ABYSSINIA (ETHIOPIA)

 JEWISH

The early days of the Beta Israel (House of Israel) community in Abyssinia remain a mystery. There is no doubt that the roots of Judaism were influential in this part of Africa at a very early date --perhaps even as far back as the First Temple period. Since there are no factual data from those times, and given the Ethiopian Jews' racial resemblance to native Ethiopians, various theories have been proposed concerning the origins of the community, based on superficial research of their traditions, customs and roots.

Many aspects of Ethiopian culture still show traces of Judaic influence. The Abyssinian Church is considered very close to ancient Judaism, with customs such as circumcision, a form of Sabbath observance, dietary laws similar to those found in the Tora, and other practices preserved in its doctrine. We know that before the spread of Christianity in the 4th century CE, the Mosaic faith was practiced in Abyssinia, alongside the idol worship which still remains widespread.

According to Ethiopia national legend, the founder of the royal dynasty, whose last monarch was Negus (Emperor) Haile Selassie --the symbolic and titular "Lion of Judah" --was the son of the Queen of Sheba (Makida, according to the legend) and King Solomon. The son, Menelik, as an educated adult, returned to his father in Jerusalem, and then resettled in Ethiopia together with many members of the Israelite tribes, including priests and Levites. He also smuggled the Ark of the Covenant and the Tablets of the Law out from Jerusalem, and brought them to Aksum, capital of ancient Abyssinia. The Jews of Ethiopia do not generally accept this legend, and take it to be mere fabrication. However, this old tradition only strengthens what we know from other sources --that there was an early Jewish influence in Abyssinia .

A 9th-century tradition, based on the story of Eldad ha-Dani (the Danite), maintains that during the rift between Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and Jeroboam, son of Nebat --leaders of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel respectively --the tribe of Dan chose not to be drawn into tribal disputes. To avoid the impending civil war they resettled in Egypt. Once there, the Danites continued southwards up the Nile to the historic Land of Cush (today in Sudan and Ethiopia) and found it to be rich in resources. Eldad ha-Dani himself was probably from this area. According to his report, members of the tribes of Naftali, Gad and Asher lived there together with the Danites, and he himself could trace his ancestry back to Dan, son of Jacob.

This tradition, which may have a certain Biblical basis, is also found in other medieval sources. Rabbi Obadiah of Bertinoro came across two Abyssinian Jewish prisoners of war in Egypt in the late 15th century and wrote that they claimed to be descended from the tribe of Dan. Rabbi David ben-Zimra (RaDBaZ) ruled in his 16th century responsa that the Jews of Ethiopia were unquestionably Danites who had settled in Abyssinia, possibly even before the Second Temple period. The tradition appears to have been widely held by the Jews of Abyssinia and the surrounding areas until recently, though this is no longer the case today.

At the time when the Ten Tribes were exiled to Assyria (during the reign of King Hosea, son of Elah of Israel, approximately one century before the First Temple was destroyed and Judah was exiled), the Prophet Isaiah prophesied the End of Days, when the dispersed people of Israel and Judah would be gathered in from their place of exile. Cush is one of the places mentioned.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather together the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isaiah 11:11-12)

The return of the people living "beyond the rivers of Abyssinia" to "the place of the name of the Lord of Hosts" is prophesied in detail in Isaiah 18:7 and Zephania 3:10. These sources are sufficient to demonstrate Jewish presence in Ethiopia towards the end of the First Temple period.

After the destruction of the First Temple, the Jewish community in Egypt expanded. Findings discovered at the beginning of this century in Yev (Elephantine) in southern Egypt on the Nile, near Aswan (the area of Biblical Pathros) indicate there were Jewish communities near the Sudanese border dating at least to the Return to Zion in the Persian period. The Jews of Yev, like those of Abyssinia, built a temple and performed sacrifices, but did not reject the sanctity of Jerusalem and its Temple. Similarly, Onias' Temple, in Lower Egypt, dates from the Second Temple period. Other similarities in traditions and special customs support the evidence of a link between the ancient Egyptian Jews and those of Ethiopia.

Other sources tell of many Jews who were brought as prisoners of war from Eretz Israel by Ptolemy I (322-285 B.C.E.) and also settled on the border of his kingdom with Nubia (Sudan).

It can therefore be assumed that the Jewish communities in Pathros were destroyed and that the Jews headed south in search of a new place to live along the most convenient route --up the Nile via Sudan to its sources around Lake Tana in northwest Ethiopia. Ethiopian Jews live there to this day.

Another tradition handed down in the community from father to son asserts that they arrived either via the Quara district in western Ethiopia, or via the Guango River, where the Nile tributaries flow into Sudan. Some accounts even specify the route taken by the forefathers on their way upstream from Egypt.

These waves of exiles, each arriving in a different period, probably converted some of the native people, which could explain the physical resemblance between Ethiopian Jews and non-Jews. It should be made clear that Jewish sources do not regard external appearance and skin color as indicative of Jewishness in any way. Indeed, it is well known that Jews bear a resemblance to the Gentile populations of their various Diaspora surroundings.

Various scholars have provided other theories. Some view Beta Israel as descendants of the tribe of Agau, which converted to Judaism in ancient times. Others regard the community as descendants of converted Yemenite Arabs or of Yemenite Jews who were brought to Abyssinia during the Abyssinian rule of the Yemen and who intermarried with the Agau tribe in the early centuries of the Common Era. Some even consider Beta Israel a Gentile community with traces of Jewish tradition.

There are inconclusive theories, based chiefly on racial similarity and a superficial study of traditions, community customs and Hebrew sources.

In summary, it may be assumed that Jews reached Abyssinia as early as the last First Temple period, and that additional groups came after its destruction, and during the Second Temple period, via Egypt and the Nile. Converts, and perhaps even Jews from the Yemen, probably reinforced and increased the Jewish community, which was already established and exerting great influence in the regions surrounding Lake Tana.

One fact is clear from all the sources: The Falashas have always regarded themselves as Jews, believers in the Faith of Moses, exiled from Eretz Israel, and quite distinct from the native Gentiles. They were also regarded as such by the Christian, Muslim and idol-worshipping Ethiopian communities around them.

From the Historical Records of the Abyssinian Jewish Community
The history of Beta Israel in Ethiopia is fairly similar to that of other Jewish communities in the Diaspora. For many generations their foreignness made them targets for hostility, harsh legislation, forced conversion, persecution and even murder by their neighbors. The amazing fact that they survived so hostile an environment says much for the determination and will to exist which have empowered Jews everywhere to endure difficult times, through their devotion and praise of God's name.

This is what Beta Israel has in common with other Diaspora Jewish communities. However, there are two features which distinguish the history of Beta Israel from those of other exiles.

First of all, Beta Israel has been completely isolated from the rest of the Jewish people, including those in neighboring Yemen and Egypt, for about 2400 years. This is extremely significant and illustrates the uniqueness of the community. Of all Jewish communities which have survived to this day, Beta Israel is the one which most merits the description "lost" or "distant" tribe.

Secondly, the Jews of Ethiopia enjoyed a "golden" period of independence and rule. During the power struggles and wars of the Middle Ages, the Falashas were not an unfortunate minority persecuted by the rulers and native population. On the contrary, for centuries the Jews were a powerful force among the Abyssinian tribes. They apparently numbered in the hundreds of thousands; they fought and rebelled. They were even at times victorious and assumed power.

The Jews and their history in Abyssinia are first mentioned explicitly sometime around the 10th century. Around 960, the Falashas and the Agau tribes rebelled against the kings of Aksum (the dynasty of Menelik) and the dominant Christian religion. The uprising was led by a queen known as Judith or Esther, sometimes identified as "the Jewess", leader of the Falashas. Judith set out to eradicate Christianity from the land, burning churches and monasteries and slaughtering monks and priests. Following here, a new royal dynasty, called the Zagwe, rose to power and ruled Abyssinia for about 350 years. Apparently the Ethiopian Jews enjoyed great influence under this regime.

The Menelik Dynasty resumed control in the latter half of the 13th century and launched war almost incessantly against the Falashas. The result was the effective loss of Falasha independence, with the final downfall of the Jews of Ethiopia sometime in the early 17th century.

In 1332, Emperor Amda Siyon (1314-1344) sent his military commander, Tzaga Chrisus, to attack the Falashas, who had risen against him in northern and western Abyssinia, as he pursued a holy war against the Muslims in the south and east. He repressed the Falashas cruelly and pushed them back to their strongholds in the Semyen Mounts.

Amda Siyon's great-grandson, Negus Ishak (1414-1429), also fought the Falashas and built churches on the ruins of their synagogues. Twenty-four Abyssinian judges were dismissed for daring to protest against the evil done to the Jews.

Negus Za'ra Ya'kob (1434-1468) continued the persecutions and added the title "Exterminator of the Jews" to his name. His subjects were required to tie a strip of parchment to their foreheads bearing an inscription expressing their commitment to the Christian faith. Interestingly enough, however, Jewish influence grew during his reign. Contemporary Abyssinian chronicles tell of Jewish converts, including the son of the Negus himself, Abba Tzaga, who became a well-known and influential Jewish hermit and friend of Abba Tzabra, one of the community's spiritual leaders.

The warfare and persecution continued, on and off, throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. Echoes of the wars spread far and wide. Jews in Mediterranean countries who heard of the battles or met Falasha prisoners of war offered for sale in slave markets, primarily in Egypt, believed that the strife might indicate the coming of the Messiah, since this event was supposed to be preceded by war between Jews and Christians.

During the reign of Negus Lebna Dengel (1508-1540) and his son Claudius (1540-1559), Muslim forces under Arab Emir Ehmed Garan, ruler of eastern Ethiopia and Somalia, conquered broad stretches of Ethiopia including Semyen and Dembia, where the Jews had settled. With the help of the Portuguese, who intervened in Abyssinia (at the time one of Portugal's New World discoveries en route to India), Negus Claudius liberated his land from the Muslims and took revenge on the Falashas and their king, Yoram, whom he executed for aiding the Muslim enemy. The new Falasha King, Radi, went to war with Negus Minas (1559-1563); upon defeat, however, he was taken prisoner by Minas' successor, Negus Sarsa-Dengel (1563-1597).

A detailed chronicle describes Sarsa-Dengel's brutal wars against the Falashas, under the leadership of Kaleb, Radai's brother, wherein the Jews were badly beaten. The Abyssinian chronicle describes Falasha acts of heroism at the very time when their downfall became increasingly clear.

Some excerpts from this chronicle follow:

...The Falashas struck (Sarsa-Dengel's) armies which fought on that day, pursuing them as far as the slope, with not a single loss among them apart from one of the leaders ... The heart of the mighty king, Malakh Sagad, was sorely hurt by the shame of this, and he came to Semyen ... On that night, however, none of the Falashas had girded his strength to fight and trouble them; for the fear of the king had come upon them and the couriers of the city surrounding them ... The camp split into three factors on that day. The Falashas rose against those taking the third route, knowing that the king was not there and had chosen a different route. Piktor, son of Penuel the Commissioner, defeated them, causing many deaths; he delivered the king twenty heads severed at the neck. This was our master's first triumph and the beginning of the Falashas' downfall. He spent the entire night sleepless, scheming and designing how to get down from the mountain on which he had taken shelter...

The war between the Falashas and the king's forces intensified. Kaleb's forces employed the device of rolling stones upon their enemies so they could not climb the mountain; the king's forces had to postpone their ascent accordingly. At the seventh hour, the king ordered them to fire cannon. The first volley felled Tzavarei Alama and a woman who had hidden under a tree. Kaleb and his men were fear-stricken at this, for it appeared to them that the thunder had fallen from the sky. Dob'a Siltan came down to them from the hill --he had encamped there to guard the narrow passage --the result being that the Falashas were encountered at once from left and right, from above and below ...

This time half the Falashas fell by point of sword and arrow, throwing their souls to the valley as they fled. The beasts --bulls, camels, mules and donkeys --were also killed; none remained alive ... For Abba Nevai it was complete annihilation; no man or woman either young or old, nor any animal was left standing.

A wondrous thing then occurred. A captive woman was being led by her captor, her hand tied to his. When she saw they were walking on the rim of a great abyss, she shouted "God help me!" and cast herself -- and, with her, the man who had bound her hand to his against her will -- into the abyss.

How wonderfully heroic this woman was, pledging her soul to death in exchange for one (soul) of the Christian community. Nor was she the only one who did so. Many other women did it, but she was the first whom I saw. Their deed resembles that of the forty men under Ben-Gurion who swore to go to their deaths together and who indeed did so, killing one another rather than giving themselves up to Rome. They all died on that day, apart from Yosef (Ben-Matityahu, i.e., Flavius Josephus) who alone was saved through his wisdom. In this respect it resembles the deaths of the earlier and later ones who preferred suicide to obeisance of men who are not of their faith, for the Jews do not consort with the Christians, even to the extent of a single word ... (J. Halevy, La Guerre de Sarsa-Dengel contre les Falashas, Paris, 1907.)

Another description from the same Abyssinian Christian source instructs us of the cruelty of the Christians, who viewed the Falashas as enemies of their faith:

Marcus the Commissioner, in Bagemder at the time, was eyewitness to the event and to the event and to the might of the kingdom in the days of Negus Ba'ada Maryam, when these Falashas lived of whose history we shall write:

Marcus, fighting them, sat for seven years at the foot of their mountain; then he vanquished them with great labor and cunning, capturing them and conquering all their cities. Afterwards he had the following thought: how can I forgive these accursed ones who ever angered the Holy Spirit with the evil of their deeds? I should better annihilate them than leave them alive. Speaking thus, he ordered his crier to make the following announcement: Every Falasha will report to the commander I have placed over him; I will destroy the house and seize the property of anyone who does not comply.

Once all the Falashas had assembled around Marcus the Commissioner --a great assembly, indeed --he ordered his men to sever their heads by sword point until their blood flowed and their corpses filled the fields. Then the ridicule which their forefathers had said on the day they crucified our Lord --may His blood be upon us and our children -- was fulfilled.

... With this we present the rout of Radai, who fell as disgracefully as had Sennacherib and was humiliated as the Devil was for his pride. He had renamed the mountains of his cities with names of the mountains of Israel, calling one Mount Sinai and another Mount Tabor; there were several others whose names we have not mentioned. How evil is this Jewish pride, which crowned the mountains with names of the mountains of Israel upon which the Lord descended ... (Ibid.)

In the early 17th century, during the reign of Negus Susenyos (1607-1632), the Falashas were still rebelling against the crown near the mountains of Semyen. Intent upon destroying the Falashas, the negus began to conquer their strongholds, slaughtering men, women and children as he proceeded. The Falasha King Gideon and large numbers of his supporters were massacred. The rebels were surrounded and faced laws requiring forced baptism. Many of them did convert to Christianity and were sold into slavery.

This period marked the end of the relative independence and self-government which the Jews of Abyssinia had enjoyed for many generations. They now faced years of suffering as a persecuted minority. They were no longer entitled to own land; their rights were taken away. They became despised, objects of scorn.

But even in those difficult times, the Jews of Abyssinia maintained Jewish tradition in their villages, and isolated themselves from Gentiles and Gentile customs.

They became progressively fewer in number, and were estimated at between 100,000 and 250,000 in the 19th century. Since they were poor and lacking in other resources, they had to make use of the holy writings of the Coptic Church.

European Christian missionaries first came to Ethiopia in the 17th century and attempted to convert the Jewish minority, whom they considered a suitable target for their activities, but it was only in the middle of the 19th century that Western European Protestant missionaries saw the fruits of these efforts. They invested a great deal of money and effort into renewing the campaign, and succeeded in converting many Ethiopian Jews to Christianity.

Form then on, with more European missionaries, travelers and researchers visiting Abyssinia, reports of the lost Jewish tribe began to reach Europe and world Jewry.

A sudden rage of Jewish Messianic fervor for Zion broke out among the Falashas, who were torn between the hostile regime of Negus Theodore (1855-1865) and Christian missionaries claiming that the Messiah (Jesus) had already brought the Gospel to the world. In 1862 six of the community's kesoch (priests) with Abba Mahari at their head, led thousands from their villages, with absolutely no preparation, northwards to the Red Sea and Jerusalem. They believed that God would perform a miracle and divide the waters as He had during the Exodus.

This "revival" came to a bitter end when the convoy stopped close to Aksum in the Tigre district of northern Ethiopia. Many of the pilgrims had died of hunger and epidemics; the rest returned to their villages, only to find they had been destroyed while they were away.

It was at this time that Ethiopian Jewry first began to have contact with Jews from the rest of the world. Joseph Halevy, the first Alliance Israelite Universelle emissary, reached the Falasha villages in 1867-8.

The situation of the Ethiopian Jews worsened towards the end of the 19th century. By the turn of the century, their numbers were estimated at only 60,000. Many died from epidemics and famine. An invasion of Muslim Dervishes from Sudan in 1889 devastated parts of western Ethiopia and seriously harmed the Falasha villages. And many were converted by missionaries.

It was only at the beginning of this century that the Ethiopian Jewish community began to raise their hopes. This was largely due to the efforts of Dr. Jacques Faitlovitch, who felt a responsibility to act on behalf of the Jewish People as the savior of Ethiopian Jews. Through him, Ethiopian Jews sent letters to other Jews throughout the world and received encouraging answers expressing identification with them, which bolstered their morale and helped them to stand up to the relentless efforts of the missionaries.

In 1923, Dr. Faitlovitch opened a school in Addis Ababa for young Ethiopian Jews. During the first half of the century, he enrolled some 40 young Falashas in Jewish religious schools in Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany and Jerusalem. Although they returned to Ethiopia, only a few of them helped the community to benefit from their newly expanded knowledge of Judaism and the world in general.

Italy's occupation of Ethiopia (1936-1941) brought Jewish activity to a halt, and the school in Addis Ababa was closed.

Since Ethiopian independence was restored, and in fact throughout most of this century, Ethiopian Jews have --at least according to the law --enjoyed equal rights. However, the native population has remained hostile to the community to the extent that even lives have been lost.

As progress spread through Ethiopia, young Jews began to move from the villages into the cities, in particular to Gondar and the surrounding area. Though younger members of the community moved away from their villages and thus from their tradition and began to assimilate, it must be emphasized that the Falashas in the villages have kept faithfully to their religious traditions.

The Jews of Ethiopia --estimated in 1983 at about 30,000 --have maintained their Jewish faith and religious love of Zion and the Holy Land. The birth of the State of Israel, and its subsequent contact with them made them more determined to protect what was left of the Jewish population from total assimilation.

It may be said that if this community --which is settling "en masse" in Israel today --had not been saved, the rest of the Jewish People might never had known of this wonderful "lost" tribe. However, the promise God made through his prophets that the Jews of Cush would return to Zion and to Jerusalem has not been broken; it is taking place before our eyes.

ENCYCLOPEDIA 1:

Abyssinia crisis

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The Abyssinia crisis was a diplomatic crisis originating in the second Italian invasion of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) in October 1935. Its effects were to undermine the credibility of the League of Nations and to encourage Italy to ally with Germany.

Both Italy and Abyssinia were members of the League of Nations, which had rules forbidding aggression. Abyssinia appealed to the League and it responded by condemning the attack and imposing economic sanctions on Italy. However the sanctions excluded vital materials such as oil, and were not carried out by all members of the league. The United Kingdom and France did not take any serious action against Italy (such as blocking Italian access to the Suez Canal).

In December 1935 Samuel Hoare of Britain and Pierre Laval of France proposed the "Hoare-Laval Plan" which would end the war but allow Italy to control large areas of Abyssinia. Benito Mussolini agreed to the plan, but it caused an outcry in Britain where Hoare was accused of betraying the Abyssinians. Hoare resigned and the plan was dropped, but the perception spread that Britain and France were not serious about the principles of the league. After the plan was dropped, the war continued and Mussolini turned to Adolf Hitler for alliance.

ENCYCLOPEDIA 2:

From:  http://28.1911encyclopedia.org/A/AB/ABYSSINIA.htm

In the early part of the 6th century the king of the Homerites, on the opposite coast of the Red Sea, having persecuted the Christians, the emperor Justinian I. requested the king of Auxume, Caleb or El-Esbaha, to avenge their cause. He accordingly collected an army, crossed over into Arabia, and conquered Yemen (c. 525), which remained subject to Ethiopia for about fifty years. This was the most flourishing period in the annals of the country. The Ethiopians possessed the richest part of Arabia, carried on a large trade, which extended as far as India and Ceylon, and were in constant communication with the Greek empire. Their expulsion from Arabia, followed by the conquest of Egypt by the Mahommedans in the middle of the yth century, changed this state of affairs, and the continued advances of the followers of the Prophet at length cut them off from almost every means of communication with the civilized world; so that, as Gibbon says, " encompassed by the enemies of their religion, the Ethiopians slept for near a thousand years, forgetful of the world by whom they were forgotten." About A.D. 1000, a Jewish princess, Judith, conceived the design of murdering all the members of the royal family, and of establishing herself in their stead. During the execution of this project, the infant king was carried off by some faithful adherents, and conveyed to Shoa, where his authority was acknowledged, while Judith reigned for forty years over the rest of the kingdom, and transmitted the crown to her descendants. In 1268 the kingdom was restored to the royal house in the person of YekunO Amlak.

influence, to the negus, or emperor of the country, 

(14) Towards the close of the i5th century the Portuguese missions into Abyssinia began. A belief had long prevailed in Europe of the existence of a Christian kingdom in the far east, whose monarch was known as Prester John, and various expeditions had been sent in quest of it. Among others who had engaged in this search was Pedro de Covilham, who arrived in Abyssinia in 1490, and, believing that he had at length reached the far-famed kingdom, presented a letter from his master the king of Portugal, addressed to Prester John. Covilham remained in the country, but in 1507 an Armenian named Matthew was sent by the negus to the king of Portugal to request his aid against the Mahommedans. In 1520 a Portuguese fleet, with Matthew on board, entered the Red Sea in compliance with this request, and an embassy from the fleet visited the negus, Lebna Dengel Dawit (David) II., and remained in Abyssinia for about six years. One of this embassy was Father Francisco Alvarez, from whom we have the earliest and not the least interesting account of the country. Between 1528 and 1540 armies of Mahommedans, under the renowned general Mahommed Gran (or Granye, probably a Somali or a Galla), entered Abyssinia from the low country to the south-east, and overran the kingdom, obliging the emperor to take refuge in the mountain fastnesses. In this extremity recourse was again had to the Portuguese. John Bermudez, a subordinate member of the mission of 1520, who had remained in the country after the departure of the embassy, was, according to his own statement (which is untrustworthy), ordained successor to the abuna (archbishop), and sent to Lisbon. Bermudez certainly came to Europe, but with what credentials is'not known. Be that as it may, a Portuguese fleet, under the command of Stephen da Gama, was sent from India and arrived at Massawa in February 1541. Here he received an ambassador from the negus beseeching him to send help against the Moslems, and in the July following a force of 450 musqueteers, under the command of Christopher da Gaina, younger brother of the admiral, marched into the interior, and being joined by native troops were at first successful against the enemy; but they were subsequently defeated, and their commander taken prisoner and put to death (August 1542). On the 2ist of February 1543, however, Mahommed Granye was shot in an engagement and his forces totally routed. After this, quarrels arose between the negus and Bermudez, who had returned to Abyssinia with Christopher da Gama and who now wished the emperor publicly to profess himself a convert to Rome. This the negus refused to do, and at length Bermudez was obliged to make his way out of the country. The Jesuits who had accompanied or followed the da Gama expedition into Abyssinia, and fixed their headquarters at Fremona (near Adowa), were oppressed and neglected, but not actually expelled. In the beginning of the I7th century Father Pedro Paez arrived at Fremona, a man of great tact and judgment, who soon rose into high favour at court, and gained over the emperor to his faith, He directed the erection of churches, palaces and bridges in different parts of the country, and carried out many useful works. His successor Mendez was a man of much less conciliatory manners, and the feelings of the people became strongly excited against the intruders, till at length, on the death of the negus Sysenius, Socinius or Seged I., and the accession of his son Fasiiidas in 1633, they were all sent out of the country, after having had a footing there for nearly a century ' and a half- .The French physician C. J. Poncet, who and Bruce. went there in 1698, via Sennar and the Blue Nile, was the only European that afterwards visited the country before Bruce in 1769. James Brace's main object was to discover the sources of the Nile, which he was convinced lay in Abyssinia. Accordingly, leaving Massawa in September'1769, he travelled via Axum to Gondar, where he was well received by King Tekla Haimanot II. He accompanied the king on a warlike expedition round Lake Tsana, moving S. round the eastern shore, crossing the genuine Blue Nile (Abai) close to its point of issue from the lake and returning via the western shore. On a second expedition of his own he proved to his own satisfaction that the river originated some 40 miles S.W. of the lake at a place called Geesh (4th of November 1770). He showed that this river flowed into the lake, and left it by its now well-known outlet. Bruce subsequently returned to Egypt.

ENCYCLOPEDIA 3:

From:  http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/abyssinia.htm

The crisis in Abyssinia from 1935 to 1936 brought international tension nearer to Europe - the crisis in Abysinnia also drove Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy together for the first time. The affair once again highlighted the weakness of the League of Nations. 

Like Britain and France, Italy had joined in the so-called "Scramble for Africa" in the C19. However, the prize territories had been conquered by others and Italy was left with unimportant areas such as Eritrea and Somaliland. The Italians had attempted to expand in eastern Africa by joining Abyssinia to her conquests, but in 1896, the Italians were heavily defeated by the Abyssinians at the Battle of Adowa.

 This defeat had an enormous impact on Italian pride. The loss of 6000 men against a backward army from Abyssinia was difficult for the Italian people to comprehend. However, this defeat did not stop politicians in Italy planning for a new attempt to take over Abyssinia.

The desire to show the world how powerful Italy was became the prime motivation of Benito Mussolini. He saw himself as a modern day Julius Caesar who would one day be in charge of a vast Italian empire as had existed in the days of Caesar. In 1928, Italy signed a treaty of friendship with Haile Selassie, the leader of Abyssinia but an invasion of the country was already being planned.

In December 1934, Mussolini accused the Abyssinians of aggression at an oasis called Wal Wal. He ordered Italian troops stationed in Somaliland and Eritrea to attack Abyssinia. Large quantities of ammunition and supplies had been stockpiled there. 

In October 1935, the Italian army invaded Abyssinia. The Abyssinians could not hope to stand up to a modern army - they were equipped with pre-World War One rifles and little else. The Italians used armoured vehicles and even mustard gas in their attack. The capital, Addis Ababa, fell in May 1936 and Haile Selassie was removed from the throne and replaced by the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel. Somaliland, Eritrea and Abyssinia were all united under the name Italian East Africa.

When the Italians had invaded in October 1935, the Abyssinians had appealed to the League of Nations for help. The League did two things:

• it condemned the attack
• all League members were ordered to impose economic sanctions on Italy.

It took six weeks for the sanctions to be organised and they did not include vital materials such as oil.

Three League members did not carry out the sanctions. Italy could cover the sanctions imposed on gold and textiles but a ban on oil could have had a major impact on Italy?s war machine. The argument put forward for not banning oil, was that Italy would simply get her oil from America - a non-League country. Britain and France were also concerned about provoking Mussolini in the Mediterranean Sea where Britain had two large naval bases - Gibraltar and Malta. In fact, the Italian Navy was vastly overestimated by both the British and French but it was this fear which also led Britain to keeping open the Suez Canal. If this route had been cut, then Italy would have had extreme difficulties supplying her armed forces in the region during the conflict.

It is also possible that both Britain and France considered the war too far away to be of any importance to them. They were not prepared to risk their naval power in the Mediterranean for the sake of a country barely anybody had heard of in either France or Britain.

Britain and France also had another input into this affair. 

In an effort to end the war, the British Foreign Secretary - Samuel Hoare - and the French Prime Minister - Pierre Laval - met in December 1935. They came up with the Hoare-Laval Plan. This gave two large areas of Abyssinia to Italy and a gap in the middle of the country - the "corridor of camels" - to the Abyssinians. The south of the country would be reserved for Italian businesses. In return for this land, the Italians would have to stop the war.

Mussolini accepted the plan but in Britain there was a huge national outcry. It was believed that a British government minister had betrayed the people of Abyssinia. The protests caused Hoare to resign and the plan was dropped. Mussolini continued with the invasion. However, what this plan had indicated was that the two major European League members were prepared to negotiate with a nation that had used aggression to enforce its will on a weaker nation. Coupled with this, the sanctions also failed.

The League?s involvement in this event was a disaster. It showed nations that its sanctions were half-hearted even when they were enforced and that member states were prepared to negotiate with aggressor nations to the extent of effectively giving in to them. Also, actions by the League - even if they were a failure - lead to Italy looking away from the League - an organisation it did belong to. 

Mussolini turned to the man he had considered a "silly little monkey" when they had first met. Hitler and Nazi Germany.

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MOSLEM

From:  http://www.al-islam.org/restatement/11.htm

Ibn Ishaq

When the Apostle saw the afflictions of his companions and that though he escaped it because of his standing with Allah and his uncle, Abu Talib, he could not protect them, he said to them: ?If you were to go to Abyssinia (it would be better for you), for the king (there) will not tolerate injustice and it is a friendly country, until such time as Allah shall relieve you from your distress.' Thereupon his companions went to Abyssinia, being afraid of apostasy and fleeing to God with their religion. This was the first hijra in Islam. (The Life of the Messenger of God)

The first migration took place in the fifth year of the Proclamation ? in A.D. 615.

The king of Abyssinia welcomed the Muslim refugees from Makkah into his kingdom. He gave them sanctuary, and they enjoyed peace, security and freedom of worship under his aegis. About a year later, the Muslims in Abyssinia heard rumors that the Quraysh in Makkah had accepted Islam. If it was true then there was no reason for them to live in exile. They were homesick, and they decided to return to Makkah. But when they arrived in Makkah, they found out that not only the rumors they had heard were false, but also that the Quraysh had stepped up the persecution of the Muslims. They, therefore, left Makkah once again. Many other Muslims also accompanied them. This new group comprised 83 men and 18 women. Muhammad Mustafa appointed his first cousin, Jaafer ibn Abi Talib, an elder brother of Ali, as the leader of this group.

This second migration of the Muslims to Abyssinia took place in the sixth year of the Proclamation, which corresponds to the year A.D. 616.

The migration of the Muslims to Abyssinia, and their reception at the friendly court of that country, alarmed the Quraysh. They entertained the fear that Muslims might grow in strength, or find new allies, and then, some day, might return to Makkah to challenge them. To head off this potential threat, such as they saw it, they decided to send an embassy to the court of the king of Abyssinia to try to persuade him to extradite the Muslims to Makkah.

The Muslim refugees who had expected to be left in peace, were surprised by the arrival, in the Abyssinian capital, of an embassy from Makkah, led by a certain Amr bin Aas. Amr had brought rich presents for the king and his courtiers to ingratiate himself with them.

When the king gave audience to the emissary of the Quraysh, he said that the Muslims in Abyssinia were not refugees from persecution but were fugitives from justice and law, and requested him to extradite them to Makkah. The king, however, wanted to hear the other side of the story also before giving any judgment, and summoned Jaafer ibn Abi Talib to the court to answer the charges against the Muslims.

Jaafer made a most memorable defense. Following is a summary of his speech in the court of Abyssinia in answer to the questions posed by the Christian king.

"O King! We were ignorant people and we lived like wild animals. The strong among us lived by preying upon the weak. We obeyed no law and we acknowledged no authority save that of brute force. We worshipped idols made of stone or wood, and we knew nothing of human dignity. And then God, in His Mercy, sent to us His Messenger who was himself one of us. We knew about his truthfulness and his integrity. His character was exemplary, and he was the most well-born of the Arabs. He invited us toward the worship of One God, and he forbade us to worship idols. He exhorted us to tell the truth, and to protect the weak, the poor, the humble, the widows and the orphans. He ordered us to show respect to women, and never to slander them. We obeyed him and followed his teachings. Most of the people in our country are still polytheists, and they resented our conversion to the new faith which is called Islam. They began to persecute us and it was in order to escape from persecution by them that we sought and found sanctuary in your kingdom."

When Jaaffer concluded his speech, the king asked him to read some verses which were revealed to the Prophet of the Muslims. Jaafer read a few verses from Surah Maryam (Mary), the 19th chapter of Al-Qur?an al-Majid. When the king heard these verses, he said that their fountainhead was the same as that of the verses of the Evangel. He then declared that he was convinced of his veracity, and added, to the great chagrin of Amr bin Aas, that the Muslims were free to live in his kingdom for as long as they wished.

But Amr bin Aas bethought himself of a new stratagem, which, he felt confident, would tilt the scales against Jaafer. On the following day, therefore, he returned to the court and said to the king that he (the king) ought to waive his protection of the Muslims because they rejected the divine nature of Christ, and claimed that he was a mortal like other men. When questioned on this point by the king, Jaafer said: "Our judgment of Jesus is the same as that of Allah and His Messenger, viz., Jesus is God's servant, His Prophet, His Spirit, and His command given unto Mary, the innocent virgin."

The king said: "Jesus is just what you have stated him to be, and is nothing more than that." Then addressing the Muslims, he said: "Go to your homes and live in peace. I shall never give you up to your enemies." He refused to extradite the Muslims, returned the presents which Amr bin Aas had brought, and dismissed his embassy.

Washington Irving

Among the refugees to Abyssinia, there was Jaafer, the son of Abu Talib, and brother of Ali, consequently the cousin of Mohammed. He was a man of persuasive eloquence and a most prepossessing appearance. He stood forth before the king of Abyssinia, and expounded the doctrines of Islam with zeal and power. The king who was a Nestorian Christian, found these doctrines so similar in many respects to those of his sect and so opposed to the gross idolatry of the Koreishites, that so far from giving up the fugitives, he took them more especially into favor and protection, and returning to Amr b. Aas and Abdullah, the presents they had brought, dismissed them from his court. (Life of Mohammed)

Muslims spent many years in Abyssinia and lived there in peace. Thirteen years later ? in 7 A.H. (A.D. 628) ? they returned, not to Makkah but to Medina. Their arrival synchronized with the conquest of Khyber by the Muslims.

Jaafer ibn Abi Talib was the leader of all those Muslims who had migrated to Abyssinia in 615 and 616. He appears to have been the only member of the clan of Banu Hashim to leave for Abyssinia with the other refugees. All other members of Banu Hashim stayed in Makkah.

Montgomery Watt

Apart from two exceptions all the early Muslims who remained in Mecca (and did not go to Abyssinia) belonged to a group of five clans, headed by Mohammed's clan of Hashim. This group seems to be a reconstituted form of the League of the Virtuous. It is thus the focus of the opposition to the leading merchants with their monopolistic practices. (Mohammed, Prophet and Statesman, 1961)

MUSSOLINI

From http://www.learn.co.za/content/grade12/History/wwii/japan/Unit1/12HisT2L3_2.htm

Italy's foreign policy

Mussolini, like leaders in Japan and Germany, was anxious to divert the problems of the Great Depression of 1929, in his country, by some overseas campaign. One of Mussolini's main aims was to build an empire in Africa. Italy already occupied Eritrea and parts of Somaliland, in Africa. Mussolini wanted to add Abyssinia to this list, mainly for its natural resources.

In 1934 Mussolini made serious plans for the attack on Abyssinia and he made several aggressive speeches. Mussolini judged correctly that neither Britain nor France wanted to go to war (or blockade the Suez Canal) to stop an Italian conquest.

On 3 October 1935 Mussolini invaded Abyssinia, without a declaration of war. The Italian army was well-equipped with modern weapons, such as planes and gas, and Eritrean soldiers were also use for the fighting. The poorly equipped Abyssinian army tried to defend Abyssinia with swords and spears and was easily defeated, and as they retreated were bombed and gassed.

Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Abyssinia, asked the League of Nations for help. The League imposed sanctions in Italy but not an oil embargo. The Suez Canal, through which supplies to Italian troops had to pass, was not closed. If the League had extended economic sanctions to oil, Mussolini would have had to withdraw from Abyssinia.

In December 1935 the British Foreign Secretary, Hoare, and French Foreign Minister, Laval, met secretly and signed the Hoare-Laval Pact. They would allow Mussolini to have two-thirds of Abyssinia. The Pact led to an outcry in Britain and Hoare resigned and was replaced by Anthony Eden. The damage was done. The proposal by these two men showed that the two Great League Powers were not very concerned about the aggressor, and that sanctions never stood a chance.

Mussolini completed his conquest of Abyssinia on 5 May 1936 and the League's credibility as a peace organisation was severely damaged. In July the League discontinued all sanctions. The Abyssinian war had very important results:

• It showed how powerless the League of Nations was when great powers were involved.
  
  
• The Stresa Front collapsed.
  
  
• The split of the Stresa Front enabled Hitler to occupy the Rhineland in 1935.
  
  
• It led to closer cooperation between Italy and Germany.
  
  
• In 1936 Italy and Germany signed the Rome-Berlin Axis, bringing the two countries closer together.
  
  
• In 1937 Italy left the League of Nations.
  
  
• In April 1939 Mussolini ordered the Italian army to seize Albania by force.

  ---

BRITAIN

SIR ANTHONY EDEN

From:  http://www.unog.ch/library/archives/lon/library/Docs/keden.html

Extract from statement of Eden, Minister for League of Nations Affairs, in the House of Commons,

1 July 1935 (Hansard, I July 1935, cols. 1525-6).

I now turn to the dispute between Italy and Abyssinia, in regard to which I had conversations with Signor Mussolini on 24-5 June. I expressed to Signor Mussolini the grave concern of His Majesty's Government at the turn, which events were taking between Italy and Abyssinia. Our motives were neither egoistic nor dictated by our interests in Africa, but by our membership of the League of Nations. I said that British foreign policy was founded upon the League. His Majesty's Government could not, therefore, remain indifferent to events which might profoundly affect the League's future. Upon this issue public opinion in this country felt very strongly. It was only through collective security that in our judgement peace could be preserved, and only through the League that Great Britain could play her full part in Europe. it was for this reason that His Majesty's Government had been anxiously studying whether there was any constructive contribution which they could make in order to promote a solution.
I then described to Signor Mussolini the kind of contribution which His Majesty's Government had in mind and which I was authorised to make to him as a tentative suggestion. This suggestion was broadly speaking as follows: To obtain a final settlement of the dispute between Italy and Abyssinia, His Majesty's Government would be prepared to offer to Abyssinia a strip of territory in British Somaliland giving Abyssinia access to the sea. This proposal was intended to facilitate such territorial and economic concessions by Abyssinia to Italy as right have been involved in an agreed settlement. His Majesty's Government would ask for no concession in return for this arrangement save grazing rights for their tribes in such territory as might be ceded to Italy. This suggestion was not lightly made, and only the gravity of the situation could justify the cession of British territory without equivalent return.
I much regret that this suggestion did not commend itself to Signor Mussolini, who was unable to accept it as the basis for a solution of the dispute.

From:  http://learningcurve.pro.gov.uk/heroesvillains/pdf/mus_1.pdf

WHY DID MUSSOLINI INVADE ABYSSINIA?

On 2 October 1935 Emperor Haile Selassie stood outside the imperial palace in Addis Ababa and addressed his people.   The crowd were tense and subdued.  The Emperor warned his worried audience that the time had come to prepare to fight.  A titanic struggle lay ahead of them.  They would be fighting not just for him, but for their nation, their freedom and their religion.  News had reached the Emperor that 100,000 Italian troops had invaded Northern Abyssinia that very morning.  War had begun.

This was not a spontaneous attack.  Mussolini had been planning the Italian invasion for some time.  His intentions were clear; a year earlier he had sent a memo to his military generals calling for 'the total conquest of Abyssinia'. 

The 'justification' for the attack was an incident during December 1934 between Italian and Abyssinian troopsat the Wal-Wal oasis on the border between Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland.  Mussolini did not invade immediately. Instead, he demanded an apology.  In the meantime, he prepared his army for an invasion.

Events both inside and outside Italy in the early 1930s convinced Mussolini that action was now required.  Hitler had come to power in 1933 and had begun to re-arm.  By 1934 Hitler looked on the verge of re-uniting Germany and Austria.  Mussolini had to warn him off.  Mussolini's troubles abroad were matched by troubles at home. His economic policies were not working.  

Why was the invasion of Abyssinia so important to Mussolini?

What does this map tell you about ancient Italian history?

Why would the fact that this Empire once existed lead Mussolini to attack other countries?

Do you think Mussolini could really have re-created the Roman Empire?

1932:- Mussolini speaking to the Grand Fascist Council...

"The consequences are serious.  They are these.  A man who received a loan of 1000 lire in 1927, today owes 1400 or 1500, as the case may be.  In other words the debtor's situation has of late been growing more and more onerous.  Well then, what is happening?  Why, everyone is coming to an arrangement, declaring his assets and pronouncing himself bankrupt.  Being unable to repay 100 lire at the new rate, he requests to be allowed to pay 40, 50 or 60.  When I rad the hundreds of declarations of assets and bankruptcies in the statistical bulletins, I am sorry from the human point of view for what it all must mean in terms of suffering.  But on the other hand I look on it all as a spontaneous and natural phenomenon.  Equilibrium will re-establish itself naturally.  There are of course certain people who would like to drawn an inference from this.  They argue:  "Why, wen the increased purchasing power of the lire has put debtors in an intolerable position, have you not taken measures to meet this?"

Which two European countries controlled most of East Africa?

How did the Italian empire compare to these empires?  How could Mussolini change this?

Looking at the position of two of Italy's colonies, how would an invasion of Abyssinia be a sensible choice?

Written by a historian in 1997

THE BASIC PROBLEM OF ITALIAN FOREIGN POLICY

Essentially fascism glorified war and exalted the nation state.  It believed too, that eventually the new virile Italy would replace the 'decadent' British and French as rulers of a vast Mediterranean and African empire, yet when Mussolini took over the Foreign Ministry in October 1922 there was no sudden radical change in Italian foreign policy, although his style of diplomacy was very different from the career diplomats.  His own programme was broadly in harmony with the traditional aims of the Italian Foreign Office.  Like his officials, and indeed most Italians, he believed that the Allies had cheated Italy of her just rewards in the peace treaties of 1919 and had 'mutilated' her victory.

As Italy lacked both the economic and military resources of a great power.  Mussolini's only hope of implementing his ambitious programme was to win the backing of strong...

ITALY

ETHIOPIA

ITALY

THE PROMISED LAND

Was a region of dry plains, jungle and mountains, stretching over an area of 400,000 square miles, three times the size of Italy.  But how valuable it was   nobody quite knew.  Coal, iron ore, copper, gold, platinum and other minerals had been found in small quantities; the British Consul in his 1932 report, said; "it remains to be shown that in December 1934, an Italian military detachment camped at Wal Wal well inside Abyssinian territory (though Italy denied this).  Abyssinians attacked them and killed thirty-two.  Mussolini demanded an apology.  20,000 pounds indemnity and on October 3, in spite of League protests and threats of sanctions (by league members cutting off supplies), sent his troops into the country, under Generals Graziani, de Bono, Teruzzi and Pavone.  They advanced steadily.