This is the the title of an article on jstor from the journal of ethiopian studies. It's very intresting in that the ethiopian author argues that there was very little development of luxury good or advancement in agricultural technology in ethiopian since the nobility and emperor did no try to develop any social or legal institutions to progress. Till the time of twederos. Even though by the early 1400 they had already noticed how behind the quality of goods in ethiopia was compared to india or the middle east. From some reason nobody has cities this article from 1982. Has anybody read this?
SOCIETY AND TECHNOLOGY IN ETHIOPIA 1500-1800
- Thread starter Midas
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I have read this and there is newer study that takes deeper in look into it:
Administrative and military impediments of medieval Ethiopian economy
It's in stark contrast to Portuguese descriptions of manufacturing industries and trade by nearby Somalis/Muslims during the middle ages:
And the complex agricultural and water systems throughout their territory, wide array of products and merchandise and their Muslim leaders invested it back into to benefit their population in their Kingdoms.
This part from it sticks out to me the most in the screen you share that Alvarez explains: As he explains the reasons why
''After the king saw the work that it did, he had it dismantled it right away saying that thing had no use in his country because he was always moving in a camp throughout his Kingdom and he would not carry with him those machines and he would not carry with him those machines which were always fixed in one place . As if that device would serve only wherever he himself happened to be and not his entire kingdom''
On top of being landlocked limited development of trade which could have been resolved by them just being cooperative, tolerant and integrationist with their nneighbors (See how Otttomans and Mughals for instance did this), and see them as mutual benefactors. So their Christian War Ideology and xenophobia prevented a lot of development and destabilized the horn.
Administrative and military impediments of medieval Ethiopian economy
It's in stark contrast to Portuguese descriptions of manufacturing industries and trade by nearby Somalis/Muslims during the middle ages:
A Portuguese description on making of clothing in the Muslim province of Bale when listing it's exports this territory is situated around the fertile shabelle river , the same river where there is cotton cultivation on the lower/middle end of it southern Somalia was being produced.
'' cloths of silk and of another sort finer and more lustrous fairer than silk... and this is a tree called Arid, great with leaves like pomegranate and bears a fruit the size of a fist of the finest wool''
'' and of it they make clothes for their king and lords''
And the complex agricultural and water systems throughout their territory, wide array of products and merchandise and their Muslim leaders invested it back into to benefit their population in their Kingdoms.
This part from it sticks out to me the most in the screen you share that Alvarez explains: As he explains the reasons why
''After the king saw the work that it did, he had it dismantled it right away saying that thing had no use in his country because he was always moving in a camp throughout his Kingdom and he would not carry with him those machines and he would not carry with him those machines which were always fixed in one place . As if that device would serve only wherever he himself happened to be and not his entire kingdom''
On top of being landlocked limited development of trade which could have been resolved by them just being cooperative, tolerant and integrationist with their nneighbors (See how Otttomans and Mughals for instance did this), and see them as mutual benefactors. So their Christian War Ideology and xenophobia prevented a lot of development and destabilized the horn.
They may not have any important cities but the highlands had a large rural peasantry . You can see this in the army numbers.
Even Somalis which i think our population was bigger and more spread out most them were concentrated on agricultural production, herding, fishing and trade etc and did not partake in war. You can clearly see this in the wars between the Muslims & Christians, ,the Muslims was mostly always outnumbered and the barriers Muslims had with recruitment.
Christian Highlanders would forcefully mobilize a large number of peasantry away from agricultural production in to war & army participation and their kings capital was a fluid mobile base or nomadic camps that they would move around with, to attack Muslims/Somalis who's capitals and centers were in fixed urban locations and agricultural hubs.
Their Solomonic founder , said outright he hates Muslims and made it their sole basis of their Christian identity and state to crusade against Muslims and other communities.
This in turn made the highlands underdeveloped economically and it also destabilized the general regions nearby who had to be on alert of incursions & war.
Administrative and military impediments of medieval Ethiopian economy
This description i saw an account post this was echoed by an Egyptian visitor to the highlands. Which i found to be accurate and i was suprised in how it was descibed in such plain language.
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It is also because of these advancements , learning and higher productivity that Somali/Muslims whose armies were always outnumbered could consistently defeat a massive and large Ethiopian army and do counter offensives
They had better training , weapons expertise, military strategy, implements/levies/food supply etc
Literally prime example of quality over quantity and how focusing all energy on war on your neighbor backfires and sets you back.
Ethiopian armies were even at times famished because they did not have the funds and food supply to support themselves in the long track of war.
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What caused the decline of these kingdoms exactly? I used to think it was the ethiopians conqeuring after the death of imam gurey . But it seems a lot of the talk about ethiopian tribute or them conquering the land after is just propganda from centuries after. Was it just due to the ormo expansions? Also are you aware of anu y studies on somali craftsmen . since I think you mentioned how the urban ones were a lot more respected than the rural craftsmen.
I explained this in different thread the decline : https://www.somalispot.com/threads/...weyn-true-or-false.169519/page-3#post-4094779
It was the disruption of internal trade routes caused by invasions and the fracture in political leadership that caused it to collapse and decline.
The Muslim region was an empire with semi-autonomous provinces as Al-Omari/Al-Maqrizi described it , u can see this also in Futuh as well in more detail, even describing the institution of the Emir and the political economic and heartland of it was in South-Western Somaliland and Haud.
No studies thus far at least that i am aware of but we have some information on them that the urban ones were organized into formal guilds in towns/cities and they produced things for commercial use and market places. Guilds simulated kinship structure and was headed by an ''Aw'' or Father.
Some info on Somali craftsmen in the city of Harar:
The rural ones had more of a reduced role and made things for a small local community as bondsmen, i am not certain how much we can transplant that to the medieval period since this is rooted in the context of a subsistence strategy and the medieval period there was a surplus of food and availability of water that could give people higher flexibility to attend to other roles.
You even saw an increase in female political and religious/intellectual participation in this time as well. Sheikhas, Female saints ''Ay's'' , and scholars
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Yeah I just finished reading the article and a similar one. It's intresting how that sawae place mentioned is basically next to addis Abba just goes to show how history repeats itself. But it's amazing how everything the muslims did the ethiopian christans basically made it taboo for themselves. Coffe, camel meat, trading. It's honestly kind of unbelievable how short sighted the ethiopian ruling elite was.I explained this in different thread the decline : https://www.somalispot.com/threads/...weyn-true-or-false.169519/page-3#post-4094779
It was the disruption of internal trade routes caused by invasions and the fracture in political leadership that caused it to collapse and decline.
The Muslim region was an empire with semi-autonomous provinces as Al-Omari/Al-Maqrizi described it , u can see this also in Futuh as well in more detail, even describing the institution of the Emir and the political economic and heartland of it was in South-Western Somaliland and Haud.
No studies thus far at least that i am aware of but we have some information on them that the urban ones were organized into formal guilds in towns/cities and they produced things for commercial use and market places. Guilds simulated kinship structure and was headed by an ''Aw'' or Father.
Some info on Somali craftsmen in the city of Harar:
The rural ones had more of a reduced role and made things for a small local community as bondsmen, i am not certain how much we can transplant that to the medieval period since this is rooted in the context of a subsistence strategy and the medieval period there was a surplus of food and availability of water that could give people higher flexibility to attend to other roles.
You even saw an increase in female political and religious/intellectual participation in this time as well. Sheikhas, Female saints ''Ay's'' , and scholars
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Mind you that they represent that history to make it seem like it was the surrounding Muslims that had deep hostility towards them that prevented them i.e ''An Island of Christians in a Sea of Muslims'' when in actuality they themselves self imposed these boundaries & limits on themselves and isolated themselves against their neighbors, in the most unhinged way imaginable.
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There also seems to be this tendency to never mention that these muslim polties who they were fighting/ trading with where somali. The ormos appear and so do the amahara and the tigray. But you would never think by reading some authors that somalis were even involved in ethiopian history.
This is in stark constrast with the Kingdom of Aksum, the ancient predecessor state of the Solomonids. The Aksumites had many urban centers, had strong trade networks, plenty of agricultural productivity, and a powerful military that could subjugate Southern Arabia. What caused such massive changes to make Medieval Ethiopia so feeble in comparison?
Look at this. One image shows the massive palaces the Aksumite kings lived in while the other shows that Menelik II had lived in a literal mudhut. I honestly can't think of another civilization like Ethiopia that went so backwards in every regard for such a long period of time. Even Europe that declined after the collapse of the Roman Empire would quickly rebound and surpass the ancients. The Ethiopian Empire was literally inferior to its own society over a thousand years ago.
Maybe Eritreans/Tigrinya speakers are just built differently from Amhara?
Maybe Eritreans/Tigrinya speakers are just built differently from Amhara?
Their hatred for Muslims makes them recreate fantasy modern interpretation of history in the process and erase them as if they were some unnamed rebel group that broke off from them. Haile Seilassie was claiming nonsensical stuff like that even the Southern Somali coast and Benadir was Ethopian and under the Abyssinian Kingdom.
Then his white Christian allies looked back at him like he was demented.
But if you look plainly at even from Ethiopians medieval chronicles directly who describe them as camel holding people, it becomes clear and evident its Somalis that they are speaking of, aside from their mention of Semur/Somal and Somali clan identities alongside it.
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Look at this. One image shows the massive palaces the Aksumite kings lived in while the other shows that Menelik II had lived in a literal mudhut. I honestly can't think of another civilization like Ethiopia that went so backwards in every regard for such a long period of time. Even Europe that declined after the collapse of the Roman Empire would quickly rebound and surpass the ancients. The Ethiopian Empire was literally inferior to its own society over a thousand years ago.
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View attachment 339479
Maybe Eritreans/Tigrinya speakers are just built differently from Amhara?
I spoke a bit about Axums decline and Collapse: The qoute below:
How Ethiopia was unable to rebound but Western Europe did:
Also i don't think the followers of the Prophet went to the Axumite kingdom or met it's King because it siezed to exist at that point and landlocked, they most likely sought refuge with a coastal leader either off the Eritrean coast or the Somali coast. The former being most likelyhood.
Another thing worth reading is this paper
Axumites was rooted in an intricate water systems as well. Large dams, cisterns and cannals etc. throughout.
They even say their capital name is rooted in water management.
Aksum: Water and Urbanization in Northern Ethiopia
The Axumites weren't tigrayan speakers , they spoke geez and some of them were even bilingual in greek.
In a way the fall off is similar to what happened to Western Europe during the middle ages.
Description of the collapse of the Roman Empire in @2:09 and technological decline it caused:
Transcripts:
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He probably based this on Zara Yaqob and Gelawdewos, the former noted that Adal received tribute from Mogadishu, while the latter’s chronicles claimed he conquered Barr Sa'ad ad-din and Barr al-Ajam (nonsense ofcourse).
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A quote from a book extracted from an older post I made:
"Many local markets were to be found all over the country, for petty trade. This ability to transform any space into a local market is particularly visible in Alvares’s description of the royal camp. Wherever it settled, a market immediately appeared, gathering people from all over the region: Christians sold consumption goods, while Muslims had a bigger market place where they traded imported and manufactured goods.
The virtual monopoly enjoyed by Muslim maritime traders on the Red Sea would be well demonstrated by the history of this term in the different languages employed all over the Red Sea. Indeed, while Christian, Muslim and local-religious political powers all sought to take advantage of long-distance trade, the men who were leading the business were mostly Muslims.
But whatever the influence of Christian merchants on long-distance trade in Ethiopia, the attempt by King Lǝbnä Dǝngǝl (1509–1540) to charter his own ships and negotiate directly with Yemen was a failure.93 Even earlier, Lǝbnä Dǝngǝl had tried to convince the Portuguese to establish trading posts in Massawa and, if successful, also in Zaylaʿ. Even a king could not sidestep the entrenched networks that controlled this trade. - Samantha Kelly, "A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea" (2020): 413, 416-17."
Abyssinia, as far as the economy went, was less significant than the Somalis who had complex, flexible economic network-affected productivity. Revisionist lies have created wrong assumptions about Historical Abyssinian continuity, that incorporated historical macro-system outside of its reach in the post hoc historical perspective, claiming an invention of its internal making and function. This aggrandizes people's perception of the history of northern Ethiopia, crafted for irredentist purposes, feigning ideological legitimacy in the current geographic expanse as part of a so-called rightful destiny spatial-political materialization. That is why you have a Cushite like a Kambaata calling himself a Habasha in the diaspora.
"Many local markets were to be found all over the country, for petty trade. This ability to transform any space into a local market is particularly visible in Alvares’s description of the royal camp. Wherever it settled, a market immediately appeared, gathering people from all over the region: Christians sold consumption goods, while Muslims had a bigger market place where they traded imported and manufactured goods.
The virtual monopoly enjoyed by Muslim maritime traders on the Red Sea would be well demonstrated by the history of this term in the different languages employed all over the Red Sea. Indeed, while Christian, Muslim and local-religious political powers all sought to take advantage of long-distance trade, the men who were leading the business were mostly Muslims.
But whatever the influence of Christian merchants on long-distance trade in Ethiopia, the attempt by King Lǝbnä Dǝngǝl (1509–1540) to charter his own ships and negotiate directly with Yemen was a failure.93 Even earlier, Lǝbnä Dǝngǝl had tried to convince the Portuguese to establish trading posts in Massawa and, if successful, also in Zaylaʿ. Even a king could not sidestep the entrenched networks that controlled this trade. - Samantha Kelly, "A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea" (2020): 413, 416-17."
Abyssinia, as far as the economy went, was less significant than the Somalis who had complex, flexible economic network-affected productivity. Revisionist lies have created wrong assumptions about Historical Abyssinian continuity, that incorporated historical macro-system outside of its reach in the post hoc historical perspective, claiming an invention of its internal making and function. This aggrandizes people's perception of the history of northern Ethiopia, crafted for irredentist purposes, feigning ideological legitimacy in the current geographic expanse as part of a so-called rightful destiny spatial-political materialization. That is why you have a Cushite like a Kambaata calling himself a Habasha in the diaspora.
Zara Yaqob chronicle reports this: They sent levies collected by Sultan Badlay and they were allied to Awdal sent support to their war efforts. They didn't send tribute or were under them.
That last part you said sounds made up because Gelawdewos was decisively defeated by Emir Nur who took rule after Imam Ahmed death. Even Emir Nurs Army was incomparably smaller than the Ethiopian kings army, that it even baffled the Portuguese.
There is no Bar-Al-Ajam polity or Kingdom, in the same vain as Bar-Sa'Adin which was a name of a dynasty that replaced Walashma, named after a martyr. It's just a general way Arab geographers describe non-Arab speaking regions.''Al-Ajam'' ''Non-Arab'' so not really specific to Somalis, so don't make too much of it. Perhaps they named their Polity/country Bar-Mudaffar or Fakr Ad-Din which sounds more plausible.
Haile Sellasie didn't based this on any of that, he just made bold faced claims to advance the Ethiopian interests against being landlocked. I get Eritrea which also a stretch, but you have to be demented to argue this.
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Think about how most of the Gold/silver mines and the largest deposits outside of Hadiyah/Bali Muslim provinces was located in Christian territories like Damot , Enerya, Bosha and the likes, but the Gold and Silver trade was monopolized and controlled by Muslim Sudanese/Eris to the Northwest of them and Somalis to the South-East of them.
Muslims had so much of those metals much they were dripped down with it , head to toe. Gold and silver was used as currency by them as well.
Zara Yaqob chronicle reports this: They sent levies collected by Sultan Badlay and they were allied to Awdal sent support to their war efforts. They didn't send tribute or were under them.
That last part you said sounds made up because Gelawdewos was decisively defeated by Emir Nur who took rule after Imam Ahmed death. Even Emir Nurs Army was incomparably smaller than the Ethiopian kings army, that it even baffled the Portuguese.
There is no Bar-Al-Ajam polity or Kingdom, in the same vain as Bar-Sa'Adin which was a name of a dynasty that replaced Walashma, named after a martyr. It's just a general way Arab geographers describe non-Arab speaking regions.''Al-Ajam'' ''Non-Arab'' so not really specific to Somalis, so don't make too much of it. Perhaps they named their Polity/country Bar-Mudaffar or Fakr Ad-Din which sounds more plausible.
Haile Sellasie didn't based this on any of that, he just made bold faced claims to advance the Ethiopian interests against being landlocked. I get Eritrea which also a stretch, but you have to be demented to argue this.
Its based on Cerulli’s 1929 La Somalia nelle Cronache Etiopiche;
Google Translated; “The area of Somalia towards the Indian Ocean must have been known to the Abyssinians only through news brought by Muslim traders. The mention of Mogadishu in the Mashafa Milad of the negus Zara Yaqob is explained because it coincides more or less with the period of maximum prosperity of Mogadishu during the Sultanate of the dynasty of Fakhr ad-din. Later in the Chronicle of the negus Claudius (Galawdewos), who reigned from 1540 to 1559, it is said that that king had enemies from Barr Ağam to Barr Sa'ad ad-din.
The Somali coast along the Indian Ocean is still known today to the sailors of the sailing ships for the Arabs with the name of Barr al-'Ağam for the northern and southern parts. It is certain that the Chronicler wants to praise King Claudius for having completely destroyed the army of the Great Ahmad ibn Ibrahim: completely from the closest area of Zayla from which the movement had started (an area that the Muslims called ‘barr sa ad ad-din’) to the furthest area inhabited by the invading Somalis, i.e. the coast of the Indian Ocean (‘barr al-'Ağam’). It is notable that even in this geographical nomenclature the Chronicler of King Claudius follows Arabic terminology.”
La Somalia nelle Cronache Etiopiche - PDF
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' The area of Somalia towards the Indian Ocean must have been known to the Abyssinians only through news brought by Muslim traders'' that makes sense.
King Claudius, is Latin rendering of his name? Anyways delusional claims in that chronicle, even the Portuguese that was there called it fiction and made up: Pedro Paez review of the Chronicles of Gelawdewos:
Pedro Páez's History of Ethiopia, 1622 - Partie 2 - Page 17
''Not only did Emperor Claudio not do those things in [Chronicle) , Kingdom of Adel, but he never went there in his life. Nor did the Moors lose so much with Granh's defeat and death that they could not have defended themselves very well, had he gone there. Rather, the Moor who succeeded Granh as guazir silicet ''governor'' came from there with an army against Emperor Claudio a few years later and on giving battle, defeated and killed him not very far from where he had his court, as everyone says says and his history recounts''
Not only that Emir Nur defeated the Emperor with a much much smaller army as well:'
'' Owed God for the remarkable victory that He had given him...because his army had been incomparably smaller than the emperor''
The Ethiopian chronicles are filled with most times propaganda glorifying the reign of their Kings and trying to hide their humiliating defeats and claiming to reach Muslim areas they have never been to in their life but that's a topic for a another time or a thread.
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What do you think about cerulli as a scholar' The area of Somalia towards the Indian Ocean must have been known to the Abyssinians only through news brought by Muslim traders'' that makes sense.
King Claudius, is Latin rendering of his name? Anyways delusional claims in that chronicle, even the Portuguese that was there called it fiction and made up: Pedro Paez review of the Chronicles of Gelawdewos:
Pedro Páez's History of Ethiopia, 1622 - Partie 2 - Page 17
''Not only did Emperor Claudio not do those things in [Chronicle) , Kingdom of Adel, but he never went there in his life. Nor did the Moors lose so much with Granh's defeat and death that they could not have defended themselves very well, had he gone there. Rather, the Moor who succeeded Granh as guazir silicet ''governor'' came from there with an army against Emperor Claudio a few years later and on giving battle, defeated and killed him not very far from where he had his court, as everyone says says and his history recounts''
Not only that Emir Nur defeated the Emperor with a much much smaller army as well:'
'' Owed God for the remarkable victory that He had given him...because his army had been incomparably smaller than the emperor''
The Ethiopian chronicles are filled with most times propaganda glorifying the reign of their Kings and trying to hide their humiliating defeats and claiming to reach Muslim areas they have never been to in their life but that's a topic for a another time or a thread.
I regard him as a product of his time.
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