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Ethiopia The Reestablishment of the Ethiopian Monarchy
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Gonder
state consisted of the northern and central highlands and
the lower elevations immediately adjacent to them. This area
was only nominally a monarchy, as rival nobles fought for
the military title of ras (roughly, marshal; literally, head
in Amharic) or the highest of all nonroyal titles, rasbitwoded , that combined supreme military command with the
duties of first minister at court. These nobles often were
able to enthrone and depose princes who carried the empty
title of negusa nagast.
The major peoples who made up the Ethiopian state were the
Amhara and the Tigray, both Semitic speakers, and Cushiticspeaking peoples such as the Oromo and those groups speaking
Agew languages, many of whom were Christian by the early
1800s. In some cases, their conversion had been accompanied
by their assimilation into Amhara culture or, less often,
Tigray culture; in other cases, they had become Christian
but had retained their languages. The state's largest ethnic
group was the Oromo, but the Oromo were neither politically
nor culturally unified. Some were Christian, spoke Amharic,
and had intermarried with the Amhara. Other Christian Oromo
retained their language, although their modes of life and
social structure had changed extensively from those of their
pastoral kin. At the eastern edge of the highlands, many had
converted to Islam, especially in the area of the former
sultanates of Ifat and Adal. The Oromo people, whether or
not Christian and Amhara in culture, played important
political roles in the Zemene Mesafint--often as allies of
Amhara aspirants to power but sometimes as rases and
kingmakers in their own right.
Meanwhile, to the south of the kingdom, segments of the
Oromo population--cultivators and suppliers of goods
exportable to the Red Sea coast and beyond--had developed
kingdoms of their own, no doubt stimulated in part by the
examples of the Amhara to the north and the Sidama kingdoms
to the south. The seventeenth through nineteenth century was
a period not only of migration but also of integration, as
groups borrowed usable techniques and institutions from each
other. In the south, too, Islam had made substantial
inroads. Many Oromo chieftains found Islam a useful tool in
the process of centralization as well as in the building of
trade networks.
By the second quarter of the nineteenth century, external
factors once more affected the highlands and adjacent areas,
at least in part because trade among the Red Sea states was
being revived. Egypt made incursions along the coast and
sought at various times to control the Red Sea ports.
Europeans, chiefly British and French, showed interest in
the Horn of Africa. The competition for trade, differences
over how to respond to Egypt's activities, and the readier
availability of modern arms were important factors in the
conflicts of the period.
In the mid-nineteenth century, a major figure in Gonder was
Kasa Haylu, son of a lesser noble from Qwara, a district on
the border with Sudan. Beginning about 1840, Kasa alternated
between life as a brigand and life as a soldier of fortune
for various nobles, including Ras Ali, a Christian of Oromo
origin who dominated the court in Gonder. Kasa became
sufficiently effective as an army commander to be offered
the governorship of a minor province. He also married Ali's
daughter, Tawabech. Nevertheless, Kasa eventually rebelled
against Ali, occupied Gonder in 1847, and compelled Ali to
recognize him as chief of the western frontier area. In 1848
he attacked the Egyptians in Sudan; however, he suffered a
crushing defeat, which taught him to respect modern
firepower. Kasa then agreed to a reconciliation with Ali,
whom he served until 1852, when he again revolted. The
following year, he defeated Ali's army and burned his
capital, Debre Tabor. In 1854 he assumed the title negus
(king), and in February 1855 the head of the church crowned
him Tewodros II.
Data as of 1991
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