come up with explanations that make sense of what the evidence says about the people, events, places, and the periods they study. Such a scientific examination of evidence is a crucial aspect of the historical research method. ### 1.3. Historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn Historiography refers to the history of historical writing. It studies how knowledge of the past is obtained and transmitted and how it has changed over time. The organized study and narration of the past was introduced by ancient Greek historians, notably Herodotus and Thucydides (c.455-400 BC). The other major tradition of historical thinking and writing about the past is that of the Chinese, of which the most important early figure was Sima Qian (145–86 BC). History emerged as an academic discipline in the second half of the nineteenth century, first in Europe and subsequently in other parts of the world. The German historian, Leopold Von Ranke (1795-1886), and his colleagues established history as an independent discipline in Berlin with its own set of research methods. Ranke's greatest contribution to the scientific study of the past is such that he is considered as the "father of modern historiography." The historiography of Ethiopia and the Horn has changed enormously during the past century in ways that merit fuller treatment than can be afforded here. This section explores significant transformations in the historiography of the region in the twentieth century. This is preceded by a brief account of earlier forms of historical writing to situate the discussion in context. The earliest known written source for the history of the region is the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, written in the first century by an anonymous author. The Periplus was followed by the Christian Topography written by Cosmas Indicopleustes, a Greek sailor, in the sixth century. The earliest written Ethiopian material, excluding inscriptions, dates from the seventh century. The document, which is in the form of an illustrated manuscript, was found at Abba Gerima monastery near the town of Adwa. Next in line is a manuscript discovered in Haiq Estifanos monastery of present-day Wollo in the thirteenth century. The value of manuscripts is essentially religious, but they also provide insights into the country's past. The largest groups of sources available for medieval Ethiopian history are hagiographies originating from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. An important function of hagiographies is to enhance the prestige of saints. Yet, other related anecdotes of historical importance are also included, often in the form of what are known as marginalia. A parallel hagiographical tradition exists among Muslim communities. One such account offers tremendous insight into the life of a Muslim saint, Shaykh Ja'far Bukko of Gattira, in Wollo in the late nineteenth century. In addition to the saint's life, the document discusses the development of indigenous Islam and contacts between the region's Muslim community and the outside world. Furthermore, Ethiopia had an indigenous tradition of history writing called chronicles, composed by court scribes or clergymen with recognized clerical training and calligraphic skills. The earliest of these chronicles is The Glorious Victories of Amde-Tsion, and the last is Chronicle of Abeto lyasu and Empress Zewditu. Chronicles incorporate both legends and facts about the monarch. Notwithstanding their limitations, chronicles, in conjunction with other sources, can give us a glimpse into the character and lives of kings, their preoccupations and relations with subordinate officials, and, to some extent, the evolution of the Ethiopian state and society. Accounts of Arabic-speaking visitors to the coast also provide useful information on various aspects of the region's history. For example, al-Masudi and Ibn Battuta described the culture, language and import-export trade of the East African coast in the tenth and fourteenth centuries, respectively. For the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, we have two eyewitness accounts of Yemeni writers. Shihab al-Din's *Futuh al-Habasha* (The Conquest of Abyssinia) recounts the wars between the Christian kingdom and Adal Sultanate in sixteenth century while Al-Haymi documented the experience of Yemeni delegation to the court of Fasiledas (r. 1632-67) in 1647. Another vital contemporary material is Abba Bahrey's *Ge'ez* account of the socio-political organization and movement of the Oromo people written in 1593. European missionaries and travelers also contributed to the development of Ethiopian historiography. Examples of such accounts are The Prester John of the Indies, written by the Portuguese chaplain Francisco Alvarez in the sixteenth century, and James Bruce's *Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile* (in five volumes), written in the eighteenth century. Meanwhile, a German orientalist, Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704), who is regarded as the founder of Ethiopian studies as an academic discipline in Europe, wrote *Historia Aethiopica* (translated into English as *A New History of Ethiopia*). The book was largely based on information he collected from an Ethiopian priest named Abba Gorgorios (Abba Gregory), who was in Europe at that time. Historical writing made some departures from the chronicle tradition in the early twentieth century. This period saw the emergence of Ethiopian writers who made conscious efforts to distance themselves from chroniclers whom they criticized for their adulatory tone when writing about monarchs. The earliest group includes Aleqa Taye Gebre-Mariam, Aleqa Atsme Giorgis Gebre Mesih and, Debtera Fisseha-Giorgis Abyezgi. Later, Negadrases Afework Gebre-Iyesus, Gebre-Hiwot Baykedagn, and Blatten geta Hiruy Wolde-Selassie joined them. Unlike chroniclers, these writers dealt with a range of topics from social justice, administrative reform, and economic analysis to history. Unfortunately, the Italian occupation of Ethiopia interrupted this early experiment in modern history writing. After liberation, Tekle-Tsadik Mekuria served as a bridge between the writers of the pre-1935 period and the subsequent generation of Ethiopian professional historians. He has published about eight historical works. Another work of importance in the post-Liberation period is Yilma Deressa's *Yeltyopiya Tarik Be'asra Sidistegnaw Kifle Zemen* (A History of Ethiopia in the Sixteenth Century). Blatten geta Mahteme-Selassie Wolde-Meskel, among others, wrote *Zikre Neger*, which is a comprehensive account of Ethiopia's pre-war administration, including the land tenure system and taxation. Another writer in the same category is Dejjazmach Kebede Tesema, whose memoir of the imperial period was published as *Yetarik Mastawesha* in 1962 E.C. The 1960s was a crucial decade in the development of Ethiopian historiography because it was in this period that history emerged as an academic discipline. The pursuit of historical studies as a full-time occupation began with the opening of the Department of History in 1963 at the then Haile Selassie I University (HSIU). Since then, researches by faculty members and students have been produced on various topics. The Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES), the other institutional home of professional historiography of Ethiopia, was founded in the same year. The Institute housed a number of historians, of whom the late Richard Pankhurst, the first Director of the Institute, is worthy of note. Pankhurst’s prolific publication record remains unmatched. The IES disseminates the results of research findings from diverse disciplines through its journal called the *Journal of Ethiopian Studies*, which became the main platform of Ethiopian studies in the following decades. The professionalization of history in other parts of the Horn is a post-colonial phenomenon. With the establishment of independent nations, a deeper interest in exploring their own past quickly emerged among Africans. With this came an urgent need to recast the historical record and recover evidence of many lost pre-colonial civilizations. At the same time, European intellectuals' own discomfort with the Euro-centrism of previous scholarship provided for the intensive academic study of African history, an innovation that developed in both Europe and North America in the 1960s. Foundational research was conducted at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London and the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Francophone scholars were as influential as Anglophone ones. Yet African historiography was not the creation solely of interested Europeans. African universities trained their own scholars and sent many others overseas for training, eventually publishing numerous works on different aspects of the continent's history. ### 1.4. Geographical Context The term "Ethiopia and the Horn" refers to that part of Northeast Africa, which now constitutes the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. The region's history has been shaped by contacts with others through commerce, migrations, wars, slavery, colonialism, and the waxing and waning of state systems. **Map 1: Political Map of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa** * Image of a political map is here, but is left out of the Markdown. The map shows the Horn of Africa region, with major cities, and countries of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, and Yemen.* Yet, to a considerable extent, the evolution of human history also owed to geographical factors, notably drainage systems, topography, and climate. This section briefly describes the impact of these factors on the way people live and organize themselves. The region has five principal drainage systems. Flowing from Uganda in the south to the Sudan in the north, the White Nile meets the Blue Nile (or Abay, as it is known in Ethiopia, that starts from the environs of Lake Tana) in Khartoum and drains through Egypt into the Mediterranean Sea. The Awash River System is an entirely Ethiopian system that links the cool rich highlands of Central Ethiopia with the hot, dry lowlands of the Danakil Depression. The Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes System is a self-contained basin that includes a string of lakes stretching from Lake Ziway in the north to Lake Turkana (formerly known as Rudolf) on the Ethio-Kenyan border. The Gibe-Gojeb-Omo River System links southwestern Ethiopia to the semi-desert lowlands of northern Kenya. The Shebele and Genale rivers originate in the Eastern highlands and flow southeast toward Somalia and the Indian Ocean. Only the Genale (known as the Jubba in Somalia) flows into the Indian Ocean; the Shebele disappears in the sand just inside the coastline. These watersheds are crucial in the life and history of the peoples inhabiting the region. Besides providing people with a source of livelihood, the drainage systems also facilitated the movement of peoples and goods across diverse environments, resulting in the exchange of ideas, technology, knowledge, cultural expressions, and beliefs. Another element of geography that has a profound impact on human history is topography. The major physiographic features of the region are the massive highland complex of mountains and plateaus created through the formation of the Great Rift Valley and surrounded by lowlands, semi-desert, desert, and tropical forests along the periphery. The diversity of the terrain led to regional variations in climate, natural vegetation, soil composition, and settlement patterns. Accordingly, Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa can be divided into three major environmental zones. The vast Eastern lowland covers the narrow coastal strip of northeastern Eritrea, widens gradually and descends southwards to include much of lowland Eritrea, the Sahel, the Danakil Depression, the lower Awash valley, and the arid terrain in northeast Djibouti. It then extends to the Ogaden, the lower parts of Hararghe, Bale, Borana, Sidama, and the whole territory of the Republic of Somalia. There is little seasonal variation in climatic conditions in this zone. Hot and dry conditions prevail year-round along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular (little) rainfall, except in limited areas along the rivers Awash, Wabe-Shebele and Genale (Jubba) that traverse the region and a few offshore islands in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean that are inhabited by people closely related to those of immediate mainland districts. Shrubs and bush cover much of the lowland territories. Immediately to the west of and opposite to the eastern lowland region forms the highland massif that starts from northern Eritrea and continues all the way to southern Ethiopia. The major divide between the western and eastern parts of this zone is the Rift Valley. Further to the west, along the western foothills or on the periphery of the plateau and on borderlands of the Sudan stretching from north to south are hot lowlands that were characterized in earlier times by thick forests chiefly on the banks of the Nile and its tributaries. Yet, peoples of the region were never isolated; they interacted from various locations as far back as recorded history goes. Thus, as much as there are many factors that make people of a certain region distinct from the others, there are also commonalities which people shared in the past. **Map 2: Physical Map of Ethiopia** *Image of a physical map is here, but is left out of the Markdown. The map shows the Horn of Africa region, with different altitudinal zones.*