Lecture 2: Solomonic Dynasty and the birth of ‘Abyssinian thinking’
In lecture 1, I have introduced a theoretical framework, which serves as a thinking tool for the series. I have also set the scene by re-visiting the Ethiopian ancient history, the arrival of Christianity and the influence of the Byzantine Roman Empire on Ethiopia.
In lecture 2, I will cover what I call the birth of ‘Abyssinian thinking’ at the beginning, during and at the end of the Ethiopian Solomonic Dynasty, from the 13th century to the 20th century. However, for the benefit of lecture 3, which introduces my second key concept of the series- the birth of ‘non-Abyssinian thinking’, this lecture stops at the period known as ‘ Era of the princess’ between 18th century and 19th century, while excluding arguably one of the most ‘successful’ ruler ever produced by Abyssinia.
The end of Aksumite Kingdom did not come with a Big Bang, it lingered and tried to resurrect itself on several occasions. However, a combination of territorial loss in Yemen reducing trade and commerce and serious demographic decline, the final death come through the hands of Zagwe Dynasty, which was also deposed after a relatively brief rule by the Solomonic Dynasty in 1270.
The Solomonic Dynasty through claims that they have familial relations with King Solomon and Queen Sheba, would pick-up where previous Aksumite Kingdom stopped, by commissioning new territorial conquests.
In the next five centuries, the battle between this key Abyssinian Dynasty and others in the surroundings would rage like an uncontrollable wildfire.
To introduce the concept of ‘ Abyssinian thinking,’ I must account for several key events in the lifetime of this Dynasty, which I will argue have shaped and are part and parcel of this thinking. These events occur against the backdrop of a period known as in the Western civilisation ‘ the Dark ages’- an extended period of steep economic, cultural and demographic decline in Western Europe.
It is also worth noting that this very period was coincidentally known as the ‘ Islamic Golden Age’, where unlike the Christian West, Islam was in a period of cultural, social, economic and significant scientific upward trajectory.
Here are the key events of this period
- The fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453
2. The rise of the Ottoman Empire, which defeated the Once-mighty Byzantine Empire.
3. The rise of sultans of Adal in the Horn Africa, which would pose existential threats to the Abyssinian Christian Dynasty.
The contextualisation of the above events
- The fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453
Although there was no significant military and diplomatic relationship between the Abyssinians and the Byzantine empire, the fall of the latter sent a psychologically damaging message to all Christians.
2. The rise of the Ottoman Empire, which defeated the Once-mighty Byzantine Empire.
The global prominence of Islam meant (at least in theory) the survival of Abyssinian Christians in the Horn of Africa would be in doubt.
3. The rise of sultans of Adal in the Horn Africa, which would pose existential threats to the Abyssinian Christian Dynasty.
This is a consequence of the second event, and largely a confirmation of the fear felt by the Abyssinians after the fall of the Byzantine empire.
The birth of ‘Abyssinian thinking’
Between the 13th and 19th centuries, Abyssinians have gone through lots of wars, conquests and invasions, expansions and contractions, growth and decline. This, I will argue meant the formation of a unique survivalist instinct.
I will call these unique survivalist instincts, the ‘Abyssinian thinking’ based on two key beliefs;
Belief 1: They have to economically survive through expansion and conquests of surrounding territories and their inhabitants
Belief 2: Their existence depends on defending Christianity against the rise of Islam, and the proselytisation of followers of Pagan religions in the region.
Fast forward to the 19th century. Abyssinia has survived from near collapse by Islamic conquests in the 16th century, it succeeded in conquering a vast number of territories and the proselytisations of non-Abyssinian ethnics far from its centres. However, these relative successes were not purely based on the military and organisational ingenuity of Abyssinian people but owe much to mostly favourable external as well as internal events.
The favourable external events- The key one
The Abyssinians were almost wiped out in the 16th century by Muslim conquest, only to be rescued by European Christian forces- mainly from Portugal.
The favourable internal event- The key one
While Abyssinians were largely united (apart from some sporadic internal conflicts), the non-Abyssinians were largely incoherent, fractured and at times at wars with one another.
The only period when externally and internally events were unfavourable to the Abyssinian project was during the ‘Era of the princess’, which allowed external European powers to benefit from internal divisions among warring Abyssinian princess- More on this in lecture 3.
The next lecture (i.e. Lecture 3) will discuss my second key concept of the series- The birth of ‘non-Abyssinian thinking’ in the 19th and the 20th centuries.
