THEHIST()RY (IF ERITREA By: OTHMAN SALEH SABBY

Transtatedby: Muhanad Fawaz al-Azem

DAR AL.MASIRAH P. O. Box 195299 BEIRUT- LEBANON ABOUTTHE AUTHOR Othma,fiSaleh Sabby is oneof the mostprominent foundersof the Eritrean Liberation Front and one of its most distinguished leaders.He is the olficial spokesmanfor the externalmission of the Popular Liberation Forces,and also a founding member of is joint comissionwith the Revolutionary Council. This joint.comis- sionhas beenworking for comprehensiveunification of the bases of the revglutionand is leaderships.Possibly, Osman Saleh Sabby is almostunique among his colleguesin pfactising book writing. Other than this book, he has already published "The Struggle In The Red Sea" and other works. ThisBook

By Youssef Ibrahirn Yazbeck In introducing this vital book to rhe Arab reader, I am gladly and willingly fulfilling the wish of the brothers working for the liberation of Eritrea. I have deliberately described it as vital; it rates this descriptionjustly since the Arab library, whether in trre eastor the west, lacks a history of Eritrea, "the neighbour-sister',, which is a part of the Arab entity and whosereassuring neighbour- linesshas a great effect on thc fate of this Arab entity;rnd whose son'srights are a charge with which we were entrusted and about whose history, reality and just aspirations we are completely in the dark. Thus, this book comes along to fill a disturbing, harmful vaccum. Moreover, a double credit is due to Othman SalehSabby, since,in writing this book, he has given us an opportunity to know the history of Eritrea, the "neighbour-sister". I would like very much.to thank the author for this strenuous undertaking which he has completed with e{rort and persisrcnce. Being away from home; he had to secure referencesand sources to write his book and to pur up with all the hand work that ilris involves, while at the sarne time shouldcring a sacred national missionas secretary Ge'eral of the Eritrean Liberation Front and the official spokesman of for its revolution, charged with making its voice heard irr all parts of the world. If we could only visualize a poor, exiled combatant whoseonly weaponsare his faith in God almighty and a belief in his country's right to independenceand Freedom, pursed by oppression and accompanied by the ghosts of the persecutedand starving of his people, hearing the groans of his brothers, martyrs in the armed struggle, striving patiently to o[' sister" in its efforts to realizeis just demands. lLlfill his noble mission,only then catt we realize the magnitude lrislchicvcmcnt in finding the time to write this book' Finally, I fully appreciate the difficulties which the author that matter, to had to cope with. He merits a double praise, on the one hand, he I t is tlillicult lirr rnc or li,rr alryonc clsc, for sln115t*U hasrendered his opressedcountry a service,and, on the other hand, judgc this ncw work in our langua8e acadcm-icallV' he has rendered human knowledge a service. In both cases,his "ruui.", All this prevent us from pronounclng a and references. him "May of thc respectedwriter' serviceswere useful and generous. I sincerely say to specialist'sjudgement on it, but the effort and the liberation your handsthrive" and invite the Arab reader to read "The History the circumstancesunder which he worked' thank him and commend ofEritrea". missionwhich he shoulders,impel me to his effort and Perseverance' - sister"' is inseperable The future of Eritrea, the "neighbour fromthatoftheArabhomeland'Thewesterncoaststretching unfoldsfrom the Sudan along the Red Seawhere the area of Eritrea toBabelMendeb,andfacingtheArabPeninsulastrategically' o-fwhoever occupies economically and fraternally ("and "the Stfu AsmarahcanreachthePeninsula")is,fromthepointofviewof adjacency' a Part of the po iti"uf prr.uution and geographical not been able to separate it Peninsula from which the sea has and the duty of Arab Nationa- .r*ff."fy. It is wise, enlightcned heed the problems, risks lism that all Arabs in all ireir countries people of Eritrea' imperil and dangers that threaten the good threat to the security of the their destiny and ,fru" po'" a dirlct southern part of the Arab homcland' for their comPleteliberties' The Struggleof the Eritrean pcople ii toclay a ncw'tcst for world political, natil"nal and cconomii, right is lb-t all"for the consciencein support of right' Becattsc ::t the poor' alike' It is the duty strong and the *"uft, fot ttr"ericfr and conscienceand as we have of the Arabs, ^ *"'u'" part of world for the fact that whole been known fn, guttun"y, and known defending those who sought quarters of ours i'.* a*ityed in by brotherhood and neighbour- refugein ou, *iart, io U" -o'ivuted Dritrean interest in sympathiz-ingwith,.the liness,and by national - stand by the "neighbour struggle and to make our governments INTRODUCTION

This book covers the history of Eritrea from the earliest ages till the present day. My motive in writing it is not only my wish to fill the gap in the Arabic library about the past of this counrry which eljoys historical, Geographical and cultural ties with the Arab world, but also my wish to make a modest contribution in refuting Ethiopia's allegationswhich have never ceasedto stnother historical facts in the interest of its expansiorristgoals, denying the very existenceof Eritrea as an historically seperateentity. when I embarked on writing, I was faced with many dirficur- ties amoung which is the fact that I am not a specializedhistorian and consequentlymy command of the historical facts concerning the area is limited. Moreover, it has to be noted that the history of Eritrea was associated,in most of its stages,with the history of the neighbouring countries in North East Africa and the basin of the Red sea, which requires a complete historical study of the area concerned,an undertaki'g the time for which I cannot allbrd, because of my national responsibilities.Furtherrnore, not enough rclbrcnccs about tlre history of'Dritrea arc available in the two languagesI am proficient in, Arabic and'English, what has been written about the history of Eritrea has been mainly written in Italian. There are. more than rwd hundred,,bqoksi.about, Eri!{g3. ir, in the library of the African Musium in Rome..Thesc books were,. i,.rrittenby scholarsspecialised in' the.fifi6tfrj ntrtr,ar r,"o*tJget' oustanding {re 1o1t amongwhom ii thahfioui Italiiii histori;ni Conti Rossini,who certainlymade grealefforts iniwritine thes-e books.I sincereryhope'that E.itrb.r,"roci..il;[ -;kJ ul.:or.. is lilir:crr ycals drrrirrg wlriclr I rcturncd to the rural arcas of my lil-rraryol' Dt'itrcarrstudies' wlrich c mii{Iiriliiir*library.antlo['thc country a few times only, and under such circumstancesas would. External Missiono[ the Popular now being estaUiisnedby the not grant the opportunity for historical research and the study LiberationFront':so that Eri-' LiberationF.";;iint' B;"tu" of archeological sites such as the ruins of Adulis, Matara and tpt"i alizedEritrean'writer$ I pil;antt","ry *if f il ru ii"" Uy' Quohito, which were thriving cities two thousand yean ago. which readings othistory-books However, I did not come out of thesereturn trips empty handed; I have drawn on my various basin of the Red oiNo"ft East Africa and the for example, in the Al Gheden area west of Eritrea I found some deal with tt'" and "gio; of Ethiopia' Sudan' Yemen historical sites of the ancient wars. Also, in the Dankalia area, in general, ;;; t* ni"ory Sea recorded here' for most of the information in south east Eritrea, I came acrossthe cubical and Pyramidical Egypt in pu'tit"iu' of has retained since childhood graves which have important historical connotations concerning in addition to what my memory which was the stories information the sourceof the relation ofAlfung Sultanatein Eritrea to the wars with Ethiopia general historical soul)' God have mercy on his I am looking forward, to t's by *t"iitft* t-ay if I survive, to devote myself to participate related and that of his irto*i., and Arab history in writing the history of my country after the victorious return, who was i.,r.."r,"J'in drew Babakr Aldikouni' God yilling, by relaying on direct contact and observationof the country. Ot" S"Juttse teachcr''fayfour about the history of Eritrea pttriit'i"uf i"fot-ution land and people concernedand not only by drawing on references op him fo, he used to in the intermediate school; written by forcign researcherswhose capacity to understand the which he used io "otft some Eritrean events' i;;;t-"ry the dates of Eritrean societyremains, no matter how great an effort they make, dictate to him in which such as the year 155? A'D'' lessthan that of the Eritrean, the son of the environment who's I memorized some of thesc and the year. 1869, in rr.r" occupied Massawa, versed in is idiosyncracies. the ottoma" from bought a piece of land 'multiplicity tt. Itutiui 't'i"io"uty' Sabito' The greatestdifficulty which faced me was the which shipsof the Italian to be a supply station fier the the sultan of Aseb the of Eritrean history'. Eritrea, in its present boundaries,did not live that this contract became *-;;;;;;ith tl'"^""tlt under the rule of one state,inspite of the unity of origins and forma- Rubatino of u"Y.l::? bethat 'r til'it'riu" 'olo"i"ution tion, until after the ltalian occupationin beginning sincechildhood' the last quarter of the ;;o ;;;i'uu"-tt.-'tt in my rnt-*o1 theyears 'rr, o[ Eritrea' nineteenth century. In view of its geographical position and the a turning point in the history becausethey lormed in[- many human migrations wlrich scttlcd in its various regions, thc dominanceof the Ottoman The first wasthe beginningof Eritrea was undcr thc inllucnceof variousstates at the samctime. for thefollowing three countries' luenceou.'u' tit tJu'o oi'E''it"a Partsof it were connectedwith other parts of neighbouringcoun- of the modernhistory of Eritrea The secondlbrmed the bcginning tries as was the casewith the Eritrcan Platcau, which was at one suchas the departureof the and the important tu""slt covered time under the Kingdorn ofAksum, the tegion ofBaraka in western SecondWorld War and thecoming Italiansunt' tf'"i' acfeatin the Eritrea, which was lor a tinre under thc Kingdoms of Al Beja accordingto an American- of Eritrea underEthiopian occupation and the Kingdom of Al Senar'in "I'he Sudan, or Red Sea coast, BritishPlan' which wasat timesundcr thc authority ofYemen or Hidjaz. I have on preparingthis bookwas Another shortagewhich I {accd narrated with the greatestpossible accuracy and realism the events for a periodihat hasnow reached my being l'o-"lo"d "*^;;;;; r3 t2 a rr:rvalstatc. Ard to rcalize trrisgoal, they have (iorn thc.'lristoricallnultiplicity' made grcat cIlbrts, associatiotrsclcducing the sornctirncsby resorting to violcnce, ol' thcsc intermingling among' and at other times-byentcring th" ;:l;;f"ni't'i*t into alliances with unitecl whole, formed' Cushitic European powers, which introduced interna- which our people was various clements from with*it:l::Y,*"' j:"il power strugglesinto the area borne out by the portugese_ semitic ai*"'u"itv Turkish struggle in the Hamitic, "#'il;;;;' environment and the sixteenth century. As a matte. of fu.r, the n"t;;;;:;;: g*s*pt'ital Hailaselassie's imposed by voyagesof this alliance in rg5o with the Americans, who enabled i" their summer-winter him to ,r""d of the inhabitu"-o occupy Eritrea under the guise of Federation in return for constructive heterogeneousness' the hegemony of their military, my economic and political influence to attain through in the area, truth which I wanted was only an extension of the attempts made by the The important in existence peotrlehad been Emperors of Ethiopia since the researchis that the Eritrean fourteenth ..rrtury, the most modest coastof the Red notable alonS the western amongh which were the attempts of yeshag, iarayakub on this piece of land;;;;* before the to guU el Mcndeb long and Lubna Dengel, to ally themselves tft. Suau"ot Ut'a"i with the kiigrs of Aragon, Sea from had been in existence' in l8go' It Francc and Portugal in the three centuries, the fo"urteenth, Italians named it Btiott"arly achieve- the its strifes' its wars' its fiftcenth and the sixteenth peoples.tf ;;;"""with to control the.coastsof Eritrea. These like other being affected by the affecting and attempts eventually failed with the intervention of ments and its many dialecs' 'Eritrea' but the ottoman of is not local Turks, the greater i" tf't area' The name power at the time. courseof events old nam: which Sea; however' it is an and means tftt nta Grcek years' The fact that this I have explained that the mountain kingdom of Amhara, to more than two thousand dates back does not mean' as which l called the kingdom ofHabasha asdistinct from tt" ''i""tttnth century the ancient name was reuived in or kingdom of the p"oplt was revived of Aksum and the present kingdom of Ethiopia, was claims, ,r,;; ;,; .*ir,u,.,... 'the Ethi.pia and means neither an extensionof Aksum nor its rreir. For how .n," oi no,iopiu itself is br..t could it be an fabricated. .;;;; extension 'I'hc gave it to the'old Habasha of the kingdom of Aksum when it arose five centuries face'' cmperor Menelik burnt n". -.H" afterthc fall of thelatter? I havepraced the relarionof the dthiopian kin gd om u :' 1'^:lI -:. ;":T ;: :i,l: Plateauwith the kingdom ofAksurn in its true historical perpective. with""r-u'iil thc wcstcrll colonlafi:,"::" coo"peration for the new I have alsoshown the rclation of Aksurn yemen,'which rnany are the ncw names with is a ccntury' Antl a' ninctcenth tltc namc o[Kcnya rcl^tion that makcs of thc culturc of Aksunr an cxtcnsion *ltot' ltrr ilrstanccwas of thc statesin tt'" *ottj; does culture of Yeman. Finally, I have putti'iuu' or Argentian' The importance discussedthe close historical hundred ytu" ugl' relatio's between Eritrea t*i-'t"nce of the named' and the Arab world in the various ages the name;:t;;;;;;ttuot not lie since the days of Hemyar and Sheba in the south of the Arabian prove is that the which I. wanted to Peninsulau'til our presentday, bypassingany sensibilities,domes- Another historical lact clav phenomenon' Ever tic or external, that ';;;;;i; ; not a lattcr could be provoked. Ethiopian-E";; in the thir- nrotttrtain kingdom n*ft"J ft"'i-ttl tl'ti' since the of Akst'm' the Ethio- However, the relation between Eritrea and Ethiopia was not ;t;;;thll of tltc.ki"sdorn teenth century make Ethiopia a always in a state of deterioration and permanent wars, thc ILritrcan coaststo but was pians have ttt trtti"ig;;;; r5 r4 l"or cxatn;;lc,tltc Iront(:linl(:ttttlitt'kc(l by tletcrrtcattd agt'cctttcttt. bindirrg thc Eritrcan F)r,nnln together'r^-^rL Furthermorc, l-lnrpcrgr Irasilidcsand the Gondar kings who follwed him allied transporru,,a -oJT ^l^*pl" moclern with the viceroy of MassawaagainstJesuit missionaries and foreign tr,eEritrea; r;il:: ;:T:3,:J'#ilT[ invaders and cooperated in that respect for a period that lasted Massawa :: H;Hffl: for exporrwithin ,."",; of the nineteenth ;;;, and r'e samething for a hundred and fifty yean until the beginning prateau'ir"r';;;;;rd applics century. Actually, the movement of commerceand tra{fic between ,.lijf :::Tl"':,1': irsvarious cc,c-ars; a,',1 two countries was not hindered throughout the ages.Moreover, in nu or:;;;;;i :#',.';":'ff trthiopia was in no way hurt becauseof Eritrea's control over its "n.. il ffi ffi in point.rts ;lfJ XlT# naval outlets, except when Eritrea itself was hurt by powerswhich ffi:rT:".'ril;;,: :.."'_. dirreren,;ro;;;; *... neither Eritrea nor Ethopia could face or challenge. Today, this simitun.o u.il;;;.'1.5 ?".'ffi be restored to its normal condition if the Ethiopian ,T [:T,ff:*n relation could after the First World War. I *: X; Amhara gave up their propensity for domination and expansion, Finally' I have devoted Amharizing peoples and destroying their national entities. I three chaptefs to the modern of Erirrea and its narional history sincerely believe that building bridges of cooperation and friend- d;;;:,.uggl", so that reader will bc informed the Arab and Ethiopia, each under on whar;;;d ship between the two peoplesof Eritrea on in an area which is natural exrensionof the a his own state,would further their common interestsand the interests Middle iu*'i..u geographically_and strategically'I do in basin of the Red Seaand in EastAfrica. not craim ..,,'pr.."-ou;ecrivity of peaceand security the written, in what r'ave for t.e mind of mar..#;;ompletely his divorced from Another fact I would like to draw attention to is that every emotion' but I have tried -y u.ri to present historical the Eritrearn have acrossthe borden brothers of theirs as I perceived them. Ihcts element of I hope ,fr"i,f,i, ,r,empt for will pave rhe way to whom they are bound by historical, cultural, religious and or.er specializedwritings hisrory and welcome language ties. This phenomeno'nis not peculiar to Eritrea, but is any constructiveiri ticism. "b"r;;;;;;an hope that common among all the border areas in the world. We rlgltgT+ this border homogeneousnesswill be a motive for establishiirgthe best of rclations with the neighbours' Othman SalehSabby

Although Eritrea in the Middle Ages was divided amor)g the sphresof influence of a number of neighbouring and distant ki'gioms, this influence did not erect partitions among the people of Eritrea who used to move in their traditional voyagesin winter and summer among the plateau, the easternplairs and the westerl'l plains. These voyageshave always availed shepherdsand peasants alike of varied climates for grazing and cultivation in different seasons.Moreover, the economic factor played a principle role in

r6 r7 (z) Chapter I The Old Races in Eritrea 'cush' some historia's, believe the race known as (in relation to cush, the son of Ham, the son of Noah) were the first to settle the Eritrean coasts.These historians are inclined to think that these arc the first origins of the ancicnt Egyptians, and that they made the Rcd sea coasts,to which they moved from the southern Arabian Pc'insula more than ten thousand yean ago, a passagewayuntil they reached in their wanderings the Nile Vailey, *rr..L th.y sc^ttlcdand'built Egypt's famouspharonic civilization. still, groups of thescsettled the coastal region and were known for thei-rdark skins a.d featurcs which wcre nonnegroid, possibly due to their tningling with other racesofAlrican origins. Historians do mention thc migration of some groups from the Nile uplands to Barakah valley and Al-Gash. These groups were known as the Nilotic peoples.T'hey founded an agricultural civilization in western Eritrea and remained there until, displaced by the Hamitic Beja Inisrations two thousand years ago lrom their homeland in the Plai's and valleys, they penetrated into the Barentu plateau in scarchofa sanctuary.The Al-Barya and Al-Baza tribes are relatcd to thcscancicnt origins of the Nilotic peoplcs.Most of the cushitic groupsremained in the coastsofEritrea and its highlandsdepending o' sheepherdingand hunting until they mingled with ihe new ntigrantsfrom the southern Arabia. Peninsula,who transplanted thcir agricultural civilization in the fifth century B.c. and founded scttlcdkingdoms in Akkele Guazi dnd serae, which were latter tnargedto form the famouskingdorrl ofAksum. Pharonic manuscripts indicate the presenceof some agricul-

r9 .a tural and tradr c.ipts Eritrcan coasrs. orTr,utJl,,."Tfillfi#j:' Themanus- clcarly sccnin thc customsofthe pcopleand thcir diflbrent 'l'igrinyh diaiccts. j:1j:q,i: and f igre belong to semitic origins, while the dialects Jl$L,f;:':.T_il iirJf[* T# **:i::: of the Danakil, the Saho Belin, and Al Hadareb belong to the ;##:'il1lu'***," r; il;.:lJf; ,t'm; Cushitir - Hamitic languages.The dialects of Al Barya and Al tJll'."g: beforett,e ptotomilr ffTff; Baza belong to the African-Nilotic languagegroup. The language famous,trirto.icrff^lf tl t"r"o.o rn. porrofAdulis in thethira..nir.y;.;_,. of the Belin is considered one of the oldest Cushitic languages In the third in the region to the point that some historians think it is probable d his tori a n' Aga that the name is derived from the term escri b ed, i.' 1',i"'ilr',X?-u;? ;t'i tharch ides, usedin Pharonic inscriptio.s to,re **, and borrowed by the Greeks and the Romans as the word 'Blem- :: 1':ffT1,1f1..", *i.Ji;T::ff..ffij:.*:; mys'. It usedto be given to the peopleson the coastsof the Mediter- "?i:ek animar,,.',,- *]1lilJ$':,?ifr'"t y nr..a,l"a*i'o'"o,. ranean thousandsof years ago. In general, Eritrea forms with the communar,unbound. u, _".ioi varied a{liliations of its peoplea typical model of the peoplesof the thepropertv ,i.r.i',ill;,?:ll,#ffi: area stretching from Kenya to the furthest countries of theirr;ia;1. ril';";* ;::: of the Arab and thcir arrirs. *..uped intosma' west. were shiclds ,""dJ tribes arrows. of;, In this respect,Dennis Polm says,in his "T he Africun Cut- A.other historian, Artemidorus, tures", "Whatever the age was in which the blacks appeared in description presenteda o'trre".".,1 tirir."",r detailed Africa and proliGrated in it, there's no doubt that contacts were .ouri'"r,0'1n." inhabitants cenruriesprcccdi.g. in the five trre birth Ja;;r; made between them and whites whoseorigin was North Africa or He mendoned a number ;iiln"-:T ;;-:ppear.He arso the Near East and who are the ancestorsof the Berber in North il,|':l-r';k". mendoned Alrica at the same time. We can also give thesepeople the name or,t*n.J,u,;,;;;::':F?#iil:f - *,:X':[3,.,T,if#i: "Hamito Semitic", in relation to Ham, the son of Noah, to point ,,j:""1"J'J:Ttr'i,;l; ; ;;:r,*r, i.r, ii,,,."i." out their origin which is close to the Semitics. The difference In, ili, "l.l ", betweenthem lies in the linguistic aspect.As for the racial aspect, Thc they are originally of the inhabitants of the Mediterranean. In our migranu southcrn fo.r -trre Arab peninsura present day, the western or the northern group of the Hamito - thcir curtureand their-brood transferred migrations il; lgio. through continuous Semitic comprises, apart from the Arabs, who came with the whichstarted ,fr*. ,frrr.""a" the d awn or the twenti.,r, .." historical invasions,though most of the Arabs of North Africa are t' f"i.fi ; Id iiffi actually Berbers who adopted the language of the migrants, the gting'-Thev were rorrow.a '"-,r,i .",",::*l:1 of theHamltic ffi ;: ;-":"tlil".i:tlr.".by the migratrons inhabitants of Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Moroco, Mauritania, nE" from southe.";j:: rhu s' t h e i n h a bi ia n "iu*ts o r Eritrea Western Sudan (The Twaregs) and the inhabitants of the central peoplesconventionally il;;?, iJi-' r:.:"il,'JJjr desert. called il;il": il; Semidc,.This can be Today, we see that the Eastem Hamites who mingled with

2l thc sc'rircs irrrtltlrc Illirck.srrr'kc rr;l thc Egvptia' people,the 1>crPlc.l' rlrc llcjl, rlrc Nubia's, thc Eritreans,the Ethiopians, thc Galir, tlrc s,lcarrs, arrd thc D;inakils. .NIorcover,li'guists distinguishilr rlrc flarnito - Scrnitic lanuuagegroup three sub_ Chapter II groul)s:r) Scrniric, e) Ilcrbcr, 3) Cushiric. of the Old Narnes: 'l'lrc The Connotations rcgio' rvhich lics furthest to thc east in A{rica, i.e. the Cush, Aksu,tn, Al llabasha, EthioPia platcauof Iithiopia,Erirrca, somarirand and thesudan isinhabirecl It is a great concern of ours while studying the history of by Etlriopian(r) stock,which is characrerized by dark skins,near Eritrea to study the connotations of the historical names which to black,tall bodies,curly hair and straightfaces. This is due to the were given to the region stretching from the south of Egypt to the minglingof thc blackswith the white invaders who mostprobably outskirts of Kenya, since Eritrea, with its present boundaries in camc from the Arabian Pcninsula,or it coulcl b. a .o,-,r"quence relation to the neighbouring countries, did not have a separate of the presenceof a' aboriginar group of peopre which naa tne ,lu*. o, a history seParatefrom the history of the peopleswho charactcristicsof both whitcs and blacks. Aksum, Al Habasha, Ethiopia 'lb settled this vast region. The terms the south, there was i'tcrmi'gling between the Ethio- and Cush, to be specific, are the object of our present study as pians (z) and the Nilotics which later for-ed what been subject to a lot of confusion and conflicting claims 'semi we sometirnes they have call - Hamites'. These are the Masai, trre Nandi and the in the seruiceof political aims. Souk rribesin Kenya and the southernSudan". I polm have quoted historian to show the vastnessof trre The narne of Ethiopia expansein which there was raciar intermingling, which makes a Tlie term "Ethipia" is an ancient name which was mentioned discussionof the specificorigin of a race, insignificant as it is, out of of the old Greek writings and other important religions thequestion. in many and historical references.Its Greek meaning is "the burnt face". some old sourcesforemost among which is the old Testment gave it to the Nubian Kingdoms which were influenced by the old Egyptian culture. some referenceswent further by giving it to all the inhabitants of the African continent south of the desertand the Nile uplands. when sir Budge wrote his book about the history of Eritrea, he started by talking about the history of the Nubian Kingdom as part of Ethiopia. In.this respect,he relied on all the ancient sourcessince the old Greek writers, Homer, Herodotus who thought that Etiriopia commenced from the sou- ( I ) & (z) what is meant by Ethiopia and Ethiopians and othen '. here is rhe generarsense of the boundaries of Egypt. The Geographer strabo said that rvord asgiven by the Grceks to tlre pc'plc who riveclsoutrr of Aswan. thern -- .those and meansthe blacksor of thc burnt faces'. Ethiopia was part of Egypt and a southern extensionof it. Ancient

23 wr'ltirrgrale lilililFrnrrr nttrl vnr,ierl;,t(,ru(: lrirrr it rrrrrlrlrr: rurrrrt: lrad bcc. tryi'g si'cc the reign of king ykunu Amlak (rz7o A.D.) l'ltlri,Pi* (:r,rrr)ris.sr'lpiyPt, trrc .srrriirrr, Ar.urliir,I)^rcstirrc, hrdia to erhance the king's prestige irrrrl.spr:r:iirlly trrc and authority by surrounding him ;rcr;llc wlr' irrrra[-ritcdtrrc Nilc valrey,in the r.r'rlr with an aura of sanctificationand by relating him to prophel and .rrrl tlrc south. si'ce the .ame in its ' Greek odgi' means apostles.So, they invented a tlrt: lrur't lace', historians story for the name by saying that gave it to ail the peoples*ho."" compre- Ethiops, the son ofHam, the son of Noah, is their ancestor,that xion varics between b.own and his black, including tlr. ,r.g.o"r, progeny migrated a'cl r,^eyassumed to Al-Habasha (Abyssinia) plateau at rhe that the lands inhabited by th;. ;".;i. *"r" beginning, that the name is acquired from him, utrd thut his son. callcd Ethiopia. since the ord sources did not ugr.i ;,i i"o*" Yksum, {bunded the city bou'daries for ofAksum. the rand given this name, it remained indetermi'ate wit,out any geographical definition and it was associatedwitrr SpenserTrimingham prelerred to apply the name Ethiopia another contemporaneousname, ,Cush,, whic' meant the same as a geographical term to the region of North East Africa, which peoplesand the same regions. comprises the old Habasha (Abysinia) and its dependencies; one of the indications Eritrea, and somali land, but it is of confusion in defining trre areas a term which lacks scientific designatedby this name is accuracy and appeasesthe desireof Ethiopian the invasion of Egypt by the King of kings for expansion Nubia, whose dynasry.ruled at the expenseofneighbouring countries. Egypr from 7n b 663 B.C. This dynasty was the z5th dynasty Jr.a by historians th"eEthiopian although ir lt"3rtl, came from Nubia. This showsthat the'ame The Terrn Cush and its Corrnotation Ethiopia meant to ancient historians the kingdom of Nubia and As for Cush, the ancient Meroe more Egyptians used it to designate the than anything erse.They defined Nabata as its first southern boundaries of Egypt, now cailed Nubia. The Hebrews capital and Meroe as its sefond .rpiti, both of which are in Nor- mentioned it in the Torah just thern Sudan. as they mentioned Ethiopia to signify that cush is one of Ham's sons.The Aksumite inscriptions Why did Al-Habasha call itselfEthiopia?? mentioned it as casu. since the Hamites, who were also cailed Writers in the Cushites, settled the Sudan, Eritrea, Habasha Middle and Modern Ages found important (Abyssinia) and parts somali land alter having of the area concerncd which had acquired migrated there in iiirtt.ical times, distinct names "u.ly such as Egypt and the Surlan, the land was called cush land and comprisedHabasha (Abyssinia), so, cxccpting tlrerc, tfr"f guu. tlre rest,i'c' Eritrca, and thc all theblack peoples i'ciuding et-iruuurira(Af,yrri'ia), $udan among others. The cushitic eiement had the name Ethiopia. been dominant in the area before the coming of the semites from the souther'Arabian Thus Peninsula.In the region of Eritrea, somali- arose the desire the kings of Al_Habasha .of (Abyssinia) land and Habasha, they now form one to adopt the name Ethiopia of the elementsof which in the viaat. Ages, becaur. of ,h.i. the d:ti.: peoplesof that region are formed. The Agan, Gala and Sidama to give up the old common name, Al_Habasha (Abyssinia), languagesin Habasha (Abyssinia) aird w'ich suggersa multiplicity the Saho, Danakil and rhe of ,u..r, rlr.i. mingling ani lack of Ilelin languages in Eritrea and the sornaliland are considered coltesion, especially since those kings, su''ortcd by the church, languagesof Cuihtic origin.

24 25 'l'lu: 'l'lrc ltirrgrL,nr()l'n k$urrr l.s Not I(irrgd<.rrrr ol'llaburslra. I'labasha (Abyssinia)until latcr ages; about tlie tcnth ccntury 'l'lrc 'Habash.t' rvr'tl I'lal.r:rslrais dcrivcd Iior' thc tcnn A.D. aticr thc risc of thc Amhara kingdom, as will be dctailcd 'l'lirbasht', 'l'herc 'Ahbashat' or lhc rrarncof an Arab tribe wrrichmigratecl liom thc latcr. is no rnention of the word Habasha or in soutllcnlArabian Pcninsulato the coastsof Eritrca, thcn pene- old Aksurniteinscriptions except within statesor tribes that were tratcd into Lhcmontainous highlands to becomclater one of thc subordinatcto Aksum, whilc the ofhcial name of tlte statewas the tribcs which contributed in fou'di'g the ki'gdom of Aksum. kingdom of Aksum. An old Aksumite inscription that dates back At the begi'ni'g, this tribe and otrrer migra.ts inhabitecl the to 4th century A.D. mentionstwo kings of this region,Ala'mida Eritrean islands of Dahlak. Then they establishedcaravan trails and his son, Ezana, who are called "the king of Aksum, Thoo into the i'terior to trade with tlie incligenouscushitic inhabitants. Itydan, Saba,Ahbashat, Aslah, Tahama, Beja and Samu" which The semiticnames, cornmon on the coastsa.cl the Eritreari plateau, attcsts the fact tl"ratAhbashat did not mean the whole region or indicate the migration routes. Massawa from the name of a yeme- all its peoplesat the time the inscription was recorded.Another 'Massawa', nite family saharat Ilorn shahar i, yemen. Hisein Aksurnite inscription which dates back to 6th century A.D. men- 'Thcc 'Marcb,, from Hussci'', A'basa from Ayn saba, Marab frorn tions the name of Itamhaz,one o[the kirrqfsofAksum, who is called !va'a, Matara, and Arcb ctc... Historiansstate that the Habashat king o[ the Ja'azites.The word AhbasHatwas mentioned in thc tribc sccurcdfur itscll'a lbothhold o'the Eritrean plateau in the inscription which showsthat the name dicl not cover the whole 'Habasha' 5th century IJ.c. The word in Arabic signifiesunity region. and alliance, and from ttris root there are derivativesc'mmon 'Habashat' be concludedfrom this the currcnt Habashawhich is among Arabs. we find that is an Arab market before It can 'Habasha' and which comprisesits dependencies Islam; and Hubeish are Arabic proper nouns.,Al-Aha- called Ethiopia by its kings 'eureish' of the Gala and Sornaliland, is not an extensionof t|e beesh'are people from who entered into un alliance and in the land were yemen, of Aksum which fell in the Bth century A'D. Rather, called thus.Also, i' there is a rnountain .uir.d H,,- kingclom bcish was a kingdom on its own, which at the beginning formed and it is said that the Habashat tribe belongsto that area. Aksurn As for of the kingdorns of Sheba (Saba') and 'Himyar in the Aja'azyan tribc, it is said to be the ordestyemenite tribe an extension to migrate to the extent thJt initially, the titie of its ruler, Negus or to the coastsof Eritrea. Their originar habitant was on Yemen I the coast 'Negash', Incant rnercly a tax collector who was scnt by the kings betwccn sa'a'a and Adcn, and they arc me'tionecr in i.scriptions 'I'o and l{imyar to thcir communiticsthcre for thc collcctiorr i' Adcn ancl Aksum. thcrn is atributcd thc Gccz of Shcba language but with the passagco['time the word came to mean king' liom wliich wcrc dcrivccl Tigrinya and Tigre, two lan_ of-taxes, guagescurrecnt in Eritrca. Iiritrea and the historical Aksum enjoy a common heritage embocliedin the fiuman, cultural, linguistic and civilisation compo- xv It must be 'oted that thc sturteo| Aksum, founded by the its plateau. This is why 'Irzrrrashat' sition of sizableparts of Eritrea, especially semitic migrants such as thc and ,Aja'azyan, tribes we paid such concern to the historv, culture and civilization of and otherson the Eritrea' higrrra.crsa'cl the Tigrai plui.uu in the Aksum, inspiteof our awareness.ofthe sensibilitieswhich might be north of what is'ow calleclIitrrioPi:r, wirs'ot called the stateof oflcncledon account of that, especiallysince the kings of Ethiopia

zU o1 r:lairrrtlrc ll)tlrio;lianlrcrit:rgc tlrough thcy arc rnorerernoved from occupied the coastsof the Red Sea, which stretch from Rahaita it tlran thc Eritreans,and sincethe city of Aksum itselfstill stands in the south to Ras Kassarin the north, they revived the old Roman on the Tigrai plateau near the Eritrean boundaries. However, name for the coastof Adulis by decreeissued by king Humbert I, if the Amhara kings and their peoplesdo have distant affiliations the king of Italy, on the first ofJanuary, rBgoA.D. with the civilization ofAksurn, then it is only of the nature of com- mon heritagewhich we do not contest.The latin peoplesin Europe, for example, belong to a common cultural heritage, but this has not prevented the existenceof seperate,independent nationalities such as ltaly, Spain, France, Portugal and Rumania besidesthe countries of Latin America.

The Narne of Eritrea In the third century Il.C., the Grceksgave the name Trichone- Sinus Erythraeum to the seesaround the Arabian Peninsulawhich were the Red Sea,the GulfofAden, the Arab Sea,and the Arabian Gulf. They explained the name which literally meansthe Red Sea by alluding to the numerous mosseswhich were seenby the Greek sailorsafloat on the waters of theseseas and which used to reflect a red colour off thc surfaceof the water. In ancient Greece,there was an island called Eritrea, which is the island of Yoboya facing the easterncoast of Grecce, and out of which came many people to find the coloniesin the northern part of the Aegean Sea.These coloniestook part in the Greek uprising against the Persians(4gg B.C.), so Darius I (+go B.C.) destroyedthem later. Athens esta- blisheda colony therc which rcvolted againstit trnrice(+rt -'g+g B.C.), and there is still a site in the Island of Crete which is called CapeEritrea. We do not know whethcr tlte Greeks, in their days of glory, transplanted this name to a Red Sea region which they controlled. The Romans, in their days of glory, confined the name Sinus Erythraeum to the Red Sea and its coasts,which they came to control when Adulis fell under their influcnce. When the Italians

zB 29 Chapter III The Relation of the Eritrean Plateau with the Kingdorn of ' Aksurn and the Southerrr Arabia'. r Peninsula The Intervention of Aksurn in the Affairs . of the Southern Arabian Peninsula 'fhe flow of Arab migrations stopped temporarily when the Grcck Ptolomites in Egypt intervened in the Red Sea, acquired political and military in{luence on both sidcs of the Red Sea and founded the famousport ofAdulis in the middle of the third centu- ry. A Greek language manuscript found near Dukki Mahari 4o kilomcters to the south of fumara mentions a king who bears the Grcck name of Sembruthes,which showsthe influenceof Greek culturc asa consequenceof the Greek Ptolomitepresence in Adulis on the Eritrean coasts.Howevcr, Arab migrations did not cease cornpletcly even in that period. Some researchersthink that the Arabs entered the oppositeAfrican coastsalter the birth of Christ also,ancl that they usedto crossthe seaand land there bitween the ycars292 and z5o A.D. Morcovcr, thc Shebanswho settled the Eritrean highlands and thc T'igrai platcaudid not scverrelations with their old home- land, but they remained interestedin it, interferring in its affairs, sending carnpaigns against it and occupying it at certain times. Aksumite writings reveal that the kings of Aksum were in the southern Arabia in the first century A.D., and they were there again in the second century A.D. also. It seems that they had occupied the western coasts,wfich are near the Eritrean coast and can be reached bv small boats acrossBab el Mendeb. it is

3r i.e. Christians, subjugated and his duty was to support liis lloman Christian in an Aksumite text that the king otAksum had srared co-religionistsand up-hold their cause. ustinian'semissary arrived coast of his kingdom by sending land forces J the coaslsfacing the at the port of Adulis, forced them to then proceeded to Aksum where he found defeated the "Arab kings of those coastsand that 'Al-Sharih the NegusAl-Asbasha standing in a four wheeled chariot to which inscription spelks. of a war which fay tribute. An were tied elephants;he was naked 'Ah'ab i'e' the people of four exceptfor a cotton loincloth Yakhsab' of Hemyar on Ahbashat', 'Thee fastenedwith gold, and on his waist and arms were tied gold orna- and Sahartat" i'e' the people of Habasha (Abyssinia), ments. Sahartah. The Negus heeded the call and sent a military expedition Writingsthatdatebacktothedaysof.AllranNahfan'state of to savethe Christiansof Najran from the persecutionof theJewish that this Yemenite king negotiated with Jadart" -the -king Waka- king of Hemyar,'fhee Nawas, who was supported by the Persians. make peacewith him' The sentence"Tha Qowl AJsum, to The expeditionary force was transported in "the leaders' lords two stageson Roman diness Wa'asha'ab Malek Habashat", i'e' that the shipswhich had come from Egypt. The first convoy moved under of tlre king of Habasha (Abyssinia),indicate and tribes the command of the negus who had his own ship, which crossed a part of sourhernArabia at the time. king of Aksum rulecllver 'Jadart Bab el Mendeb king, and landed at the coast of Yemen. The negus's is alsoa relerencein the text to the Aksumite ThJre ship was the first to reach and was followed by the rest of the ships. Aksumen"' Moreover' Withba' the king of Malek HabashatWa The battles between the which took place between the army of Aksum and the interlcred in the affairs of southern Arabia Akrr-, Hemyarites culminated in the victory of Aksum and the appoint- and A'D' 'Abraha years3oo 3zo ment of Al Ashram', who was one of the commandersof by the king of the expeditionary It can be seen liom the lorrg title assumed force, as ruler of Yemen. He later declared his land were under independenceand his sonssucceeded Aksum, Ezana,that Yemen and the neighbouring him on the throne for seventy of Aksum in southern years. (Refer to specialchapter on the liis rule. But the most obvious intervention strugle in the Red Sea). nrr, half of the ti.Je*tlti) Arabia was the one t5at took place ir,,n" for about The Systern of Goverrrrnent in Ahsurn its occupation of Yemen, where they stayed century and The Privinces of the Eritrean aided by the Persians' Plateau seu.r,ti years until tltc ptoplc of Y9m-en' forever' They had The kingdom ofAksum was formed ofscvcral small kingdorns ,.uolt.d'against thcm and thcy left Yemen help o[ the Romans'who provided fbundcd by scmitic migrants liom Yemen in the age of Sheba enteredit in 528 A.D' with thc transported them from the port of Adulis' (Saba') and Hemyar between the land of ifakzi and the Eritrean them with the shipsthat 'Akkele the struggle in the Red province of Guazi'. It is probable that this dates back to which we will discussin our discourseon the tst century A.D. Aksumite ifiscriptions, especially the one Sea. recorded on the stone tablet that the Emperor of its'most famous king, Ezana, who The Roman historian, I'rokollius, wrote Asbaha was the first to embrace Christianity about 35o A.D., show that sent an ernissarycallcd Jtrlianos to the Negash Justinian Aksum used to launch invasionsaiming at subjugating the neigh- toaskhimtodeclare*u,o.,thcPcrsiansandsevercommercial bouring tribesand forcing them to pay an annual indemnity. he were co-religionists, It was relations with them, since Casear and

q9 JJ (s) J- as o[ kingdoms and sea', although his influence did not reach the sea,as the ferocious of centralised government not so much a case In his tablet, Beja tribes controlled the coastal strip. The systemof government ,oluiy" ffi #"al indemnities. tribesthat ur.a t:ftt to in the three provinces was not centralized, but was rather like a peoplcshe 'ad subjugated-.ln9 Ezanamenrionsseveral confederation Rvda" u"d Sheba (Saba') imposed by security precautions in a land that had the ruler of Aksum' Hemyar' 'cassu' himself as :sullti"" 'Siyamo" 'Beja' been exposed to invasion and constant looting by Northern mi- He also;;;;; 11$ in Yemen. in the Nile Valley grants, the Beja, and southern migrants the Tigrai and each pro- Utt" in the kingdom of Mt'o" which might ttuut 'Takasa' river vince had its local rulers. to his crossing' eastern S"da-r', si"ce ht relm 'Sarawi" and in 'Minkarto" 'Hassa" 'Barya" of and also to the Pt;;i; and the .Hama..ir,, v"il.y ir, *o,.tn Eritrea and i,i"rti 6^n Eritreanhighlands' of the territorieswhich What atteststo the independence is what Yzana'stablet mentions fell under tt-'t i"Rt"l"t crfnft""* which' accordingto histo- ot his subjug"'itg";;1i;* td*:'ll' and also g,r.r,"i. c"a?i, bordering on Aksum rians,is ur. n.itr.un 'Sarati" (this also mentionsthe king of the king Hamasein'He It of one of which is Sarawi' cropstP ';';itr;ent forms name 'serae'),and saysthat he came the Ert;;;;;vince of shndsfor passageof trade with him concerningthe to an understanding the 'Aclulisi acrosshis lountry' However' caravansto peacefully afterthe fourth centuryA'D'' namesof thesek#d"il;it^pit^tta were the onesthat mention o,'ty that were found and the of their reignsinac- "to?Jsiiigr;;-Ak and the dates rhe names.f ,f," "- curatelY' after thc Aksum as a united kingdom Following thc fall of Bth Lr'ritreanhighlands in the nt3u t'iUl'';;;"" the Hamiti an independentstate centurye.n', ti"- prtltr"t""9trae' ruler-who-formed was t"]tt1-9t"tibai'' the admini't'utio" of its X undcr under a prince called also, remained independent Hamasein, a shadeof their '$kan'. of tht fig'ui imposed When'in"j"J* Habasha X' 'nt""tl u"tidtd the throne of influence and Amlak' plateau ' three provincesof the Eritrean (Abyssiniul,tt'" *i" of the 'the the 'Bahr Negash"i'e' king of )' wasassumed by a princecalled 3+ 35 Chapter IV The Roots of Culture on the Eritrean Plateau and its Relation with the Arabs Before and After the Introduction of Christianity There is no territory in the world ouside the countriesof the Arab league whose local culture bean such a semetic or Arab imprint as the Eritrean plateau, the various aspectsof whose civilization, culture and language and the basisof social life had beeninfluence by the southern Arab peninsulabefore the introduc- tion of Christianity into it in the middle of the 4th century A.D., and later by Arabic culture after its church had been linked to the Egyptian church throughout the agesof history, which required the translation of religions, legal and cultural books from Arabic aswe will seein this chapter.

The Need for Archeological Excavations The history of. Eritrea lacks research and Archeological Excavations.With':the exception of the limited Italian reseirch in Adulis, there has not been a thorough searchfor ancient ruins. However,the ruins found sofar, especiallythose found in 'Quohito,, v 'Kaski' f\ "fikhonoa' and in the province of Akkele Guazi, reveal a clear southern Arabian influence on this area. The archeologist Duncansonis inclined to believe that there are many other ruins which are still under the earth in the Eritrean plateau. Lotrnan found a number of historical relics which date back to sometime betweenthe rst and 5th century 8.C.. Also, someEritrean villagers 'Adi in Karansham' in Hamasein'found a stone statue which i resemblesthe Eglptain sphinx and a pulpit bearing writing in

37 'llah 'llah w'r'shillllcd llalrr' and Madar,, which mean respectively 'l'hcsc 'rBebaaantetton.€ountRuglnlthlnltltlratltwnrwritteltirrt|rcl!.c. historical thc god of thc sca and the god of the eartrr, ,Ilah A pcrirxl llctwccnti," 7tt, ilnd-.1tlrt:crrturitx and il4arrram, in North liastAfrica' which meansthe god of war. All of theseare pagan rclicsarc ttreoitlcst that havebcen fbund godsfor which idols were made in the southern Arabian peninsu-la - and Lanugage and wrrich Aja'azyah and Geez People were prateau transferredto the Eritrean by the semitic migrans. oldest Semitic language in North Many Geez is considered the ,f,[\\' Geez inscriptio's have been discovered in the Eritrean of the Sabae an Tribes which plateau, East Africa. It was tl" ttt'gt"ge the of which can be divided into three catcgories Tigral plateau from the l!{nS to the Erit;n pfJtt"i and the ug:t. the oldestmodels migrated who I .:t Tn.4t9..gesents of Geezwritini and in the ancient ages' The. people is script southern Arabian p.r,i,"ulu is the old sabaean script common in the age of trre"ki'gs i:* literal nreaning is' accor- ofsheba 'Makreb'. ;;;k; G.., *.r".uu.d Aia'azyan-"{ (saba'ivhowere known as Their ieign extended 'nornads' (r) and according to others' to some resea,ch'eri almost from rooo B.c. to 6oo I].c. This kind ding that ofwriting"represenred meaning' then it is probable th9 migrants the free ones. If it is the s) belbre their mingring with the rocal elements.The "to"d /_ themigrantSemitictribescalledthemselvesthustodistinguish \Qgo:rd rcsembles late Sabaean_,,script;this category elements ') came six aboriginal Negroid and cushitic centuriesafter the themselvesfrom the ,J first. The Qrird)isGeez wriring, *iin a distinct This is supported by the fact which weie stigmati,ed witi tlut'ery' script and language. and their languageon the that rhe semities i*por.a their culiure ( they were culturally However, a scrutiny of the Geezscript provesit to peoplestnuihud preceededthem since be delivered Cushitic from the had introduced the means o[ sabaean and influenced by thi Sabaean form. It seems more advar,..a' lt *u' iftty who building with that the Sabaean script was not very by means of tt"uti"g hillsides' compatible with Geez pro_ cultivating hills nounciation, buildit'g oval temples and so the Aksumites, on fint embracing christianity, shcer stonc ,n.onrr".ttd by plaster' progress'It is lrad to invent this script, which added .ni-otntt *tu"t o[civilization and to its letters somethine , \ palaccs,writing resembling its language' stresses,in an independentstyle making it u co*p.o-irl sulficient that they gave the region Vf)'.'' betweenSemitic and Greek scripts. of the Cushitic peoples Their religion rcplaced the olclreligions ti""" water and snakes'The Geez who uscd to sanctityiertain',*ftt* kinds of was initilially the language of sernitic tribes that lived Peninsula used to worship anrong inhabitants of tllc Arabian African tribcs on the Dritrean plateau and in Aksum. when The old ruins'in Matara thc two the sun, the tnoon ancl thc Planct Vcnus' elcnrentsstartcd mcrging and fonning a nation which was worship of Akele.Guazzi attcst to the neither pure Semitic nor purc and Qpohito in tt,"ftouince Harnitic, this language remained 'goddess Venus' T'he Tigre word' the language of the nrnio,i, i'c' the goddess of the hybird nation in all parts of the co.rrrtrywithout to mean thc sky' They also' losing 'A star' was delivcr",l f"'n'' this word ic semitic characterororigin, sincethe roog'fis ierivation are found in Arabic and other semitic languages.what cha'ge @rcrlialcct,oneo[thedialectsderivedIionrGeez, it did undergo is confined to the fact that iG p.ono.rrrciation migrated from-their original was means "the nomads"' Sirrcc tlrc Aja'azyan plateau, somewhataltered in relation to ivhat is common among Aralli:rrt to settlein the Eritrean semires, home|and in tlte soutlrcnt llcrri,rsula and some corrcct' Hamitic words were introduced into it. orientalists the first mcaning o[thc word is prolrably

3tf 39 old semiticleatures olwhich ARABIC ASSYRIAN HEBREW ARAMAIC SABE,ANGEEZ havc observedthat Geezhas prcscrued languages'especially in forms therc is no trace in all othcr Semitic and system' Also' are in Eritrea arc old in structure 'there which oldest' ?ab tl'rat Gcez has preservedtlie ?ebi' 2ab ?eba ?ab 2ab other indications which show o[a differntiation betweenmascu- ?ibn banri bani bera bin bin i.-i,i. featuressuclr as the lack time when Geez ?ax ?axti i" ;;;t' We clo not know the ?ax ?axe ?axti ?oxu linc and feminine U"t' Sabaean language' ?tt[un ?uznu ?uzin 2udna ?uzun completely itt- tttt mother T- ?izun seccded as mentioned ?im must have taken many centuries ?imit ?um ?uma, ?im ?im processof evolution the becamt it'to*p"h'ensible to barq barqri bareg baraq mabreg ubou.. It is probable that Geez mabreq about the {irst bAt bet0 of thc ;;;t- Arabian Peninsula bat bata bat bat inhabitans dates of Matara in Akele Guzai' which baSl baln batl batla batl batl century A.D' The ol"iitft " thc emergenceof Geez as a language tist tishu t.shf tisht tishS tisht back to the 4th cbntury A'D' southern Arabian Peninsula' thelath shalashushulush thalath distinct from the funguug" of the shalasi shalasi' political dam damu dam dam is greatly influenced by the dama dama Howcver, a language sami? from the 4th centu'ry to shamar shamayemshamaya samay seq'lay T'he glory of Ait'i"t, which lasted statc. 'I'his by the decline nimr nimri nimr nimra nimr a"tfi"ed' was succeecled nimr the 7th century n'fj', its confinement to bookswithin of Geezasa living language and teachings' It is noted that the church for thc ft'io""of religions the r3th t11.:T ttdt There are many other words in rcvival of Gcsz *ot ttt*ttn. Arabic which are of Geez dre cultural after the church was very active origin or came from other languages such as Greek, Aramaic ccnturies, thc pcriJ irr wlrich 'I'igrinic replaced it as spoken and Hebrew by way of Geez.For example: centuries or irotuti"ol.,iigr" and it hal been historically dominant' languagesin thc utt* i""*ftich /hawariyyen/, /munafag l, I futrl,lmihrab/, burhar/, closesttoGeez' / /mishkar/ t'i utt S"ntitic dialccts' the The fbrmcr ,*n o", lbavll, lmazidal, lzinzhell, /jahannem/, ltabutl, /Sarh/, /jitbab/, influcncedby cushitic lan- fu for Anrharic, i,'*o, tnnr. strongly lzarebal, dtc... Even the word /mus.naf/ is of Geez origin and is the unit of originsand ol'is Scrniticroots' i'o show rcad with a clear guagcsinspitc here lsl. Semiti.clanguages' we ldduce rootsamong G.*;;iiit" ottttt The (r) aurhor of "The Beautiful Slave Maid, in ihe Hisrory includcsa nurnbcrof similarwords' a tablewhich of the "Hubshan" relates that Salern, the Mawlah of Ibn Abi Huthaifa, assembledthe Qpran betweencovers. Then they confer- red on naming it; somesuggested (Al-sifr). But he told them that this is the name the Jews gave to their'books so they declined it. tD Int.'nu- Then he said I have seenits like in Aksum called so I,i,X:]'ffi",i'i,'i0,",,rranscril,ri"s arcl,irst:tl "" /almus.naf/, prtrtrotttrciltionll:.:fl:i:lf;* guide' theyunanimously decided to call it so. tional as conclensedin tttt Mtt'io'rl-Wcbsit:t-

40 +r Hemyaritic influcmceis noticcd in thc namesof thc carly t'e closestof the Semitic The ranguagesto Arabic from the point view of kings of the kingdom of Hksum. T'he namesof the kings who ruled ',i of semantics.The transrltei version / of the famous tsibrical and third centuriesA.D. are prefixed \ prayer (The Lord,s prayer) in the period betweenthe first is the bestevidence for that. The with the syllable lzal asin lzabazenl, lzazanLul,/zahkalce/' Here's the Arabic version tneans master or ruler and their likes in "/Ibanal lathi fis samawat ryataka- syllable lthal in Arabic das ismuka kama huwa bissamakatharika Himyar are called lth wal/ such as /thu yazenl, /thugafan/ and alal ard uvfur lana /al sayyiatinakama follows this syllable nagnu navfuru liman sa a ilayna/,, /thu jadan/. It is generally known that what indicates the name of the tribe, the people, or the place to which And here'sthe Geez version"/ abtina tha bismayatyatakaddas this king belongs. and /hkah/ are all the names sumka bikama bissamaykama lbazanl, lzanatil bimudri haydej turu iru.ru kama of the tribes or the placesof thesekings. Some of thesestill remain nannu nahdej litha ibs lanal,, in Al-Gash region, like /bazan/ which is the name of a tribe. The ;r' The sabaean influence on the ownership same can be probably said of /Yazenwakfan/ and /jadan/ also. of Land on the Eritrean Plateau. Today in Yemcn, the syllable /thu/ prefixesa number of significant After namessuch as the tribe /thuhusen/ and /thumuhamnrad/' the new migrants from the southern Arabian peninsura had rlivested the old cushitic inhabitants of their rand and made There is alsoanother group of kings whosenames are prefixed them into slaves,they bequeatrredthe rand to their sonsahd their syllable with a stressedon a non stressed/r/ as in dcsccndants'Thus with an /al/ the system of owndership became hereditary /alabraha/ and /allasbaha/' or what is locally cailed /alasfan/,/alsamra/, /aliskindi/, "Rusti". The villagl owns the Iand on a cornrnunal basisand re-ailocates we find that this structure persistsin the names of the kings it among its citizens once everv the end scvcnycars to achievefairness from 275 B.C. until 478A.D.It ceasesas of this date until of distribution. of tfucAksumitc state in the scventhcentury A.D. indicating the Ilelonging t9 u village originaty bore the nature of brood brcali up of its cultural and spiritual relations with the southern relario' and kinship. It is noticed tnat most of the vilages on the Arabiap Pcuinsula.Pcrhaps, t}e trlealritrgof lall is god in rvhich Eritrean plateau bore the name "Dekki', which means children structure becomesthe God of or "Adi" ,,Dekki casethe ureauingsof tlte lalzasfahl which means town, such as Mada,abii,, ,,Dekki As[ah,.It is customaryin ancientGcez to end the name preceding A'cl S'oom" and..-Dekki Ma.ari',, whic' .cspectivelymean the a prepositionwith an thus asfah/means the God of childrcn of Mada'abi, lalsound, /al the children ofA'd shoom and the ch'dren Asfah. Perhaps, the tradirions of kings in that age bestowedon of Mahari. Also, ,,A,di ,.A,di "Adi eih',, Nabra,,, and Khala,,, , them qualities of divinity and holinesssince Aksum was initially whic'respectively mean the town (=-=_i . ^ of eih', the town of Nabra and .u''' pagan-lefter the introduction of Christianity into the country, t^e town of Khala. Thesewere originutty tt. namesorfb arili., /" , the featuresof the pagan Geez culture were suppressedor altered or important persons who bequeathed the place to ,ri.i. ,o.rr. to suit the teachings of the new religion, which cast shadesof sometimes' the big families guue tirei, names to a whore province, ambiguity on the cultural works of the period which preceededthe as is the casewith the province

42 +3 '1hc hcSrbrc- patriarch dirrr-rlr vill:rl.{cisillrrcred l'v it lrr 'r ll r''lir:rryLrsis l foundhim ro bc bcstrnanlor thejob,andsoordaincd irrYemcn Iti"als'' lx rr.,rx1,hni",Jtlrissy.lcm l'rnrn Ihc;r l'tarc:ru ,lrirn..Lislrop-ot'A(.unr.Durirg rlrelifetime of [rumcnriusand 'ltion rberunrmunal rrngYz.|ra, '"'J',i*, 'f* r"*i".e ufscraeis an exr ro Uhn5rionllirybccame rlre oflie al stalereligion ,.1,, F"pI. of l:rrrrtllrc olln'r'rrrl' tc'dby thechurch owncrchi1,l,rirrciplc dnL! lhr disltiLuriurr which adhcredto rhc Orrhoa"* C"]rtl",;l..frlt" re-allocation of the landls inclivnfualand the systemofpcriodical conlessionol rhc EgyprianChurch. The patriarchsofAiJxandria a citizcnotavillage once he kept onlairring oflan.lis not aPPliccl.A Pcnonbccomcs LevprianLirlops ar rhe hcad of rtrc.lrurctr in Akrurnand. hasrcsi(led in it for ldurty vcars. hrcr ix I.laLaha (Abyssinia)one alier rhe orlr.r, irrntrtrc trrirrearr clrrrrrlr and rcrnaincdsuL,or,liual,.ro ir unril rlre In introth.rctionofClrristia ity into thc liritrcan Platcau IJ:rbashite(Abyssiniarr) church succcdedarrdordained ic own bishopirr r94B. lt was onty a small scgmcntofrhc pcople thar Aksum in an unb'a,cLl Ct,risria'rily irr rl,ercign yzana, Christianitvwas irltrcduccd into Dritrca and ofliug rt," 1"gun introduclior rnr'c$r.malrcd rrutijrol$arjd Clrisrianiry "i *.f" rn*, intclligible nalrativc about the p"nctratc.rlrhcrn.iry "".,:iift" I{rrlirrrrswlru tlic'l slowlyovcl. lwo ccutufics, ,iC',,;it,",,',t is tlrcorrc writtcrr lry rlrc1'r'icsr ir frurrrLtlcsirrs l'lils, Chrislianily i;;;;;;.; t saictthaL l'c ha'l hc.r'tl 1'crsorrrrllv' ._ is as okl in Lirilica as ir is in thc Midcllc liorrrtbc (ity of'l yrc I,lnst.{}o% ii'i *i', tl i, t tlr't a groupof rnclclrrnts ofrhc rotalClu.istianDritrcan population belong to thc uccc'nrp?toicdby two,-rclxtcd Oltluxloxcorrllssiorr, *o,la-o uoy-agcio lntlia, whilc thcrcrnainclcr.irc dividcd arning thc "olnnt"."iof wasli'Llcsius otl)crconll$siol)s, voulrglrrc; thcoklcrw;lsFrunrcrrtiusanclllrcy"rrrrgcr csl)cciallyCatholicism ancl protcstantisrn, wlich ^t llrc r'l Arlrrli.orr Ilrc wcrr:intr-oducfil ijuriiu,h"'uovrs", (lrcslril) stot)l)cd l)c'rt in tllc ni|ctccnthccntuty with thc occurcnccof irrllic(rdsonrc tllrrn'ucc llulopcan [,rjtlc]rrcoasL l hcsbiP and its uwtrcr llad trlonizatkrn anci establishedmissionaly schoolsirr solhc lirtler a(lackcrl v:rrious on (hcI)col,lc oflhc lort, i)tell carl;crvoyagc' |ansoftLc Iritfc:lll Itdtcau.l.lrc aclivi(y of rlrcCrrlrolic urrlyllcsc lwnyorrrrg Inrssruuary.s.ilo,,t\ it,".trip,.i.o*n.,t tircpcol,lc orr Loeril arrcl is cspeeially,rntcd in tLc provinccol..Akhclc wltowas (, rr:n stlrvived.l'Lc rrativcssold them to tLeking of Aksrtm' ziir,!rI IFrrr(l)ror,.rrrrrI,u,li.s,Lcadr.dl,yrlrcSwedi"bMi"siorr, arrtlrnadc tlrc ulder rvlrich ,Um i'^'r't *i,f, ,1er.,grrve rhcrn his corifitl'rrr"' carnein thellgypliarr rulc artdscr up a churchin I(ulo,, 'uPtrca'r'r" a l,i, *, ,.t".v arrrltr' a"urcrand llrc scct'rr'lIi\ I)ri\drc subur'bofMassawa, wcre acliveir Asmara,l(cren, Al_Mansaa; Lolook ali't st'tte rcgion, Wt,.rLt,c,ti,.l, tlrcy rcrnuilxd l'rr'siJc llrc rluccrr alil I(unarua,tllc lastol wbichwas a pasanat_ea..llrcsc ageand then they rrrissi,'rrs .ff^i* tttif thc young king "Yzana" ctrnc crf 1,hyJ a r(,rcwo hy jolc iDsl,rcadirrA rnotl,rrr r"ducarjon drat Iirumcntius ruxr..r .",""itt.J itt f,it'.".ti.c. Ii was by this tncans tt,r ttatr,rnoccupariun, arrd wcre r.xposcd to pcrse.utiol rnadchinr ernbrace by *^lli" ,. inlluenceking "Yzana" until he thc ltalian aurhoritieswho clrxcddown rherrschools. he bccametlre ChristiaDity.Edesius later rcturne-dto tyre where to relatehis story to The Syrian Missionaries Introduce Reforms Dastorot is clrurch aDdwhcre hc was able wherehe mcl Into cecz and iis Writings: ilu{inus. As fo. Frutnentius,he went to Alexandria a bishopto Aksum ChistriaDity if* o^t.i*.lt etl""u"ilrs and urgcdhim to send iD Dritrca irtrocjucecla I-ewimprovemcnrs into in that counlry' old Geez i" ti,rd ttte oflain ol Christiansand Christianity whiclr bccamcsuitablc lor receivingtl,e sa..ed te*rs. 'Ihc t:rcditlirr'(l' t is duc k) tlr(rscrn'ssi(,rrirfi(:s wlrc came to this and of tlre rulings of their religion which were also writrcn in courrtry Iiom Syria.'l'he old language ofSlrcba as it appcalcd in th€ oldest Dritrean inscriptions was devoid of vowel stresses,so Thus, nrostol wllar was wrirtcn in Gccz for rhc pury;oscof that if they wanted to write /Sanafi/, meaning writcr, thcy wrotc leligious prelching and juridical rulings was translatcdfrom ,Farha it as /shf. The Syrian missionarieswere able to introduce reforms Arabic.thc bestknown among these bookr is Najisawhich into this languag€.They devisedvowcl strcsscswlrich thcy connec- means"The Law ofrhe King", written by an Dgyptianimmigrant ted to the icttcm, made writing proceed lrom left to right, and called Ibn Asal, and mosrlyderived from Islamicjurisprudencc 'Syriac' 'fossi added thrcc lett€N to its twenty $ix letters.Tlre Syrian mis- anclGrec.k laws. Also, the bcxrk Manlassei,,i.e. the ,Medicine sionarieshad a Greek culture, so thcy addcd ncw rcligious expres- of the Spirit', is ascribcdto an Dgyptianpriese called Mikhail. 'Sawana sions samc of which were Sydac and some Greek. Nine of thcsel Likewise,the books Nalsi', i.e. the rcfugeof thc 'Fakari spirit I nr;.sidDJ,isfleLl to Aksum havins reluse,lro al,iLieLy tlre decreeslt and Malakout' contcmplationofthe [ingdom and .Hama- rhc, ourrril of Efzusin A.D.arrd rlre , ounril ol Caledonial nut Abu', the '1 lof 43r ft,1r laitlt ofthe farhers,have all beenderived from books A.D.1-h, y autsmcnrcdCLristil,iry on rl,eErir,.an uv' that first had beenwritten in Arabic. lin 45r 'l l)ldreaur rand ir Al,surrrand rran"latcdthe Bible into Ccez. he infirence of these missioraries was bomc out in thc rcligious tcrnN which 'l'hcse The Role of the Eritrean CJrurch ald thcy used. were Semitic tenns which were close to Arabic Its Monastery in dre Middle Ages suchas'Kurban','Salut','Mukaddas','Sourn', Qais or Quashi, Kahcn, ctc... A hundred yean later;a group of Moslemsfled there The Monast€ry ofDebre Beazen 'Qur to cscr1cthr opprrssi"n ol thc rron-l,.li.vers ('Kafirs) of cislr', In the MicldleAges, the church in +' Eritrea and in Ethiopia, wlriclrslrons tlrc c),ist.u,c ot rcligiuusrui, rar,l un th. tl r,du havingabsorbed manyJrygish and Paganlocal riles,rernained a and irr Aksunr. ccntreol- cultural radiation lor the Cluistian inhabirantsand itj teachiugsatld traditiorrsacquired a uniquccharacter-which nrade itinlerfereir thevario The Inlluence of the Arab Language uscl;rily allain ofits aclhcrcnrs.The monasrc- rics were centresol-learninq on drc Liternture ofthc C.hurch: as lLcy were centresofworship and prcachingand slreltersin thc impregnablcrnountains at thc timc 'llrc 'fhe Iite'atrrrcol Llrcr lrurclrir frirrcaarrtl rr.iglrbuurirrg trl thc raidswhich uscdto rock tLe rcgion. monasteryofl)ebre Aksumwas inlluence by Arabic in lhe Middle Agcsin vicw ofthc Bcazen,foundcd by !'ather Philbusbetween the yean r 35o- 136o relationol the Coptic church in Alcxandria which had adopted on the toP ol-Mount Beazcnin Akkele Guazi, one of rhe most 'Ihe Arabic as its languagc. cmissaryof the Imarn of Yemen,Al farnousDritrcan nlonasterisand thc most important. The head llassan bin Ahrnad Al Haimi writes in his book "fhe story of ol'thc Portugesemission, father Alvarcz,saw while passingby the Habasha"in 1665A.D. "Thc bishopwas an DgyptianCopt whose monasteryaround r52oA.D. that thelandowmcd by themonastery motlrcr tonguc was Arabic and who came out of Egypt taking cxlcndcdlor 3(rmilcr and thevillagei subordinare to rhemonastery alongwith him a Bible written in Arabic and booksof their laith stretchedfor a day'sor two day'smarch. Ilach villagepaid a horsc

46 47 showsthat tlre cvcrv thrcc vcal5 as a tax to lhc rnonastcry,which werc mainly associatedwith the church and is requirernentsof remPorrl:lulhL'' cl'urcl, orn.riccd arrrhurityin Jditiun lo buildings, drawings, crucifixcs and bells, and theywere influenced "ccul,r borsc'when rlre 'ii". ,qli,'- s.iv\:"1 rskerlone oftl''rn'whv by Byzantinc lbl-ms.The greatestmanilestation ofchurch art was He said they werc people o[ tltc monastcly don't ridc ttrern?"' rl,e writirg .rrrdcnrLclltlrmcnr o[ manu* riprs.This is a 1,lr.no. paid in cattle h,rced that it be thus, but in actual fact Pavmentwas rncnon which was commol in thc Islarnic world in view olthe lact This ratio is out at thc .atc of llfty heaclsofcatllc lor evcry horse that lslam does not encouragedrawing pictures of living things. ft€ nurnber; 'lhe of proportion o" it ,..,rr., unlcss Alvarcz mistook dounddes of ilon and copper used to be establishednear a a big livestock .rpi.iitty u" the area, as it is now, docs not enjoy monastery or a clturch on the mountain !ops. Besidescrucifixes fortunc. and bells, their most important products were items of daily use 'llhe decline such as plorvs,domestic vcsscls, and arms such as spearrand shoft authority of the church grew stronger after the church and its hookedswords. and fatl of thc kingdonr ofAksurn, since only thc ol the counlry' rich monxteries wire lcft to prcservc the heritage Apart from building arrddecorating churchcs arrd moDastcrics, was its relieion and its €ntity at a tirne when th€ liritrean Plateau no dcv€lopneDt in buildirig took placc arrong thc scttled agricul- rourtttr r. tl'.,,,uloughr ofrLc B'ja wlro sertlcJin tlr' turalllopuladon aficr the fall of the glory of Aksum and ol the "*po..il oftl'is nrrtty ,,irul"d ir',,,n,r.,l,un 1;urr,r,ruriesAsI rcsulr civilizatious of Shcl:a and Hcmyar, which constructed.thc great such as ihc people of Sa'ad Zakka' builtlings ancl obelisks. Alter that, the building movemcnt did inlrabitaots of Flarnasein' , with the B+ and iurzuka a,'d Bcit Mukha villages claim kinship I rot die out and probably the natives cntislcd the help ofDgyptian Beja tribes were tben assimilatcdinto tlte frame- Copri, nrrsons,a nurnberol wl,um miqrat..l ro escepetlr.l,"rsecu Balutribes-'I'hese 'tr | and lost their relalionswith tlre work ofthe Christian Semitic culture, ltiou of tlrc)r.rtirnid Calil'lrs. The r lrurrhof'Debre LiLanus in in and thcir olcl characteristicsbcfore thcy were replaced Power lSeme province is considcred an architectural mastcrpiccc ir1 thc l'y tlreAgau lriLes ,uitori," u' rLecnd ottlre thirlcenlhr'trlury harmony ofits parts and the precision ofis buildings, especially lhe Lasra oneof rLeirl,ranches, lhe Ble;ns,u ho 'nigrdledlrom its entrancc which is hollowed in the rocks. "n,l is firlingdr nastv- Drovincein theheart ofHabasha {ALyssinia) altcr itsclf As for the building ofcastles,itwas not lamiliar. This is possiblv ii"nu"l f"a beendisplaccd by arr"rlrcrtarnily wl'icb calhLl (Abyssinia) duc to thcfact that thenrcuntain topsand thcruggcd trailsprovidcd the"solomonid dynasiy. The lattcr still rules llabasha it' a shelter for thc natives in emergencies,thus obviating thc nccd ^.aifr"."*"", U-p"..r, Hailc Sclassie,clairns kinship;ith lor builcling castlesand walls. The Turks, however, built a castle in 'Debarwa' on the Hamasein plateau wlren their lorcesoccupied The Elfect of Religion on thcregron. of Art the DeveloPlnent Onc of conryicuous lcaturcs of buildings on the Eritrean inlo thc Diitrear Since thc introcluction of Christianity pldtcau is the useofslones and wood iu alternate layers.1'his is a in is dillcrcnt aspectswas Dlateau, lhe lifc of the inhabitants 'I'hey style ofbuilding which dates bick to the,A.ksumitcage and rvJrich arts werc ro exceprion I""".i^"i*i,il *ti*t.us life, and lhc wasused in building churchcsin thc early Mitldle Agesasinstancecl

4B 49 (+) 'l|is ol building is I Iirbaslrawas thc rnostdjstineuislrcd bv orrco{ thc old chttrch(sin Asrrrara' rnodc anrongtlrc various, rruurerous jultirrg supports rratiorr which iuhabitcd thc ar.ca. .u,r',rtunon 1l)cPlatcau Also, lr('r;zorrtally 1.Lcy wcrc known by rlre Arabs ",ill buil- Iur rlrril jore L,frhrrrt arrrt which arc bcnt in a rvirJcarc rcpicsurt a rn0dcl ol Aksurnitc song.I r is rctrrr.drtrar upon AIi t3irAbilt Akdo and I.alaUsntu r I'oj rlrcr,rigrarion dnrgs. As lor tlrc wiclclv popuial builclirrgs,tk:dnro' to Habasha,rlre 1,ro|Lcr r crI 'likul, lrirn jr, ar.. w" I'rvc Ji'.u" cd rhcrrll" sl! r' 1,rir Ali. irrfluenrcrl Ly rtrr mannersuf ,t p.ont. ot l] + Ak'urr. srar(, d Jar' irrq31ex;,J rlc pruplret, " irrllucrrccclbv thc rcligiouslili' cspccially rll,i.l, 1,. an!rr."..I' lJ" Song and dance wcrc ol arrddi,l rror 'Icstmcrrt ts firtl urrb.corrrinq. I Uv thc Old One of thc rrotcrl r\tusical instrunenls ;iru.;, ccluivalent oli which.in Some Aksurnitcs in Mccca practiced o t'uqt *irh s;x to tcn strilrgs, thc . , ciancing and playilg Kcnor" lhe lvith pikcs during fcstiviries th" Ota'lcsr*cnt i" David's |arp, rvhichwas crllcd and fcasls. lt is relatcti that on one pulcly local such,occasionthcv wcrc playing Nlcssango,a silrglc string instrumc f is cortsidc|ecl in rhc rnosrlucwhilc thc l,rophct whcthcr haPpv watchcd thcnr wirh his wifr, u.,idu.", sal, bcautiful tuncs No-occasion, Aisha, lcaDins orr his shouidcr..Ttrcn "nd lhcsc musical thcy.danccd bclorc hirn saying ilvluLamrnacl c,r'sai, is conplctc without rhc Kebro, rhc 'lrurn in Gccz: is a gc,ocl rvltcttthe nrarr".llc approvcdofit arrd nrsuurncrrtsarc usccloIr rclig;oustcas(s arxl occasiorrs' saidin tlcir language,,Sanahi..... ks r r' srr ol r' urrlrr rrrtl Sanah" which nrearx,.finc...,Iirrc,'..l,iris l,ri.'rsulr.r J.rrr'.billt rlr'ir l'rr{ "rit ls 'ligrc. '1hc word is stilt uscd iu rlrc" Gccz and i.".r.,'r Il'.rl'r" ro tl,' L'Jt ul rlr' drurrr"t\l"r'' vrr' Jll Arabs took soirc kinds ofclancesIiom Aksunr thc pcc'plt .,rrl rl,, tri'i.d,, pLr"au. \Lo. instrumcnts arc uscd on tronrirl occasionsiu tltc lift of ArrL,irI,o"rry Lcrretrtcd tiorrr rtrc rl,\rr,".ul,rd /\L.,,rnir, d.rrl cs arrd likc rnarriagc,for instancc. 5urrqs.ftrc.quanir.. a,, A,alri, 'Waty' Inusrcalrnso.umclrt, is basedon thc Aksun)itc,lambour,. A nuorbcr ol pcoplc on tl)t Platcauwho arc callcd a rcspcctablc ln tLe "Encyclopeadia arc prolcssiorralsirgcrs, but this is Irot considcred of lslarn", Crcswcll says rhat arr Aksurnirc, 'Ilakurn'or. ,I.labahok', ,ea,aba,in occuPation rcbuilt the 6oBA(.D., and that he uscd rvooden boads w|ich hc took oIIa sunkcn sLip. Hc crcctcd_the The Irrlluence of the Eritreal buildiDgofaltenrate layersofsrone antl wood. lt corsrstedot Art on {re Arabs srxt€ensror:c lavcn and fiftccl wooden layers.lt rvasa rnoclcl of Aksurritc buildings. 'l rtd lrc Arabs rvclc acqu^irrtcdwitlr tlrc pcopleol Aksuru' arrd iis thc Arab crchauts frcqucntcd thc coastsol ltrilrctr lilatcau in scarch of Ibr the sakc ot traclc, iIr Ilight tirrrr Pc(ccutiorr or African land Dasturc.'Ihcv callcd all thosewLo carncIiom thc silce thc ihci"g tl'" pc,'i,,s,,lotire pcoplcoftlabaslra (Abvssinia)' rrrJrrLl' r' 'rl'l"l l ll""tl-I-.il.!rrr':r''r'o"'l"'r'1"ltr"ll r"r"'ir' 'l'rr"s r'.,"^ttl_ nl rl- lrirr'a" ll'r"du i' i'qr "'l"rFr''r ol the Stria' nn$ntrtarrcs ;istn,ro,G lt is PR'lEL'lv drc ro th' inllucncc nld,tioncd ;n dris chxPtcr'

5o Chapter V Thc Str.uggte of the Srrong for The C.ontrol ofAdutis Aduliswasfamousasa port foundedby PtolomyPhiladelphius IlI, one of the Greek I'jtolomykings, who ruled Dgypt alter rhe empireofAlexander was divid€d into threeparts in rhemiddle of p.fl the third centurvB.C. The ruins of this port still standnear the villageofZula6okilomctresnorthofMassawa.Possibly, thevillagc derivedits name for the historicalport which the nativescall A'zuli..It was known by the Arabs beforeIslam under the name Acluli,antl shipsmacle there were called Adulite. It seemsthat tlre Arabsused this natural anchorageon the bayofZula tor thepurposc of trading with the African coasts.Waves of migranB passed through it to dre Eritrean Pla(€auand thc Tigrai to lound the aforernentioncdkingdom of Aksum. So, rcsearchersdo not rule out the possibilitythat the Arabscould havepreceded Ptolonry in choosingthe port. However,llre port was! own asProlomy's, and theold ruinsindicate the presenccofGreek drawingsand culture. 'l Irelirsr reLordcrl informatiorr lo rra.h usdbour rLis h;rori(al port waswrittcn by the author of "Pryblus Aerithrcus",a Grcek sailorwho inhabitcdAlexandria and madea long voyagcaround tlrcl{ed Seaand the Indian Occan.He collcctcdsome docume,rts which he publishcdin 6o r\.D. in 75oowords describing all the porlsontheAfrican coast up to theporr of'Rabta'which is believed 'Ianzania. 'Ihe to have been hcar the presentDar-es-Salam in authorofthe "l'ryblus" statesthat Adulisv,/as ofgreat commercial irnportanceas it was a port for eiporting variouskinds of ivor.,,, llhinoceroshorns and skins.It lras at the centerof the east-wesr traderoute.'Ihe big shipscoming from lndia, dre Penian Gull,

53 'l'his control Adulis rtscd to barlc' vartous ald rcpeatcdly invade it. always happened Africa and the Arabian I'cninsula 'lhe Dasr I I'oncywirh tlre between neighbouring lands. urigrants from thc sourhern t 'r c' scsarncrLnLIorr I lo(lurr ,r.', ." *U*t, Arabian Peninslrla,who founded the kingdom ofAksum, prelerred ".rU. I-gvpran'rrr'" ii+..."'*" ";- i::i'.i1,i:ilT'i;, l:,, l;^iii: lo scttlenn tbe |rirrcarrplareau arrd rlre Tigrai plarau wlriclr ;;''r'"''r'"i'v**"r reseDL)lesir their moderatc climate and thc lertility of rheir soil ::1il|J,'i:l::;w.li::I':il,ii:"'i:iT:"?1.-il;'l"l thcir original homeland. Tbrrs, the migrations did not setdeon the iilill::l: ^1i:iulll'l hot, damps Dlitrean coasts- ::il:i:l;"Tr ivorv from a The citv or Aksum'which imports ;;.i.";;;;i. ,i'"tr':'r *^ n" So Aksurn dicl not entcr the Arena ofthe international srruggle .'*,."i.y.''a 1il:,Tl:'i;Tlll'';i::iil: that was going or then arnong the naval statesto co trol rhe en- 'i'liJ5; -ii',11';a"'t'i"'r' ao'"i''""' lranccs of the Red Sea. Sincc dre age ofAlexander, rhis strugglc ;'ll;l ;'":i*"'i"Jl, wasconlined bctweentheGrceks, on the one hand, and the I'eisians ldnguage' writterl on the other Lancl-Later when the Romansinheritcd the Greek dre Arena of ernpiro in the Mitidle East, thc struggle bccamc betrvecn therl Ahsurn Did Not Enter and the l'cmians.lVhen the Roman llmperorJustininian I geqrres- tlte Struegle for Arlulis: led thc he\) ol the Aksurrirc army to avcrgc dre rortlrre of rhe thar this lan':l' thc coasls of the "Pryblrrs" says 'l'lree Thc autlror Najran Chlistians by Nawas, the Jewish king of Henryar, k';.*." and rlai.^, i^" ''..* iTll;:":i1;i'il'J:Tp:ifi his altacking thc lloman caravansin Yenrcn, hcprovidecl lhcm "r,n.asevery rn.rrlet arrd citt -'11".':li:il':;1,, widr a Rornan lleet tlrat transporied lhe Aksunrig army ro Yemen. ' ^ allegia,rcerorrre ot rl,.seror\rsar( indcl""""ll "w, rl,e Adulis was irt thosetimes srrbrdinare ro whocvclconrrollcd Iigypt, ,1"r" .'li; :i;;;,; rt,, rits.h",Llor or Hirnvari" r the Greek Ptolonries IiNt, and the l{omans st.rre .Y''rncn i i';, Aksu,nco',rrull'rl sccond. The wcll- ec e known llorran historian, Kovnas Andquiselros, was. in Adulis ;'i:il:ili:Iil:'l""il.;.'illIl'ii.',,,e,,,a whcn the Aksumite expcdirion was transported to Yenrcn. He ;lil i lll":ll wrote about it in his book, "Christian lopography", and srated lli,imtlllll":ii:.lilTil "'"l"tllili that thc Roman sh[)s had corneliorn Agaba Gtrll, alld that Adulh ;il;ii,: ;;,,,;;" ;"".,yr was prospcrous,tcernimg wirh ships that camc ftom ligypt, Ycrncn, chasl",''1.'"1ilirs,old"r- illilx'i;l,Jlll;',l''ll" natiols. flrc Lisroryol lhis I'ersia, India and the lsland of Ceylon. llrnerald stones were l'r'r,i"i".,.",,,".,.."t,,,v U.C., *f,if. sldrcfhe hisroryof Adrrlhdrr6 t''" broughtto it Iiom India. He callsrhc Aksumirekirrg, who headed ^.U. 'li,lla i'vr"i'''ni the expedition'Eleshaaliand also Aslreln'. ::jl'Ji,*:,:L:T;l'.""tii'Jli'')li';;;;i'"'a'a in 'tttt' - ofa tmple whith wasCr.ek ll'.'"a '"'*tt'O tt'" nrins Contrary lo historical {acts, current lithiopian Allcgations ,',*'""i",.',',","''n'i''"ltr",llil:Ll:',T :h"::":l:ilJ:ill: menlion that the ramc ofthekingwho invacledYemen wasKaleb ff$:lilllil:;::1,::;l':il[fi;",,.i'r" ""i""' and claim that his lleet roamcd tlre scaso[theworld. This falsehoocl 55 llad lhc ({"'l'ol ('l' BritishConsul, Cameron, who had beencaptured r.futed by a co'rtrtnPoraryltistoria" 'fheodore, by theEmperor wJs passedthrough it. f.h: of Adutisare , :r]" sriltan objecrof srruggte *ru;:ll'**l::'H'#:i'Jli;iii.T'il:ilil["i::;::Urcrrngh ut with the neighbou ng owtlersand I hr lrhiotian claimdn!s. strugglcof Aksum was rnainly Theii.sl.Jir.,.*"" *l'l'l:1i:.'l',H:tl,;j "T.,* rn t H::; "-"1in the Sudan which was destroyed : :ry-l*'; ::1,::ill; Ii: ?, :j: 11 ;,':l; il:I"T: ili.ij i'"a 'r'e'arava"s (h'r' usPd i;i;::li ;';;;;,;i'i'? """'* "r r,ir,au,tio a,rutis und*.il:' "'u"li"'"'l"r::r":A rcgionsof the MidLlle Nile cnrrying Tl:,1i,':;'i'iil.]; Rhinoceroshorns, ctc ' when the Persians 'Ihc historic role of Acluliswas linished e owr Ynnnr agairrarter trr' ^,d";';; ;;;J rr'eirinnuen(

lilr:::*:1.r,,:"*;::-Jil".llTl-I"'l';.",il-"1'"ll'::Dal'l'rkArr-tripelago' rlrus lo ,i"o ."irt-t *er Adulisarrd. rlrc "" ilio."o*,n.i..*""rl""l i'::id: r'''"''""111l'd::::YJTJiT:"i$ aesclre'lrcitvrr en'lre'l rlfi:li:ii';i;J';;;i'ii.'"'ii xll,ll -i liili*l*"ln:*":,:llffll:';;' *il;ii:; '*l 8c. ilhffi .r:i:i,ir:fr,*jhlt frrcg'on' as we P'1r coirstal ft rlre rreighbourirrg Ilid Scu' rl,apt.ion tl,estt'rggle irr tlrc '' so*.u..,th.'"'clrent -,i,:geograPhicallositft:l]'::l#,illl $ 1,x"'.il',.-;fr!':.'"{1].[ il,";HJf:l# ;,** l''i ;l?:;:::ll[:?J,Hilili i Jlil : ^*,'ihe t]ri'l ishexpe'ri. [*;ftl,Yl*,i]r**m.tl'$*"i'"1:"::$l;: 56 57 Chapt€r VI The Struggle in the Red Sea Through History Thc Struggle in the Rcd Seain the Alcient Ages: The ancient Egyplianswere the first to sail the Red Sea becauseoftheir ncedfor the coastsofEritrea Somalilandancl the soulhernArabian Peninsula,cspccially to obtainincense, perlumes a_ndsornc kintls of wooclncccssary lor templesand religiouslife. T|cyrnadetheRcd Sea lhcir trAnsportroulc to those landi, History mentiorlsthat Sahurc developed naval trallic with ,,punt,'lanj, 'Ilre liorn whichhebrought nryrrh, gold and silver, landsrlbtching dknrg tlrc llritrcnn coaslsuntil the African tronl wal known as Sorrralilarrd,Qrccu Llarshcpsur (rsco - t484D.C.) maclc a voyage lo ihc landol"Punt", whichis atrestcd ro by theruins 't'hebes, in Dayral Ilahri tcrnplein l^ Ilowcver, the aucient llgyptians did not monopolizethe tradc ro|tes in the lted Sca.Other peoplcsent€rcd the arenaof compctitiotrin latterperiods o[thc pharonicage,.l'he phoenicians wcreforclnost alnolg tltern;I.liram, the king of'I.yrc,sent his ships to bring him gold lor wlrichtIc rcgionwas llrnous. llris had takcn placc qsoo ycarsbclbre thc voyageof thc lrortugesellarbarossa, 'I'hc whocarne for thesame purpose in t 5ooA.D. southernArabian Iteninsulawas not untouchedby thiscompctition. Alter its advan- ccd civilizationhad btrilt impregnablesrrongholds on rhe moun_ tainsofYemen and Hadramut,it gainedcompl€tc controlover the entrancesand cxits of the Rcd Seir.No onc was allowedto cross thissea belor€ paying lull rribureAccording ro the whh ofthc lords of both errdsof the sea.Akathsides, the Alcxatrdrianhistorian,

59 irr lh'ft,1)carxl r irs1'ow'r thcMcdikrranean basin,thesudarr, Erirrea, llabash a, tln weallhnf that paIt otrlre.l'crrirrsut"r'd r',r'rrioIrt] Sornaliland atld rhe orher parts ol Africa, rhe Arabian peninsula and India. This display ofconcern had been shown by rhe ancient Egyptians, x ril,jl'm;ri''l",'",li.:i rhen by the Pet$iansancl then by Alexander. The t*:, concern *:wl*l* ofthe llolomies is actually an ettension olthe old objecri_ xiilF"s;*?.*'^".ni :r vesol controlling ttre lortunc ofthe region. tii l'tolomy f II Philadepl,ius _ *rti{t (:B5 246 IlC.) ordered [r.'n the re- r'vr''r.'' excavation ;iiil':l*,';:l;::T.'!lix' J'l'jl'".i;.,;,"','ii''"'r of thc canal bctween the Nile and rhe Red Sea. This wasa project begun by rhe [gyplians under the pharos to connecr the two seas.He aho ordcred an increase in the trade lvith the coasts ofAlrica and thoseofthc Arabian peninsula and India, and ;$ruff:t$*"".'"5ni*":";'"'"";-{i-'i'liffiycars ago thrce lhousand an increase in the number ol categories Solornon" Tlris was 'I'hrrs, lmporred lrom the hot r egions. the rrade ofArab tands anclAirica acquired a fonn rhe Greeks and the Persians: The struggle betwce'l unknowir hither.to. itrcf'ascdalicr tl!' the power of tbc Crceks on.. ^ rl'U't, Deudorrrsmenriorrs lhat lbe lasr atrcnrl)tmadc to conDecr rheRi d S,d wirtrrtre Nite was irr rtre days of i,rolomyIl plriladel. wl,o '* I'l'rus, iune,lrlre. anal hc ordererltluq, protomy\ canat.I r was dug abrrt lt-$:il'.:t*',*,,*I 169IJ.C. lhen he sent a lleet 1r)survcy thc coastsofthe I Rccl Sea liorn the Suez to thc Indian i,iltil:il Ocean. Then he lbuncled jin sevcralcolonic along (he lffTt :'j:iil:',,L-iliil: coastsofrhe Recl Seato prorccr llgypriar :iti.il't"jtri:"'f i: slripsarrl rrade. 'l'he ','ffi Ptolomies, who srrcceededptolomy II, continuecl his policy l"tlilt#l':ft ol'cxpalsion on the Alrican coasrsand in the Indian Ocean. 'I'hey ,l+*il#$ffl start€d s€nding Ifi adventurcrs to explorc ccrtarn reglonsso as to be acquainted widl their conditions and benc6t from thc know- h,l8, rIrrs ohtailrcd in implernenringrlre policy of commercial and j.al I'ul exlran.innwhich rheypursrred in rhe.ountrics thdr lie in '1 il$*-ffil',,*i*{$$*[i'',,*lhe hor regions. Irellolomies srrove wirlr rheArabs for rhe control of the trade ofeast Alrica and India. Then thc efforts of the Greek i$#*:ll+ ;;;:1'""ifrlln"-'^T{il'1ilil: Ptalomaic merchants weie conlined to direct the t.ade frorn 't,:^'Ti]ilfi:**r'^ffi the Arab ports in Yernen and flljaz to the Eritrean coasrsand thcn ,{T1*;lffik:**nl 10 llgypt. Ptolomy III Orgatus (247 _ zzr B.C.) foundcd

6o 6r 't,ho ltn(ry of ttrottornutls trrro jff ili'illll:il} ;:,li: :l"ili; The Arena ofrhe *il'i llll,:ff::::','",:xj; v.vageto rndia'trte Struggle: i;" *hich marlea rcgular In rhefimr il:;il;;'il; centuryB.C., thc Romansprrt 'l\':'*:I,i: -.. trrrl,l,l.t an end ro rhc Prolo_ ifi :#'TI: :.1:,,.11Ttll dhplacedrhem in iuth*i,r. I*'r..^,ls, ffi+;i".j::::',Tx:','T:l'i.:f migt,rie.rernpi|e irr rhat age, Xl:,w,.re,tt,eu_re.hs ako inl,ejiredrt,c functioned as a naval Policc' ', rheRcd Scl, undser rtreir sighrso-n tr" .; ;; ,;;. 'l in the south ofthe Arabian rher'.rsi',s *,or.,r "; he inlerestsofthc Arab caravans u*"y,r,. c,,ir,.- ,r,. of thc Ptolo- ;il:i;;::,:.1'.,,' p."ui,tt"" ...iitt:"" *ere atfected bv the interlerencc Augusrusorcrrpied 0gypr anq made jr a Kome,o _Wherr L._or(ler.J vas,.rlof rlrc refomario-nol_ wt,at tlad :rcrorrrrr. deterioratcdon f,'.:.lll,l"::rlT,Il'l:ii:' of^poor political and ir:ilfr[Ui#l# economrccorrditions mer- ua)sol rhe in rlre Lst ArrenArab lolonrics. H" gavr specialatrenrron *:l*lll*'m'J,"T#,1,:'il':un"'cr and dr{.ro to navalcommerce rl'' s'a to theirmislrrv rivrt rtrc.warersof rlre Rcd il;;.;. foreeLlru al'arrdon 3ca whicn were ,,rlirsrcdwitl, routesto Svr ia' thrcv$ of the ser. tlre ..,ti.-r.'seiriu'* ,'"it 'radeon thc land He ordered the qover 'rhisred to trre nourishing t *'il:..:['ilJ::1iT.:ilil j# 'l'j:':l ];{l:H;# ;1q"1[:rr*:r,t;:#:ilr,l,i:":-1"0rtrr it Lvsa ir Ig : ih. 1,i,aresand make rhe Red Sea, a Roman j "'" li:';:fi'"."'" dcs'ri hcs I oea.as trcput it..Ihe expcditionarv ll 1'''H'.lli,li'il'' rr.con,is,.,r.r,-,r.,-"j forc othen. il:::''j,i:[Ti: 1l"y Loardetlslifs in".raii,::'#ff a por ;**;l;**:m:t':m,il;;,if r on re Eglprian coajrof lhe :iirsJx,.'liKeil5,d. Tlrey wcre ro be rra|lsporrecl ru rheporr ol Luiea Cuma on rl,. ,,oartofllre Arabi.rnpeninsula, il;I"'lIH:liil:#il";1"'::";;li;rrL'm"'|"nw " alcl rL., ,f,"y *.,. ,. and trrrtleskirs ' ,,1".i i""'yl nf i**'* lrorns rtrrrrrrc rxperirion was rrerrrrer orsanizcd ::1,::]:1.1."""." nor Rcd Sea brouglrt about a 'fhc coming o[ Crcccc into thc on*, .",*.iii**.' G'.'* *rl1: Yiii:lxi];ffi1ff*l't" A,"1,i,,,pcninsuta, #t,*[.":"xi;*l* TIJ':;.1;?';:fi:i:* :lTi.i T arrtlrtre resr came ba.k til{le,r Ilowrver,rr,c llli, i:1,:.:: Ronrarrsl{epr rr,rir,onrror over tr,c ,3J:i"i,iilili"I;;';coinswercroundI)orror Arttt$ arxl lhe orlrer iliit*"'"'i1'T,|jf Jrorrsorr r lrc rvcsrcrn.odsrs ol tlrc Re(l or wbichrrom the attacks or the l"t*i,:.r'ffiirq:;r;il}':$"$::J;h:"t+il: *: ff ii::il: Irejatribes 'l)re.Ronral argurn*'ls hjstorian, Dshabon, irrr'| cir , indicates that ttre Romans *l:::::n:illilffiil[,'lii'iii: kcpt sending ships ol'Aduhs "i.'oric ro Inclia across,fr. n"a S"o. conccrning the possession ffr.y -^a. lorn*-

6q 63 txx'lrft,rnrlnllhrx:c wltlr lt trgnlrrnlllrc nrrutlrr:rrr Arrrlrinrr ltr:rrirrnrrlrr rurrrltlrc I\:r'sirrrn, nn will lrctlctailtxl irr arvrtlrr:r'Plat:c l hc atrtlror ot " liavdlirrgalorrrxl thc l{cd Sca"spcaks ol-tlte l{oman occrtpa- tiou ol Aden. Somcrcsearchers think tltat the ltomansoccupied Aden by way o[the seaaftcr the lailureof Ulius Galus'expedilion againstYcnrur around 14A.D. Afler the occupationofAden, it waspossible for l{ontanships to call on and sail frorn it to India and the Afiican coasts,aDd to returnto it bcforeheading to tbcirnextsloP, Adulison thc opposite Red Sea.The Romansstationcd a garrisonin Aden, ,**-ffi coastof the as they did in Adulis, to ensurethe sal-etyof the Romansin the lhey also assignedsome ships with Rornan archen on ',lnfr.:l:nf rcgion. board to protectships from tle attacksof the pirates,who filled the sear.ln Crater,Aden, there'sa big cisternwhich datesback ro the birth of Christ. lt hasa capacityof twentymillion gallons ofwater. It wasused for storingrainwatcr to Providethe port with rfr,:**#rt,i,,1{:.r, drinking water in that age. The Jewish king Thu Nawas entersinto an alliancewith the l'€rsia s againstAksum and tlre Romans. With the entry of Christianity into the Halmshitekingdonr ofAksum at the handsofking Ozanain 35oA.D. and the alliance ;$fiffi**if$r of this kingdomwith the Romans,new el€menlswcrc introduced into the strugglcin the Red Sea. It happenedthat a group ofJews settlcclin Yernen alier * flceingtoArabia to escapethe persecutionof tlteRoman Emperors, especiatlyafter rhe destructionofJerusalem in 7o A.D. Hundrerls od them wereslain and a large number lled to the boundariesof the okl world. They found themselvesunder the protectionofthe Pemians,the mighty rivalsofthe Romans,whose hclp was invoked by thc Ilimyaritesagainst the Romansand their allies,the kingsof ffiffi 64 onling ro thc Koran' by thc r I rl,"m alivein a lissureirr the carth,a'r i H;-v,,' rh.' N'*as lur rrrcrcar motive ror trris I '..."i."'i;;il;i;; was f '.ir"." ** orriysecminglv religi"rrs; ina' tual taet it ano lhe iivo miShli€stcmPiles' lhe l(oman ,' ih. r,tu**1. between in rrrcRe'lr lii: ;;5:;. ;;; ;i;',.,,i* ol r''J'-'un^r r"ommcrce fr[#jffi-ffi**;l;#t:- Sea. nrrtrlrfj fi,ir.r they m llimyar' , the land of r in nil..r*:.,J;ijillilld$* power '"',JOncc the Jews assumerl "*"si,'s,r'.*:.':-:itl)rough the land ol:i'"lill',:lT:IX1'il".';?"i'l: re The Habashite Abraha dreir eoods theRomans and Rrrles yemen ,'iiiri n*pil-r'ich provokedthe anser o[ ""i intercsts'especially since o.our.d ttt"irllo, outt thcir commercial the PersianssupPorted thc Himyarites' r::l i;i:,[# iln*l.jii, ofsomeHimyaritic fi:::;.iq,.4*: Arabic bookswhich speakofJudaization was tlre first li"t" ..u'it'"tirli"" 'q""ta nG Karb Judaized ,riln:in:rl;,ri amlZara'a' *k#q*:;#ffi iii,i,""'i,. ui*. ir. thrtechitclren' Hassan' Amr kingsor Himvar' i,'i' iil in"iz?,"'u"adi. Thu Nawas' rle lasr orrlre * A D to53oAD' .1*i:il :"",,..*ar agains, yernen ;. ;;;;;. narrativc,ruled from 5zo f:':,1,"0'i,li:'ii,.i;"" "" and whosecapital was Zufar (Raidan)' i:,ffi ,'#:.,:::il*:: :i;ln j::"Jj crcateda sttong m::.,,,,,,*li: It is pencrallvurrdr"rstood tl'at Cl'rislianily slale llr ollrer ,i. lirt..lt Cfl;.,itittrl countriesarrtllhe ltoman meansof sPreadingthe *""ro -t*.^t." to Christianitywas a of Aksum i"n""n".. Thc Romansgained the triendship lL',,rumi n-"-^n oftheRoman ;^ * trd:;;nd*ilflil ^ii"ll"lt..* .rcn"stianitvinit Butthc mission becausethe opposirrg ar*.,r', il;.;i;;' to ChristianizeYemen failed ffi::il1,:i:T#,ilffi i"'.ii, the Prrsiarlshad a fi -1,'il,il:1.":; *.t".."o **. '()" urong lo be rerisled'sirlcc considerableinfluence in il' theJewishking ot It is relatedthat'Dimyanos' or'Dimnos ' or morecaravans ofRornans f firn"".,f,"Jttat*a thekil'ling ofonc rru,*#ti[;i+ruir{* toAdulis and Aksum i,"il* -n" *1' t^'l"g th'o"!nI'is king'lom ,i,in.a s*." rr'i spir'irt'e t'ing "fal*-' tM"i'119ll': emperororRome"..," Thcse twowaged-aromlatgn ( de :::lTi,e'llc;;: r#{f$iil*ffi, bns, whichcullminated in his {H

66 67 fii1,ti[1;lfi1''*Ji:T:l$lif [il*]r.,.iliT $;;il"i*t'.i,ff-t*:*#t*tm J iid;ffit,

these delegates did not cornemer€ly Ibr congratulations, amusementor out namely of courtesy,but for rodraw Abrirr,",",",,i,l.^-o..T,lT,;:Tf fr":*T: I rhr orherand :::^,:-.-TT:ph suppiessrrade in rheRrd Seaor ff:i#:1*'"J[::T: ]$ttr*t,i:#:ffi;*l: ) ,,-i:'ui,:::1';;rilu*':*:T ll"li:*:,H::1 ffi:fi ':i: ;:ffi1::n:T:';..ffi 1:L:x?:#*' *.*.n,.,,n.u.,.- ;irru1$n:fi"?r",rh:ffi :::_',,;:i1*[ilh".J;.'^:"T".l ;:i'fiil-l*ilffii'"ii'il:"ii:iT,:ilfi t+d;iz$, l:ll* t*; l: AraLianPenirrsrrh, ii.t,:ii,;:::1*t:"Ttil: tqq4:ft#,*:4.i* roi"olare ir fromthe persi""i*, rii.^,,'n"^ warunquds sa'lriru rneir.supporters. The penians, #,ll#H:;:l*^'"1Til1;;,'il;',".; on their part, rried to d€story ;x;: #lH";'"'llyI'iil::;"T:; rli:i".tff:l Ilil;:,;,"^l:' $fu.ran t_Jj".1,1:'and rradinB f *.ililil"J',Jitl#:x watiidam watahmat' !vir_hArabia and Ainca. Th. *o *"-p. *.JlJ '$ spreadingproba ga nda a nd winning, rhe restorationceremonv was "fiXX'i,iye.,TTffi :l:1gi:ir-?" r"'r,",,r.' xT;;i;i" d'j""a ari' ;;;;J,,'ilT;i:;'jTi,:Til:li","jl[":"1,',il$.,f"i ff:i:i' ?il",-ffi lfJ; :;iiil' to supportand sprcadChristianity. penians ;I;l flre endeavouredto 6B 69 spreadChistian crecdsopposcd to thccrccdolllorne andHabasha (Abyssiria) at]d to supportJudaism also,since it opposedthe policyoftlre Romans.As we know, the religionofthe Penianswas ncithcr Christian nor .lewish, but a religion contrary to both rcligions.Thus, lhe purposeof tlle RqltstUitrSpL.sii,]S_qb!!!iu- nitv was not sincereor blemishless". m*i***r**r*iffi 'fhe Abraha was succeededby his son, Iiksurn, in 544 A.D. The Struggle in rhe Red Sea - lattcr ruled for nineteen yeam and was srrccccdedby his brother, o'u *u"" o".. 5E' ?c rhe aralrs control Masruk, who rulcd for twelve years. Finally, Hemyar could stand tr." n* ,.ot the Habshitesno more, so the Persiansfound that dle opportunity was ripe to invade Yemen in thcir slruggle widr the Rornans for thc control o[ lhe Red Sea and its lucmtive trade. Scif Ibn Thee Yazcn played an important rolc in invitihg t|e Persianswho came on eight sbipsi They wcre met by king Masruk at the head of a *':+-****ffi95;1* 'l'he hundred thousand soldiem, according to some lrarratives Persian conrmander, Wahzar, managed to kill Masruk on thc [:'* i:'ii;i.ffitr; back ofhis nrute with an arrow. When he fell, thc Aksumite army ilfiilf i*i'5.1;;*l] was deleated and they lled in every direction. Ancr the battle of ;:: j:,j;:1ffi kl1nfli,'ilrl Yemen, th" Penianscorrrinrre,l invading rlre curslsof tl,e Rrd l;it:,;:,, 5jfiitJ:i Sea until they subjugated Adulis and the Dahlak Archipilago, where (hcy built cistems the remains ofwhich still stand. ,^,, llowever, the Pcrsian reign in Yernen and their control dfthe Red Sea dicl not last lodg. llardly 6fty y€ars had passedwhen the Arab conqucsts, following thc erncrgr:ncc of Islam in Mecca, sweptover thc Middle and Ncar Dast,puttingan crd to lhe I'ersiaD empire and wresting frorn thc l{onrans the Middle and Ncar East, l,;ijl:;,:1:t: ,:n::..1x;unll;tt r;;:;i beginning with Palestine and Syria and passing through Egypl tillNorth Africa, 1h€ entire Arabian Peninsula,includirrg Yernen, xtj:'t#J,ilrt#;lli li came under the hegemonyo[the new Arab state. riJ{r",,il#n*:ll It was now the turn of the Arabs to extend their influence over the Red Seaand itsstraits.Between thcyears 6qo arld 64oA.D., Adulis ended in ruins tlue to the raiclsof the Bejalribes, which the friir{Tlr;ffi*$pt+,:*+r

7o Ptu 7l ft:Tf;:,:Jt:* rhcwestem coast orthe :rH::li:U:tri":llliifi ',r,.r.orrr,.oi,r"r. Tff,rxlLil"- in a remt: ''"1?fJ^'^:,..t.ration*11*.':.,i,i'?-;,'ff a,.dff; ffi; fi::i).::+.r"..::i;1,*; s"ckiigrefuge ortLeinlluen- j Redsea ::X1;i: fJ li"ll:'.iL'[".1"j:"; J: ;: ;; an' i n'lh' il:l'#.'.'l'"T*':?',;:,i:::*ii.J:i";i'::.1,: i; iil'*i;* :;;,J" ;;.,;. ft *"""'llp'l':lll1:T:::::f,:il'li:fi1 illf :il'i:;iJ:i,Tl'ii:i:*1*r JJ:; i:i l,,,iil,lli,'-ll;';,1":.ff'l[;::Tili":i.-..'liio'r' l" "T,"T':.fr? government' J55'"#;: the absenceofanY ff $il::'l ffi:"-i":ii,* I"ilHJ * ."J:ru:[:T:'.::'1,',JZ:ilf&TT#'ii];l'Jf,$::'#: ilii,ji:'i;:,;[: lfi ;li.;ff."i1H,].il f tijf;j"";it ::{i*rj*:** ili,::'l;;ii:fl':.ffe6i: di'f;"t il,l:1,ir?,],;,til,:!,::ffni:;:::'#Jff*tl *,li ;;ill'"';i;1il. ir'..Ipgt't:" *i:l;ii:;'1,*',','#:m:: ja bvsea lF,,iJ:I.i1,y;'.:xt,,?:T:....1'Hj:1ffi::nil;*H f i::'t'j:l[:ii]"#"'ili::l'T:;;;."d a''von' iiffil:.:'J*?:"1.Ji:.:,1'tffi ..:'u*.i".';;;; again. rhe cariphomar, however, app-r"J#;:i i*";;*l;i.,lr, *nhiiift r1?"t*:lJ ,,,c lh.:yi.?:t;f*: oeirrucuonotAdutis, ; it'atn''t ro' r'a' tr'at an lslamicr ivilisation flourished on tLe ffi nearMassawa at fie besinninsof the ::-,,'.:i':l':r:'i'i;Tffi;il'*i,foperations asains! the Arabs' Stlj*,Island .igr,te.,,ti li.'il;;;;; ii i" theirmilitary The westem coass ofttre . Red Sca werc known to Arab histo- lii:*$:hm:m"#^'lll'l::;lr;:$::1iiiliTi*;diflercntnames suctr as...1he r.and llJlff: 1,1,'lj'lj:. , of rtrerslanrjc :lrii""ti:*:t;.".:";"'LlliSli::':i;:'ffiacrossthc l{ed Seaand Egypl ;it::fi:,:::i:f;ij;:TI;1,i,j.:fi j: trade af the eaststarted to move icrr.onili!;.,of lJi:':' Liounrries,'), ..Tlre ..n. ll,'l;1j westandSyria' Lanctof Zcitz,, znd f_".J ,"-ir"-^"J.i"' ftcrrnihere to the '^"'f,H;#J'il]ilzrrri.bu*d I ""a rhea'"* Itn'l"' r*,,i","i t' It ..,;ll,''.i:ili.Tlll,"i:ift'lilf #::'i#I# f f The Red Sea During rhe Crusades Witb thecoming ofrhe6p5261s5 6nd 116 ofrhecrusa- T;i:,i,::ll:f ccrs,- In uamascus, "errtins tD this :itri Duropewanred ro drprive a dccisivestep to put an cnd Prl Dgypiofraw mare- "ii':l*l:'11::.?iiii,r?iti{ii,i,::f'12 '73 i:iltil:'r.:i:li :.1iii:i* [:il ;i:i :: l$;"::ffi r .:Jl1;tftiil;ii,li{l jf,:.:$,l:.?:ii::,::1.i1 j:j ti,**tt[;,,ffifi*$l*[,'ffi*Hnj'F;l*;,.,,;.1i;..;:*li,:;t,r,,*ij.:T'"';-'t1 jT ;rH$Ti:illlln;l*n+llllll'l'l'lH':li:l ilit*il*,*f]l,l**$*l't{.i"*ffi lil:lll *.lr*t ill';irii :r':iltTr'eti tn:* ,illii.:"ll;"1,,:iiIiil$3s,'"*t*i*lli;Ht*:lil*-+,lil,t',t*xtr,,,,**dt*f,m ;;r,"'I'ire'igoi'ur t'i' iill;jilt :f #rilrnr::":,xr*l# lrji: ll l'ili;I'lili'liJl",]l$"T'Jliilll. ;iriiiiiiiqilFp:lr*':*:;::*,;ir',:,:li;ii ,,ii;t1;::*1i::iiJlTli:r:ii:':"H**.* ilrifil1 ,1T:';ffi ;'ilqiig ftnil;il: Tj; ;Tllil'i:",'l:#::.1!1il{j:r,*l*n;*,:t", :n :llm*';:ll;i"#J;il"i.iffili:ir;..i:;::;,,1;; ;#:"r'.16:r.':.i;,'i6rt, -r':ru,+ilt **,i:*r*:ffi.*:.ti;:*r* $lffi#nnli*til',r;ffi Hi[tl*$ilrii rt#'fti:dhtt 1;;"::;i[ xlJ"J*'lliiil'l {LHlJ:,':. l;:'::::l*.:. :lirLi; ;:llil'"*ii'J#i:":Ti#*:Jlt:::lll'l*":ll pll,',lTll;;iji; :'llff:::iltrilT1: .'**;'*1ll ;l:;it':'i#:ffi1-n:"dii:#:i$:kn:*:*;,,,,,,ii::Jj'il::],1,l;":il::f.l :?l'll"l".H[#:lli: a":,:r.,." manasedto seize in India, towardsllsvLlt and tT'i"Yii,H'; ro.^ con,lrer^]ll: Jawa but failed lromwhichcaravans travelled Adeir becarrsenf rLe resisrance ycmenires. b€ca of rhe ,qt- Aden alsolost its former imPortance' i,:jir:*u:::x.'ruf [."g'"il] ] i*;l'ru;:lll;" ,T':j:,:11,i:ji: ::ii.lln::ff ;* *r*:lj:; using.Jeddahto unload their soods' :?;:ni:T,:llx ."J,p.a,ll'r...,i .J ""a "tarttd 'Barsbari'This $,*llljTil';yli'.,r''" iii"."i,-r'"a"i:,1*11"", i.l- '"r'ed bv the kingAl-Ashraf ,l:1,'^',:'1n*0, bv way ot Mecca and in.',.i)i;;ii#:jl.j",il ir.J" *^ ,r'." transportedbv caravans "",, :ili:; orreshippedonwanhiPs toAl-Tour' ;;;;,;. ;: iii- '".Li""a. ndpt ;ti';."ffi:riilffiffi:n:"Hffii;;. mentioned't?::,T,lL'.l'"r'J:ffi* Porrugesehad controllcd Aswe have alreadv ^_ ,,1'h_e theports ol tbe RedSeasituated cast a many profits by trading widr the which madethe Portugese *us in'e of the mostirnPortant rcascJns 'I tiy^:[:iT lLrncsuftlre 'a"t l'entove- ;:tii;,:#j1..:"Yi;*t ^".'t", a iti ,."t'"r roulelo lltefor i:i: ilF$ : .."iiig""g.,pr,i."r ."fl-"'-": l':1f iJ*ol li,:t;: TiSiJ; iir,:i,:iirilffi.,:i *;, m:#.Ymrr #,:# [1 ili"l-:H,li:trllll':1:,:J IbnIbricem,-Lh-e ffi'dli-t.i".i'* .:f,,"j'i}:r;"%x',"TT^-r":J'";;;itu,u"a'*o"'urrv olthe ';i';:il"J'i:::'Jff::"^J''"'" ttit" *ith hisbig {leet after thirreen vears i'1il?;1,1;i",3'il; at thc CaPc' ;l,l :l: :;,il,iffi arrival 'Ilrc Ottontans rhePortusese rrashrd witrr '" saw in the portuges lndian.i?:I'fi,i"r'J;,:'*1; rvaters, and tri;d rc interc':Pt iT:f;:;;ffi'.::;?';:T,H1#}?#::J".h::'xt: 'l-l,e Purtuscsewortcd iilf;:'.",u:i:*'#T.r:'1":-;:,llili'i:il:i.:? v?'i" rlrroughrh.ir alliancewirtr Hatrastra ;:%.*.;A; ;;;e o"dthe Atruntic oceT P'ry::1 tradc' the excavauon , ..atiif"t of duties on trans-Egyptian il,:":fi;'TJ[::IliTJJ:l the Mediterraneal' the ;:ru1:*:*li;j:]; ^ ..t.i'..t-.l,ftt thc Red Sea ancl 'n'c'o' Hopean,] re'rovi'g with the Portugese "'"oo.l ir rromEsypr and "f ii. ptr"ceso[ India not to deal iiii;u but ".""*i.t "i lorceclto.submit to them someday' i"'"" ,ft"t *."f,i ..t be TheOrt"mans crluiplr.l a in this new world €conomrc . , lleerunder recommand ofsinan V.nic" r.fusedto play an activerole ponrrgese ot Portugal' j;:n1:^:'1. rtre fleeruntter r]le.ommund it did not want to makean enemy *,,'.,t or slrrqale,bccause Portugeserleet rrnder ofMasvwa in r554 i;"il;, iliJr;';in fleetder"ar"l.rr'e ;:;i;',;l:;:,";*T'il:,ff.:.fi: and ::::"1*"*rrm i::: tf ,l'n*:?TI'};,lli:;:i:i: g:fil'J;:if **,i#'ili #L?il:::_f 1i:litri 1509: :,j 77 76 oDcratedwidr the'furksand wilh thc mcrchanlso[Katalan, lhe rivalsoftlre I'ortuge,who built traclershipsin Zcila'ain Somalilancl for rhepurpose oiexpelling the Portugcsewhose rrrle was marked by savageryand fanaticism. ;*fli,ffi iti:#*g;;**'[tuT*ffi I-Iowever)the controlofthe Portugcseand theotherlluroPean Dationsotthe hade ofthe eastacross tlre cape ofGood Hope depri- ved the Red Sca of ie economicimportance as an international :irt;":i thc Ht';{iTdiTilfl waterway.Then thc Ottoman control be'ame nominal and fi:i*?,fll.lijilil^j Medirerrinenn movcmentof tradeand buikling on the barrencoasts of thc l{ed il lilllH:i,,;'iilnli,:rriii'""'''o'|he Seawas rcduced to thc lowestlevcl drrringthc next threecenturles until it wasrevivcd wilh theopeningoftheSuez Canal in rB69 Thc Frencli campaign under NaPolconRonalarale camc and tlrorrghlof f:ln llre cnd of lhc ci8hlcenllrccnlury, *#,1ffil*":'"1ffi ro [|.lvDL;rl frlif il'i'fr l c,,n,icii,tgthe waters ofthc two scas, thc Rcd Sea anrl tLc Medctcr'- raneanlry mcansofa dircct canalbetwcen them lrAncc sollglltto India and subseqtlcntlycontrol tho tra(leo[ *mlfuin-l*+rli rundermincIinglancl irr *[i"",]d[l I the Far llastwitlr fluropc.At tlrisPoint, llritairr strove lo cxPcl lmncc from IlgyPt, anclalfirm its conlrolover lhe Indian Occan iil;],I#il[ilr*];[[rjr{"tffi #;;fj,Y considcrc(ltlte r the Red Sea iIr Aclenand llrecrn, which arc anrl 'flris southernkeys ofthe Red Sea factor remaincda vital lactor :i;Til"ffi in guidingliritish policyfora ccnturyand a halfinto rnonopolozing ilr: i:I l,tui fl ,i,fi; live :ij;: li' il::ril,::: a,r"rlcontiolling tli. routesofworld tradeancl tlre peoPlewho alongthcse router,ifneed bc -i*:,i'i :t[:iT of - Basin ii,*t**l The Cotonialist Struggt€ in the rffi the Red Sea after the Opening of the Suez Canal jiir',"t:.i#ilT,r',Hlrtr#r,i"Tliill The excavationol the SrrezCanal was an imPortantturning lfr ando[colorria- nointin thelrhrory oftLe RedSea, ofworld tlade 1l# [:Iii ::H,:,,":',j i;,,* ,A.tt,f,. .oloniuli.t lrance, ltaly, Britainand orher"' fi xllfl::lHi,L":]S,Tf#il;1' "tut.", provisionsand triedto obtainnaval PosB lor rhcslorage of coal' on llrenew lranslnrl 'lll'l suppliesto caterto lhe needso[ lhrir "lriPs Hi:1*ril:';lffi ri:l;gl ;ll,*]ril: :::: 7B 79 arca, .,;: approaclcdrhe placcorwhich rhe t*:['irs: i*', C,iT.iilil :':+,:1iri;:Lt+ ri:il*l,;jliir;t;"., jilt;;Ji:,i:?'ril:5iffi ililj;;,; x .r*:1"[i*tll*:il.t:ilffi1::,it]iJli)llHllJ; i::iHxtit:::"iT,:iTt'ii,Jtl,,,l;jifl i;'**i115dd{',''#t#**mforces l:"j; of its military :.",-"1ffi f d€struction il:il11,:;i;;lr:,;lrlf : :l{ir,llfi:l'lif rr.ar.y ur .,Br..eme,,r :tll*Slt# ]fl],,,,l'l.l[" "", wirt,a fo'eisn**.;;:;,; wrl|r, 1 tlrccorscrr o[rlrc I.rencL ::tlk*Tn::r#rrrlfilntry 1ilifll ';l,llilli,,iilil; conDnanrlc,ofdboi, in re,,,r,, ilili:,fi1l,lll;1;:'' r''^''" ..,ii,,",i,. '*i#n*:ilft tlrilk,l a thoriricsin Cairo lr*l:i-tli"',:lfl$_.-.. wercapprehensivq abour an lcpresentative.inAtren .l.,"-ll*tjl,rrrc r,rerrch irr Tajrrra, .'"i#i"niir."i,r,r"' :5 ::il:li;i:l: .::]:]::l sou councred rr,c,virrr_ li""er''r'";;;"" [';flllil, f"li,lli J:i :,illjl;fl "**," ft,ft:ing fil::inff ;*htln*g :11.,.."1", rlrcsn,all galrissr,n orrl ot,[,ajrrra ino tr*liil::fr:*t*"'* j,ii:ilt":ti Zcila,. ;I:lil;ll etlifiiHiixi"11.l?li.xillTti:i5ttr :1f$'; ,'",,:rffi [!::':":*:,LT:'$];iiltrf into '.:l u*n""J,i"'x":::i:"LlJil ,""'*',51"''l1,::1:i":l':il:i'liJ1;;:'l::,'ributi thesr'Icre ;ll ;', ll**ilst'on l:il",ii"':f:J;iili'.ili,"i,#'i1.1;' li uo*' ona i;,*g*nri rft ;l;ftftr illlirtrfj* llr ;"":fH,:i:],i"-":i, il,,i:il:il;, Hi;ii:i[ij:,ooo,conccrnllrg rtr. agrecment ;t: li*'r,.m****'rilii:lffi rJraunLerrveen re rwo countricr [i:i::,t[Tiili,:;ffiiiiif]r?:*uTr*f ffi ;::.1, when":::Hfi':?T,xlll":::::,:..H:",i:the age ol colonialisnr ;::,If,"j,,*: ur*n$trur*lt*m has ladedin thc world, n.un.. .,iti uo Br (6) liSypt. On rr/5/rB65, Sawakenwar concectedto llgypr roo. On rr/5/t865, the Srrbjimcl,orte issueda decree giving Egypl lf,irman; townsbipsof Massawa,Sawakcn aml r|eif depend;cie; lsrnail SadekPasha headcd lor Massawato assum€conrrol ol. rhem,and I tassanRa'lar lley wasappionred rnayor. On 3o/4/r866, rvrilssawa I'as tatfn o\er In u crremonyin whi,h thed..rec (Fir_ man) i**flrffiriliiiiffirfrin:e'' ol-concessionwas r-ead in the presenceol.twon omcialsand iltinil::':ltr;:*:i:luim t' p'"u'tn''' ln,March, and Issa". 1866,the Ogyptiangovernmenr purchasecl thc i Eritrca ownerslrip The Eglltian Khedivate rightsfor the provinceof,Ad, Iiom the,,BashtriIlros_ Otto- aroseand the rightsol Cn." ibr 58j4 guineasso rt,ar l,tgypr worrtd havc a comptcrety tLe Wahabiter"volunon frce When lran.loti drc westd n , orstoftlre Red Sra_ ',''"""",.i*i'i, 't'he ""-'.'1":'ll::Tlii;l'i;.'i;"iill$'lll:; Dgyptianfleer in the l{ed SeaundcrJamati Bey cobsistc.l ofeight slrips.This fleet had srarionsequipped to rec€iveit and supply *;lt*m;,irtitt* r$ requiremenlsalong the African coastup to rhe lurrhesr i{ii':,il:il#l"T#{'tr*ifi$itr#:l.*"*r;$ porDtcast ol thegulfofAden_ ;'1 The Itauan Ii* Landing lli at Asseb ald the [ounding ofthe Colony ofEritrea Ilrel-gy1,rian, lfl;i-* *'"r - wererorrrrollirrg rl,e we"rem coasr of rheR"d Hd:-i]n*i.i*,.*.i 5rr wlen rlreIralians :rar tc,I ro lbllowrlre cxamplc of rlreEnglllr *r*t* and the French;rhey purchascd Asseb at ttre.na of,Oq i"_ ;::l',.;:,.rl;Srrltanlbrahim rhroughthc rnissionary, r.#ll[:j*fti";r;m'nl.:; :H FatherSabito. 'R *"T1,llll; The activiryofthe Iralians .i';";;i;';' *iT* ll;,:l'::; . pr.ovokcdproresrs from thc [gyp_ ltrll1' Lrar 'Ihe Sovcrnoienlsagainst rirem. Italian govemmentwas ul;':x\i: cntcrtainingthe hope drat, after rhe openingof the Surz Canal w :ru'l'l for world navigation,it woulrl establish a commercialpost on thc ff'ljl,::,#::':-i#***'Wali' Ottoman in Ilijaz' coastol rhe bay ofAsseb ro help iircreaseItalian rajc between last and Wesr acrossthc Red Sea and thc Suez Canal. Sherif Pasha,.the Egyprian foreiglr secretary,infor.med Di Martino, the ltalian Consul,on May 27rh, rB7o, rhat rhe Kherlive was I'#H extremelyhurt -lrl*m**;tt:i.','t'*i'1fi anclsurpriserl at 'il'.lTid'fiTll'*lil;*:lml':';'l:"'l:'*:li:T rhe Italian occupationofAsseb, B3 Bq against that explicit woukl provicle rhenrrvirh coal. ancl trad orclered him to lodge a Protests ofEgyPtian lerritory' h Ivfarch, rB7o, he agressionon the integrily _. . marlc anorher agrecment rvirh Sulra. caPitaliststo search lbr rr,.vi, Bcsidestlre positive desire of Italian e,.oy.orrr,es,rrr* .r r.,r,;,.i" o...i, were JnrrHrrti:]ll"i rr|'rtrin li"".,l Ir4rr|arnrnad, to invest their moncy' security reasorE Sutran Hdssan ll,n Ahmad, new regionsin wiich ^1,_,drry wr,icrr a,rj f:l:::.li:li'll r,esor Janjd o,, rr* rr,r,i a,y ":T:.*ff:':;:"#i ro||owrutsd'e sjgnjngof LIis aareement *::ti'*::ln.:n:T'## had becomea stampmg ,s7,si;,. r,..;i.,r-,r," .i.ri"rf *f" a".p.tism oflandowncn il;';;;;;:"'Ti'i:_liJililljii; ""a andr rirninak'whicl' molivated ofAsseb- Thus,^the Itatian flag fiutlerecr *,",,"0 fna'*- '.,'t'rs of bandis "ifi lbr rhe first rime on rhe cenlrrryinru I ryrng $,estemcoast ofthe Recl Sea. Sabito i,"it",, ,,"iiu.u* i" ,r esixties ofthe ninrtecntlr seizedrhe opportunity ofhis a" an exilefor rlcser-rirni- prescncein Asseb to buikl a smali, '" '..i. i,".1'."' ..i.;''s to utilizcrhem simpre,wooden house Io use it Denmarkand as an omce for rhe Rubarnro ;il;.il;;J*ith I'o'tuguland then with Company. ""i. SrrtranAt rr Balr tLralreem,rr,e ^".,lVlren rutero[Zeila,, krrew il iLl"i.l.ll'Ll'?illl: oI agrcc|lrcnrlInade lry rLe .Chrisrians, l.:j4n*l;:l:*:*T"ll1l i,1liif Afiica' .rlres. lralian \vitll. tl,e failedto obtain'olonics in North Sultan of Asseb, he protesred i,i"l'y *i.*'-ii-.rJ against rhrs, and he said that this secrctary'startcd regron was under tire Islanric So signiorManchini, the Italian foreign Ottornan government. The natives coast of thc l{ed Sea; it was cnrr,riverl ul"frrrkry as a sratereprrsrn rrg to ftrus lr_isartcntion on the weslern aI Mo:lemsan,l did kels ofrhe Mediter- nor reet t,osrrterorvartls it then lhat he made his famousstatement: "The Red Sea" Ihe increascolEuropean ranean arc found in the - _ influcnce auo rrs per_meationofthe RaPlrdeliRuLdrr"ro' affain of rhe l.igyptian adrnirristration Farlr Sabito talkerl SiSrrior entarted rhc setrirg up ofa Juseppi oncof rlc biggcst kindot"inren,arionrt g,rardianst,it,,, ,r. .ii*.i". ir n l'l^,'inoNavigarion Cnmparrv' uver ljsyl,r. f r.f y 111r'i.r,,ir"j into estabrishinga r:s,or.':lalo,t ol rt,e ti$prian ;;;"i;;;;"i." i" ttorf ut rhe rime' cenrre.in Beytut,Brras:oLrli and lndiaanJ China ^o arnrd LgyPltan *r,J o.*een Veniceand tlre porrs of I'rorcs6and ' rotvnedir wirh rhe o,cuparion "^rt"-r,i." establishinsa ruel suPrrv^ o,rFeLrurry rBB5.rr ;; ,";;;;;;;;i^"d theRed sea and :l"l:":l* rrI waserrcou,agcd Ly Briraijt a rvnrcrrrvas cyrri.melv apprrl,en,ivc ffi;il;-i;i sca rhe ltaliansovernmen! 19r1v3a of r|c I\,.t6111;5s,o1u.;,,0 ,1," senrAdmiral Ar ton 1ors,'f tlris,o,sr. Ir saw in lraly,s ,l,"r*t" n,,n* S"n"o wirh rlrismission.and rxl,an,firg i,, ,.rr,,'"ri*'.i ,1,. uPcnsr or Lg)prranrcr riturier on ac:companyhim in accornplislringhismtsston tlreI o",r r,[rheRcd Sear caLrl].r ro in $c.British arrempr Sabito made an to crush the Mahdi revol,,lion on olre November r5th, t869, the missionary hu;;, On 'Ad and checking rhe desire of the French to sireikhsorthe Ali' tribe' Sultanlrassan crtend their inlluence over Dast Africa, on the other ""..;;;;i;;;t*i Ibn Ahmad'under the-terms o[ han

B9 'l l''y i'ri'1mJrr;r'lwitlrrlr N,l,'x(l ll)n A(lnrns.lll.d in lharl rtl rhcmand intcrrrrarryirrgwitr' caprurcda grcarrnanyoftl ;l ,i ; *n '';," srr'|nqtrr''tr J wirrrttris "tajr."t,;:il',' Beiaagainst tit" lut,., -"'" augmerledwilh tle ilI'T'H1TJT:T'::il:'J.".l ""a otlrerliom Muiz ILn o *;l ;*;C#.;t :;;';J neiHl'borrrsfrom Ktral'rJn a'rd irrorrr rime' t'tr '"i"iu,"' tloseparr'.llcir lea'lcr i.ll,.."i" irumRaLeia' un'l r. a',u M.rw"n Bisl'ith.' lsharl'wlo ir l]r.li. Ral"ia'urrd its :l..liiri:',1,:tT:;"fl:Ht1il::,1'i;l :,,:::il'i,il::il .,,ii.,i,r* rlrelread of rlrrcerl'uusands from ", r':nrrsrrd nrounred rleir .,,:,#"" iffil:ijJl::.:1,::il' j ;il';il';;ri ;';iYemer and rrrirrv il:,H;.f1111 amongthe lleja' are Mos- arm, #li:l: ir"..., f."il it. n"a"riba, who,alone .".1jill",",l:r"l l":Iie,r nn,.,n,,n, orrhe reinfor, ernerrrs pagansworshipping an idol of ,.,,,,1iyrI'e Ljarittr Omar i.,"t,--i'u" ,rr" ."""r"ing Bejaarc :.:. [brrAt_Ktrarr,b, '' and wirtr rlrar he rIr, ir:" ilil:'illT N"r,r-'cr'.,',r^" 1 Wrv did the BejaWaves surge "li:,:i:ii'ii;1,;iivr: "' towards the South? ff ,inirtrn I Dast Aliica' ;# ofNorrh t#ri:t.:iil:r:i$!,I that the pcopks i::, It is a hislorical fact Krnva werc fonrredlrv tl'e I'i'lli'11'li:I r,i""i"' Somalilend rnd lii:;lilll:::;llT:i;i:il*'il::ilii*:x "11 ".','.,."i of rhoscScmiric il",'"'i.'. ,"['",'"" of tlre llamiric P'oPIe' arnon.wrri,r wrs A,r ,,,. norllrlosnullr conlrnuerl , n,,;;il;.iiil""T;ii;lijjjTil,jjJ ,-^''f".*t,of"t"tt"'tt'tttrn Migrationiiom ", drrero tr'r s(("ritv r cr'r IIi:i i"evrveri' as.imi'a edin,o r,- [;i;;;';,;;' ;it."" rhisi r'a'iccrrv i,.j:lii:iJ,illil:l'i,',"''* and the economiclactor' Ileja tril)csused to raicl the Nile Old ruius indicatetbat thc I'he Beja Kingdons in trritrea r€turn with theii bootv 10their V r"v,'pifi"g. r""t and thclr ""a usedto senddctachmcnls to that i"".i f""frft* The Egvptians ro s.LiusJtcIlre B'ir ,r",.11"'bi|;:.';iir'::,:,,,1,:,,!i::";JiJil;i.:: :i::";' ;"n;;*"' tl'"lirsrEsvl'ri'n kirrB l',;:,,,ff':;: liom I'isincrrrsions witlr sevrn ,,,,,1#::,iu,:1,,*:;* ,,IJ* f,, ,lr" tl C He camehack anrl2ornoo lreads of lives- ji:d,r:i",!3;Ji:"*r;iff ii.,i,"i-.rn,i"* .l' ,r.enantl wom.n ;i! l'h't'ohsrutlrle\JY exl'loitr(l rlr; ,".1.'n", ,f,i*r"a" yean rh' "f mineseach Limc thev managcd to Ti1;t*:l*:; ii"i^ p*tf"g tf*-. gold ,i,,jdln ll;,tlll;iitl+n:llj; "'ork ";:.:; r,e ,-rirr.' prirea,r, subjugatetlrem. ;,;:il,i.'J:li:li; r,," how thcBejaentercd ;::l,l;1ltr,f;;I .l'. 't'h" Rnrnu,,hi"toriu,r Viveskr.rs dcscribes ."ur"ortr," n.a iio'o,,J..,.r;;i";;"flffi,1iii'"'i Zcnnobia' thc ranrousqueen orlar' ;':ltt t','. ;"';i;;;;;;' Q;recn Arab Iistorian, yaa,coubi, orr'l invadedllgypt until they Al describesconditions ofthe ,"". i. tt.a, *"t"ihe Rt'mans -_.,._'lhe commander'rlrucc' dcrcated #;;;J; il:;,.;;'ir'" no"'on ;:ilH:iltxillt,il:,'."Tff :HlT;.ilfi $i: i,:l;::fft:

qI kirrg' Al Yaz coulrimen- Nile an,l rlrelted Ser' eachwirh irsowrr wbr'h rne don\ lhe ramesofpldccs which wer" still stan'ling' I'ruves ;::i:::iil:* ;;";i :'ii,,;:i:il :i:,;r;ili.:,ux;:ll;; Aral) historian' rL(....tl riur '"t.t.;;; ;i Beia influence. We learn lionr tlle l.rndrhere was gol.l,jewc siter close to Al Massorrdi that the Beja rrsed to mine gold from Yru: l;Ii:u':: Massawa. ::nl*-l.,xri:i*il:ijJU wedk'ned Tlre B, ia corrtrolover rlte Irirrrdn Irigl'ldn'lsollv r::Ii"l'jlil; Lasrdin rlre lieart ;:;il;:i::,ru:l ,fr". rl,. miqrarionof rhc Agau rrilresfrom iul,if;in';i:'l'f had nirl,e Dthiop]an plateau, and after the rule ofHabasha Passed ifl in rzToA D ' i,",n ,i. zj** av,*tty to rlreSolomonid tlynasry t+:ilfri;t.il1rililfii uvcrthe ;Nii;*ir;niir#i -i*" ,r,. l.ii. ,,;l* -anagcrlto imposetlrrir brgernorrv the Eritreanpla- iil #:i;i p".,. f..-..ly -""aled by the Bcja tribeson i:l;t::1"1;:::.itt :i:lll* ur rrleBrcarrfsea rrp ro tLratr in :lri.:::l teau". rhekirrgdom "rUi.i","j" a thousancl When lbn Hawkal visited the landsof the Beja lif ; .# i il-l 'aclr with.its ;.^-,i.1i:.l il:::ll ;i *"" r"". f" foundit dividrd inlo nve LinSdorns il;.1, :;,;l; i book,At yaa'corrbi ;;;;i;;. andaurtroriry. T!-re€-{r!Lrl Lrc4e$j-l4g\" . 1",:1":.: saysthar Hagcr, which is a Dordrrs rl,cplese-1lrqg@Algs' anLlryg witL;n tlt9.!udJncre :xi:'lj;:l'""J:,Ijli;:;Lil;il:: i,r"t.pi,"r The threewerc: ',;, ll11'^r.gi lrrweenrlre rleplession ol ^,;;; l;;,:,i'li:l' r I rl,ekinsdotn of B.rklcin,which Iay ol 1,"1i.L. llrJJhrler.1 ""1, ",, " ;:Jli:ii : ::iil:;:: ' Ling'lom drxlir issirrr.rr,rlrurrLerrnn5rirrl,ei\ldD,loirt,e ii,.^r.,",ra rlre.odst ot dreRed Sea a'lja'rnr ru Ilre 'l ofJarein; lrel,r.,lian.Lisrorirrr,(:,rrrrr uP to Mt l{ora rliRorinr,arrclrl,rrdrors\o.iare -'2) the kingdomofJarein on the southerncoast ,, of tlre coastprovince' and 6;ki;i;... N'uLf", tl'. capital tjftl,TT;: ::1fi:r *:r*ln*i extendsliom NakfauP to Samhar iil:iili:i,ifl 3) thekingdom ofKita'which iil (Ma*awa). l,'l::llI'# ILt;T;"r:;Tl i,11.!l lt of Nakesattd ;f:;;L t As for rlrcorlrer two kingdoms,rhc kingdoms to orrlskrfrsoI iT#'i*:ij Ihevextended lrryond Asswan sorrlhward #,j::*ffiI ::g"iil1'tilx,l^,;;';il.j llJzein. rle rloush rle rcgiondid nor know WItat lbn Hawkal ;;.-;;i,';;; boundarics, rnentionedahout rhelleja province wLiclrwrre erc(led al llrerno oI can bc oartilioirsof theprcsent horders in. that colton, wool arrd poweru' :TT:o "p difi.erentr.i,a. or ti,."iu.r. it'. ,rin.r".t,rh .in t,,ryhy tlrccolonialisr European that ttre biggest . Al Yaa'coubi mentionedarouod BgI A D' 5[:l.il::J:'" ji.],*r;::; I{agar' These kingdoms $l'i[xT,J:':J,':,lT]prescnceo{-animahsuc| .i,V i.,l* l.j" kingdomswas catled aselephants,giraffes, .fri"_*." "ra "ii.. 92 93 the warcrrof rl'c Nile flow'd ro rl'e wild el(Dlranls.He statedthat 'l researd\ especially ltelhfal'a since rhis province was cxposed ro internal i""J .rln,rlu'' *r'.. com anrl wheatwerc ptarrLc'l ,,'t:^l inva.ionsofsroups wt,ictr by manv tribt* such as Bazein and Barey He liT, canrefrom fraLrsha, rrre ,lii ** infl^fri,.a nurrr, anrl rt,cAr dLian pe;;,,s,;ta a seriesof'-olrre' l'd villJgesln ILemi'hllr acros,r t,e ltcd Searo rlrcAfricarr .*nf";".a ,f,u,Diin w,s coast,on which lies con"istd of des'rt th€ rcgicinrrnderstuuy. ui rt,. urrr.v rlrcrc was Taflein. wtri' h rtso king who was viltaqes ruled ovcr by a Moslcm Arabic speaking 'Alwa'' vassalofthe ruler ofttrc Christian The Treary of the Beja L€ader 'fhis with rhe Islamic Srate survcyofthe works ofAIYaa'cor'rbi (end ofthe nincleenth Dimashki tUn tiawt at (cnd olthe tenth century) and Al diJnor unire rlro a cenrralized centrry;,'irri',**f ,.'* ," I'j;.r:il," rrr 1,',qo,ns kingdom ' ..niurv AD) revedl'ro us rltdrIlrorrBb ILn pa5loralnarure ofrLe Reja,but rlrerribal ii"' 'rr/ t u'lr(rry 'l Londwis nor detailedinformation ofvuhre and signi(icance' srvererl. lrisir atrcsredro Ly rheplerlge iawt'al nrcsenr"tt 'Medinah' madeLy rlrc the worcl (city actualls v1r'lo,,, ,nAhrur ,rl..J in that (rcllrrrirglllll if'1l.1r, Aziz,in rr,c ,"_i"r"rr ,r,. h4", "ii "on.u.t.a mentioned lheir larrdsfiom rneans'Mamlaka' (Kingdom) The kingdornofBaklein' Asswrrrro Massawa,tjrc zon. or which the city-of rnerr A rsdnrn5sroo(t flv li V--"ui as rhi kingclom,is actually "econd Ibn tlawkal lt is probablc ilnniirr ,r"ntion"a lv the Damascene narrarivcsrerrrr rLdr wrre,r rhe B,ja arra, k into a and the into ,, , ,,::111.f'::.,'*l ,t'"tli,i. *;rtut. *ftl.tr changedthe /t/ /b/ /f/ "1"''.ron rrr..ounrry5i,tc ot'l_glpr in rlrecar ty rt,iJ ccnrury (llrgrrl,]i'il rNe a/q/is drrcto an errorol tianscription Wlli'of aslv,,n,.po,r"a rhe rnarr.r ro rhe prin"c Mamurrrlr,n I rarorrnAl Ra"trirt..r that ILn H4wkal explainedthat drelalld l',,lll:jjll,..1r t,eror rer o,tLl.re.t It is notcworthy Ar i,, rr6 Hitsri known as the dePressionot Al Gaslt' Jdt,,n {83rA.D.r ro ri8hrrt,em nr ni;, wt,ict' is presently I rrewJts \vcnron inrnrrclrrsively and wasa landofagricul- rrnrilrh.y ma,Jee tru;. and tlr. .,',rrirtenotu ,eri", ofconnectedvillages sccon.lrrebty wirtr jrawn oftlre vallcy' that ttrcArabwas up. I lcre isirs text: ir." u,t fi".tt..l U. statedthat in tlre middle * lay betweenDjin river and the depressionof ofAbctultaIbn Ar.Jahm,rhe vassal i','ifl"-.ral *rrf.fr -,,....-,-1.').rlx 1..^Od.ess ofrhe which also consistedofvillages' l)nrrrr-ol FJirtrtirl,ro MJl,norn lLrr Al,lul iil.^r.". *^t tlre citv of'I'aflein ''-,r Aziu,rhelcadcrof hacla Moslern F',' Asswirr.We travc .Juinil'.r"*"t" a"."rtvillagcs He addedtlrat they agreedon whar you ollbred me and rle This mcans '" my aJ,tre.s. tinl una ,ftu, ttt... t"re many Moslemsin the region :::l.,ll:,,1' |1r.rrrhe prarrror your land and ir. and irs inhabilants ,-- re LorddrofA\swrn iiri il . **i"t .lt. itclucledihe basinof Diin 1".,",,",', in rtreIand of ljg}l,r,ro rh( life wassctlled and -fro *o*"? in ugti."fture, which showsthat their lilT'."-., :,.:' .l:n,.k Badr(Ma\sawar llc rt,epropeny of it was.inlabited ilrrr Haroun.At ;;;;.i;;.J to tb"eland. As for the secondpart' i::lT::n-r\'dlll.]' Rasrrced,rrre t-rincc or rt,e desert;therr antmals y"o h;mgrearncss. lrv pastoralcommunities ihat lived in the :^.'.1;'..,,..','"y srvc An,l rt,Jryou and alt rhc raisedtho- ra,'dLr hissraves, '"'"*l"t"at and cattle The f)jin basincommunities I'i:l:lj,.I,o:r hur vou wiu remainas you a,e, !r,la, prov',tedyorr .o,'gl'b.".1s. p,y Lim rritjureev.ry ycar,rhe lrciu ror.nrnnersjin, the region needswidc :1ll:,,' *r,;.r, 1,. a hrrn,tf.d|amets It is necmsarythat we.mention that an4| rrrce","',l\un,lred (lirars anrlthi! isrlp ro rlrc pr ince ofrhe Fairlrfrrj 94 !5 'Walis'. and his You are not to appropriateany ofthe |ributefor youncll Also, if any of you mentionsMuhammad, may God's prayerand peaccbe on him, the lmok ofGod ol his religionin an unbecomingway or kills a Moslem.whether a lreeman or a slave, drenhe has violated the trustofcod, ofhis prophet,may Cod pray on him andgreer him, ofthe Princeofthc Faithtul,may Godgrant hirn greatness,and that of Moslems.I-lis murder isjust as is the murder o{-pcopleat war and their progenies.And if any o[ yorr hclpcd the warriors againstIslam with moneyor showcdhim a m***ffi wcaknessarnong Moslems, then hc would be violatinghis pleclge andhis rnurder would bejust. Ifany ofyour killsa Moslcmdcli- bcrately,accidsntaly or by mistake,bc that Moslema frecmanora slavcor under Moslcm protectionor takesmaney bcloDging to a Moslcmor a marrprolccted by Moslons,whcthcr it,be in thc laucl oflslam,in Nr.rbiaor in anyconntly on landor at sea,then he has topay len indemnitics in themurderol'a Moslem, ten slave indem- nitiesin themurdcr ofa slaveand in thcmurder ofthe man rrnder Moslcmprotection tetr ofthcir indcmDilies.With respcctto money takenfrom a Moslemor a man undcr Moslempr'otectiorr) ho lus to rcpayi( teDtirnes. Ifa Moslementers (he land of tllo lleia asa mcrchant,rcsident, transi€nt or pilgrirn, then hc shall be sccurc as onlj of you until hc leavesyour country. You shall not shelter any Moslemrcnegade, bur have to retrrn lrim to thc Moslcrns. Youslrall repay Moslcm funds ifyoLrr larrd is irrJeLted ro Moslems. If you comc to the countrysidcof Dgypt lor a tradeor in transit) youshall not llorrr ish arms in citiesor villages.Yorr shall nor llcvent anyMoslem from entcringyourland and tradingin iton lanclorat sea.You shall not affright travell€rsor obstruct the road before anyMoslemor any man underModem protectionor roba Moslem or :r protectedman. You shall not destroyany of the rnosques 'Shabha' 'Hagcr' built !y Moslemin and and irr the lengthancl brtadth ol-yourcountry. Ifyou do, then yor haveforfeited trust. MaknounIbn Abdul Aziz shallreside in the countrysideofEgypt -***is*ry 96 97 \7) to the Arkouit rcgior in rhe eastol'Suda . The mountainsol Hagcr arc inhabitcd by llert Awad Ilani Anrcr, at it was there d)at the rit ,,,":1,,: Ixf,:;l, ;:,f;l j,, Bani MLrala tribc sought rclirgc whcn it was discomfited by dre ljll;l.l lir_,. worrlLt irl"rirgcr arJ consL il':ti.n: i:t.: : attacks of th€ sons of llasri, who overcame Ilani Muala irr these nountains and deslroyed thcir p.rwer.'fhc Beja, according to ;:*:rk liom Arabs nr,J tlrr establishednonn, use(l to take halfthc produce those r,i,lil;*i*I,orr .rth,t Sanja,p.otr.rt,ty n*l#';i.T; 'mithkals' berwcerrS.*.k.,,,",,ffi";:;,1 who workcd in metals.OI'this thcy paid four hundled of unprocessedgold .lust. iiilii::!fiT,i:.:T,l',;:;ti'txiTir ;Hj4f llrif ResurnPtion of the War Betwecn the iil,#:;i Beja and ihe Abbasid State ililili; lll.iri: ;:fli"?.;*.{r,*.r,lil In the history ofAl Tabari, it is stated that the Deja left their jlil*,,r.",.,iiilT:;il_.1.: ;,J1.;1,.1#,.;[ i:*:f country for the land ofgold andjewels. There, they killed many Moslemswho uscd to work in gold and gemmining and captured J"Jilti:it;;':ft"iiilJlnrli;l:ii many of their wodcn and children. Thcy anounced that the li* i:,,:. precious metals in theit.orrnlry -.." thein and ihey would rot i#ijiliill.:'..:J:,i rirlrr€ r iry- .Sir llr,Tii:::?ui:*in:l allow Moslemsinto drei. country. This astonishedall thoseMoslems ,T'; of rir M.,n Ra,a,irr ;;{l f *.t. ,AfM,,,u*ukta L..,.r"",1 who worked in the Preciousmetal industry, so tbey lelt for Iear ol' .ii their tives. Thus, the Srrltan was deprived of his filih of the gold l:; :,I;Hffr..:"t,ltil*;Tl and silver produce.The Abbasid Caliph, Al Mutawakkcl, decided lill^e,i Ir,; to fight the llcja, so he appointed one ofhis men, Mohammad Ibn :llili':; i;:'ffi:,,j:':,ili Arr l,rt,:rwa5 #;"1:iJ:,,11;;:li:iiij; Abdullalr Al Krrmmi (liom the Persiancity ofAl Khrrm) over the ac.o,nlnnieJon Lisjorrrrrcy,,, **",, Of" r.",i" nrining region in that land. IIe wrote Anbasa Ibn Ishaq Alinbi, the commander of his 1o..." in Egypt ordering him to give Al t"*:,;:* ;r;ru.r*l",.,mll malchcd to thc land llittrrysroo,t::il'#r,T lrlorc rtre Kumrni all thc solclicrslrc nccclcd. Anl;asa Cdjrt,t,,,1,:rl,rr,.. Ati fr.,t_*,r",,.,f..,ii ofthc lleja and he wasjoined by all thc pcople who workccl in the *",,,,'. ,' ,,,",i',,,. ,,u.'.., precious metals industry and numerous volunteers. Altogethcr :;ililli'iil:li:'il'lj;;'''"'"i he had twenty tbousand men ofcavalry and infantry.'fhen hesent via thc Kalzam Sea(TheRed Sea)seven ships ladenwith florrr,oil, U.:"r" rl,ar trcjaa,thered ,-,--1,.," .rt,e ro rt,eirpagarrirm unril dates, corn and barley and ordered the captains of the ships to neig,rLou r:in r r r meet hirn on tb€ coastit\ ihe land otthc lleja. Al Kummi marched il,; ;il: :i'l,i;li:'t:: H,:"Jlo,;i,::''cir ot till lre passedthe gold mine region. He was met by the king 'Feyas' ol'the Beja, 'Ali Daba' or 'Albab' and his son. at the head ; r;i"il,x:lili* ;:l;:l;rll Ii:fr#l;ffi hthliJ 9B 99 'I'hol)cuxnluurco ol' tlrollnlu'ri lbo "ll you wiurrro aski, I!;ia aborrttris t Arnong thc treja l(ingAli llalralrelouged ro rlreBali rril,". wl,i,l, was callnl in llrf :r:: iii*::#xll; #:t'#*:?;11;l;:::: leja language(Baluib) and in Tiglc (llalu). This tribe dorniratcd *'" tribe'wrrose nr.thcr the BejaIbr a long time. It wasrnentioned synonymoudy with thc ,"""*:1"*i#:T:",'*""l"l1xf,l:: 'ililt",5lt:;T:H* Bcjain scltnioldbooks and nraps. y.l:,,ffi The Balu tribc claim an Abbasidorigin, but Al KalkasLandi ff of ij::i:il#Jii saysin "Subh Al Aa'sha" lhat the Baliatribc werc thcdcsccnchnts Dgyl,rard Hrbasha(Abyssinia), ttx ff 'Ibn of Bali Ibn Al Hafi Ibn Quda Hintyar. QIda' had l)ccn a Xlllil"tl,li' ae|,,r:r,i'r,ii." 7i,i;:l'U' l"J. il,;fll i ll: king ofShahar land in Ycmcn and his pcoplcwclc callerlBaluie. ,,', Ilarrr Lc, re^ se' lhc i,,',il;';,Lilli ;f :'''e Ccorgy Zeidan saysthat llali andJuhcina wcrc western ,".",i,'"' "', ":J';;J:::: part of the Quda branchcs,and that thcy crosscdthc Red Sca ".,-""",'il,ilJl'ilil"ff;ffi ::'1,:,Tlrj'i,ilfr"X- and scttlcdhctween the Dgyptiancountrysklc and Habashawhcrc thcy propagated.When thcir reign was dhplaccdby thc llishari, :\l Kall,ashrnrJis.rid i,r..Subtr ,,. At A,astra,,rharprince Samr"r Amarar, Hudondoa,Abani Arncr tribcs,they establisheda king- /vr;ck was rcruler ol.rIc .,,,,r Bcjai rhereigrr ofAl NasscrI(ala- wunrr LAlpt,and dom in Massawaon the coastofliritrea in 965Iligri (t557 A.D.). thathc was a grcarprirrcc ruling ovct rumerolrs llx l(hakloun saysl "They crossedto the wcstcrncoast o[ thc l{ed an'rrrscd toinvade I{abash., Sea,ancl sprcad between the [gyptian countrysidcan

The llalu tribeJattcmpred ro preservetlreir Arabic languagc The EdrioPial Raids and the amonr.the Beja rnajoriry,but the leaturesof rheir Arabic were IncorPoration of Djin into suppresscdand the only thing lclt ofit wasits anriburion to thcm AI Taka Province 'llaluiba' the in which rncansArabic. wlrich cornpriscsrnost c'fthc 'lihc However the Djin region, Present Bcjah an unwrirtcnlangu4ge, but it is a languagcoforal pcriods ol history expt-rsedto invasionsartd [ritrca, was in most poctry and it is intercstedin culture.Sornetimes a poem reachcs lionr the rulers of Habash:r,rhe conllicting migrations, cspecially scvcntyvemcs- The mostwonderful of all irs poerry is thc poeric the Suclan.'lihe looting and pillaging raids by kingdomJofLgypt or cornpetitionwhich took place bctweentwo poetslrom the Al Djin basin continued lbr the last scvcn the rulen ofEihiopia ofthe Ujeilatand theBeir Muala I{amaseintribes rvhen rhey conrpeted who was thc rulcr otthe 1-igrai pro- centuries.Guzmaich Widlri, lor the loveofa beautilLrlgirl. Thefirstprahcd her teft sidebegin- relations wilh lrancc and Ilritain, was vince ancl nrainrainccl niog with the soleoflrer left loot and eDdingwith the left tressof targc scale raids on the Dii basin region' lamous lor launching her hair- TLe llamaseincanrespondcd by beginningwith her attack on th€ region ofl}ukrrs (Keren) and I{e made a large scale right looLand enclingwirh rhe right rressofher hair. They were regions of Barya and Baza in Al Al Ilabab in ,844, ou.t.ot the like hvo racehorces and nratchedeach othcr in of choosingbeaurilul I(ash basin, and icturncd with numerous spoils and hundreds descriptions. captives wliom hc enslaved. Thc inhabilants of the Djin basin 'I hc Alabic languagercrnained rhe language ofculture among had no alternative but to appcal to the Klledicval goverrr ent, thcsepcople till thc presenrday, and rheyuse it in correspondance which they had formerly resistcdwhcn it occuPicdKassala ir the 'l'he and in recordedmatter. Bejal;rnguage or the Hadaribite Sudan, foi aid. The government nrobilized great forces to fight has slrrrrnkwithin narrow limits and is only usedby part of the Bani Widbi, defeated him and forced hirn back into his molintainous Amer tribc in the lower Barakaregion close to rhc Sudan. kingdom.'I hen it incorporated the l)in basin region into thc'l'aka Ir has beenreplaced by Tigre, which i.salso unwritten, ofsemitic origin province in the Sudan. and similar to Tigrinya, which.isdorninant in rhe llritrean high- Religions in the Djin Basin Region Larguages and Iandsand written in old Habashiteleners of Himyaritic origin. the During the Middlc Ages (from the seventh cenlury till Most of the inhabitantsol'the western,northem, and eastern

I lo regionsofEri treaspeak Tigre. This isduc to thecultural superiority .l}ey had professedCbr;stianity rill abour rhe micidte of Semiticlanguages to Cushitic (IIamitic) languages,inclrrding ofninercenrh thc Bejalanguage. Tllf trrdiriont,l.w.apon of rhe Rcja Barya --,, were scvenlances, so The and Ilaza tribcs have preserveduntil the present cn[e,l hecausrrlre hlade was rlrrrc ar_mlerrgrhslong and rl,e their Alrican dialects,which resemblethe dialectsofsome ol the four armtengtln..l-heir si,,ft sbieldswere madJ .f t"ii:.r. r,ia" l"a, rribcsofsouthern Sudan, the origioal homelandof thesetribes. ."** of Uahlatis|can (reiaredro Dahtakisland), of rhe sr,rnlil,l' ot scJ animals.'flreir The Bejawere pagans.The Romansrccognized their priests lrowswerc Aralr lmws made ofCedar wuocl.WirI rlreseLows and their ternplesin the treaty which the former madewith the rL, y shoLpoi"oned arrows. As lor swor.ls, lh€,useol whichw,ls wir Romanvice-consul in Dgyptin 284.A.D.The Bejatribes kept their lcrlrrrad,cspecially among Bani Amer and /rr daoai), 'ey itrd . paganhmand did not giveit up asthc Dgyptiansand thel{omans, nor ap1f. in tlrc lran.Jsofrhe R.ja ,rnrilafrfr tlre jn who renounccdidolatry in subrnissionto the will o[ Ilrnperor Crulades r r82. Jrrsrinianin 5i6 A.D., who resorted!o repressionand cruelty. Arab Imrnigr-ations The ligyptianswere terrifiedby him into giving up lhcir pagan ro the Land of the Beja I retigions.Wrilc the Beja, toughenctlby their hard pastorallife, Reasons ald Consequences : ncitherheeded his callsnor submittedto his threali, and adhered Arabs have .The tended since ancient times to.immigrate ro rheir paganism.Christianity spread among them only within to the coastsofEastern Africa and to trade with them. We_can linrits,and Islam spreadvery slowlyamong them until it divide this African narrow coast from the point ofview ollocal environ_ envelopedthem. Many paganpraetices surwived among th€ Beja ment xrto larlrrmain zoneswhich are: peoplessuch as.abstentionfrom fighting on Tuesdays,beliel in First, the region situarcd between ano maglc. ,, . Eirhab in the Sudan and the Pnesb Bab Mendeb strait, -el which incluctesall the Eritrean coasr.Second, IslamicduriDg the Mi&tle the CulfofAclen Tls llcjalingdo!!\llEritreayere zone,which was alsoknown as Zeila Gult Third, though lherc wcr€ Christian and Pagan minorities.For the coastofSomaliland, Ager, which was known as the Banader coastor instance,the Baryaand Bazatribes were only convertedto Idam Al Ajam land. Ibrrrrh, rhe coastof Ncgro land or rhe co.rsrof middle ofthe nincteenthcentury at the handsofSayryed Azanr.lwhi(h atrerthe end. in rlresoutl in Souvala,in currnt Mozam- MohammadOthman Merghani the founderof th€ Khitmi rire, bique. who hadcome from Higazvia Egypt.'fhesetribes had beenpagao is known rhar drrseregions, Iarge as rlrcy beforehim. He also spreadIslam among the llelin, Al Maria, - -,lt were,werc open lo rhe passageof caravans and th€ higration lrom AlbeitJuck on the Golan highlands.Merghani also converted the rhe sourh of t-gyptro tLe bordenof l( rnya. Moreover,Arab ships Add Sheikh tribe and Christian tribes in the north such as Al linLedrhem to the remote parr ofAfrica. Al Shater Busayti Miraln (the gift of Miryam), Ad Hibbits (the gilt ofJ€sut and AbdulJatil in his work "'fhe History and Civilization ofEastem and CenhalSudan,, Ad Tiklis (the plant ofJesus). Islam was alsoembraced by the exceptsI-Iabasha .,All from this opening up and says: theseregions g;eatmajority ofthe Mansa tribesin the early twcnteethcentrry. (he means Norrh East Alrica) were open to rhe passageof tl{fic

I13 (|) exceptHabasha whose 'negi' controlleda regionstretching from befiningofdre inhabitants ofthe Arabiarrpeninsula southof lake Tana to the borde$ of Eritrea. This kingdom the rhat rheyent€r the meleeof immigrationand commerce,since bordenolwhich werenot clearordefinedthen included thecoastal it had bcensecond xatrrreto thcmro arlvenrrrre since rlre riure wlrcn region (Eritrea). Its counterpartin th€ areaslinking it with the tlrecivilizarion of sdha,M.reen drxl.Hirnyar was pro"perorrs, a lact middle basin of the Nile Valley (northem and qastemSudan) provenby Listory. Arabmigrdrions ha.t fo owcdone uljon rhe was a number of local leadenhipsand chieftlornsof inhabitants orl,ersince ;,liqui;y rnwar(hrt,e nejShl,?uringAfiican coasrs. who dilleretl from area !o another.'fhey were alsodifferent in Mix.cJpcoptcs wcre lorm(das a resriltofthese rrrigrarions, aswc The peculiarposition of each will derailIetrcr. their socialand economicsyst€ms. 'l he rcgion group was influencedto a certain extent by the pieceof land it - we arc disr.ussingnow strerchesliom the soulh ol Assw:rn inhabited". to theMersa Bade, inclrrling rlre porrs ofEirhab, Sawa_ kcnJMelsx Ifwe go back to developmentsin the economiclilc irr the Arrrsand orhersrrcL ttetl Scainlers rhrorrglr wlir_h tlre Af,rb Inigrarions Mediterraneanbasin and its westerncoasts. wc find that these cnlerr,l. 'Ihis wc poinred devcloprnentsstarted in a very early age. is borne out by . .As our elsewlcre,grorrps of Arabscame to tlrc th€fact that Babyloniansourc€s that dateback to alrnostnToo Il.C. ,1,:,,n, in rhcsixrlr cenrury A.D., i.e.before rtre emergence ot lstdm.":.]: point to the tradeof incense,spices and other raw matcrialswith I llescgroups inclrrded clans from Oani Himyar knowrr asthe the land of'Punt' which included, among others)thq stretch llali or llah tribe. It is believedfiat rheseBeja tribes, amid which the betweenDithab and the Banaderland (the Alrican horn). These llahr tribessettlcd were in a stateofchaoi becausethcy had met.wirlr sourcesmentioned that it wai a thriving tradewhich broughtthese a cnrshingrlcfear infliqteri upon rhemby Silco,rh; l\IDtan gooclsto the land ofthe Arabian Oulfand thesouthern Peninsula. krngwho llad drivcntlrem our of rheNile Valleybasin - sorrrh Moreover,the DgyptianQreen Hatshepsut(r5og r4B2D.C.) ol rhefirsr cataract.'l'hosc lleja entcredthe de.sertanci retur_ |ledto built a commerciallleet and sailedwith it to the land of'Punt' to bel,edoriin, pasroralway oftife. TLeir rrrilirary prowess harl Ireencrushed bring incense,spices and othcr goods.What intrigue$onc in the and they turncd to tribal warfare.The Balu came in rhis inscriptionsleft by Flatshepsutis that they indicatethat the land l,eriodofinrcrrral turmoil, so rhe lleja dicl nor do rlremany barm. of'Punt'had not beenknown before.Hhtorians are inclined to liather, the newcorncniwere abl€ to stayand cocxistpcace'_ believethat tradehad been conducted belore that timeby meansof fully with the Beja.lly this means,rheir oflspringattained'sove- relgnty as ll)e middle rnenwho were probably thoseBeja who usedro crossrire accessionto power was nratrilineal.With time, a crossbred deserton their camels.Silver says that Qreen Hatshepsuttook this aristocraticclas was formedwhose l.athen were Arabs trad€away fmm thosemiddle men and put it in the handsof the and whosemothers were lleja. statewhich could afford to sendships to theAfricanhorn. Of the Arabsgroups rhat canieto the land ofthe Beja,Rabi,a was the most desirousof procuiing precious fliram, the king ofTyre, senthis shipsto the land of'Punt' metals.Tlrey were accompanredtry groups of Kahtani and to bringhim goldand spices as Solomon theWisedid.If theremote Guhaini tribes. The leadcrofRaLi'a iu tLerenrlr cenrury A.D., AInr maritimenations sought this land in searcbo[fortunes, it wasonly Mar.wan lJasl,irI bn lshaq,achieved considcra[,le fame.

tr4 Arl(l thc A group ol llani Younis lrad ortcrcd t|rc llithab rcgion tlcrn pr(1c tly klowD as thc Sudan, Ilritrea, and llabasha. the region ofDjin in western Dritrca, wLerc they had serrlcdbefore the anival ofthe Rabia groups, Ir secmslbar the Bani Younis the . ,After srrugglcbetween the Omal,yadsand Alawidesfor group had come from the Arabian I'cnilsual theCaliphate to rhc lleja coasr andlor powcr,theArab tribesapp"r.a to l,.Ornuy- acrcssthe Red Sca.After a short time, thcy wercengagedin fighting yads realizedrhat they had no 'I chancefor a'tree, aigninea tiie on account of exploidng tbe land of rlrc merals. hc llani Rabia rrndcrthcOmaryads. Thc Alawidsalso realirea tlat uiry furtt er group were lorccd to retrace tbeir route arlernpt to Hijaz.'Ihis was an alier rheIla le ofKarLala.ar wtricLrhe Imam Ilussein evcnt which was repeated throrghour r,br.Alr hisrory. The l{ashaida wasrnarryrcd, would only brirrgrnore rurn up on thcm. were.the last to migrate from ihe Jo coast of Hijaz 10eastcrn Sudan ureystarrcd spjedding in rheland and resoning to c;n.ealmenr and eastern Dritrea. and escape. Some of them went wherc the Omayyad Caliphs them,so they-headed,i"cti,ict,^try ;;d i" s.";;; The conspicuous ror:11,,11, thc eastern:.:"r' phenomenon about Arab immigration is coastsofAlrica followed by rhcsoldienofthe Omay_ that it was oricntcd towards worLing yad statewhose the milcs in the land of the soleconcem was to watch them closely,the whiJh Beja from south ofAsswan to the northern Ddtrean plateau.li€w of ell)crivety,rhey occupi.d f ,.-?,.1, rtre Dat,tahar.t;ip.t"go, them gave cultural and religiousaflairsany artention. They used ruc||rgAdutrs on the Dritreirncoasr. to enler itrto conllicB and wars with the narives becauseof their Ibn Muawiya .Ydzc.d IraLlhardty beenrelicved ofrle Shi.ire tcndency lor lorccful cxploitation oflabour. However, a number of frvotunor wtrrn 'llre Hijaz revolreJ. violcnce wirlr wLich he scholarsscttlcd and establishededucational centreswlrich played conlronted the new revolution was in no way lessthari thc violcnce an important role in sprcading Islamic rcligion and the Arabic with which he conlion(cd rhe first ore. He scnt them Aqaba Ibn languageamong the Ileja. Nalb', who did to Medina what no Mo$em woutd rlo; he kiJlcd rrost ol-the remaining ,Mu|ajireen' 'fhe (immrgranrj) and AI Ansar reasonsfor Arab migration werc not only commercial supporren).'lhe lure holincssofAl Medina was violatedjit.!vas or in q uest of wealth there were other reasonsfor migration which ; A|.I abari,a rhousandvirsins were ,apeLl werc due to political factors.1he entry of tlre Arabs into the Beja llil"9"l*1,rnrt. ":"dl:g:o I I'e,.rmiryotHiiazalld Iraq wasarvarlin Llood. provincc was accentua(ed in fic ninth century A.D., especially alicr the Caliplr Al Mutasscm (833 842 A.D.) emplovednurnerous Flijaz did not ler opprcssionbc; it revotedfor a scconcltime mercenar;esin his army, dispensedwith tlre servicesof the Arabs and pledgedallegiance to Abdullah Ibn Al Zulxre. His revolt 'diwan' in his (abinet) and ordcl the withokling of payment of in Higaz,lastectlor nine years,during which he foughrthe Omay- yads bounty to them. Things got worsc Ibr the Arabs ofEgypt after thc and bear them, unlil he was besieged,a,ra tate, li|"a in deposalofAubasa Ibn Ishaq, the last Arab viceroy ofligypt, in thc Mmcalry Al Hajirtslbn YousetAtThagafi. tt is no wondcrrtren rr'ar reighofthe Caliph Al Mutawakkel (847 86r).'fhe Aralx were Il,c ne.plF of Hiiazttcd for titt roremore courrrr ics. Higaz onty got lorced to leave northern and central Egypr for rhe countryside, ntglect frorn the Onrayyads,who only sent it ty.ant" _t,o hurniliatecl and some ofthem hea-dedfor the basin ofthe Nliddle Nilc Valley tLe peopleand rrcaredthem brurally.

t 16 tt7 .-F- 'l'lre ln the year r32 (Lligri), it was the turn of the Omayyads claim the anccstryof Omar ibn Al Kharrab. Maria tribc, to get a tasteof their own medicine.Marwan II flectto E8ypt, togetherwith the Sna'dKili in the Eritreanhighlands, the Tarua, which he enteredin dhguise.H€ found that thc peopleof the Ilazu and Manza' tribesclaim Omalyad ancestry.Their local n$tern basin had alreadyjoined the Abbasids.So he reverted traditionsrelate that tlreir immigrant ancestormarricd several to Geezaaccompanicd byan entouragcofhis princesand firlatives. girlsIiom a Dumberoftrib6. and their afor€mentioncdclans were tlc wasnret by SalehIbn Ali, the Abbasidviceroy in Egypt who bom ofthesegirls. The namcis derivedfrom his tlvo sons,Mario lought him and defeatedhim. He and thosewith him flcd to thc and Maicho,who werebom ofa Christianmother on thc plateau countrysideand kept on llceing southwarduntil they reached ofllritrea. Nubia in theSudan, whcrc somcofthem settled.Others proceeded Whatevermay be said of the aurhenricityof rheseclaims, to Bade, (Massawa)the Dahlak islands,Flawakel and Ilahdur theycon6m tlrc wide Arab migrations,the reasonsfor which we wherethe ruinsoftheir palacesand cemeteriesstillstand. have indicated,and thc historicalintermarraiges which occured The strugglewcnt on between the Abbasidsand the Alawids tlrroughsucr essive Benerations. Spencer Trimingham saysin, lhroughoutthe Abbasid agc. Wheneveran Abbasidacceded to ''lslam irr Irhiopia" rJaLt|.U!r,gjes!delqqian ara_b-nqrchanr| 6/1 | | power, an Alawid would rival him and claim it for himself;he o1-;qligrgss.qdrolaalrorc a rrLbc?.nd_!ti.sprg3C _"L!lee3ne's I "i' would fight anf be killed. These successiverevolutions which lh.m througLhirn !'as enough ro lnakr.lhe tnFe witlr Oe g;sagel A occupiedIslamic history until the fourth certury (Higri) werean o&,sr--4drl!l!e.4!tQe-s.Ey,el!bi$&4brjg!9lllEir,lsUef .-tIat.dt's"ll inexhaustiblcsource of defeatedgroups and individuals who rh.eir-ppsiriop. llris plenomerronis comrnonin many "!!Elcrd, migratedto remotccountries. North liast Africa, i.e. the Sudan, Moslenrcountries. This is especiallythe cascin EastAfrica, where Dritrea,Habasha and Somaliland,was, in view of geographical historicinlcrmarraiges berwecn Arab immigrantsand their Hami- positionclose to theArabianPeninsula, a refugefor these. tic cousinsare thc dominantiactor in the Reoon.

Thc Eritrean Trit es' Clairn ofArab Anc€Etry The Arab element meltecl into the Beja inhabitantsand othcrs,but it lcft bchind a phenomenonwhich still survives.In spiteofthe fact that the Dritrcantribes have kept rheir old Semiric, and Hamitic-Cushiticdialects, f igrc,'ligrinya, Hadaribi,Sihawi, Danakili,etc... etc... thcy have maintained their claim ofbelonging lo thoseArab immigranrorigins. The l3aniAmer and Balu tribes claim Abbasidancestry. The Al Habab rribesclaim ancestryin the dilferencesclans of Qureish.Also, the Saho in the eastthe 'Ille Assawirtaclaim the ancestryof Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. Menlii

I IU I r9 CJrapter VIII The Relation ofAl Fung House with Eritrea The Original Honr€lald of Al Furg flouse The subjectof the originsofAl Fung Housewhich assumed power iD the Illue Nile llasin in the sixteenthcentury is srill open to controvenyand argument.Some say that the Sultanichouse goesback in origin to Al Shalk rribe or that they camelrom rhe west,Iiom westernSudan. llut the Dgyptianhistorian, AI Shater Busayli AbdulJalil faroursthe probabilitytbat theAl Fungcame fronr.Eritrea,and saysthat the ruling ho(]seexercised itl authority for a while on the southwestenr part ofEritrea, which was before it moved to the lllue Nile basinand made the towr ofsenar its capital. It is believedthat the transferofthe Sultanareto lhe Bluc Nile basinis due to the pressurcofwar and turbulenc€which were dominantin I'Iabasbaat the timeand which beganto spreadto the 'I'hus, northern region. thcsecircumstanccs were threateningtbe region occupiedby the Sultanatein south westemEritrea. We shouldnot lail to m€ntionalso theGala raidson the regionbetwcen Chojam and the provinceofHarar and the presenceofthe Olto- manson thecoastwhich they occupied Nlassawa. Thcy maintained rclalionswith thc f igrc rulcr and provitlcd him with aid in his revoltagainst the King ofllabasbauntil r 5BoA.D. It seemsthat tlrc sultarate establishedby Al l-ung house arosein Erilrca at a timc which was probably in th€ lourreenrh centuryA.D. or a little before.They madean agreementwith dre lcader of the Al Abidlab who controlledthe commercialroutes betweenthe Nile valley and rhe adjacentprovinces. FIe made the townofQura betweenAlKhartum andSbindi, his capital. It seems tha! accordingto thisagrcement tbe Sullanextended his influcncc marry anotherman right away.Dispcnsing witlr drewait is due to over thc rcgion lrom the Blue Nile basin,which bcginssouth of thc lirct lhat tlrc Larnupcople, who wercsealaring peoplc, couldn,t Suba,and it includes'AlBitana'land, t|e landaround it, andtlte allbrt to wait becauseoftheir travel.Thus, customs, traditions ancl southernbasin ofth€ Bluc Nilc. It is assumcdthat thiswas accom- socialsystems indicate the presenceof relarionsand links among plhhed with the westwardmigration o[ the king ofAlwa after Al the hvo societielon the Ncgro coastand Lamu and th€ societyin Fung overfirew his kingdom and devastatcdhis capital, Suba, wliich Al Fung Sultanatearosc in Eritrca and rhe Sudan.Some thc dcstructionofwhich bccameproverbral. sourcelpoint out that the relation betweenAl lrrng Sultanic 'fhe houscand the Ornayyadswas through inremrarraigebctween capitalol this houscin Dritrca was knownas Lamul or, Al Fung aml rheOmayyads who conrrollcdrhc Lamu regionand Somesourccs reler to it as Loul. Ifwc take locally, as Lamlam. lhc casterncoast ofAfrica. into considerationdtc contenb of thc inscriptioDson (he Sultan's gong,which wasin his acquisitionwhcn he exercisedhis authority in Lamrrl, we find an iDdicationthat his great Srandfatherhad . r l'he Transfer ofAl Fune House ro comeliom 'Lo li to Lamul which lies in Drilrca about thc lbur- Dankali and Barakah in Eritrea A.D. J'lleseinscriPtions allcctccl a widcningof the teenllrccntury Wc have discusscdrhe llI'srstage ol Al lung history,which b[ lhe wlrich conrllristxthc Nile stu(ly and rescarch Province lasLulhom thcir cominglrorn the ArabianPcninsula ancl their stoPPedat thc Lamu rcgion,which liesor Valley basin.Researclr scltlingtlrc Lartrurcgion in l,lastAfr.ica in the eighthtentury A.D. soullt of the Kenyan Somaliland bordcrs the Indian Occan till tltc tentlrccntrrry A.l). As for the sccondstage lvhich starts Sir Iiery Welcorle in one,srrpported by the Ilistorians,ofwhom al)out05r A.l). andcncls about I e5oA,D. ir iswrappcd in mystcry. 'Ncgroes'manuscript as explicatedby Clriroli in contentsof the I( is thcslagc in which therrrigration ofAl lrunghouse liom ,Lamu, ihe contentsof the inscriPtion'son thc SultanAmara's rg57,that lo llritrca was accomplislted.Researchen havc not beenable to gongabout his grandfather,who camefiom Lorrl, appliesto this defincllrc lilrm assumedl)y rlrisrnigratiol, which waspreccded by the arrival ofthe Al lrrng houscin thb regionol- sitc,and indicater scasonal.journcystowards the north for oDcpurposc or anothcr. Alrican coast,having comefrom their first homcland 'l'|lis 'Negroes, ilre eastern isconfin)reclbythe manuscrip t published by Chiroli, in Oman, in thc south easternArabian in the Shamayelvalley who saysthat the Arabs who inhabitcd rhe lal1dof the negroes, 'fhis indicatesthat AI lung houseused to Pcninsula. manuscriPt coastused to comeduring war lrom Sawakento Dahlakislarrd by fight wars betweenllcrbera and Sawaken(The Eritrean coast). scaand by land. War, in thiscontext, according to somchistorians, was Piracy If wc tie rhesejourneys underrakcnby rhe Arabs, among operationsin this region.Some sources also indicate that a womao whom werenaturally groupsofAl l\rng, to the cubicalgraves of divorcedby her husbandcan get marriedforthwith without going Al lrrng kingsin Danakil rrearedby Mary Edith 'Ihis Potoy,ancl copiecl throughthe wait imposedby lslamiclaw. wasa controversial Iiom wlronrby Camarairin hisbobk about the RedSca and llaba- subiectir Eritreaand the Sudanin the Middlc Ages It wasdisco- sha, we 6nd that Al Iung had come to rhe northern Danakil veredlthat customand tradition pennitreda divorcedwoman to region.Wc can assumethat they had landedat one of tle ports

122 north ofAssab. liurthernrorc, it is probable thar they had landc.l at onc ol two ports, Ad or Ma'<]ar.'Ihis assrin)p(io is bascdon The Relation tterween Al frng and the prcsenctolnumclous cubical gr;rvcsirr thc clcprcssionofl]araka The Sultanage of A'nsaba irt llritlea which reremblc those found in the Dankalia region. It The relarionofAl lirng housewirh the hoLrseofDjin or rhc seemsthat Al Fung rroverl lrom {hcir homelan.l in Larnua on AlrasiLa'ssulrrna(e, (in relarionto WadiA,nsaba,wtrich tunns a cornorelcial journeys or to cscape local troubles caused by thc Itlnrlary ol lJaraka dver and passesrhr.ough the region ofKcren), ircu rsionsofA l'rica n tribcs lrom time to iilne. An altcrnative reason which is corrupredby Arab historiansinto Ansab,was augnented lor t[is migration was tltc fall of the Onrayyad horrseand rhc wirh whar localsources mcnrion ofrhe invetibaliryofthe marriage accessionoflhe Abbasicls,because Al Iiung wcr.ehins ofrhe Omay, ol thc Sultanol Al Irunginro r[is bousc. yads. lr is believed that the relarions bctwecn Al Irrrng houseand It is clear lior this (ic berwcen the Sultan;chouse of Djin which existeclin the south and west rhe rwo housesthat rl|c Djin rxnrsewas In power and exer.cisirrgirs oi LIitIea and strctched to Dorth of Kassala in rhe I{cpLrblic ol authority when the house of Al lrtr:g arrivedin Dritrea. the Sudan started afrer the arrival ofAl Irung on llre coastol-Nor- 'l ,,llisrorica thcrn Dankalia,in tlresouth ofliritrca. Condirionsin llritrca and hcrc isa statcmenriD Aethiopica,,by H. Ludelt northern Habasha lvere in a srareof tun|]oil bccauseof rLc rr.il;al litrklbrt rtj8r, rhar rhe houseot Al ftrng owcctallegiancc to rlre advancefiom varionsdirections. Because oIthe scarcityol-historicaI ruegus.Wlrat wc know is rhat the negus occasionally clairned thc sources,rcscarchers can not pin down Ille movesofAl Fung house subor

r26 127 inlluence dom, consolidated on thcwest coastofAlrica started to advance towardsthe his kingdom in the Sudan, he turned to exten_ ding.theinfluent of rtrekingdom on rhetcaderships ofchicfdoms wDl.trexrsted In Noflhern It was nccessaryin vicw of the nature of these successive Suddnup ro tLe third cataracrand also to easternSudan. Then devclopmens within a short period of rime, that the ruling house the leader ofAl Fung, who was from rhe Abidlab, procceded seeka refugein which to punue is activity which basicaliydepen- towards western and northem Eritr€a until ded on commerce acrossthe basin ofrhe Middle Nile. This trade rhcBia provi.e(and is Linsdoms,rr,e r,riin kros_ duml.:fl:r:l:oand .Blrrc wasconducted at certain centersand transportedby meansofriver o re$.ro rlre Sutranare..Al Frng .onquo,. , onJ_ navigation or caravans to the farthest north east and various nuedtowards the south until it reachedMassawal destinations. Ihy:".,:]n::,1,.. 'l'herc .,.. ofAtFungdid nor inrIrterc in rheinrernal are no texts or local hisroric origins which indicate allarrsor U'eJherkhdoms rrhicL weresuLordinare ro him, Lut Le clearly the date in which the ruling housewas transferredlrom its setrhdlor hi \)ml,otic lcadentripwtrich did nor impcl rhe a ied capital, Lamoul, on the baDksof river Setit near thc cuuent city icJuenhrljsto sendtheir 'Senar'on soldirn or put tlrr;r rcsoltrcesundcr lhc ofUm Hagar to rhe banks ofdre lllue Nile in the Sudan, orsl'osatot lhc sultan in caseofwar. Thc Sultanse(lcd for a slrare except lor local narratives which have reached us by morc than ofthc duties which were levied on ,Katib transit trade. The Sheikhdoms o e means, including the one known as the Al Shuna' ol,llarriAmer and Al Habab preservedarrronomy beides nominal manuscript, which indicates the founding of rhe sultanate aftcr srbmrssjonto Al FrrngSultanare. The SLfikh of rhc Bani Amer an alliance was forrned betwecn the Abidlab tribe and the house tribes,SheikhJama, Ibn Ujcil Ibn AliMuhammad Darar, and the ofAl Fungwhich put an end to rhe kirgdom olAlwa anddestroyed chiel ofthe shiekhsofthe Bani Amer tribcs, Sheikh Hamad ldrjss irscapital,Suba. Al Flasiri, visited Senar to proffer obedience and to undertake collection of The wcll-known Jcwish travcll€r, Rubin, who visitcd AlFung the charity taxes from the tribes which werc under nr 1522, says that he spent a period of td\cs r*'" arrnualty time as a guest ofsultan l!.* Jl'*. detivcredro rhe deti.Barcof rhe lrng ol scnar. Amara in his capital, Lamoul, situated on the Nile, (what is mcant l-ht del.gdrcat5o bore tronorarygifrs ofrobes and swords lrom here is the river Sitit) and describeshim as a biack king ruting the king to the Sheikhs, rhc headmen and the chieG. over blacks and whires. We gather from Rubin,sjourney thar rhe 'Ilitana' SuirarrofSenar usedro iraugurare sultanate covered the land and rhe Bllle Nilc, as llubin . .The rhe rrrbalc|iets arrd llrc leadcrsofrlre pmvinres inro aurhority reached Senar, before is king's capital was moved there. Rubin by plaringon thc rhicfs nrJo a cdp wrUrtlvo hornsmade uf lealher reached Lamoul with a caravan of rhree thousand camels laden and sruffedwirh cotron rrlhd (Um Al K.rrina) and a piecc .Al with goods,which moved from Massawain the south, which shows 'fhesc of brasscalted N"kk,;;; (l hr gong). rcmaincd emblem the flourishing of trade in that period. an ofrhe aurhoriryot.DakJal., the Sultan of Bani Amer in Dritrca until the time of the British The Expalsion ofAl Fung I(ingdom into occupatron when the Brirish authoities abolishcd the Sultan of Western Eritrea to Massawa ! Daklal and rlre ' tril,csw.re rcgroupedon rl,e bast of rlreirolvn Once direerly Sultan Amarah Dankas, thc founclerofAl Fung King- Buardrarships eonnerrcd ro rhe aurl,oriryol- rhe stare.

I2B Lrg (g) AI Nakkarais a bras drrrm which is bcarenon the declarationof suwivedas a symbolo[ that relalion bctwcenDritrca and Senar. olllcial q5 war or other occasions.'l'heold ruliog Iamiliessuch d16 In theSheikdoms thc Ieademofw\ich entcredinro an alliance family in Daklal Baraka,the Cantibay tamily in Al Habab aud witlr Senar,whether in llritrea or Eastcrnand Northern Sudan, Al Naeb lamily and in Massawastill preservethis historicalgong. administrativebodies were confinedwitlrin thc scopcof guaran- 'fhe Sultan ofAl Fung mainlaincd closerelations with th€ tecingcommercial interest only. EveD,thingelse was lelt on its TurkishPasha in tlrepor|softheRed Sea (Sawakenand Massawa), own to adoptitself tcl extcrnal condirioDs. This is why we find that whowas considered the commercial representative ofthe Sult{nate. thc audroritiesof Scnar.,the leader of rhe mercanrilerepublic, I-Iealso maintained foreign rclations with Yemen,from which thc clid not attempt to organizea govemmentapparatus to coverall sultanateimported swords and armour, and with India aud other aspectsolactivity. The Senardynasry sulliced itselfwith the appli- countriesin the Far East. calionofthe rcgulationsol the mercantilerepublic, which wcreso rigid asto stillc inclividualactivity. It is uoreworthyrhat rhc Senar dynafty did not accountfor local cotuiderarions The Sy3tcrn ofGoverrunent in Al Fung Sultanatc in applying its comurercialregulatioDs, nor did it takeinto considerationcxternal It h clearlrom lhc history that absolute ofAl lung Sultanate ((nnpetitionwhich acquireda clcarcrlorrn wiilr thc pottugcseancl decentralizationwas lhe charactcristic governmentin va116q5 of thc lluropean mcrchanb lrclore thcm, but kcpt a monotoly of lands,wlrich was practicedaccordir)g to locirl customsand tradi- 'Ihc |cgulations.Mor€over, it did not take into accountthc develop- tions. union of the provincial lccl by the Sul(an groups of lr)cntol local ccolomic potentialitics,agr.icultural and otherwisc, characterized Scnar was by the traditiorrsof "1he Mr:rcgnlilg Lrutlclt the cr:urrtry to irsold way oflife. Republic" of ll)c Inode that was conventionalin the Arubian 'l'he Iteninnrlawith the adjustmentsdrat were madeon it which wero autlrority neglectcdthe cstablisllorentof a centralizcd derivedfrom the sourcesof the migrations,belbre the lran\lcr of borlykr cooldinatcthe effort$oftlre differentgroups in the sheikh- thesultanic house to drc BIueNilc basiu. donrslowards a commonolrjective. Anything that did not havea The traditions peculiar to the mercanlile republic linked bcaringon econonricintcresb was left in the domain of the old thc economicallyoricnted groups grcat attention tmditionswhich governcdthc distribution of land, making the which devoted 'lltc to investingfunds in certain regions.It was natural that dreir lcadcr owner of the land. rclatiotr bctwecnthe bcncficiary 'l'he inlluencoextend to the regionswhich compriseddrc traderiour€s and the leaderwas not Lasedon allegiance. leaderor the betlveenthe stock piles of goodsand the marketingcenttes to sultanrclicd on his army which wasmade up ofslavcsand merce- securetransport, and later to caravansor ships.Thus, relations neries.The Sheikhhad the dght to declarewar on neighbouring 'Ihis wcrc developedalong thc lengthofthe cornmercialroute bettween lcadcrshipswithout consultingthe sultan. rnadethe people Scnarand Massawa.Cities such as Agordat, Ilarentu and rculuj of the regionlive in constantyars, cspeciallybetween Bani Amer had originally beencaravan posrs. Senar was known throuighout and the Hodondua over pastureand water. Thus, the tool of mostofEritr€aon accountofwhatthe commercial acrivig inwolved governmentwas subjectto two conflicting systernsvis a vis thc ofimports and exports.Many namessuch as the'Senarcapr have society;the first was the systemol mercanrilerepublic aiming at

r3() ,3r 'l.he exploiting commerce and camvaq routcs, and the second the sevcnteenthc€ntury. proof ol this is rhar Qreen latimah, eastcm fcudal systemwhich allocated the land to tbe inlrabitants lvho was known as the Negus ofthe Romans, fought the Habasha to work it while the leader had a portion ofthe produce. So it was army whcn it invaded her kingdom nr 1619 A.D. and shc was not easyto reconcile these two systemsin an aFective rule, unleis queen of thc Djin kingdom. Habashite sourcessay thar she was the mercantile republic and eastern feudalism werc reorgani?ed captur€d and lots olspoilswere taken from her kingdom_However, in such a way as to guarantee the natural developmentofa natio- rhis HabashiE attack came ar the same (imc as the artack on rhe nalism in which the various tribal groups met. Bul as the leader- KingdomofSenar. ofa government propitions io the shipsneglected the organizarion Local narratives point out a story to the ellect that a knight a new general way life, supported by free unhindererl creation of of the houseofAl Fung was killed at the hands ofone of rhe Balu the power of these leadershipsand lheir weakness, competition, srrltals in the land olDjin in rhe Baraka basin, but he lelt a son decline and fall wcrc subject to extemal economic factors, their whosc rnother was a Balu. Children used to call him in redicule weak. This of the insolar as these factors were strong or was one "Witt Ras Madd". A reference !o the lact rhar the Balu, afrer it 'Nladda'i.e. reasonsof the decline and disarray of the sultanale, because killing his fadrer, madc his skull inro a bowl lor food. leastofits dcprived societyfrom exercisingthe rights. Once he camc of age, his mother rold him the wbole'story of his In the nlst two centurics, the sultan:rtewas ruled by descen- litlrcr's death. So he invoked thc aid ofhis people, Al Fung, who dants of Sultan Arnara, the founder of the Senar dynasty in its sentan annywith him that destroyedth€ Balu Sulranatc, abolished Bluc Nile basin capital. After the end of KingAwansa's reign about their rcign and scattercd their people. This youdr was appointed 'Ain r?r9 A.D., the house of Shams', which ruled dre region of ruler ol'lhe depressionol Baraka regionsby Al Fung. FIis progeny, Ansaba in Eritrea in the fourreenth and filreenth centuries,and known as Al Nabitat and its leader Al Daklal has nrled rhe Bani which was related by kinsbip and marriage to the houseofAl lung, Amer tribesand theirndghbou$ lor rhe last llrree cenru es. 'l'h€n acceded to power. the Hameg, who were a negro element l{€gardlessofwhether tlrjs narrarive is truc or not, it indicates from the Al Ruseires region and who had assumedthe ministry, that lhe Balu and the Djin kingdom did not lose their intluence wrested power lrom them and k€pt it Dntil, in a condition ol' until after an armed strugglcwithAl Fung Sultanate. weaknessand det€rioration, they were destroycd by Muhammad Ali Pashawhen he corrqueredthe Sudan in rBzo A-D,- Alother relcrenceto the waI: berwccn Ai Fung and the Djin is what is said by local narrativcs to the effect rhar the name Al Gaddcin - an agricultural group scttled in Al Ghash ba"sinwhich The War Betwe€n AI Fung House originally bclongs to Nubia in wesrem Sudan and have wide House aad the Djin htermarrying with the Baja, and the Arabs is derived lrom It s€emsthat Al Fung were only able to subjugate rhe Djin Gadd mcaning shreading. I( is said that one of rheir lcaders said kingdom after long wan. Historians are inclined to believe that to another, alter a ferociols battle with Al F-ungknighb, "These the submissionof Bani Amcr and Al Habab to the sultanate did people have inllicted on us Cadda", meaning rending and shrea- not take place until a belated time; possible,in the end of the ding. The othcr replied by sayiDg, "Rather, Gaddein", stresing

132 r33 the greatncss oftheir losses.T|us, thcy werc callcdGaddein. We are not rnterestedin the authenticity of the narrativeas much aswe arc iniercstedin proviogrhe rruth of rlreLarrles whicl were loughrin the regionbcfore irs inhaLiranssurrendered tu rhe new invaden. The lorrified casrleswhich srandin the regior of Chapter D( the Gaddein mountains indicate the correclnessof this conclu_ The Entry oflslam into Eritr€a. sion.The Gaddeininhabitants were known lor chivalryand rhev The Rise of rhe Istarnic prhcipali;es rearedArabian tloroughbrcds.The rcgionwas Lnown [or r-enrer" of the Coast a-nd tle Amhara llabashite ot rettgrous teachingwhere rhe holy euran wasmemor ized. Kiagdom The Entry of Islan into Eritrea : In Chaprer . Vll, we rouchedupon the enrryof Islaminlo tlrciiBiuns ofnortlr and w,sr Erirrea via rlreArab merch.rnrs.rr,d scholarswho sertledamong the Begakingdoms and around the gold minesin Hagar and elsewheresince the ninth centurvA.D_. In tlrischaprer, we uill rrearrhe early rclarionr of lrtamrvirh rhi. eoasrsince rhe sevcnrh cenrury A.D. As a resultof repeatcd . pirate raids on Jeddah in 63o A.D. and 64o A.D. Irom Adutis, rhe administrarionsof which had reacheda satgeof disarrayas a result of the Roman _ penian yemen struggle,which involved and Aksum in long wars, the Omal"yadArabs were lorced to seizethe Daklah islandsand the coastof Adulis and Massawain 84 (Higri) (7oz A.D.). There, the Omayyadsbuilt lortressesand casllesand securedthe trade routes.The land prosperecland the Arabs werc encouragedinto seltlingthe region and buildingir. By virtue ofirs posirionon rhecoasr lacins rh€sourhern Ara_ bianPenirsula, this legion became a viralcompass for rhegroups which left theArabian Peninsulafor the purposeofcom*erie and in questofa livelihoodor to flee the atmosphereof terror which dominatedthc Arabian Peninsula and rhe Islamic world on accounr of the apostasywars, then thc Oma)ryadAbbasid wars and later the Abbasid-Alawidwam as wc indicatedelsewhere in this book.

r34 r35 'fhe three centurir: which succeedcdthe seventhcentury ruling farnilies which had migrated liom the Hamasein platcau A.D. were a period of interrnarriag€betwcen the Arab migrants to the northern highlands and imposed its power on thc numcrous and rheBcja tribeswhich ovcrran the regionand the old Cushitic Tigre tribes. In Al Gash valley, the Baria tribe, which had been tribes.Through intermarnageand commerce,Islam sPread to the pagan, embraced Islam. The same applies to some ofthe Al Baza extent that the Iialian historian, Count Russini,Points out the tnbe. establishmentofllourishing Islamic Arab statcsor Dahlakand the The conversionofthese tribes is due to the effortsofAl Sa11,cd Iiritrcancoast in tLc cightthccntury A.D.. fhe authorofthc "Adas Nlohanrnad Othmar Merghani, dre lounder of the Khitmi rite, of lslamicHistory"also points ou t'Ilris fact (seemap). who had been scnt by his Shcikh, Ahmad Ibn Idriss, liom Mecca in rBrT accompained by A1 Salyed Mohammad Ali Assanusi, It is believedthat the Danakil tribes in SouthernEritrea 'flrey in and the'Samhar' in the suburbsof Massawaw€re the oldestcon- the founder ol the Sanusi ite. split after their arrival to Eritrea, verlsto Islamamong dre inhabitantsofEritrea. Islam alsosPread llgypt; thc first headedsouthward to the Sudan and then Khitmi rite, amongthe Sanotriber which inhabitedthe rcgionstretching from and ieturned to Mecca after spreading Islam and the Thesecond theGrrlfof Zula to the highlandsofAkkele Guaziin the fourtce'nth leaving behind a numberofsons who resumedhiswork. he establishedhis rite. century by meansof Arab religiouslanrilies, thc rnost famous headedlor North Afiica, where 'Bcit 'Ihere amongwhich is the Shcikh Mahrnoud' familiy which lives were other religious Iamilies which establishcdcentrcs Ibn Al Awam.As for in Zula and clairnsthc ancestryofAl Zubair lirr the teaching ofthe Quran and religion in the various parts oI thetri besofthe coastand thc BaniAmer,IslamsPread among them Dritrca. Most lamous arnong thescarc'Add Shcikh'ofl the coast, startingin dretenth centuryA.D..The Vcnetianmerchan(S in thc 'Acld Syyedna lvfustapha' in Baraka, 'Beir Darqui' and 'Add fifteenthccntury mention the lleit Muala tribe asan Islamictribe Mualern'in northern and western Eritrea,'BeitAl Sheikh Ibrahinr which lived on the coastofnorthern Dritrta, which is its curr€nt AIKhalil'in l'eio, Dankalia, and the 'Kabiri' family in the Eritrean habitat besidesits expansioninto the Barakarcgion. Thc lnmily of plateau, which had originally lived on the Dahlak islands.All of 'Add SheikhLiamid Wild Nafotai'had a greatinlluence in sprea- ihese ar€ rcligious houscswhich uscd to inhelit the teaching of tribes. I his lamily ding Islam amongAl Ilabab and Bani Arncr religion and the Qurao, devotiog themselvesto their missioneking bclongedio the aristocracyofQureish, and it catneto Eritrcavia out a precadousliving and depending on the grants of Moslemsin the Sudan. It still maintainsa centre lor religiottstcaching in general and the rich among them in particular to support their 'Zacr jn a Slreil,lr' llrel,rovirice ofrlre codst and Iras anutlr.r, "nrer students.They claimed kinship with the Arabs. Among them aDd at lmbermi, r5 kilometresnorth ofMassawa.This villageabounds among Moslcms in general, scholan display€d talent in leaming in the grav6 ofsaintsfrom this religiouslamily. and the Arabic language and. went to Zubeid, Medina and Al Azhar for further study. Zula village was known for is centreslbr Dlring the nineteerrthcen(ury, a number ol Tigre speaking rcligious tcaching frorn a numbcr o{ scholan graduated. Christiantribes were convertcdto Is)am.Among them were the which Maria, Mansa,Belin, BeitJuk and Al Habal' tribeswith its three Islam spreadon the Eritrean plateau among peoplewho were branches,Beit Asqudi, Add Teklis and Atmaryam. Thcsewere known to protasscommercc and who wcrc called (Al Gabarta)

r36 137 -I'hcsc which was a word givcn to diflercnt placcsand dillerent peoples Arab kingdoms wclc lbrrned. were known as lhe lands of in rhe Micldle Ages. llht, in the heart ofthe Shoa plateau in lithio- the lslamicmode (r). Ullc dorE in "1tre Ethiopians",attributes pia, was called Al Gabarat. Zeila' on thc Sorrali coast was also the rapid spread of Islarn alnong Flamitic Cushitic PeoPlcson called by this name. Sometimes, this narne was given to all the the coas8 of Dritrea and within Ethiopia to the Arusi lakeswhich Modems of Habasha. In Al Azlrar in Cairo, there's an ancient is near the currcnt Kcrlyan borderc to the desirc o[ those pcoPlc 'Al gallery callccl Cabarta Gallcry'. Al llcirni, in his book, "'lhc to escapeelslavement. The slavc tradem were exlr€mely cruel, Story ofHabasha" 1665A.D., said ll)at he met lhe lcaderol'Al and lslanr gave these pcople safety as it lorbade the cnslavement Kabiri Salcll in Andretta on the Tigrai plateau, and said tlrat iris of a Moslem. Trnningham, in "lslam in EthioPia" adds thal family works on thc speading oI Islam tlrroughout Habasha. ernbracing lslarn gave thcm a senseo{ belonging to a universal Tlrus, Islam sprcad on thc coastsof llritrca and is rrortlrcrrr brotherhood witlloul having to divorce their environment and and western parls and in a part of is platcarr through Adulis and their customswhicll the nissionaries of lslam werc tolcrart wi!h. Bade, which is the same route through which Christianity had Island entered.There was Do friction or religious wars bctwccn thc adhc- The Flourishing ofDalrlak 'Ihc rents of th€ two religions. The people lived in the tolcrancc t|cy . p[ir)cipality of Dahlak acquired a grca{ commer-cial had bccn known Ibr and under dreil unity oforigins and o[com- siguificancein thc Middle Agts. lts Sultan becameindePcndent of mercial, agricultural, and pastoral common interesb. They coexis- the rulerolYcmcn afterhehad beenhisvassal, except forgratifying tcd peacclirlly according to the motto, "Your religion is youn, and and placating him by sending pr€scnlsof slaves,honiy and wax rny religion is mine", until loreign powen (TuIkey and Portugal) Hc cxpanded his posscssionsuntil they included the island ofBade interlered in th€ sixteenth century ard drcw the people ol the and the regionsofthe Dritrean coast,and forced the neighbouring country into conlessionalwars. tiibes to pay tribute to his viccroy in Bade (Massawa). 'l It is noted ihat until now t|e ir)habitdnts of liritrea who Lc ccononricrevival was accompanied by a kind ofcultural crnbraccd thc two rcligions, Christianity and Islarir, retain nrany revival. Scholamscttled in ir and a ccntre for tcachipg rcligion and old pagan relics. This is due to thc prolilcration otiglorance and Lrrcu.'qeur" csrrbli.hetl. flre L.rurilLrl Kufi s'rips wl'i'h are the confinement ofreligious teaching wit|i Icw gl.rrups,especially slrrirrcs. Inosqrres'an(l I'll'' I *i'lely crngrevecj"rr tsravc*. l'laics as most ol-thc Nloslcm tribes arc pastoral, whicL rcndcn thc csta- thc cLrlturalrevival- Both Al Massoudi and lbn Hawkal ildicatcd blishmcnt of fixcd cducational cenlrcs di{licult. thc llourishing trade on l)ahlak islands, espccially the inlamous Actually, no ccntraliz&l authority developed in Eritrea in slavc trade. l he iohabitants ofDahlak prescntly sPeaka corruPted the nriddle Ages, exccpt for tbe B€ia kingdoms ofpastoral origins ( r I bcsekinsdodN arc lfar, Davra, Afabini, Hadiyaa,Sharkha, Balj andDara ) 'Il,ey and the small priucipalities ol thc plateau. On Daklah, a mercantile strer.hcdfiom Ze;laot thc Somalicoasr h Ad€d GdlfiDb $e h.a.t oi principali ty arose. Shoa(Ifa0 an.l ro tbeArusi lakcs.Details of(hcsc kinsdo'ns are to be Ibund in Arabic bistorybooks $,ch a!: "'lhe Rangcofsigbt in tbc KtugdoInsol' However, the sprcad ol'lslarn was not conllned to the Eritrean rl,e Land" by lbn lradlallahAl Umari and "'llic Knowledgeof Moslem coast,but extcndcd acrossliritrca inlo Habasha until sevcnlslamic Kingsin Habastra"by AlMak;izi.

r3B r39 Tigredialectmixed with wordsfrom Danakili,Arabic and Tigrinia, northernsidc, the Indian Sea(he means the l{cd Sca)ard Yemcn, rcllcctingthehistoricalrelationofth€islandswith theneighbouring and th€ westemsidc to the land of the Tekrur. Ib first part is a provincesand thc movem€ntofthe inhabitantsand their mingling depressioncallcd Baraba valley which leadsto a provincecalled lor purposesoftrade, wam and education. Saharat.The dressofthe nativcsofthis land in winter is the samc in sumrner;thc notablesand the soldierswear silkencloth and The Regions of Islatni Eritrea as lndian capesand the like; the conrmoncnwcar a woven,unsewn Described by Ibn AI Fadl Al Unari cotton dress,each having two such dresses.Their weaponsare The famousArab historian,Ibn FadlallahAl Umari, jn his bowsand arrows,swords, knives and lances.Most of the natives manuscript"Tlre Rarrgeofthe Sighrin theKingdomofrhe Lands" deal in barteringsheep, cattles, grains, etc-.. Thc food utcnsils ofwhich a photocopyis prescrvcdin the Egyptianlibrary in Cairo, arc carthnware.Their tuel is wax and their lampsare oiled with pointsto the narrativesrelated by ShcikhAbdullah Zeila'i about cowlaC'. dreSultanatesestablished byMoslemAralLson rhecoasts ofEritrea, This accuratedescription gives us a completepicture of the the Somalicoasts and southHabasha. Hc saysthat all the Moslem socialconditions and thc way oflife ofthe peopleofEritrea which kingsin Habasha sond in aweofthe ruler ol IIat and aresubordi- are worthy ol study. nate to him at times.He addsthat the road ro lfat liorn Egyptis a branchofthe roadgoing to theAmhara Iandand the resrofHaba- sha.Al Umari dcscribesthe provinceswhich makc up modern The Rise ofthe Arnlrara Kingdoin . Dritrca: "N€ar this land are Bade, Sawakenand Dallak, all of A{ier the defeatof the Alsumite rule ofYemen at thc hands whiclr arc Moslern.lts land is the leastnegotiable becausc ofits ol the Pcrsiansand the Yemenites,the Penian hegemonyover many high mountainsand its great entanglingtr€es. So rhat ifits thc Rcd Seaand the recessionof the Roman inlluencein Adulis kingwantsto travcl to one of ib parts,he is prcccdedby people and theother Red SeaPorts, the powerofAksum began to decline. devoledto the improvementof tlte road with toolsto cut down Wrat added to its isolatjonwas the advanceof the strongBcja th€ trc€sand by settingthem on 6r€ to bum thcm down.Thesc are lribes and their spreadingfrom the kingdom of Nubia and the numcrouspeople and theyarc the only kind ofpeoplcir thisland, Nile valley to the coastof thc Red Sea where they appreciat€d becausethey are thc touglrestIlamitcs and the rnostcxperienced thc pastures.fhen they pcnctratedthe plateauofEritrea and thc 'Iigrai.'Ihe in penelrationthe jungle and forcing their way throughit. T hey kingdomofAksum had no powerto lacethem, so they have alwaysbeen invaderersand avid hunten of wild animals. advancedon Aksumoccupfng the Hamaseinregion on the way. The strengthoftheir honesis shownin rhe lact theydo not wear The peopleof Aksum wcre compelledto migrate to the south. anythingor dresstheir horsesin war. Tlrough they are knownlor With thc Arab Moslemoccupation of the Red Seacoasts, [gypt their courage,they accept mediation and forgive crimes. It is and Syria, and with the dcfeatof the ByzantineRoman Empire, their tradition that whoeverthrows down his weaoonin war is theally ofAksumand thesourceofitsmaterial and spiritual wealth, not to be fought. Though they are one racc, they sp€akmany bcforethe Arab advance,Akum's linkwith the world wasscvcred. languages.Their countryis from the undularingeastern side to the In the eightthcentury A.D., Aksurncould no longermanage

r4() I4I q lo preserveits indepcnceexcept in the Tigrai provinceand its andoccupicd thc kingdomofAksum. She massacred all the Clrris- southernparB, wbcrc rhesrrong Agau tribeslived, ro which rhey tian rebchentr€Dchcd in thc castlcsofDarnbo and installedh€rsclf had to immigrate. queenof Habasha.Her dynastywas called the Zaguc dynasty, The Aksumitesspread thcir language,Ceez, and rheir Chr.is- and it ruled the country for almostthrce centuriesafter its kings tian Orthodox religion among rhcie pagan rribesand mingled had ernbracedChristianity. ILs most famousking was Lalibela, with them.Thcse were originally Cushites.The mingtingthrough found the famouschurch built into a mourfain in Lasta. It still threecenturies produced a ncw elementwhich devclopedi15 own standsasa beautilul hhtorical piece. languagecallcd Amhara. This elenrcntoccupicd the provinccsof lihe reignofthis housewas tenninated at thc handsofYkunu Tigrai and Lasta,which had beencalled the Amhara, Shoaancl Amlak, who lounded what was called the Solomoniddynasty Ghojamprovince. lherelore, the Amhara are a pcoplcproduced - in r€lationto thc prophetSolomon the Wise- in I q7o,in coope- by historical intermarriagesbcrwcen the Aksumite pcople of ratior with lather Teklahima Nout in retum for granting the Semitic-Cushiticorigins with peoplewho wercracially ind cultu- churchone third of the landsin the country. rally Cushitic.They are, therefore,a hybrid peopleola predomi- nantly Scmitic culture. Sincethat tirn€,whar wc rray call rhc real stateofHabasha asdistinct from the extinctstate ofAjrsum startedto developard acquireiB own charactcr.l'his hybrid mixture (Al Amhara) is but the outcomeof tbe interactionof a classofSemites with the Hamitic natives,among whom were the numerousAgau tribes. There weremany languagesand gmupsin this newkingdom, but the Semiticlanguages, Geez, Amharic and the ClrristianOrthodox religionwerc predomiDanr.

In the middle of rhe (enth cenruryA.D., theJewsfound the opportunityripe to assumethe ruleofthe land, afterthe conditions worsenedwith the isolationo[ the kingdom of Aksum liom thc outsideworld and its destruction.AJewhh wornancalled ([sther orJudith) who was the queenoI the.Jewishlalasha tribe, of rhc Agau elementin the regionofSamin in NorthernHabasha, which had becna zoneofJewish influence since ancient times, arose and advancedat the headofJcwish rebels.SLe was aided by herdsof the Zaguetribe, which wasa srrbgroupofthe CushiticAgau. 1he queeninvadcd the counrry, burnt down cities,ruined churches

t42 t43 Chapter X The Arr|hara Ifings Aspire to Control the Eritrean Coast The Interventic,n ofportugal and th€ Turks and the Religious Wars The Causes ofthe Hostile Arntara Attitude towards the Principalities ofthe Coast -llrc reign ofd:e Zague L)ynastvwas an age olpcace lbr their ncighboursof$c kirsdoms ofthe Islanric mode and the[ingdoms oftlrc Eritrcao and Sornali coastfrom Zeila, to Sa\,raken. l lower.cr,once Ykunu Amlak accededto rhe throne ol.the Habasba lcingdom,be srarred a seriesofrcligious wars .,,vhich*,erc the lilat of t|cir kind in Habasha and werc aimed ar (he srares()1- ,,Tbe drc klamic mode. Al Shater Bussayli savs in History and ,.'l Civilisation ofe-asternand centIal Sudan,,; he hatrcd displayed bv Ykunu Amlal wasnor rooted ir religiousreasoDs. Firct and lorc- nrost, it was becauscof Moslcm control of trade inside flabaslta and abroad and alsoofthc ports and thc caravan routcs',. .,Belwcen Abdul Majid AMeen savs in the Arats and Al Habasha":

":I'he bad relarion with thc prirrcipaliries of rhe coasr was allected by the old wan berweenAksum and yemen.'I'hcse princi_ palities that a.osein Bade (Massawa),Daklak, Zeila,and Sawaken repiesented the Arab statc, rlre state of Himvar, and the 'I'be wars bctween it and Aksum. Habashirc kingdom ofArnhara laun- ched is carnpaginijusr as thc kingdom of ksurn had iaunched its

t45 (' o) --T-

Lqvpr. Hc 1,ick.d a Moslcm rncrch.rnrnamcd Nur Ldtlin Al arrl corrsirlcrcdtltcm as campaigns in thc pas! against tlirnvar l abrizi, about whom Al Makrizi saysthat he was a P€rsianMer- lros!ileArabs". chant who mad€ empty boasts.Nur Eddin sought to buy anns abd Ykunu Whalcver thc motives, thc hostility displayedby horseslbr thc Amham king. In r4rB A.D., a Jabarta in Egypt Amlak led to grave rcsuls and cntailcd wars lirat laslcd for llrrec bctraycd him tc' the viceroy who ordered his arrest.Correspondencc centurics,which lcft nega(ive cflccts on thc nature of the rc]ation- of the Habasha ruler was found on him and also foreign clothes. ship betwcen thc two;ccb liom which the countly still sullers Hc was tricd belbrc a tribunal ald scntenced to death. Hc was 'I'Irese wars clinaxcd with thc intervcntion ol l'ortugal and thc beheadcclin Cairo. Isaac dicd without ac|icvins his obiective. Turks. 'lhc sultans of Dgvpt intcrltred to conciliale the Moslcm Zara Yakoub Continues the Endeavours of statesaDcl thc llabaslta Kingdom, somctillrcsexploitirrg lhc Palnar- IIis Fathcr, Isaac kings' Also, the kings of che ofAlexandria to influencc thc Arnlrara Zara Yakoub continued his father's endcavou$ to enter iDto impr-ove lhc lot of thc copb of Halrasha somctinresir)lerfcrcd to allianccs with the kings ofEurope and control the Eritrean coast. CaliPhs in Dgvpt' Egypr, as they.dicl in the rcign olsomc Iarimicl Ilc rcccivcd a letter liom king Allbnso V, the king of Aragon, in r in which he welcomed the lormation ofan alliance between The ltaicl ol King Isaac on the Eritrcarr Coast in I42o, the 54o tnd them to scizethe coast ofthc Red Sea andJerusalem, control the lrords ofking Isaac, thc son ofDavid, raidd thc Iirilrean coast trattc of thc East and hclp the Habasha to apropriatc the coast. destroyedthe villagcsofllarkiko, Zula ald Bade and looted sirops' island' lJut the dimculty of conrmunications prevented dre alliance frorn sheeparrd .attle. A crcat numl,er of 1'coplerlov'tl to lhe coming into existence. ,'.u. rt,e,o^r t' u. rlreisl:rnrls ofslreik lr Srtidrrrtl \orr Otlrem "u, moved to the islands ofDahlak which were the scat of the ruling Helena Requests Portugese Aid prince. Queen ln accorrlanrewitlr tLe ;drice of rhelbrrugi"e Inissionrry, The Amharic anny retreated a wcck later under the dllcct blows I'edrode Covillham, Helena,who wasregent over irer son, o[the intensehcat which routed manv ofits soldien and the Queen Lubna Delgcl, r5oB- r54o,decided to enlistthe aid ofthe l'ortu- oftheBcjatribcswhichrallicditsmasscstolacctheinvadcN . gcscflcct to seizeth€ coasbofEritrca and Somaliland.She sc t a When his endeavoun failed, lsaac made his solc concern clclegationto King Immanucl,king ofPortugal, to pressthat uPon forrning allianceswitlr lhe kingsofLLrrope and arran$ng a cornPrc- him. King Lubna Dcngelscored a victory in oneofhis battleswith the Red hensivc attack on Jerusalem and Mecca and controlling PrinccMahfouz, the princeofAdal and Zeila' in 1916at the same Sea, but he discovercd tlrat his reliance on sending his emissari€s tirncas the Portug€scfleet which reachedthe Red Scaundcr Lope during tlre pilgrim seasoninJerusalem did mot helP hiin to realizc Soarcz,destroyed the port of Zeila'. Lubna Dengel'shopes o[ year his aims in vicw ofthe longjournev in a ccrtain period ofthe seizingth€ coastswith thc help ol dre Portug€sewcrc hightened. ofthc Saho and the Beja and the pcrlis of travel acrossthe regions In r5zo, a Portugeserriission under l{odrigo de Lima arrived with whom hc was at enmity. So he chose anothcr route across t47 r 4tj Arrncrrian guidc, callcd Mathow, who kncw thc trails of thc courr- bcaring taken gilis ol vclvct anclsilk btrl no {ircarrns.'l lrc Por-tugcsc Lly. llc dicd ofa l'cvcr halliray along thc road and was buried in nrissior ollcred Kirrg Lubna Dcrgct lr schcrneur cr ll)c tcrms of thc rrrouasteryofDebr Bczan in Akkela Guazi. which I'ortugal would conlrol thc coastsoltl)c lled Scaand Protccl rhe Kirrgclorn of Habasha against alv Iblcign aggression The llabashitc killg saw in this an irnpositiorr ol Prn(ection,csPccia]lv Imam Ahrned Ibn Ibraheern surrramed as the conlessionaltlillircncc Catholicisrl arrrl Orthoclixisrnwhich thc Graa, Overros dre I(ngdorn of i:labaslra prolisscs was no simple mattcr.'fhe two sid€sdid trot Habasha worttrwl)ilc agrccmcnt or account ol tlteir dillercnt achicve arry Lubna Dengel's victory ov€r the sultanatc of Adal, which mission went back (o its counlry via Massawa aspirations.'l'hc wc have i dicated, did not last long. This principality which cornprised samalis, Arab hall-breeds and Danakils managed to The Portugese Fleet Controls Massawa regain its strcnglh.'fhis was alier a knight called Ahmad Ibn In thc carly sixtccnth cen(ury, Nlassawawas a srnall villagc lbrahcem, wlro as later known ar the Inram and as the Gran, i.c. with straw housesexcePt lor its mosqrtcand tlre housc ofits Balu thc lcliJrarded, to Ethiopians, had assumedcontrol of io affairs. princc, which wcre built ol'stoncs ls importance lay in its ancho- By ;rarrying into the family of Mahfouz, the Prince olZeila', this rage which was frequcnted by sornesh\rs frorn the Arabian Penin- yc,ungman managed to gain control ofpower. With th'emurdcr ol' sula arrd Sawakcn and its markets which lecrnedwith trade cara- Abu Bakr, PrinccofIlaror, Imam Ahmad extendcdhis influence v:rnsIiom the ICngdorn ofSenar, HaLasha, and thc Beja province. ovcr Llarar, wbicL was an irnportant Modcnr stronghold.When he had acconplished this, he started working lo achieve the grcatgoal When the.first Portugcsc naval vorce landcd on April Iotlr, rvhich he l'elt was his destiny, namely, to be Imam ofall Moslems t52o,;t dicl not encounteranv signi0cantrcsislancc' as it was and to conquer all thc parls ofHabasha. Soon, he announccd his cquippcd with lirearnrs.Fathcr Alvarcz converled the mosquein(o refusal to pay tlibute to king Lubna which nrade war a church in thc inter€stofl'ortugese sokliers.'fhe occuPationol llc Qengcl, betweenthem inevitablc. When Ilabasha rnovcd and attacked the port by Portugal resultcd iD the decline of cornmercial activity Sultanateol Adal, the Lnatn challengedit and inllictcd a crusbirtg and thc escapcollndianand Ycmcnitcmcrchants dclla! up()lrit. fhe calnpaign was |amsscd continuously.'l l)c nalivcs rcftBcd Starting with that datc, about t534 A.D., lmarn Ahnred to scll tlrcm watcr, sincc Massawa was all island without'rvat€r $,on consecutivc vicloics and overran the whole kingdom o{' except for what was brought lrom the suburbs lt was dillicult Ilabasha until hc madc contact with Massawa,Sawakcn, the Djin lor them to buy meat and dairy produce which they took by Ibrce principality in Al Gash basin, and l3araka in rvestern Eritrca. Skir:nishcscharactcrized the relation ol thcsc new invadem with 'Ihc Hc appoidtcd a prince on lfamscin, and hc contacted Al Fung the natives. Balu I'rince of Nlassawa refused to supply tLre Sultan in Senarin th€ Sudan.'I he evens ofhis battleswcrc recordcd l'ortugesemission with a guide to leatl it to the bordersofFlabasha' by Shibabeddin, surnarned Arab fakih Al Gizani, in ltis book, Whcn thrcats did not avail, thc commander of the Portugesc "'lhe CoDqucsls of l{abasha", as hc accornpanied thc lrnar:r Ileet, Don Dicgo Lopcs de Sequeira, enlisted thc servicc of an

t49 I4U larrrlctlirr Massawa orrJu'r(:gtl', r54r. lt wrs suclra hot dry tlr^t 'I we lrarkcd by scvcrcrcPrcsston on hisincursions. hosecorquesr ha had to take <-rllhis silkenclothes deckcd with preciousjewels. According lo Arab againstthc HabashitcChlistian inslitutions 'flis he had soldicnundcr hirn armed with tenguns and matchlock and bookswcre burnt 45o F-akih.monastcries. churches, palaces rilles,the top fireann of its time, which wcre fired by lighting a of thc Habashites'which are l.n bitt". *emo.ie" in the minds matchat the endofthe barrcl.'lihc expeditionpenetrated into the ol the llabashits.Howcver, thc lrour of l)ctwcctr thc tldhcrcrtts ol tlrc t\\() this lonq lrislorical shr!{glc buildirrg thcsc reckonilg ditl ror cornc until the'I'urks haclcompletcd the Cltrhrio,titv ot,.t I.t"'", irr Ilabasha' wlrctlrcl rctiei(,ltr, ul tLcir llrtt. rcligious,cc.'ornic ('jr polilical' thc .;',:"";".. cornrncrcial' -l 'I and rrtk'y' ,,inrrol of Porrugalot rlrc Rc,l Sca purs IIad a revcr'- srruqq.le\4as no( $itlrorrl cxtcrrralfatt"rs l"'rrugal lr. (ln J'Pif'd ro enlrance tmdc in the rcgion but 1{) i.f, *"," llrc two grcalcrnrral p"r''rsar rirrrr' ellict.'lheir aim was not to "f thcirinlluencc transit of tradc acros the Arah countries. l'rade was control the lracler,r,rt"s ofthe Rcd Sca andto cxtcnd prcvcnt the tho sourccol social and econonricactivily for the Ports ofthc Red Scaarrdthe Arab countrics lhis fact isclarified by what waswritten Sultan Sclim had gained accessto the l(cd Sca alicroccuPying by the Egyptian historian, Ibn lilias, who says: "The harm caused lh' PnrtLrg'se Eavrrlirr r5r7 A lJ., ir to lrirnto'rrqac' bv tht: [uropean increascdand their ccntres in the Sea oli Hijaz "'curcd RcrI Sca 'rrs on tlr" f,ra *"i.-f , .'u ol , 'frn,'sr tlrc famou" l" (thc Red Sea)were supplcmenteduntil they had more than twent-v "i"" "f son' Suleirnan Af.ican c."rast,Sawaken, Massawa ald Zcila' llis sh\rs.'I'he halasserlthc shipsoflndian rrcrchanls and ol)structed Al Kanuni, inhcritcd hisdrcams,and hiscontlLrcslsreachedYemen' thcir way in dangerous placesand lootcd their rnerchandiscutttil 'I rnolro- hcn hc lelt hc was ablc to engagc the Portugcscal scaand lir:cn and ricc werc scarcein Dgypt and olhcr countrics" ofthc cast. polize tlrc tradc 'I hus the I'ortugese Ilcct used to imPosea strong blockadc ttr -lhe Zt'ila and Wasakcn did thc Princcs o[ Nlassawa, Dahlak, prcvcni ships comiug lrorn India and thc llait lrom lntering rcligrur at a not fail to invokc tlrc aid ol the'l urks, t|cir brotltcrsin I{cd Sca.'l'heir olrjectivc was to divcrt trade routes to thc CaPc its highcst tirnc when thc I'r:vcrrcligious linaticisrn had rcaclred ol Cood Hopc, rnonopolizc them lbr thcmselvesand imposeduties 'l'hev Paslta 'Ihc pitclr, to cxpci the llrrtugcse. curtacted tlre'I'urkish orr thcrn. pors of thc Red Sca, IVlassawa,Suwaken, Zcila', conlaclcd thc i,r Zufr.ia, y.-"n, rcqucsting l)is hcJp l hcv also Makha, Al Hadida, Aden, Jcddah, Aqaba and Suez were laid to Portugese' SpanishCatalan nrcrchantswho werc kccn rivals ofthe waste.'I he flow ofEuropcan goodsalso ceas€cl. 'ltltcit' 'I in ship buikling he Portugesccxcelled the Otrornals lly r53B, the'I'urkish stale hacl accomplishedthe building Hopc arourrclAfrica discoverv of thc routcs ol thc Capc ofCood brouglrt wood liorn thc'faurus nxruntattts otits llcct in Sucz having 'l\rrks lhcm i to introducing irnplovernentson tltctt' 'l lC)India motivated 'l in thc platcarr o[ northcrn lraq and Svria. hc Otlorlarr high scas hcir sizewas cnlargcd ' ,hip. tn .op. lvith ,'uvugcson thc nrarirgcdt{) occupv Adcn in I53B AD..'l'hen thcv Iirught the imProvcrncnts wcfc introduL:ed rt',iir sails wcre incricu".cl, monv lbrtrrgme llcct in the Indian Occan. Fi rllv, Sinarr Pashaclclcatccl t uilding and tlreirarmarncnt' which had thc .,n ttrci.aerign, tft.ir 'l\rrks tlrc l)or-tugesellcet untlcr Juan de Ci$lro at a bat(lc betlvcerr and nradc the grc"tcst on thcir naval superioritv and Sawakcn Hc occupicd Massawa and Sawakcn in "fle"ct Nlassawa delay engagingthem. 1557 A.D.. llc expcllcd the lbrtugesc {iDally Iiotn thc rcgx'r' thc coast of the Rccl 'I o1Zcila" CJtto,,,o,r.,,u"t"igutv was otablished along he Catalan rnerchanlssuPpliccl thc prirrcipalitils tncl hclped tlrcrn Sc:r. SarvakcrranLl lvlassawawith a nLrrnl)€rol shiPs' r53 r5t to The Principalitv ofDibatwa Enters firearmsfrorn them. In retul.rrfor that, he allowed$e'Iurks he became Into An Altanc€ with the Turks build a lortressand a mosclucin hiscapital Dibarwa, so by the ald King Sarsa Denftal llesieges actuallyunder their Protection. The ncw alliancewasjoined ' Massawa Baluqueen of'Mazjd' who ruledAlGash basin and whose inlluence 'Walkite' prilcc ,"acl'e.l the p.o.,inc.of in figrai. Shewas callcdJa'wa, Oncethe Turks settledin Massawa,thcy rnade its Balu Otto- and lr.rsalready been rnentioned elsewhere in our discussionofthe who invokedtlreir aid againstthc Portug€sca viceroyolthe Djin kingdom. ,r''.,' Cd;prl (r) n' th" taicl and hewasgiventhe powerolrnanagitrg to theTigrai plateauand occupi€d io irrte.,ralullai.s, o,,emecing its customsand regulatingthc aflairs -fheallicrt armies advanced BahrNegash wrotc rheEthiopian olits ribes accordingto the lreaty' providedthe Turkishgarrison tlrcregion ofDebrc Darnu. Isaac the king ofSajad,a letterexpressing in its castleto protectthecountry lrom foreigndangers king,Sersa Dengel, surnamctl "My alliancewith the Turkish Pashawas theirPossessionsinward' his-dcfianceancl saying: Than theTrrrks thought of cxPanding by sitling with the and not accomplishedthrough ambassadorc,but fsDcciallyas the Habasha plateau with ils rainy climate Pashaat the sametablc and on equalfooting". percnnialqxing had alwaystemPted invadcrs The Turkish forccs 'Sersa mcet the alli€d armieswhich were irnde. I"dimur t'ash" pcnetratedand occupicdthe prirtcipality Dcngeladvanced to battle took at TamebtD of Dibava, which was thc seatof the Balrr Negash,i e thc king attackinghis country. A bloody Place A D. which c'tlminatedin the deltat of the sea,who was called Isaac lt was he who had facilitated on the llgrai Plateaui I57B Pasha,Isaac Bahr Negash, the arrival of thc Portugcseaid to the negusof Habadra,as we of the't'urks ancltheir allies.lzdimur ot thcir soldierswere killed; have alreadymentioned. QrreenJawa, and a large number wlren the treadof the Turkish Pashaand the hcad of lsaacwere Isaac|ad irrdepcndent on the Eritrean Plateau'and Powcr laid on a rug beforcSersa l)enkal, he saidspitclully: "This is dre his caDitalwas in thc nordr easternPart ol-the provinccol Selae way you wanted it, Isaac; to be with the Pashaon the samerug on the ouukirls of the provinceof tilamaseinHe was arnbitious ir arrdon an equalfootingin lile and in deatlr"' andasnirerl (o erpald I'isdu'nain io rlreLorrndar ies of rbe hisror 'fhen his advanceto Dibarwa,where kinu.lorn,t AksumLy incorporaringrhe lrovinceot rlreJierbi SersaDcngel continued mosque.He alsoordercd l,' ihc inte,.stof thisaim, he enlcretlirrlo arr alliance witlr tlr' he burncclthe'Iurkish fortrcs and its the peopleflee to tlrc liri- 'fisrai lcadcrs.Hamalrnal, Harbu and lassilo, and alsowith thc thc pluncleringof thc ci(y, which made by the viceroyofHarkiko' viJcroyin Harkiko to contact the I'urks throughhim and obtain trcancoast, wherc they wcre received In r5B9A.D., the forcesof SelxaDengel reachcd Harkiko, nr'llrruli,,qrJ",,lyirrNl$Jwalu\rddrrr'drlrrirl'vi'cr"\"rrrr'lrlr'fr"'r'r scat of the vicercy and the baseof rhe Turkish rrn r''r tl'' which was rLe t hcrd, ul Ll,e\i rroy$tu lta'liqn ard srrr'rirn* I Krlo drrl hills overlooking drc Carrison. Fierce battlix werc lought on the port of Ma$awa itselt '973, EttrioPiaoauth"ilis took awav island whichthe Turkish Pasha Kadaward, lour ofthc brothers r;cc",vahy itr Harkiko lrom the 'urent vic'rov' Abdul Ka'im llarkiko in "-rin.l asa'market ofhis soldienwere killed- The lvtoha'nmadAlnnad, and .cPlac€dhnn wirb onc ofthe ciLizcDs ofthe viceroyand a largenumber nativeswerctralsferred to LhpShcikh Said island and other islands,

I54 as was usual in the event ofan ljthiopian attack. IhC gatcs o{ the city were closed, so Scrsa Dcngel besiegcdit until the two sides agrced to make a truce. The Turks and thc viceroy of l{alkiko presentedgilts to the king which included a throughbred Arabian mare with agold saddleand his forccswcnt back home.

What is striking is the alliance of Isaac with the 1'urks, who (hapter XI werc his enemies in the pasl, in an age the rnain characteristic The R€lation B€tween Eritrea and llabash, ofwhich wasreligious fanaticism. We can understandthe nrotivcsil' in the Age ofthe Gondar Itings we realizethat Isaac'sgoalwas the Iiberation ofthe'Iigrai province 'fhc (the Seventeenth & Eighteenrh IiomAmhara control. Nationalist factor played iB role, and c€atury) the leeling ofunity among thc speake$ ofTigdnya overwhchocd King Fasilides Makes an Agreernent with the Viceroy at thc religious lcelirrg at a timc wlren the Amhara wcre trying to Massawa against tle Catlolic Missionaries rcirrfor,e tl,rirsovlrcigntyon tl'e l iSf:ril,ruvir,,1 A{icr thc wan which were waged betweenthe Turks and SersaDengel, a period of relativc quier beh^,cmEritrea ancl Flabashafollowed. Agrccmcnts wcre made with the Turkls anrl thc viceroyof Massawato prevent the Jesuit missiooaricsfrorrr stcali'rginto Dthiopia. With the end ofrhe wan o[lmam Ahmad and thc skinnishes which lollorved,rhe land ofHabashastarred to r€tum ro a kinLlof cahnimposftl by war wearinessand the clemens 'Ihen ofweaknessand Iirtiguc. the Portugescmade a moveto catholicizethe Chris_ liansirr l-labashaand abolishrhe Orthodox conlessionby sendine a lrigrrurnLrr olesuir priesrs.Ar tl sr,the I cieption ofrhe.c nriesi tryrlrc rcgion was so lrienrlly L|at FarherPldm paezmanased ro ,,,rrvirrcctlrc limpcrorSuscnyos to erjbra.e Carhotirisrr.fhc c,nperorattempted to make his peoplc 'fhc embracethis conlcssion. resultwas that helost r]re allegiance ofhis peopleand alicnated thc Orthodoxclcrics. Terrible warsin which rhousandsofDeoDle dicJtook placc. TLe emperor wenl to su.h an sytre.e o[r.prersirn andviolcnce thar bf cut rherongUe ofhis own brother for i"lir.ine to cmbraccCatLujicism. tinally, his.on, Fasjl(Fasiiid"s r6qz , r667)forLFd him inro aMi(atiol and issuinga declarario"nof apolos)lor hisernbracing Carlrolirism arrd announcinp h;s rcrurn r56 157 The empcror ofHabasha seemedto be depcnding on Moslem ofhis fathc$ and grandfalhcrs' to thc faith Arabs to protcct his kilgdom lrom western irlervention. This was thc liom Habasha This entailed the exPlusionof J*uis considereda reversalol thc conditionsil wbich Ilabasha depended thcseevents lt att€mptedto Th";;;;R;'""'"as moved bv 'Ihis on the Portugeseto protect it from the Moslems by means ol-the trench emissaries it," ,t*ggt' and scnt sorne of the Red Sea Wc now scc a new ;;J;;; l'in'd' 'w anagr.emerrt t irl' Portugesc occupation Ports. ii,i,"'i i,no"'.'n"liiJa a"'l -r'1" coldirion inwhich the relatioru ofHabashawith thewcstem world Turl'ish Padrain Sawakento ir'. ri*,t of Mass.rwaantl rhe arc scvered,ald the Moslems becomeallics ofthe Christian I'Iaba- to enlcrHaLaslra Fasilides did .'., uti orioo *t- allcmPted sba against what the Flabashitcs considcred a greatcr danger; "* Massawaand th' Otrontan"' r", iay;'g rhevi"rov "f that danger which irnperiled them and soughl to dcijtroy their "" relariurr'wirtr Yernerrl'y ""plialso worked on slrcnghcnrrlgrrrs which stcm all the national bonds of the bul Ritrerrin rt'42A D religious creed Iiom ;".,';;,;;;";'. nr i-"* nr Muwarred people whoprsnl in his eountn ' Christiar I-Iabashite ;1,;i,i; i" ."n"i.' killanv I'orrrrgcsc 'Ihe "*'ti.t wlrosuc''rderl Irinr viceloy of Massawa applied thc agrcernell to tbc lctier. ,'",n,J ."u'.4ry in r64Bro rLc lrrrarn ollcring his Iricndship and lIe clt oll thc headsolmany [uropeans, rnissionariesand others, .r ,i* ,r"."", ,rf Mutawakkcl Alallah' flriss3r :Llrurxll J !rar' and sent them to the Gondar kings to confirm hh pledge This '"""".i"*,f *, f*'S" of aml'a'sa'tur' " ' i'n'lu' sts condLrctol his wa.snot withoui biasi the viceroy hated the prcscoce atrei rlr" l''rrug"'' oi'l agailrstI\loslem of thesepeoplc in his cou try and was suspiciousof thern after his rn ot rl'r lrnarn's r\sin Al'rnaJl lassanAI l laimi' rlrc"r"i's , ounrrylrad tasterl rhn Lilterness ufPur(rrgcie occulalion ofthe king was to oPcn " fhc Story ofHabasha" that the intcntion Dankalia' rcmole liom ^ ,*4. ."'",. piotected by Yernen across crov Massrwa' The Viceroy Moussa Visits Gondar i," ."if .i",-rr.tl Lrvtlre I rrrks artt tl'e vi' "f ' umirrg,irrtnll tLJ- known for his *i. r'"i "".," r-r,*' *orLritantdur.ic"'r 8o"'lq I(ing Yasu (I6B'.u 17o6 A.D.) was Political K!rlcl rlr'sul' tn ol mcans and not .i,"..qf H"i,"i u",* ,'rarSultarr Sirahirrr ll'n skill, dealing with diflicult problems by d\rlomatic drcmirrttr advicc Ir^"u"ft, providedthem with guidesto lead rrrshinginto war waging. This is why he did not listen to $e ii""t"i-i. and rf"l"tha andthal thcDandkilisultan ofhis counsellorsto wagc war on thc viceroy ofMassarva, Moussa i#r'"-i"ro* Platcau, 'Arnir with HabashacxccPt for tradc rclatidrs' liorn thc llalLr Louscol Kuna'.1'his viccroy irnposcdhcavy i'i. ffiiJ^J ''<,*r,,iors belonging ro Habasha King Yasu rcsorted pas'l tlrrouehrlre Prin'iltlitv cluticson mcrclrandise On Liswav brck, Al Ilairni through Mdssawa- wr' vatattturttt l(i prohibiting the transit of Flabashitc trade rl'arllrF olll'e utiLs rul'r 'llris Dil,;;" He srares Hc led to a trade recessionwhich hurt Massarva mor€ thal "f BrhrNcgadr''l |e ara wr" irrdisarrav iiJ.r,r' .ri" o'i*', Habaslra, which lived in irs splcndid isolarion in self sufliciency arm"r kirr"rbv rriqrrwavr'anJits in tr':c :';;,;; was eede-dILr the luxury ofpalaces such as gar- ";;";;.;.;.r' ;r'"r',ac' o^ring ro Ar tLimi' nre rrundrc'lror cxccpt for what ;'[il;;;iffi;';' mcnis and jcwels. Then thc viceroy, Moussa, left at the head ofa an'l alr qwsa'sernblcLl one tttgt't ' LLimarn,ed wirl, lan'esantl bows precious a hunclred clelegationlor Gondar p;ssing through Aksum, bearing Massawa not rescueclthem with had thc viceroy of gifts. A reconciliadon was ellectcd and agreemcnt was rcached soldicls arlned with rilles' r59 I5B on thc flow ol-tradeand cooltrarion ro bar rheJcsuitmissionarics. at first,then thcystarted to rccordthcm for the purposeofaccuracy and unitormity of administration.Thc lint law to bc writtcn in 'Iigrinia 'Lako The Rclation ofthe Eritrean Plateau was the Jawa' law, namcd after thc region.1'his with the Gondar Kings a d its System wasahundredand filty yeanago. of Governrnent 1hc principalitics of rhc Erirrcan plalcau hcaded by thcir Relations bctween Al Gash and rulcr, surnamc{ Bahr Ncgash, king of the Sca, could not afford Baral

r60 r6r lrr) 'l heir Hanritic blood mingled with Sc,r;tic bldod as a result Thc Danakilswere and still are a roughpeopl€ who do not ol-intcrDrarriagcs with thc inhabitanls ol thc southcrn Arabian submrtto a sr|angd and aresuspicious ofstrangers. The late ofthc .fhe Peninsulaand thc migrationsofArab tribcsto dleir habi(atsornc- Ibreignrnissions which serfoot upon tbeir land wasmurder. 1imcs.l hus, many of thcir tribcs prescntlv clai Arab anci-rtry as Egyptianexpedition led by rhe SwissMuzinger was annihilatecl. is thc casclvit]l rrost Dritrean tribes. It consistedol four bargeswhich left Massawafor Awsaacross the Cull oI Ubu,k irrrentJingro o,, upy tlabaslra ln view ofll)e inrp.rrtancc ol-tlr c cxpanservhichtIey inhalrited, irl rBTqA.D.. Tt,. Da'ukilsannihilJr.d rhe I tatianexptor and rvhicb overlooks llabel Mendeb, the Danakils had a grcat arory misslon hJ byGcoloiri on May rBBr ncar Beylul. co trol ovcr tlrc movemeot of tradc (o the Ccntral, northern ar)d 3orh, It was the vanguardof Itatian colonialization.Ilaly rrsedthis castern provinccs o{ tlrc Habasba. Bcing prcdorrinanrlv pastoral, as a pretext to occupythe region otlleylul, and later (o occupyth€ thcy owned larse r)urrrbcn ofcamels whicL hcllreclthcm crossthe Eritreancoast under the pretcxt ol' nrairrtainingorder and security. dcsclt ancl reach thc plateau ofHabasha with imporr fronr India, 'Ihe Iig.vpt and Pcrsiaofswords, copper and cloth nccdcd by the pcople Danakilswere farniliarwith seavoyages, as rhey were ol'Habashain addition to the salt whic| was tlrc sraplcof thei. alsolamiliar with leadingcaravans in rhedeser6. Like their ncigh- comrncrcc. l'hey extracted salt liorn the bitrcr lakc o[Assal, the bours, the Arabs of the southernArabian Peninsula,they had pan salt ofBarrloli and the salt pan of'laltal soulh ol Massawa. worked with shipssince rernote ages and had engagedin diving They tradcd it for thc prorlucts ofHabasha such as ccrcals,honey, lirr pearls, 'l scashells arrd shales.Inspite of that, no ship building and butter in addition to slavcs. hcv maclesalt into bars each ol' srteswere eslablishedin rheir anchoragcs wtrich were.knownfor rvhich was called (Umula), wcighed halfa kiLrgrarn ancl its price thcir ;rdcpendencesuch as Asseb, 'Urriulas' Ra'ad, Bcylul, Barassouli, vadecl lro onc silver riyal for cvcrv hundrcd to one Tie'o, Ma'adar, etc... Probably, 'Umulasr, the caseof buying shipsfrorn silvcr rival lcrr cver"/ ren depending on rhc dislancc- sourcesin 'I Yemenprcvented this. For cx:rmplc, Urnulas wcrc sold cheaply in the igrai platcau and 'I Andretta rvhile thcy wcrc sold lbr more in Slloa. he quanriry ol" AlthoughtheDanahilswerenotruled byacentralized govern- inent, 'Ihe salt Urnulas cxported from thc saii pansofDankalia in Ilori, Toltal tbe Sultanateof Awsa was a symbolof their power. Modaietotribe (Assa and Assal to lithiopia in thc eightcenrh ccnlury avcragcd 3() Mara) rnanagedto consolidatcitsin{lucnce in r|lillion Umulas pcr vcar. thc oasisofAwsa in thc earlyejghteenth century aftcr expclling thc lrnams ofHarar, who bad ruled the oasissince 1577. Its mighry Salt lonned a sourcc of fortune lor thc Darrakil tlibcs and sultansestablished s€curity and stability so it lured merchants subsequenlly a source of conflictamong them aDd betwcen thcm and 'l'igrai caravanmen. A numberof powerfulsultans succeeded to its and thc rulersof the who imposedhca\.y tax€son salt,which reign such as Gaddafo,Yago (Yehya), Gaddafo Muhammad, provoked warc and rivalries. We scetoday in thc region ofDankali Eidahes,Eidahes Muhammad, and Haufari, who rulcd the sulta- tcnsol gravesbuilt in thc form ofpyramids somcofwhich reaching nate -fhese for sixtyyears and died in rB62A.D.. After him, rhesultanatc a height of ten mcteN. are thc sraves of their knighb wlx) experiencerlan internal powersrruggle which weakenedit and it died in fighting agairxt thc invasionsofllabasha. was occupicdby the Wima tribe. On accounrof instabilityand

r62 r63 corlsistirrgol cornrnandcdby a l(khia and a council r-'llrotablcs 3t] positiotrdcclincd witlr dreend ofthe councils on thc lack ol securitv, its cornmcrcial p",..rr *ffa'^ Baitu.'l'his is a namc given to Zcirawas arlcctctr bv this,and tho tradeor ,;':;;;;' :;1iG. 'fagura liritrcett ltlutc.ru. the Gallakingctor's was clivcrt€d to li'.. li'ga.- ani he said that it was the throesofrccession mcn- As for commerce, iri and Obok. Tlris reactivatcd thc carav?r[ in l4assawa and decline in all thc Retl Sea arca arrd cspecially 'lihc has represcntcclthe focusof[thiopiaD of Habaslta' region ofDankali;r becauseof widespread wals anrong the provirccs ccntury and their schemcstor an cxtcnt that asDiratiotlssincc thc nircte€nlh tack ofsccurity and tlre spread ofdisease to such unsucccssl'ullyat it Today' lives rvhilc .ii'iJ* ' *,rret wercdirected ^ i" the pc,rt of ll'iassawaclaimccl a thousand "*.f provrrrces' ff^g* D"'kaliJ is oncol therrinc [rittcan llrucc was therc graisul ol lurkev ha.l rro cfl'crive presclce lt Irad a snall Bruce in Eritrea ca fhcri'eruv James rl,irrysixs'l.li,'s'ut"rLlinatrto the wdrdilr of Ma as the discovercr of thc lcmcs llruce, tlre Scotsman ltnowl receivcordcrs liom anyoie book'("'fra- did not N"", devotcda Parrofhisvaluable 'l a monLtrtn *'.i*.ii'*-s'.; urkel u"edto p.ry tl'c vieerovro5u silvcr riyrls So{rrcciof theNilc 1768- 1773AD")' to i" nft..*. thc prorcrri,rr ol rradccarav:rrrs irr rlrc Sarnh tr teqrotr ""L regio.sthrough which he passed' ,",r',' r;r if" ir,. i"t-ini." of thc llritrcan port with drinking water' fle cxtended his of the country rn ^,J i" t.",,ia. the itht,rriuus knew that the con'litions ruler in thc [*rrt th."e, i.ll"cnce to Sawakeri anti became the most Powerlil rluarrcrofthc eiglrt€cnthccnturywerc likc thc last l(etlS' u. (hcrc lbr about in Massawa in t76B and stayed 'fhc lhe llrucc ailivecl rclation betwecn l{as Mikail Suhul, the rul€r o( ttrc vrceroyOrnarAghainto allowing six months, trying to convtncc 't'iqrai. nor ceaseinspite ol causesof mutual tl:elartcr himoll Hc rcared aud the viceroy did i,i'l-.-i..1,"r'",'l,r'r.pia whilc Pur indicatesthat the provincesofAkkele ol $'eaPonsano ,.,i,,i.itaIra ai'"*,.irLrce miqht bc an exPcrt in the manulactlrre 'balrr 'l rivcr was lhat Brucc thernof culzi werc uncler negash'in Dibar-wa he Pleisa t"u"u,r,apians to rnakcthem' thrrs cnablirrg and the -.'ri'i"".i 'l-hc betwlen the bahr negasliskingdom viccroy resorled 1o larious pretcxts; tf,"li'. f"t"A* ft" country. "1a""...ti"" tr js nurewurllr}lhat tlrisr;vcr I' Taroua' andHama- kirru.ton'^f l{as Milail Suhul i.","rlfff,t irr the rcgionof'sarnlrar" arrdLrhi"pia rt "''."--ii'". tl'( vic'roy' stilirl'",lcrn.,', arion lirI bctueerrDrirrcr 1'r'rcttt Ilrrrcesays rn as un'lcr th' autl'oriryof ""i',.'-i;4, Iars am"nstrtr ;';:,';;i"' **'.", it w'rstI'e l'r'uk ''f intcrrrel 'Ihc exprcsscdhis synPathy r".f.." i.t *f* districts viccloy and deceptioDln with Brucewlrich the latler sayswas srEtag€m in r'riringwitlr tl" f".,. frrr* *',"a I'isrngcr un rlr riccroy rbevi' 'rov 'ltv urrifon' ,ii'.i.. i" * t',"*" r'r' lic cn rl'ur " "r "oi'l sa. ill l)rringorrrbe vic'ruy's rrglv l'udv' govenrmcntas.bc Brucc describcclthe vtceroys systcmol by a sardnt'a mililia u";.g f^t".f a"" comnranded " "fsoldiers "t r65 rb4 (haPter XII

The Egyptian Khedivate ImPoses its Sovereignty on the Coast ofEritrea arrd the Rulors of EthioPia Renew their AsPirations for the Coast Muharrunad Ali Pasha Extends his Irrfluence . from Hijaz to Massawa 'l hc [ritrean coasldnd ils port of Massawabave lxen tlre of the hub of commcrcial life in the Red Sea since the beginning lried linetrenth century' Sherif Ghaleb, the viceroy of Mecca' force to imoosehis influenceon thc area. He sent an expeditibnary in rBoB,but ir wasdefeatcd by the forcesofthe viceroy o[Masawa' delea- In rBr i, a nnall Wahhabi fleet tried ro occupy it, but it was 'Ihe region' tcd. natives maintained the independencc of their In the same year, IBII, Muhammad Ali Pasha conquered the Hiiaz in the name of the Ottoman Sultan after defeating occupy W""hhubir. A L* y.uts later, Muhammad Ali managed to Red Sea Sawaken, Massawa and thc entirewestern coast ol the an and placed it under Egyptian administration He establishcd ell'cciive administration, achieved a sullication degree of security Dast' and opened the region belorc trade with EuroPe and the into Mohammad Ali Pashaincorporated thestate ofMassawa Tusun left a Hiiaz under the command of his son, Ahmad Tusun -iiito* nu.ri.onof6o soldicrsin Mas'awa Thq viceroyexPelled with th' ,h. gu',iion in rBzo bccauseofa disagreemenrhe had trade I(hJival authorities about.the exPensd ol protecting the was neces- routes.The garrison,which the viceroy lelt is Prcsence

r67 tlrc hcads of thc i'iJlages ovcrlooking thc coast Llc sary 1r'check thc asPirationofthe'l igr:ri rulcrs, did not return until salaries to the opposing tribes and distributed "insignias and thc finarrcial problems lrad been scttlcd. rccorrcilccl 'lhe nativcs llags" arnong them to bc Put uP at their headquarters With thc propagationot'security, the trade nroveme'ntwas vicwerl thcscllags as a symbl ofthc "Srrltan oflslanr" enhanccd ancl the population ofthe polt roscfrom 2ooo PeoPlelo and its relation with Hijaz was slrengthcned.Hugc 'fhc 5ooo people region continucd to be under the Dgyptian administration silver, incensc and agricultural proclucrswhich quaulilier ofgold, unril rBt]5 when it was occupied by thc ltalians as wc explained camc frorn Ilabasha and also slaves were transPorted from il. 'fhe rvellknown comrlercial establishmentsowned big shipswhich ranged ovcr the coastsofPcnia, India and DastAfrica. lt wasjnst asAdLrlishadbecn two thousandyeambefore. The Turks Burn Dorvn the Villages ofMassawa When the Syrian wars and thc inter_ventionofthe EuroPcan .. 'l-he the actual ruler counrricsto settlethe llgyptian-Ottoman Problem forced the Pasha relation between thc vicercy, who was Thcre ol lot,r ro '\rcuale Ihc Arabirn llrrinsulrrd'rd willhlrawirr ot'thc coLurtry,and the Turks was not always hannonious used to exploit t;,,.. ri"'n ir in rBqoA u., rl'e SuLlirle l',rr' reg'irr'l its dirc' t rverc rcasons{dr clisagrcement,csPccially as Turkcy its in the ruling I3alufamily. In Septem- jnlluencc on the Provirces overlooking the Red Sea on bolh thc rivalry arnong the cousins successionof Hassal coasts,the Aliican ancl the Asiatic. The Iigyptian administraliorl, bcr 1844, thc ruling lamily objected to thc Yeltya, and demart- howcver, relurlrcd oncc more ln SePtember, 1816, the Sullan to the viceroyal[y alicr the dcath ofhis brother, appoirrted viceroy. Thc ofTurkey agreedto place lhe ports ofsawzkt:rl and Massawaunder .lci that tirc lalter's son, Muhammad, be Paslu aclvanced to the adm;Dislrationofthc Egyptian Khedive for thc drrration ofhis clisis dcveloped int.r fightilrg. Thc Turkish to retrat. Turkcy was lifc. In r849, the ligptian Khedivate was compelled to return thc lhc nr:ighbouring villages,but hc was forcccl lorc'onotni' teasntr'' coltstra;nedto scnd a committcc that allected a reconsiiiationand rwo l,uns rn rl,eTufki'h atlminisrrrtion r,ui,lir'lcrnrrirics lol rhe l"ssc"tlri' tr rlre n.rtives'urfer' 'l durir''l r865 A.D., the Ottoman Sullan issueda liman On NIay 4th, il,"I'ql'ring.ll JI'uun'l.rruulnorroint,rfi rcin rI'einrrrnalr(Trr|s (decrce)giving the I'asha oliDgypt the districts ol N4assarva,Sawa- of the ."uitt.y and not lo rnakesccret contacts with drc'figrai ken anj drcir depcndenciesin rcturn for tlte paymcnt ofan annual ruler. sum ol r7 thousarrdgokl guiltcrs. Thc [gyPlian govcrnment scnt 'fhrec In 1816, dillerencc arose once morc. commaDdos Ahmad PashaMuzhar to the coastoftlle Rcd Sea to receivc these thcTurkish Pashain his palaceon the island of'fwalut, t\4,.porr" from Ihe Trrlkislrauth"rities. ln Marcl' 't166,the E$]l' assasinated ot rhe Add having swum thcre. Thc new Pasha, lsmail I'lakki, confronted rian qovernrnentPurchased lhe righrsof ownenhip ruthlessly, burnt down the village ofFlarkiko, whosc province lrom the Pashtri Brothen Co. for 5834 guineas,so that tlre mutinty :'the free hand people resorted to thc ountains, and stalioned 5oo soldicrs therc Egypdan government would have a complelely 'Um ganison ofa Ioo soltliersin lhe village ol Kulo"fhe on the Joastofrhe Red Sea"Jaa'far PashaMuzhar, who travclled anda Muhammad became thc Pasha\ the length ol the coast to Bab el Ntendeb in 1867A D , allocated viccroy PuPpet r69 r68 which wcre rcrrclrrrg ' fisrai, was killed in the prrrvincial conllict The Rulers ofEttriopia Renew Their 'lhe lct his succcssor' rhJ pn-,vinccsof Habasba in IB3I viccroy AsPirations for dre Eritrem Coast ihe amrs shipmcnt ijrrl,-tar Wube, ltave onlv a srrrall part ol rrimeleenthcclrlury Ilritain has triecl sincc thc bcginning ol the under llritish prcssures. rlreLrirrr'itl.ua'r' llrc ro l,.lt, tlI rulercut [,rl,ropiro'rrrlry thc not take a .lecisivestep !o suPPort the rulcr ol ,,,*rt,', llcrrrisali. slro r'rs llirLh 'orr'ulin tgvpt llritain did iii'i,ri 'figrai conllict between|rench and British interests' ro ltas Wil'l Srl'rs'i' tlrcTiqrai tulrt' becauscoftl)e {'BI6 rB/7) tirofosed by rneansofFrcnch olrrrineIlrr girr* ot Wile cstabtishcdclose rclalions wjth Francc i,rrAi,'* 'f'. U'l,'""" coastorr Ihc Prcrlrrol 'l Dncouraged by thc rnissionary heophile Europe. He also convinced the llritish Coil'ulic '''i."io"ori.s. iltofort* o*t" bclorc l'hilippe requcsLing- ql'arnrs llutWild f,"f.1,u.", Wufr" sent a tlelcgation to King r.,ue.n,r,ent irttn supplying him rvith an anrount the Eritrean coast arr't ollcriog Fralrce thc Gulf thc dsks ot such a verrture and was nol c tlru- ^"* ," it*^a" ietassie rcalizcd The clelegationcame back in tl)e ltritish arnls shjPmcnt oLZ.,tu iL ttt" .tp"aition succceded siastic for tirc projcct. lle oPtcd to use rrttltr+ lirnir.,lsupplv uf Iiencl' arrns Fr;rrcew"rs rrot Uall.rIeiu LriL' s irr lri' orirr c' rS.rnvirh e irrsrrlrj'rgaringrlrc 1'r lo'e rlrc hi' nrlslripol ,i.ii 1," rr,, r,"j", r i;' f"" tlrar it rnould sllw i11the r:xPul- Wube'sprorlisc Urrlike Wild Selassie,l)usmatch sab;rkicles vi'ii.,"'a ari, ,r. 'icerov ofEgvpt,and it liound vi'cr"r trlr"awa tBz6 lrervas prorrri"irrg tl'at siunol tl'e Iigyl,ri.rl|g.'rris"rr Ly rlrc "f .i"i"i"" i, 'r'"C,rr,'fZul.L rarLcr irorric as kirrqre' aid relinrlui'lrtncntott i'*,.r.f- t,'"-,f,'"i, ':So lrc$ror' rl'c8r ir i'lr I'rcsrirre -ti.t, ti lia ,"'r lrrve M"rc'ver' it rlirscdtlrr r" wrsr"okirrq for largertIr rn i',,ir,i i'l',;"" Hr r"'rrrrwrrar rlrepar r uf rI'ellcrl L \.rrrteUord.arr Curnparrvo[a ".,, "rvassaw.r' rrrll 'l'aslr''lir r rrrile\!vid' i,' ,t,. o"'.",, lo'.r V:rlen'lri r' ulr l':LLllit r'l ,i'" pro'ir". a ld.r. q lrirlr tas qo milrslonq rnd lcn "f lJabashitccxpan- rulerof Ti5r:ri i",* ilrn.. u"a *.. f.".wn Ibr his cntirusiasrnILir ii"'.t"-',t,l.in,'l ir l,J'lLuugltr ir liornrtre hc wasof thc same Thc Flench .i.i;", *ft.*o the Erirrcan coasl ln this' ,i'."'*tl-,i. i**n.trist Combin Septernber,r64o "n ll'itish govcrDmcnt t part ofthis French school as staflbrrl, rvho represcntedthe nou..i-.rtt ..fur.a the relinquishmenton tltc linking trritreato "Co-pu,ty, did not buy tite arii*u l" '.1,{e-+g-sound whoseplans led to the b.cuu"c,Lorn its poirrtofview, Comb foreigndcPartrDent tlre.lrri'rcipelir\ DrhioDiawiiiin ; f;deration.Soon, the British ,'."'fr.-,f '" p,op'i.ror of l"gal'overeigry over ofsupplyingHabadra ol rhc ul /\trcr' .oo.*"a of f-o.a V"lenchia'spiopositions ol \rnvil,r',rl,e I'rinccss Alia lru. rh( sLlcr Prrnre its hegcmonyo ofMassawa' riih lo.g" o*urnt" ofarms enablingit to imPose wl,o .ulcclIiis staic undcr thc Protcctior)o[tlrc viccroy ltitlr itr" tlrio*n cotst Lord Valcuchia coatcdlris ProPositkt)s lslanric Ottoman IBt4, Wubc, encouragedby the Catholic missionarics' if'. of protecringl:tabasha Iiom the ln "*""i,t of"'I he ottuct,o" tt" plainsof Sarnharwith the ailn ol' .l ,i'"" lvrrentheOl(olnar statcbore the tidc '',.,1; . ;;;'. ..""""i"" to the viceroyin Harkiko " .nrl wasliving is tastclays uirder drc protec- U^*-^ ^"a senta defegation iilt la." ""irJ.o arms shipment' "fn"oo." .t."*-"ai"* dclivcry of thc impounded Britislr don of Europeancountncs. year' 'I'he

r7c t71 ( 121 alsocost DgyPt thousattds o[thc provinccofthecoaseofthe l{ed Sea.Ahnrad Mumtaz Pasha Iiorn bankruptcv,hugc surns ol-nroncy lt it innictcdon rhc *:rs.r11,"ilrcdrlircctur ir, llre wlrolc ol l:aslc'nSudan and nrayorof ;rp;;;;. ;;;J to trratwclc tr*:cranragcs sidcor thc other tlrc l{ed Scaprovirrre. i,'rioliti,tts ot ll.itr.a *ho took parLin it on onc rhat thc ," their rcligiousa{liliations lt is unlirrtunate Munrtaz undcrtooka journey lronr Massawato Berberain ;.;;;;; i' ."r.ulcrs havc.ltcn costtle peopledearlv which he visited all the coastalareas under his administration ".il"-ir.', "",i..ii'," bbod atrd swcat. and nrrdc a dctailctlrcport aboutthem. camPaigrrare thetowerirrg jsiaud AII that rcrnainsol tlrc tEccsofthe 'Salad' llc melrtioncdin his report that Massawawas an 'Ali Agda" '!'cddan' .,.f,rr t.*"','ii.f'.f...fe tltc vallev o['Adarsu" whosearea in cstimatedto be filty and its inlrabitants p'ol'lcsJ) rl.r'rrrrr'i 1,,,Jff^f" - thc DritrcarrPlJrr'ru llr' were about 3ooopeople. Most ofis houscswerc of straw,which lruiiol tlresccJs r'ltlates I'rouElrt alurrq.by tt'e,l'g) Prran ollon causedfires. The lig.ptian administrationencouraged the rrecsarcIh' i pr"visiorrsllcsidr s tlur' rhcr utns ol Ilrc asrr'r nativcsto build thcir housesofstones and w|itewash them with Jrrrvrnri,ne tlrcic 'Unr arrLlAraLia s r^cll Kulu rrearMarsrwa' lirne.'Iheybrought limc stoneslrom the IslandofDalrlak.'Ihe ",'i"'. ".ic,".r,:, hc wasin chargco[ *ft-f' I *at built bv Arabi Pashawhcrr islantlhad a cistemlor storingwater during rainfall. "" irill3l l'st to t Irc cvcrrs oi tlrat' arrrpirigrr' logi'ti,". all Mumtaz l'ashadivided the Arabsof Massawainto tlvo parts cacl ofwhichis undera distinct administration as lbllows: 1'he Eglptian Adrninistration in Eritrea A) 1he sub-provinceofDankal Gom llarkiko to lhe end ofthe 'lLc wcrc under-lhc domair ol llriuean provinccswhich llarkiko irrrorlre provirre ol land of the Danakils under the supenisionolthe fr'..ri',r Ulyp' -Jr" initiallvirloq'urard irrrr 'otrl'rlccwrtrr viceroy(Nacb). r<",J" ;, ,i"ls,',t,"'. I L", .rt,italwa' t

r85 r84 w4o Whctr llrc ltaharr Sovctturrurt cxPandcd ltalial) Posscssrons the western coast ol- thc thc arca ofAwsa and thc Danakils, qrp."".i-"rio scltc"tts on on thcsubiecsoft|cSultan' "tp^",ioiist atiois for lreroi cuParrol ,i'.." ^'la i,"0.*a ofplotcction i".l S,u. iLsro, r..t .".t inq r.,crcat'justift 'I'he "fi'rd that llrc sultan suarantcc tlre sarcty nrr'rrderol the Itaiian thirrl ailicle stiputated ,,f Massirwa.lr seizcdrlre o1'porrurrity ofthc rlrr"uulrAq'a lrnts'en rBB4whilc ."i *r,i,u uf l(aliJ'r'rrrvrns 1':r-irr" ,..".iii. C^"" u"U"t'i, *ho wuskilled in Oc$ber' irrrlr' \r!r' In rlrcluur rll inlo efl.cct' ^'*r,.",i,; *' k;nsLlu'rrotslr"r p".rJ'Sti'.""gll l-.Lili land,to put itsdesigns ",'.r'll caravanslrom taxcs' ardcle, tlrc Sultar agreedto cxerpt ltalian thcr€ a detachrneolot ltalirn rnarinc" co.o,''u"" b" comi'g from Assab or soins ()u Ianuarvr5ll', 'BB, ;';:. ti'.'" otAsseb 2lrcr Il'e $ itlrJrrwrl ii'... i','r'" nfir' :,rti, L' tL'srrlrar'|:r' 'rr,''l ':'::"''d'lll"-1'll -.'J"ili'" u.ir"r Ioragerror tL ""' Manchi"i'tLe Italial roreigrr setretary' uf lLli. lotlreIlstirI'gr,\'rrrmcrrltou\'iritirrrIrrlirrrcurn'rr'rrrirr ,ii'ilyp'i."'g,r';.,n on rlrr ltrliarr'ru Irn'v'arrr rr'rver "i C-,i, the ltaliaDambassador in Consranriople' DU"l.'11,.sc\crrrlrarti'kalluwcd o[ sLrrr'r'rut Aw'a arrd ",r,r"alili'* tneocc'patio' of llevlul:"'lhe rnassacre :;; 'l',; ;;,'J ,. !n ,r,c ', g;o,,su'|rr" tr'|' #;;;;;;;nti"* of the yearsafier thc Gcolti disastcr' rtari^" -ilitatv authoriticsort thc wes(crncoas! the Bianci in-ission,coming thrce and control on ttrc "i.*Jalf'. 'baintain on thc Danakiii Coast" which f.r..a -" ittn colsolitlatirrgour inllucnce i; a;" ," seculitv "by whi'L subjugatcit n.d Sca a garri"onto Ueylul ,r,*"t tf*, Italy occuPytlrc coastof D?rlrakaliaand r .."",.f tfr.- ""rrding this treaty "".,. rlre Dan'kiLsat a Lav Si'rcc *Tlll': to its colonialcontrol ltaly rnaclea point of raking cdI' di'Fctlylcrlr "",C making scveral irr Bcylulnrcans' un lLe orrFhand' trcrung:1 *i,fr- ri* *t,aIt ot Awsa so as to dispenscwith *i.lcslr"ad ,l,a'i Add' ctc ' tl',cos un'l darrscrsto our rul-rnvin Ascb i.A* *itf' the sultarrso{ the coast(Ilahita, I}eyh-rl, ) ;;;;;;...",,."' a tlrirdcounrry (Ftarrce)..a strurtq noninal irtflucncethc sultanhad ovcr thc landof thc 'fi"",f'., f,".d. givilg in view ofthc "'J. landa smalldetach- t**.,."" f". it".f"**e Jo ttav"decidtdto Danakils. "'e orddr and quiet i;:;';1 li^ii^" marinesat Bcvlul to maintain The OccuPation ofEritrea's Coast tLcrc". BeYlul to Massawa Ct.runtCr'rti frorn Otr larruarvTorh, rB85' Senior Manclrirri cabled schemes f'rcedhim to tak' into Dritail wclcorneclltaly's e{Pansionist'colonialist ,.,"1'"'ii"l ,i" ii,Jra,,'s r-'rilte R'd S"a l'a'l thellritish lbreign and that he camcto know ff i.-** li"*fy fro"l" out wicn Lord Granvillc' ,-r.ii*^ii o* *.aition of Massawa 22nd' I8B4' "that "t lhe Khcdiveof Igypt bad ,..r"i"o, i"it-*a Ctunt Nigra on Dcccurbcf irrdirt,tlv liunr rcti.rl,ks.,urcc llta( hulJirrgurr lre of tlrene(essirv of ILe [or Dri:rrrsovcr rrrn'i rl rstv ' rL'rr3r1 1'aLlcut .t".t i,,a'-j ,t,. i'',ii,'" Potte a lewwceks Lcfore "' pro!'cdrd ro fullhcrmu'l soutlr hall *t.,t.-,f rf'" en;',,n 'uasl ol the ReJ Sca Artd .'1.""U,,- tr",-^ * otherplac"s in llrc to givesomcthing rtrarEgypt did cvacuate .."iliW" a. '-t f''"" thc riglrt nor claimthe riglrt f,..,, b'forc lf it lrappened wantslo "',."","a in chaosSo drc ltalian -l i.tr uu"ct" .rnun;if the ltalian go!€rnernent Possess rti"t."*.ii,". in" *tt.n would becngulf'd ""t lraliarrmcrnorandrrnr tr' rt' n"," *',;,',.rrerhe sulrje' t oftlr' governmcntslood rcady to occuPy ""'.. LcrwccrrfurLcv i,,,t,'i'i'}.t,"f. M.,ssa*r) tli"r' Ilrisis 'r rrrart'f IBB5,Dc Martino' Italy's Consul to On thc 6rst of February, U". Majcsty'sGovernmcnt has no ob'cctions to Bobar Pasha o,r.f f,oiy;'itt, Gcrtc.ol i,t Egypt, dclivcred a mcrnorandum Italy\ occupationofthe pors olMassawaand Ilcvlul" rB7 r86 which statccl:"Thcgovernmcnt ol $e Khcdive cannot bc unaware with alr Arabic copy of a leaftcdhc had is sprcading irr tlrc rcgions o[ thc cntire Cairrriprcscntecl hirn of fie turbulcncc which Massrwr'as a slartagrmlo dauger to our ,,r"'ro',Jto d,. hrc Lr,rlrc P'u|h of wcstcrn coast ol titc Rcd Sca arxl rvhich Poscsa rat ior I i,,',.t'tl' tr"tinni",,"''irt'uurafiglrt'lir'text of tlris det la colony in Asscb as it tlrrcatcl)s tltc sccurity of the sulrjectsof lrk as lbllows: majcsry, thc King otltaty, who livc in various PlacesoIr the Coast' is thc Inurder of lhe Gcolti missionwilhout Italy gricved bclbrc ovcr Italian government'rir touclted "1o the pcoPleof Massawa The l>eingablc to punish the crirninals. lt has also bcerrdecply ordcred acreerrcrtwidrth; Ihitish and EgyPtiangovcrnmcntsr har by (hc tnurdcr ot'lhc Bianci r issi())rorr rh' l)oIdcr betwccn tlrc the castleof Massawa,which l am carrying out Massarva l lis Nlajcsty'sGovcn)ment can m"cto occupy land ot LheDanakils and In Lcsidcrlre [g]p(ian nag' namc ofthc i",lov.Ir,. i,nlion flag will rais"d rol sland idle belbre thcscconditions; t|creforc, in thc at ,rr.l il,. lralionmarirr.s anLl soldiers rlro lravedisembarked govemment olihis rna;csty, thc King o[ ttaly, I ask the Khedivc's rrraintainordcr sevcrelyWc are willing to pay the {irll rcsponsibility lor salcguarditrg all our Massawawill govcrnmcnt ro takc Wc will r$Pecl your cusloms ol Sawak€n priceol whalcvcrwc Deedantl want int"rcsts orrd thc sccuritv ofour subjccts to thc south the lnd rcligion. I will not impccleyour trade in any way; oIr bcyond thc Rcd Sca." good contrary,I rvill enclcavourto Promoteit l rcassureyou olthc (lrat tlesc justilications wcrc rrrcrelv colonialist gainyour It is clcar intcntionsofthc ltalian governrnent'So) wc hopcwewill trcccptsto call tLe rnurder otan you prctcx6. Otllcrwisc, which bgic triendshil),that you will continueto perlonn the work which or two o{'tLe piorrccmofcolonialisnr a gellcral condiliou andsccup"' enrissaly 'l l,avcbccn clc,ing and that you will fcclreassurecd of turbulclce "wLicir is spreading"? he country was livirrg in a rcltrsed colonialism and 'lhc state of security alld peacc; its pcople declarationwas inlended to suit psychologicallytJre thcir countly is destroycdits varvard irr dclcnscol comnrercialcnvironmerrt of Massawa;an cnvironmentwhich it-sordcrs concernedwith stability and the flourishirrgol trade than On J;rnrary 3lst, thc Ilalian govcrnrnc t issucd rnorc ruler, especiallyas thc Dgyptianadminis- to Colorrelsalirra to occqry Massawa Orr thc morning of Fcbruary with thc identity o{ thc wcaknesand disarrayal'tcr thc delbats iBB5, thc lwo ships Gonardo and Vcsputchi rcachcd the poff tralion was iIr a statcof 5ilr, and with thc Mahdis irt olMassawa under tlrc corrmand ofAdmiral Caitni, thc commander which it had rnct ilr its war with Habdsha l]ritish inllucnce' ofthc Italian navalforccs in tltc Rcd Sca thc Srclanantl the cornilrgot Igpt itselfunder 'l'hc 'I'hc rercialsociety of Massawahoped lbr theexrinction ofthe ltalians ran irrto objcction on thc ot the ligyptian com Part which could not evcn Prolect connnandcr Iorlirral Egyptianadlninistration ofhccr lzzat lley, the mayor of Massawa and the thc incurssions th" p.,rp".t]e"and tt e livesotthe inhabjtantslrom ot Lhc Egypria[ Ibrces thcre, who Protesttd strongly agai$t re 'If i' f"a . numbcrofknighb torcmostamong whom lbrccs in a regiorr undcr the sovcrciguty ,,ifi.f'r.f'^. landing of any foreign of the viceroy'sruling Balu family' 'I in thcir was Adarn Muharnrnadl]ey, of thc Sublime Porte. hc natives locked tlrcrnsclvesrrp rcpaytl'ern' 'fhc tL'srard ut, tu llr'{e HiLtraslritcinr ur"iors and rloubly housesand closcddown lheir shoPs viccroy cut oII-thc water vcrseand *fri.fr **'*, .l"a i" ,lremcr'nory of tbe pcotle in Tigrie supply frorn the port until tlrc situaiiotl ltould bc clarilicd. Adnriral prosc. IBB r89 'fhe up to Agordat. At the dcrnarcatio[ of thc bordcrs, thcsc wcrc Occupation of Asrrara, Keren, , x1',Lrrdctlto irr,lude Al GaslrLasin. and the Odrer Regions 'Iirc Italian govcnrmcnt appointed general Orero as the f)n May 3rst, r{187, Italy extcndcd its iullucncc along tlre first governor general o[ Dritrea. In this decree, the country was Eritrcan coast up to Ras Kassar in thc rorth on the bordos o[the callcd [ritrca as a revival ofthe I{oman name'Marc lirythercan' Sudan in agreementwidr llritain. OrrcJune 3rd, 1889,Italian wich thc l{omans irrhcretedalong with the Greek influence in the {brccsundcr thc command ofmajor dc lvlayo occupicd thc city ol Red Sca in the lirst ccntury A.D. after the occupation ofEgypt by Keren and hoisted the ltalian flag on it, having lowered the Egyp- 'l'hey Ccasar. tian flag. occupicd Gura in the Akkele Guazi on August Julius r ?th, r 8fl9 and alsolarge pars ofthe provincesolSarac and Akkele With thc occupation of thc courtry, thc ltalians dcclarcd Grrazi.'l he resistanceofthe people unclcr the leadershipofDjiash what was called the "Law of Public Pacilication" in accordancc Hugus Behta and othcrs to thc Italian occupation wcnt on lbr a with which drc Ihlian Army was granted a carte blanche for a pcriod o{ titnc. ycar to takc mcasurcsguarantccing thc maintenance of security. 'l hjs js au clastic lcin to cover up deeds of murder, torture, ar)d On August 4tL, IBB9, Gcncral Paliscra cntcrcd Asrrrara, 'Arabati cxilc witlrournrur tiuB to Llucp'u'T"s ol'law as is comrnoncverl- which consisted of tour srnall villagcs callccl Asmara' 'I whcrc. he ltalian authoritics killcd hundrcds ofthc lcadcE ofthe in Tigrinya ( r).'1he ltalian colonialist administration transterred courtry under martial law. These had opposcd thc occupation, its olllces Iiom Massawa to Asmara, rvlich becanrc thc capital of or ltaly was apprehensiveof thcir mutiny. The isla4d ofNakhra thc country aftcl the railway had reachcd it on Dec€mber 6tb, darnp and diseaseinlbsted, became larnous as a refugelor National r9r r, in view of is cxccllent position in dre rniddle of rc country Icadcrs opposcd lo thc ltalian occupation. God willing, we will and ic penranent spring weather. ,lnvutca sl,ccialLook to tlrr rrruvcr,rcrrtofLr itr rcsistan.c "an The Arurouncernent of ttre Nalne 'Eritrea' in rfoo January ' The Popular Resistan From Dogali to Adwar A Strugglc for the Control ofEritrea On thc firsr oUarrrrary, r tlgo, Kirg Humbcrt I ol ltaly issucda royal dccrcc cstablishing thc colouy ol lilitrca alier uniting thc Italy tricd to cxploit thc rivalry bctwccnlirnpcror Yohanncs dillcrcnt provinccs on thc Red Sca and thc hiehlands which had flohrr) ot lithiopia, who was lrorn $c proviirc€of itigrai, arrd bccn occupied by thc ltalian army and parls ofthe wcstern region Mcnelik, King of Shoa (Habashaconsisted of small kingdoms cachofwhich had a king and all weresubordinatc (o lhe enDeror (t) Abour rlc lamc ol As rra, lo.al rraditidl snysthat d,c lour villagcs on (lr kiug ofl(ings). Menelik aspircdto scizetlte throneofthe King of I)larcaulivdl h astatcofcn,nitr and ligl,rn,g,,nrilbrrsood woDen succ.cdcd Kings for himsell On NIay 2Ist, r88g,the Italian ernissary,Courrt _l in brirging abour pcacc and aD,iiv nNtcad ofwa6 aDrl chdriir. hdr laLou. Antonelli, maclca lriendshiptreaty with Menelik in his capital 'fruitful', 'A$naraa. 'Ihis las caued which n, f isrirla is I-be nanc ot^enara Ancobar. tr€aty cotrpiscdrB articles,by which the ltalians \!as'ncn&nr.d h rhc nra.lsd ipB ol V.nrt;or tr,€rcha,,Lsin tk r4th ccn(ny, consolidatcdtheir influencdin Shoa.The ltalians supplemented rvhichshowstbat il isaDold citv.

r9(} r9r this tfcaty wirh anotbcr rre:rrl, (r,awn in Naplcs. On Ocrobcr rst, As a mattcr of fact, the raids of thc Eritreans against each rllrlgCii..t,t'isis',,dir lor otlrcr, which werc a larniliar occurencc in the Arabian I'enirrula rtr."irrgarrt,\tr.kurrirr,HritcS,.l,rsics lather,.for ivlenclik, Kirrg ofSJroa. In this rrcaty, Mcnelik rccog_ and in many part-sof the world, did lot ceaseundl rhc Iralians had nized thesovcreigntyofthc Kirrg ot Italyover Dritrca. Thc lratiarrs irnposedtheir inllucnce on cverybody and stopped the raids which agrccd to advance Mcnelik a loan of4 nrillion Lira wirh Harar uscd to bo cxchangedarrong dillcrcnt regions,tribcs and rcligions Customs rcvcnue as collateral. If rcpayment was not made, the ir qucst of powcr or bootv. ln this period, a number of knights 'Htrrub', 'Ganad' whole ofthe districr ol Harar would becorrrcrbe propefly ofltaly. becamc lamous such as and Muhammad Nur 'I 'I'igre, Menclik had invadcd llarar aticr dclcatilg irs arrny unrter tlie Abu ubs', who cxprcsscdthcir heroics in poetry in which command ofPrince Abdullah ibn Ntuhamrnad ibfl Ashutur at the was knowi forits richnessand largc vocabulary. l hcy were sirnilar. battlo ofShalengo in rBB7,So hc anncxed ir to his kingtlorn alter to the group known in the Arabian I'eninsula bclorc Islam as a struggle bctwecn ir and rhe k;rsdonr ol Habzrshalor scveral the "lramps of thc Arabs', who were knjghb who had left thcir. ccnturics. The EgyPri:rns trarl evacuared llarar only rwo years tribes, rnaking singlc causc with the opprcssed,wresting rlrcir bclore. riglt liorn tlrc oppressor,pillaging and pluldcring whencvcr thcy sawit wasncccssary antl uselul. ljmperor Yoharrncs was distrcsscdwi r rhe Ilalian con[rcts Iias Alula did not continuc |is advance on Massawa, but hc with hh rival, Mcnclik lI, thc ruler of Shoa. l1c tlisparchcd Ras 'I'ierai scttledlo. thc victory he had achicvcd.'liriswas not due tc,thc Alula, who was ruler ol the province and cljoyccl sornc s'r.rrgrlrofIlr' lrali,rrCrrrisnr irr l\le saltaa. rnurlr asir wrs'lu, inllucnre ovcr rhe liritrcan plarcau having bermycd its srrongesr to thc intcrventionofLhc Dnglish,who had rnadcapactwithDrnpe- ruler, Ras Wild Mikhail ro Ernperor yohanncs, to the plains oI ror Yohannes to help them in their wan with thc Mahdi slale Sanrbar to ljglrt the Iralians bctbrc they pcnetratcdinrohiskingdorn irr tLc Sudan,which was thc war the English wcre figlrring on bchalf as he had done w;rh thc Egvprians bclbre. IIc cncourrtcrctl an ol the puppct govcrnnrent ofEgypt.'I}rc ltalia.nswere also an ally Italian expcclidonaryIbrcc ar Dogali, r5 kilorrrclrcswcst ofNlassa- ol tlre British agair$t th€ Maddis. f his bcing the case,it was not wa, and rnanagcd to ovcrwhclm it ard ki ofic men arhong 5oo ir llritain's intcrcs! that thc strife amorrg irs allis bc cscalared, wbom wcrc sonrc mitilia men of the viccr.oyolNlassawa, who saw as it wantcd to enlist thc cllbrts of both in fighring thc Mahcli in thc Ethiopian canrpaign a conrirruarion of thc olcl plunclcring lirrccx,which haclpcnctratcdwestern [,ritrea.'I hcy wcr.ccvcntuallv incursion on thc rcgions of Sarnhar ancl lJaraka anrl Al ltalrab; cleliatcd by Ras Alula and thc ltalians on the outskirrsofI(crcrr. especiallyas Ras Alula himsclfused to rvagc thescraids ofpluncle_ 'lhe Italians coittinued thcir advancc until thcy took Kassalalrorl ring and looting and find vioient rclistarcc lionr the irrhabitanrs. the Mahdi eovcrnm€nt. Adan Muhammad lley, ofthe ruling viccroy's lirnily, was farnous for his counler raidswith thc aid ofrhe lough I'arawia, and Aswerta C)n account ofallegiance to dillerent Sufi rites, thc Erirrearrs tribcs agairNt the raids of l(as Alula. Evcn placcsof worrhip such tuught thc Mahdi folccs ir thc westem region ar a timc whcn the 'Iaka as Debre llczan rvere |ot safc from irim when R:rs Alula's lorces rcgion was adrninistratively subordinate to Al directoratc raidcd the scpulchrc ofSheikh lvluhanmad ibrr Ali at Ambeirmi. in the Sudan during thc ligyptial rule. This is due ro the allcgiancc

r92 r93 ('3) oltheprople.lo rheKl,irmi rire, wlrose leade* rcj, r redrheguidance or,rret\lalrdr rrd.r mire (Lc kom,thcreligious troinr ofvicw, h; p"liri_ llrc innuFn,c of D itr,"anrul"rs. Th"y rurnedovcr cJuy and "pp,,se,l thc administration dcctaredrl,cir allesiance ro rle tg)prian Khcjirare. oI the Massawa customs to Cantibai Hamed, Al S_aryedAii thc leader of rhc Al Mcrghani, theiamous Jeaderoithc Khitmi secrin Habab region, afrcr raking it from its tradi_ , ,9.T""*ed^rofle. tional overseers,theviccroy's (Naeb) Ianrily which llll,l":il. ,oEgl pr as a yourrraer oml,anicd wasreprescnted bv tIs la.therAt SayvFrl by Viceroy ldriss, whom Orhman Mr.rgrranr,!tr,o waswounLled al Femndo de Martini, the Italian governor rrc I,Jlte ot gencral,descdbes Ka\sald!rirL rLc Malrdi lbl cs lnJcj tl/e {or,rmand in his djariesas the,,proud cripplc,'.Bur this utprinccOrhmarr policy dicl not Dagna.uirtr rheLct1, oftris foltoters in frirle.r work. Ttie Italian authoriiies exited Cantibai Mu_ and lr. rrJvell.d r'rornMassawa. ,l lrammad to Asseb, where he jmortalized Irissc, rarien spljr irr rlreSrrd.rrr -Iigrcpo€try. his exjle in beautiful poliricalrrrnosptreic Canlibai Mahmoud ll*.,."1"J.1 ir wt,i.t,rt,e ditetsian(c ot rhc mov€d wirh his entire tribe to the r\ rfrrt uFtuecn rcgion o{-'I'ucar l(opic rl,r\4JIr,tien. At UnrnrapJrry, d,rd t(|,ir. and sought rhe prorection ofthe British aclnlinis_ mr"m. ,r t,.putJr parrr lrrtioo (1heA,rglo-trgyptian Dc rorrari, arrdrlrc \ariunal Lrri|rr Sudarr)after clashiDgwirh the ItaliaDs r-arty, atrd refusing tci abicle by thcir will. 'I hisinhabiranrs ofAl ccddcn and tbcBani Anrcr wcrc known ' for drcir fanatichnr The Bartle of Adwa lor Khitrnism ancl foughr the Nlahdi forcs an.t Menetik's hr,,i,,u.ly.lley di,t Punishrncnt of dre Eritreans ,tjlli,l "i,l nnrsro| nr rt,is.b,,r wJse,l ro.orn(r.rl$:|lJr. Jgainsr _Ihc it l,y ialling irs ti,llolr.rs.AlKowrn. Italians co tinued their crdeavours to inposc thei. ," irrfiLl.l a p.r.,, wirt,orrr 1,|',h,,""1',: "r a ret,gi,,n.ltrisworLl inlhrenccon all the provincesofHabasha. Italy presentedMenelik r\ usrd lo de5iBnirewIo.\.r r onlrJvenec with more rLFirl|rirmi r irearrd srrclr weaponswhich amouDtedro 3Booorifles and r7 guns (r a person is called ,Koumiai,. ).

Brirairi did rror tnep irs promise ynl,arrrre. (r) TIE coloniaht counlries,Italy, [rancc and Britain compercdjn surplyi.s , ro Lrnl,crL,r ,,1 'Ihe .nrurrg lrrm ro ams to Menelik to win his tiiendship. famorspoet, Ra,nbeau, wo.ted seizeMa

r 9rl r99 r',,,r'r;lir frtrgr:w(:srward, thcu it rr)ctrlr{ Slribartrrlt bill lirrrrrrhis tain. Then it crosscdthc Sibderat range to thc village ofSibderat 'Siiia(l lastlrill, tlrc ixrldcllirrc rvcnt al(rrq willr tlrc l clirrt'rnorrr)lairr itselt leavirg thc wcstcln sloPesofthe Shiababit nountain in thc rangcuttil it r),ctthc plateauol llagcr Nush north ol tlreRuribct tcrritory of the ligyptian Srrdan. 'Ihen, rnountain. it hllowcd the norlll cdgeof the lal(er pllrtcau O April r6th, rgor, each ofthc governorofthe whole of u'rril thc top of Ilonrouit nrouDtain. lircm this rltourlai,t, !l,e Sudan (Talbot) and the acting governor of the colony ofErilrca, borrlerliDc went alorrg thc coulse ol the r\liu tlcprcssionup to thc CuiscppiColi de llizamo, signedan agrccmertat fudlck to demar- wells ol AIia, fr-orr rvhere it wcnt to thc Har'rnountair) acrossa cate the bordc$ betwccn the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and Eritrca rnolrntainous territory seperating thc coursc of lhe depre-ssionof frorn Sibderat to Tudlek. This agrccment stipulated that the the nliddle Ambacta from the deprcssjon.rfLuri. Frcm this moun- bordcrling proceeclfrom Siberat in a s[raighr line southward to taiDous territory thc borderline went towards the depr€ssionof Nlc,unt Andaryab which is situated 3 kilometres away liom the IlaEka and met it whcre the latt€r mct lhc dcPrcssionofAmbacta right bank of Al Gas[ depression.From Mount Andaryab thc following the mc,untain range which srtrrorrndsthc low valley ol' borderline went w€stward to a point in Al Gash depressionsouth thc depressionofArnbacta on the nor(h. ol'the Gulsa mountain which was lelt entirely in thc Sudanese Fivc months alter the signing o[ the Previous agrccmcnt, territoly. From this rcgion, lyirrg on the right bank ofAl Gash another agrccrncntwas signedin Sibderat on the Iirsto{uly, r 899, clepression,thcborderlitle went inastraightlinc to fie highestpoill conccrning tl)e dcmarcation of thc boftlcls betw€en the EglPtian in thc AbuJamal mountain. From this lastmountain thc bordcrline 'l Surlan and Eritrea. his agrccment stiPulatcd that liom tbc junc- wcnt in a straight line to i point oo lattitude I4'5r" riorth on the tion ol thc Ambacta dcprrssion and lhe Baraka dcpresion, thc right bank of Atbara rivcr in ttre srnall province called Eigeri bordcrlinc go up ivith the coursc of the latter, tlre depressiono[ s;tualed betwcen thc YoyaorSoya andAl Rumcila provinc€snorth Barakah, until ic meeting rvit| thc Dada rivcr. From thejunction and Al Alcm provioce south. From this laltcr point the bordcrlinc ol-the depressionof Baraka with thc Dada rivcr, the borderline wcnt up with the main cou$eofth€ Atbara river until it rcachedthe went north rvestward,following dre co rseoflLeDadarjveratthc point at which Atbara mcets thc Stitit river. At.tiris poirrt, tho lbot ofthe Askirria or Askini bill rangc. l)ren thc borderlinc $rent bordcrline lcft Atbara and went up wilh the Stitit river to a point 'l'hcn soudward lbllowing 1hemountain rangc thalsePcratcsthc strcams bctwceu Al Grishi and Aioda provinces. it proceedcdnortlr flow dilectly into ofBaraka in thc castfrom thosc that tlre dcpression enstward from this point to'I'udlck, lcaving the Broup ol sumrnils t|at liow into thc dcprcssionofAl Cash a'rd Languib in thc wcrt. known as thc Aila Klai rnorlrtairr irrsidcthe liritrcan lcrritory. 'Ihis rnountain barrier consistsof thc Askinia hill range, I(rrrib, 1aiai, Tait Meisat nlountaio and Ilangir mountain. From this llowever, the borderline between ljritrca ancl the Sudan, latrer rnouDtain the borderline went in an almost straight line define.j un.ler the agrc€ment of April I6th, I9or, bclwccn the fo)lowing the Sbiderar lrill rangc which co sists of'fidilai hill, Anglo-Egypliar Sudan ard [ritrea was soonmodified by a memo- Alabga Mebib mountain, Climania mountain and Dob Dot) r rdurr appended to lhe treaty of May r5lh, I9o2, betlvecn mountair. From this last nrountain, thc borderline wcnt to Kwa- Brilain and Ethiopia to dcmarcatc thc borde{i betwccn {hc Sudair sana mour)tain. Then it crossedthis mountain to Kwasana moun- and lithiopia. As for thc qcmorandum oppenclcd to th€se two

201 '.l Inour)tailr. ltc boNlcrlirrc moved liom the first sign at Gabi Hilli iilto rcrnrullr tlrlc rtilxrIrtrxltlrrt tl'c lxxdcrtin0bctwccn tltc Surllrrrrrrd liritlr:t Llclirrr:dby Drglisharrd ltaliarr dclcgatcs nrountain and in a straight line lo tsaritai mountain. Then the l-rordcrlirrcfullur,r cd tlre counc of Karura riv"r until iB 'niJdtF urdcr thc agrccrner(of April r 6th, r9o r , Iiorn Sibder.atto 1'udlek be replacedwith anothcr lirre gonrg from Sibdcrarto Mt. Abu (thcdistancebetweer the Baritai signand thcmiddle ofthe Karura up lollowing Jarnal thcn to thcjurction of the Unr llagcr depr.essionwirh Lhc courseis 97 rnctrcs).l"rom there, Lheborderlile went Stititriver. th€ middlc branch of Karura river crossing two srnall islands situated to the south wclt of Baritai. Aftcr that, the borderline Otr febluary l8th, r9o3, tl,e llalian llritish bordcr commis- Iollowcd the courseofthe rniddle branch ofKarura river uP to thc 'Ambriga' sions at agreed to rnodify thc bordem between thc place where there was a line ofsigns extcnding betweenFogai and Anglo ligyptian Sudan and t|e coloty of liritrea in the lollowing Kirbaga and thc cou$c ol the middle branch of Karura [or' 6B manner: "T he bordcrlinc between Eritrea and thc Arrglo-Dgyptian nrctres. lherr thc bordcrlinc procccded from dris intcrsection Sudan gocs from the highcst pcak in ihe Abu Jamal rnountair to poillt, as it had bcforc, in a straight l;ne to the Fogai sigD thcn to 'Al the highcst point in the sericsofsuunrits known as llawarel', Mount Kirbaga sign, and liom (herc to the sign ofTeladt moun- which is 14 kilornctres arvay frorl Abu Jarlal. From Al Bawarck the bordcriirrc shall go in a straight linc to castcrn edge of rhe Qrroraitibhills passilg throtrgh thc highest hilt on rar edgc in The Borders Between Eritrea ald Etrnopia such a way as makc to the water lrollows in the hills ofQuoraitib On July roth, the D'nperor of Etltiopia, Menelik II, aud 'l fall to thc west ofthe bordcrline, i.e. inside rhe Sudarcse teritory. captain Federico chico Dccola, the repres€ntative of Italy irr Froir Quoraitib, tlrc bordcrline shall pas in a srraighr line to Iithiopia, signed a trcaty bctlveen Italy and Ediopia in Adis the famous grove which is surrouldcd by stotrcson thc eastern Abab for tbe demarcation ofborders bctwcen Eritrea and Ethicipia. 'lhc 'Iunrat-'Iudlek, extrernity of thc hill known as Mount Tuwar. Irom rhcrc, the two partics to tlrc oeaty agrced that th€ bordcrlinc procccds towards the road bctwocn Ambriga and AI Marab, Bilsa Muta lilc be the borderliDc bctwceir lritrea and Hufra, rvlich it mecs on the cdgc situated betweenWadismcl and [,thiopia. Al Hufra, approxirnatcly metres away {iom the point ar whlch 52o llowcver, thc last borderlincbetlvccn Eritrea and D riopia thc closcstwater way crossesto thc wcstdircc{ly lroir thca{brcmcn- wass.rL'u changcd by the rncrnorandumappcudcd to tl)c lrcaly o[ (iorcd cdgc. Frorn thc last on thc ArnbrigzrAl Hufra road, 'lhc tx)int May r5th, rgoa, arnong llritain Italy and lithiopia. firsr the borderlinc sh:rll go in a straight lirc to the bcnd of rhc sririt article of lhis treaty stipulated that "Thc borderline between river, directly hcing the esruary ofthc l{oyan deprcssion". Elitrea and Dthiopiagocs liom thejunction of Lhedepression of On rgth, r9o4, Urr I'lagcr with (hc Sdtit river lollowing the courseof lhe latter January dclesatcs ol-thc Anglo-Dgyprian 'I Sudan and the colo[y ofEritrca signeda draft at Karura to Drodity until its rneetingwith thc Maitib rivcr. [cn the borderlinegoes the borders between Gabi Hilli and Tilanit. This dra{i stipulatcd alongwith thecoursc ofMaitib leavingthe mountainot'Wclakata- 'Alatakora' thc ercction of signs in thc shapc ol conical structures along thc kora'or insideEii(rea up to thejunctionofthc Ma'arab borden, startingat Gabi Hilli mountain and ordirrg at'Iclanit rivcr with the Mai Ambsaiiver. "t'heborderli e betweenthcjunc-

2()3 -F- tlrrrrnf Slrltnrtl Mrrltllrnrrrl tlrr: ,jrrrrltirrrr ol Ma':rr.aL arxl Mai Arnlxrrwill lx:lrll rrpto Il:rlirur'(l tirhiopiurrdclcgarcs todctcr- pertics,sccurity, h€alth, etc.... rrritlc,Provirlcrl lhc l(uua ra oibc srrLywilLirr lirirrcarl tcrirory',. Hc did not interferewith the internal organizationof ihe OD May r6th, rgo8, Merrclik II and rhe rcpr-esentativeof country, but left it up to the triLal chieG,the denominational thc Ilalian govclnurcnt irt Addis AbaLra, Cuiseppi Coli de Fele- coultsandrhcclrurch. Bccauscofthis, the liritrcan countrysidewas siano, sigDeda trcaly betwccn Iraly and [thiopia firr the demar- not greatly affected by Italyt modern administration,which cation of bordcN berwcen thc colorry of liritr.ca and lthiopia. rcmain€d,in mostof its activities,at the serviccof the objcc(ives The firsr articlc ofrhis rrcaty sripularcd lhar rlrc bordcrline bctween oldle ltalian colonialgovcmment and its immigrantcomrnuniti(.s. the colony ofliritrea and thc Tigrai pnrvincc go lr.om rhe furthcst Thc Italian policy was basedon cxploitirrgthe Eritrean point cast of Mukr river south cas! ward in a dirccridr parallel ro individual in its military schemes.It neithcr encouragedthc th€ coastand sixry kilome(ft:s away from ir uDtilit mct rhc borders improvernentofthe conditionofagriculture mor the building ofthe ofI:r crrrlr po.scssiorrsirrSornalilanLl. cconomy,but rcsortcdto viciousmeans to uproot the traditional liritrcan way of life wilhout providing a substitute.It unleashed The Italiall Adrninistration in Eritrea discaseson livcstock,cspccially the cattleplague disease, which the country had nev€r kDown bcfore.Catdc pcrishcdcn rrrassc.lt 1hc beghning of rhc l(alian admirristratiorrin Eritrea rvas also rlccrcasc.l tlre area ofagriculrural Iarrd Ly cr'cour iging peasr rrt military.lhc occupation, which was called rlrc ru lc of pacificarion, ro,luitth.ir la'rds ard join themilitary (orps, us;ng var;ous In.- assumcdmartial {bnns. l he Iint ltalian govcnror ol Dritrca was a 'l thods!o achicvethis end,such as importing cereals and foodstulls soldier called gcncral Orciro. hc rnilitary nrJc lasted unril r896, lronrabroad and selling them to thepeoplc lor lorvprices, allocalirrg whcn the nrilitary rnet with a cr.ushirrgdcllar ar rhe hands ofrle 'lhe rclativcly high salaricsfor soldicrsand sometimesresorting to lolccs of Erner-por Menclik. lralian conularrder, gcneral conscription.In briel ltalian policy had definedits goal since Ilarateirc, was triecl lor ncgligencc.llc was tlre last Italian urilirary thc bcgirrling and conlinedit lo exploitingEritrcan youthsin the 'lhcn scrviceofits colonialwars in Somaliland,Libya andl-labasha. thc goveo,rncnt was rurDcd ovcr ro a civilian adr;nr;- (rationJand fcn)ando dc Martini was a1;Poiutcdsovcrror general Thi Italians deliberatelykept thc Eritrean pcople lcttered ofEritrca to lay down thc basisol_a Inodcrn adnrinistration lirr thc with ignorancc,so that thcy would bc tractablc.Aftcr sixly ycars, country. llc divided liritrea into nine provir:ccseach ofwlrich bad the ltalians lclt z4 clcrnentaryschools in [ritrea when they leli a provincial capital which were Asnara, Kererr, Nakfa, Barentu, it in r94r with thcir dcleatirr theSecond World War. The standard Akordat, Addi Caicch, Addi Ugri, Massawa and Asseb, as they o[ educationwas dclibcrately low. Signior Vesta, dircctor o[ arc now. He appointed rrrayon each olwhom was assistcdby two Educationin Erittea,issued a manualofinstructions to the Italian inspcclors, one for rulal altbirs and rhe orher for. urbarr aflairs. schoolsdirectors which stated: "At the end of his fourth school Hc establishcdan indcpcndenrjudicial systernand deparLrncntsoI year,the Dritreanstudcnt should know enoughofour languageto firrrrre. bc ablc to cornmunicatewith us. He shouldknow the four basic raxes.agri.ultulc. Iurerrry,,rlurrrion. gov."r'ncnr I,ru. op€rationsof arithmetic to theextentwhich would enablchi

2l)5 to krow tho l)fiuciplcsol nritl)i'rcti.. lrr lristory,lrc sLouldknow thoscmcn who nradc ltaly grcat". 'fhe Fascislsirnposccl thc laws ol racial dcscrimination on all walks of li{e. These inlrurnan laws rcached such depravity Chapter XIV that priority of drinking water was givcn to fic lkliarN'mulcs Eritrea Under Britainoccupation ovcr Eritrean soldicrs, who were dying for ltaly's colonial goals. ('94r r5z) This led a lrcc-spirited Dritrean (o kill thc cornmander of the Italian forc€s at the fanrous Tangahles battle, which lcd ro thc The Rise of Political Parties in Eritrea collapsc of tLe ltalian resistanccand t}le cntry ol the allies into Widr the dcleatof Italy in the sccondworld r,t,ar,thc allied Asmara. The battielasred tor mofe than 36 daysin the inrprcgnablc Iorcesoccupied liritrca in r94r. Its administrationwas turned over mountairs of I'angalrles.The allics sulTcrcdhcar,y losses in it. to Ilritain, which appointcda military govcrnorto run the country Inspitc of thc nrary evils of Italian colonialism, to lurther undcr martial laws until tbe SecondWorld War cndedwith thc their iDteresl, thc luliaus, like other colonialists, wcrc activc in nuclcarbombing ofHnoshnna nrJapan and the surr€nderofthe building roads, briclges,citics, ports and airports, until Asmam A-rispowers, Gernrany, I talyand Japan in r945. bccame a little Rorrrc, "l'iglo Roma" as the Italians callcd it, f'hc rrccdfor clcrksandjunior civil seruantsmade the British w;th its bcautiful buildings and wide, tleeJincd boulevards. govcrnmentdevotc sornc attcntion to cducation.Colonel Esnil, 'I'hc splcnrlour o1 ltalian architccturc was cxcmplilied in tlrc t[c lJritish director of education,cncouragcd thc cstablishing transport network built by thc ltaliaDs ro connect all the [ritrcan of clcrncntary and interrniediatcschools. Thc departmcnt of citics and villagcs. They built a numbcr of mod€rn hospihls. cducationestablhhed a tcachers'college in Asmaraand employed 'lhcy 'Ihc also organized sornc modem agricultural projccrs {br lruir Sudaneseteachers. languagcsofinstruction were Arabic and and vcgctablc cultivation likc thc Casprini lalns on the banks o[ llnglish in the Islamic and Tigrinic regionsand Englishin dre A1 Gash rivcr in Ali Gadar. Moreovcr, thcy cnlarged the port oI . Christianrcgions. 'Ihis lvlassawaand supp)icd it with the most up to-datc crancs.Furlher- cul(ural division was not without is political aims; morc, thcy establishcda tclcphorc and telcgraph network w|ich l}itish policy had alrcadydcfincd thc fate ofEritrea by dividing conncctcd tbc capital witJr thcprovirrccsand with theworld. it orra rcligiousbasis.1he three Islamic provinccs, Alordat, Nacfa arrdK"r"n, wlriehtJre Englhlr wcstcm Thus, the Italians lcft what we can call big progresslbm thc calledtlre reBion,v\er. lo incorporatc{ agricr-rlturalpoint of view and in comparison wirh sornc n€igh- be into the Sudan,which wasthen calledThe Anglo EgyptianSudan. The plaLeau bouring courrrrics,althouglr, from thc educational point otview, [ritrean and the coast,including Asmara (hey lcft thc country a wastcland. Security was nrainraincd under and thc portsof Massawaand Assebwere to be incorpo- rated into trthiopia. Italian occupation as it lrad never becn maintained beliore,local This policy appearedin the projectof brig. gclcral conllicB ccascdas did the plundcri|g Ethiopian incursiols, which Lungregg,ttre British military governor,as discussed in his had olten tel.rot.izedthc pcoplc otErirrea lor long ccnturies. book,"A ShortHistory ofDritre?r".

2l]7 2()6 'Father As soorras tLc SccorrdWolld Wal crrded,thc lJritislt governor ofanncxing liritrca. Forcmoscamong thescwas Marcus', gcncral askcd the Ddtrcan pcoplc tlrDLrgh their lcaden atd nota- whowasalsoknown lbr his allegianccto ltaly. blcs to dccidc thc fatc oftheircountry. As for British int€lligcncc, i! usedto cngilrcer Plolsthat provo- Thc rudirnents ol national aclivitics had appearcd itr 1943 kcd rcligious hostilitics to prcvent the uDity ofthe Eritrcan PeoPle when a group ofcducatcd yc'urrgmcn iu Asnlara lbundcd a socity, irr ia derrrarrdfor irrdependence.Thcse plos came to a head in thc 'Mehber which they called licgri Ilagir', i.e. ".fhe Lovc of thc ugly massacreofAsmara in which 5o Christian citizem wcrc killcd Country Socictv".'I his socicty compliscd liritrcarrs liom dillblcnt at thc h:urdsofa Sudaneredetatchrncnt of the British anny, which scctsand provinccs. Wuldab Wulclntaq'ant, who cxpcricnccd that w:rsstationed inAsmara. A Sudanesesoldicrwas killed in a quarrcl pcriod arrd participarcd, :rs hc says, irr lirurrdnrg the society, ltas ata gambling tablc. Soon, the detatchncn!came outofi|5 barracks rclated to nrc that thc Ibundilg Incnrbcm wcr-c t2 pcrsorrs,six ol into thc stleetsto kill anyonc who wc-ruldnot say: "'fhcrc's no God whorn wclc Nloslcns and six wcrc Christians. l hcy plcclgcdto work but Cod, and Nlubarnmad is his prophet". No one doubtcd that logcthcr to scr.r'cthc caLrscsof thc courrtry without any dcscrirni- the Ina5sacrchad bcerr engileeled by llritain to accentuatc thc ratiou. lb asscrttl)cir dctcnnirrali r, thcy c[:r:idcd to ablish thc dill-crcnccsbctwccn Dritrean citizensand ophold the sPl;t to Push problenr c,f what was callcd thc slaugl,lcr ol thc Nloslcnr arrtl thc tluough its scLemesto rerd thc inlcgrity ofthc Lritrcan soil. slaughtcrol tlrc ChrisLiarrby altcndirg two biurqucLs,orc at 11rc 'lhc lcadcIsol both sccs circurnvcntcd this plot by.considcring houscol a Nloslcmwlro was rhc wcll kuowrrrvcaltl,y man Salclt thc rnurclcrcd as rn.rrty$ ol-thc countly. 1hc patriarch and the Ahrnatl l(ikia Pashaarrrl tlrc othcr at thc houscr-rl a Clrristian. 'Mulii'placed wrcatlB on the gravcsoftl)c casualtieltogetltcr. 'Ihis socicty corccrrtlatcd iLsattcnti(nr on coltural and social Iinally, Ethiopia's endcavourc r€Prescn(ed by its clever relbnns.Arnorg i(s achicvcmcntswcrc lhc irbolilionofthc Italial liasiorr c.rllicer,Colonel Naga Haile Selassie,lruimphed and it law of racial discrirnination, thc urcoura{cmcnt ol cducational crci!(ed a pao-D(hiopian party under the name oI "1he Party of and culturalactivity aDd the prornotion ofthe unity o[tl)c liritrcan Icdcration with Ethiopia", the rank and lileofwhichwas Christian, pcoplcin is v:rrioussects. 'Beit att€r thc failure ol thc Carf{us'mcetirlg ir I946, which iucluded This buddilg raliot)al rl)ovcmcnt was uot safc frorn Blitis]r t|e leadcn of the "Society of the l,ove ofcountry", according to Ethiopian conspiracics.Dthiopia covcted thc anrrcxationof Iiritrca what Wuldalr Wuldrnaryam rclated to mc. This failurcwas brouglrt in liuc with its |istu;ral cxparrsioristdrranrs. It is r)otcwortlty :rbout by [thiolrinn ilrtcrventicrn by lrcans of thcir agenLs.l-|c that {heBri tish ad,lli ' risl ration distribu ted lcallcts in I 94I promising confcrrees wcrc sr-rr-rouDdedby terrorist elements armed rvith thc pcoplc ofilritrca in a scclarjannr: ncr a return to thcir'lrtolher valious k indsotweapt-rrrs srch asrcvolvers, grenades, swords, knivcs country, lit|iopia", if thcy coopcratcd with it in cxpcllirrg thc and sticks.'lhcse pr-esentedthe conlbrrccs,amoug whom was the It.rl;ll5. lcadcro[fie pro-Ethjopian party'JabrI azgal, with an ultimatuln At thc sarr)etinrc, Iithiopia had bccn scrxliltg agent and lirtds of pcrpctrating a rnassacreurrlcss they disrnissed immediatcly to llrilrca sincc tlre British occupation. tt also crploitcd somc without pulling lbr,,lard their propositions to approve a fomula clcrics of the Orthodox church to advocatc its cxpansionistaims advocaling ildependencc arrdassociation with Ethiopia in thc fonn

2cJB 209 (r4) olt rrrttllth't'rllotrrt'ilrrrl)llrr8 llrrrl ol (lrrrrrrlnwitlr llitairr''llrr: asa sigr ol-acccptanccolthc partition plan. r:r,rrli:rlcr:stLl.rlltcrl irr disal,poirrtrrrcrrt.tirllabaylo rcplaccdJabr However, the participation of all the Moslemsof Eritrea, Nlasgal as sccrctary gcncral ol thc'Fcdcration l'arty'. Wuldab includingthc Moslems ofdre plateau and the easternregions which Wuldmaryarn conlncnB: "lf EtLiopia had not interfcred with wcre to be annexedto Eritrea in casethe British partition plan lhe Ilcit Gargis meeting, we would bavc guaranteedthc unit oftlrc workcdout, rclirtcd thcscallcgations. ln addition to thai, Britain Ethiopiau peopte,is indcpendenceand neighbourly relatiols witlt opposedthe aimsofthe Islamicleague at the United Nationsand Iithiopia, and the prcscnt war with its calami(oustragcrli€s would put lorward its plan;hich aimedat thc partition ofthe country, not hnvc happencd. which lurnishedfurther proof of the sincerityofthe intentionsof tlreLeague aDd ofits advocationofindependence and ofits freedom The Moslem lcadcrs in Eritlca did not lack a sttong rcason Iiorn any associationwith any foreignschemes. to form a partv i,liich reprcscntstlrem as thcir Christian brothers had prcceded them iuto lonning a partv which declaredallegiancc Al SayyedMuhammad Abu Bakr IbnJa'afar Al Mcrglrani, 'Ihc Lo Edriopia. Moslem leadcrs hcld a mcctirrg in Kcrcl on thc lcaderof the Khitmi scctin Eritrea, was chose[as honomry Decembcr,I946. At tbe bcginnirrgof I947, thc corrlerrecsannoun- presidcntof the League.Ibrahim SultanAli waschosen secretary 'llritrcan ccd the lounding oftlrc lslanic Lcaguc I'arty'. The ncw gcneraland becamcthc actualleader. party dcfined is goal as complctc irtdcpendcnccarrd the pr-escrva- Thus Eritrcanswere split on dre basisof their confcssional tion of drein (egrity ofDri trean soil, (i.c.:rgainstthe tsritishPartition alliliationsand theyfell lor thc maneuvrcsofBritish and Ethiopian plan), but it did nol rejcct internatiooal nrandatc lor a maximun colonialism.In the final analysis,the Eritrean peoplewere the of ten yean if iL is deemcd that the liritlean pcoplc need to be losers, habilitalcd lor independcncc. In casc ol- nrarrdatc, the Lcaguc I'Iowever,the split was not sharplyconfessional. There wcre Party preferred that thc supcrvision bc lJritish to win lJritain's c,vcrlappingsrcprcsented in small partiesamong which was The support and to avoid rhe instabili[y which rvould dcvelop as a FreeDemocratic Party undcr the leadenhipof Ra,sTessma, who rcsult ofchanging the supervisory administration, especiallysirrcc wasli-om the ruling farniliesin AkkeleGuazi. Is membenhipwas Britain was supewisirrg drc administratioD of Lritrea at thc timc. 'l'his cntifcly Christian. party and six othcr small partieswhich 'l Le supportcrsoftlrc fedcrationw;th DthioPia I'arty cxPloited wcrc: r)1'he Ncw Eritrcan Party z)The Italian EritrcanSociety 'fhe thc proposition of the lslamic larty Lcaguc o{ prclirring l}ritish 3) Old VctcransParty 4) Thc Intellectual'sParty 5) The supervisionto brand the Lcague as a Ilritish lackey. Some ofthcm IndependentEritrca Party 6) Ihe NationalParty ent€red into an also accusedthe Lcague ofbeing associatedwith the British parti- alliancewith the Islamic Lcague,and fom,redwhat they called tion plans, indicating that the namc iself had bccn inspircd by The Eritrean lDdependelceBlock widrin which the pariieskePt llritairr, which had transplantcd it from thc Indian Peninsula' thcir old entities. into the two republics '['hese which it had partitionccl on a scclariarl basis partics were not.frce of foreigninlluenc€(r)..Italy of lndia and Pakistan and thcy considercd thc choice o[ Keren inste:rdofAsmara the capital to be thc headquartcrs of the Parl)' (r) The exccptior anons tbcse six par1i6 w4 rhe "National Parll" whosc

2ro 2tL -l'hc - Iiruuxxxl ux)st ol tlrcsc l'altics, whilc l-thiopia Iiuarlced thc Unitv period of the British occul)ation (I94I 52) was not t)arty xlrd sul)llor(ed it polilically. Most ol lhc lcaderswcrc cros- a pcriod ofecononric prospcrily; thc country cxperienccda concli- sbrccds (of Eritrean motlrcn and Italian fathcrs) or old soldicrs tior ofcsJnomic stagration as a result olthe circumstanccso( lhc who had lost thcirjob and wcrc plagu€d by unemPloyment aftcr Sccond World War. Unernploymcnt was widesPreaddue to thc tbc cud of ltalian occupation. Ilut thcsc cntcrcd irrro an alliance dischargc of large numbcrs who had bccn soldiers in the ltrlian with the Islanric lcaguc party whc ltaly supportcd the causc of army. llut the Eritrcan masscsstarted going back to reclirim $eir i depcndcnce as a r$ult o[a coincidcrtcc ol interests; the lclgue lands which had abondoncd under ltalian occuPation,so agricul- nccded potitical supPorl at the uDitcd nations, wltile ltaly hopcd turc was reviialized. Moreovcr, Italian cxpertisc corhibutcd irt to reap somc econorlic and stratcgic benefits by supportirrg irrdc- building sorncc<-rnsumer industries and larrnssPccialized in export 'lhe pcndcncc,espccially as its largc connrunity controllcd thc cconomy products- pcople started to build their economy anid a wavc o{ the country through agriculture, irrdustly, exports and nnports. ofEthiopia tenodsm and lack ofsccurity Its mcmbet.swerc fl.cqucDtlytlte tmgc( ol atlacks and assasinations Someone summed up the thr€c periods in a few sarcastic by thc Unity l'arty. words, the ltalians pur:Lrcd the policy of "Fill your stornach and 'lhc was and go hungry!", and six ycars (1946 5:) \{itncssedintcnse political strilb. sl) t up!"j thc Dnglishpolicy "Speak 'lhe political partics cstablishcd thcir ou,n novspapers ("1he the Ethiopian policy was: "Shut up aDd go hungryl". 'llr" Unity" nclrspapcr, "'l hc Voice of thc lslarnic Lcague", "Uuity lJriri"lra.lmirr istra tion , staLli5heda nurrrlrr ol puLIi' and Progress","Uniorr", ctc....).l Lescncwspapers wcrc publishcd libraries and night schoolstor tcaching languagcs,typing and short il Arabic and'I'igrinya and bccarnc a platlonn lor young wrilers |aud. It wasobservcd that the public librarics attractcd only a ldn' slro rornp,tccl ir sul't'u'ti',9a 1'oitrt,,t ri, w or ,t'tio\irrgit ir a patrons as illiteracy was rampant among thc Inarses.Some sar-cas- stvlc rvhich rvasnot always above chcap invectivc and in a stiltccl tically called thesc libradcs "Fisho Awalct", ollice of unerlploy- iraDrcr, particularly in Arabic. mcnt; a relirencc to tlle fact that nost ol thcir patrons were uncnl- Aftcr thc long Italian supprcssion, thc pcople buNt ilrto ploycd pcople who usedthem as a restingplace. cxprcssing t|cir Ibclings and opinions (on a low lcvcl of cultural and political awarcrcss) by diflbrcn t Incilnssuch asdcrnonstra tions, lcallcts, r:cwqrapcrs, rallics, lccturcs and, sornctirrrcs,violcncc. A lot of blood was shcd in thcsc political cnrlitics. llut it was a period markcd with vital;ty and activity as a rcsult ol the lianchisc ul pulrlirliLcr rir s l,vrlr" Br itislr aurhor itic".

acrivirv was conhrcd to lvln$awa. It con,Priscdi nlmber ofll tish govcdr menr olll.ials lcd by Nlul'rnnnad Nu. lla$an, rllr was la(cf aPPiltcd ntirisr.r ofs,.i^l alIaiF nr rl,c g{^cnnncnr ol llrirrcr. It $as no sccrcr thcn rhat llri(anr.{.s bchnd this $nall snt|L (o wcaktn rhc lslanrict,caguc

213 ChaPter XV The Problern of EritTea before the United Nations ('sa8 'gdz) The Manners In Which The Problern of Eritrea Was Referred to dre United Nations Under article23-3 ofthe peacetreaty with Italy on February loth, rg47,the governments ofthe SovietUnion, theUnited States ofAmcrica,Britain and Frahce,the four alliedcountries victorious in thc SecondWorld War, had to effectwithin a yearofthe appli- calionofthc treatythe final liquidationofltaly's territorialposses- sionsin Africa, includingEritrea, which Italy had renouncedall righs to andownership ofunder article13-1. The four great Powersformcd a commissionto investigate Italy's ex-colonies.This commissionvisited Eritrea and stayed therefrom Novemberr2th, 1947till January 3rd, 1948.But dre lbur alliesdid not agrecon the late ofthe lormer Italian colonics in view of their difl'erentinterests. The sPecifiedperiod of a ycar ended.So theydecidcd to apPlysuPplemcnt I I ofthe placetreatv which statedthe following: "lfthe lour statescould not reachan agrecmenlon the liqui_ dation on any o[ thcsctcrri[ories within a ycar of implcmentirrg the pcacctreaty with ltaly, then th€ matter would be referredto thc GeneralAsemblv of the United Nationsto makea l€commen- datronconcerning it, and the four stat€sagree to acceptthe recom- mendationand to take the necessarvmeasures to imPlemcntit"' On the basisof this, the problem of liquidating the fonner Italian colonies(Dritrea, Iibya and Somaliland)was referred to theGencral Assembly in its third ordinarysession in I948.

2t5 'l hc Itcconuncrrtlntion oI r94ll n: lir rl,. rcl,f(s,rrarivr ol Ncw Zcalantl.Ic fr.{,uscd tlr, 'I Lc dhagrccrncDt concc ring llritfca was grcatcr lhilr tha( t)^rriti(xr ol lrrilrca bctwccn Ilthiopia and the Sudan, (tlrc Anglo concerning Libya and Somaliland. lhc rcprcscntativesof lndia, ligvptian at the tirne) which was thc san)eas thc llritish plan that Cuatcnala, l-londurasand Haity fclt that nothingcoutd be dccidcd hacl been defcated tlrc year bclbrc. bclorc lbrnring a U.N. conmissio,r that rvould undcrtakc art Alicr lorrg deliberation, the Gcncral Assernbly rcachcd a invcstigation in Eritrca itsclll Argcltina callcd Ibr thc irnrncdiatc dccisioncalling for the Iorming ol a fact findimg commissionreplc- iudcpcndenceof Dritlea, and this was support€d by thc rcprescn- scnting livc countries to visit Eritrea and probe tlre wislrcso[ lhe 'I tative of thc kiDgdon, ofSaudi Arabia, who dcclartd tha( he was people. he dralt lcsolution whic| carneto bc kno\a/nas resolution '289-4-4' rot \'\,illing ro cndorsc any solulion not bascd on thc right ol scli- was approved by a nrajority of 4B votcs agairsl onc dcrcrminarion in view ofthc Iact drat r)tostargurncnc rr:rdc Ibr tirc (ljthiopia's vote) and the abstention of nine rnerrbcrs lcd by thc partition ol Eritrca wcrc ncithcr suPported nor dclcnsible.llcsides Soviet Union and F-rance.'I'his took place in the 25oth nrccting that, Lcbanon,Yogoslavia, (lhilla, Vcnczuela,ll)c Sovict Union, ofthe General assemblywhich was hcld on Novenrbcr zrst, 1949. Chccoslovakia,Poland, WhitcI{ussia, Sovict tJkraria and l'akistan I ll. l"ll',wirrgh tlret, rt uf tlrcJfalt r.solutiur): rccommcndcdglanting tl)c lcuitory indctrc'rdcrruc.l hc rqrrescn- tativeofthc SovietUnion rerluestedlllc additionofa clauscstjpu "'l hc Gcneral Asscrnbly: lating that Ilrlriopi:r bc grantcd a corridof to thc l{cd Sca via ln accordancewith supplcrrent I r, clause3 ofthc Pcacetreatv with ltaly in rg47 whcrcin thc statcsconcerncd agrccd (o acccpt 1he specialcornmittcc ot thc U.N. GcncralAsscrnbly listclccl thc rccornrncndation of the Gcncral Assembly conccrnilrg the to the opinions ofthc reprcscnlativ€sotthc political pari(cs. disposal widr the lbnner ltalian colonies and taking thc suilable As Ibr tirc lJritish drali rcsolution ol partitiorrirrg liritrea, measlll-csto implemcnt it. it wasdcltated by a orrcvote rriu.qin.'I'hc dccidirrg votc was Haid\. ,r\licr taking note ofthe report ol thc invcstigalivc committcc cornposedof the represcniativcsof thc lour sta(eshaving hcard The Rccornrnendation of 1949 spcakersou bchalfofthc organizationswhich reprcscrrrsignilicant 'I hc rcprcscntativc of thc Sovict Union prolx)scd lhat lid(rca sidcs and scctrrs of opinion in the tcrritorics conccmcd, havitrl: becomcat indcpendcrt state alier a pcriod oflivc ycarsol ptcpara- takcn into considcralion the wishcsarrd tlrc ilrtcrest of tlc irrhabi- tion and quali{ication under the mandate of thc U.N., and thc tants ol thc territories and also the intcrests of pcace and securjly lonnulation ofa suitablc tcxt conccming lithiqria's clairns. He and havilg rcviewed the view points ofthe inlcrcsted govcrnlncnls also proposcd that Eritrca make a dccision on this mattcr alicr and thc rclevant stipulations of thc charter, recornmends lor 'liritrca, is indepencc.1hc rcpr€scntativeol Poland proposcd thc indcpen- clcnccofEritlea after a period ofthrec ycars undcr U.N. rnandatc, r) A cornmissio| shall bq lt-rnnedof the iepresentativesofcoun- and granting Iithi

zr6 2t7 Fq1--;r

t,) us(:crtirin lirlly tlrt:wirlrcr ol tlrt:illrr'lril'nts (,l lifitrrlr lrnd tlrcmembcrstates, so that afinaldiscussioncan be hcld during thc Lcst nrc.u)s to c'rsurc thcir wcllilc arrtl drcir intcrcsts to tlrelifth ordinarysession oftire GeneralAssembly. l hc tcmpo- cxamirrc thc problcrn of lilitrca arrd draw a report to subrnit rary co,nmitteeof thc CeneralAsscmbly shall study the rePort it to the Geneml Asscmblywitlr whatcver proposalor proposals and the proposalor proposalsofthe commissionand submita itntight dccnr ncccssawto solvc the problenrofliritrea. report on the resultsto the c,rdiDaryscssion of the Gcneral z) The corrmission shall, in lirlfilling its rcsporrsibility,asccrtain Asscmbly. all thc lrcs relcvant to thc problerr, including procurementof 5) Conccnringdrc aforemcntionedstipulahons : writtcn or oral inlbnnatior Irom the statcl undcrtaking administration, fron) tlrc rcprcscntativesol the inhabitants of r ) Lrvit$ theS€cretary General to clemandtlccessary facilities thc tcrritory, including minodtics, arrcl{iorn govcrncrncntsand from the authoritiesi[ qucstionof eachof the countries organisationswhcncvcr it dcerrs tlrat ncccssary. which the commissiondeems visiting or conlerringwith In particular, thc commissionshall take into considcmti()n: thc authoritiesofwhich a neccssarymatter. A) l hc rvisLcsand intcrcst ofthc inhabitants ofDritrca, includins 2) ln accordancewidr fixed principles,authorizes the Secre- the opinious and vicws o[ tltc djllcrcnt ethnic, rcligious and tary Gincral to: political groups in the provinces capacity of thc peoplc lbr self-dctcnnirration. a Deliay the travcl cxpenscsof the commissionin liritrea. ts) The intcrcs6 olpcacc and scculity in East Alrica. b Appoint a staff the U.N. commissionin Eritrca and C) t)re rights and clairns ofli,thiopia attributcd to geograptrical, providethc lacilitiesdeemed nccessary by dreSecre- historical and cthnic rcasoDsol ccc,nomicreasons, espccially tary Generalfor implcmcnting thesestipulations ol' including the rightful necd of Ethiopia lor sulircient passage thisresolutiun. .lo lhe sc/. 3) In discussingits proposals, the cornmission shall take into The Report of the U.N. Eritrea Cornnission considcration thc various proposalsconcerninr. disposal with 'Ihc U,N. corrmission,colnposcd of thc dclcgatcsof Guatc_ Eritrca, wLich wcrc lirrward irr thc ordinary scssionol thc l)ut Norway, South Alrica and Burma, held seveml GeneralAsserrbly. mala, Pakistat'\ meetingsin Eritrea lrorn ]lcbruary l4th to April Bth, r95o.Afler 4) The commissionslull meet at the U.N. headquartersassoon as obtaining inlbrmation liom the Brirish administration(I) and possible, and it shall leavc lor Eritrea. It may visir odrer lrom the r-eprescntativesof thc inhabitantsincluding the Italian regions as it deems nccessaryto fullill its responsibilitiesand thecommissionshall decideon dre proccdr,rralbasistoncerning (r) Brjtah wa represenlcdbclore lhe nrv6tisativecommi$ion bv Lrank Stal it. It shall subnit its report and its pmposal or proposalsto ford, theBridshJN wd an advherio EtlioPian Ministrv ofcom'nerccand the Sccretary General byJune r5th, rg5o to bc distributed to wboprbeDlcd to rhe.ommitk; reporBslanted in Ethiopia\ favour'

2IB 219 lninority,and havingconferrcd wirh The Pakistani rlrcgovcrnmcnls of ligypr (r ), And Guarernalar Dthiopia,france, ltaly (z), and dreUrrircd Kirrgdorn, the ioinnrii- Delegations Confirrn Ethiopian Terrorisrn lc'' drewa drdli of irsrcporr and forewardcdir ru rheSecrcrary It is an indisputablelact that many Chritian Eritreansw€rc Generalin r95o. Junc, Ibriedinto supportingfederationwith Dthiopia during thepolitical Eachmember ofthe commirteehad a differcntpoirrt olview; unr€stwhich lastedfrom rg45 to r95jr by terrorism,assasination Norway proposedthe incorporation of Eritrea into Habasha, and other unlawlul means,and that the governmentof Ethiopia 'Shafta' provid€dthe westernprovince ofEritrea staysunder British admi- organizedarmcd gangsknown as which committed a nistrationlor a definiteperiod altcr which it would be given the sedcsof terroristacts against Eritrean struggling for the frcedom opportunity to decidewhich of thc two couotriesit wantcd to of their country. unitc with, Ethiopiaor rhc Sudan,wlrich wasesscntially 'Ihc the same ugJiestcrimc committedby thescgangs was the assasina- asthc Brilish par(ition plan. tion ol-MuharnmadSaleh Kabiri, onc ofthe leadcrsofthe Islamic Burma (r) irud thc Union ofSourh Africu proposcda l€clera- l,cagucI'arty, in rg49 in onc of thc strearsofAsmam while he was tion "undcr conditionscomparible with the dignity of borlrcoun- prcpariusto lcavefor the U.N. within tLc dclegationolhis party. trics and their domesticsovcreignty". While Cuatemala and Wuldab Wuldmaryam,onc of the leadcrsof the independence Pakislan recomnrendcdthat Eritrea bc given cornpleteinde- bbc, sutlcrcdseven assasination attemp6 with bulles, grenades pendencealtcr a maximum of ten yearsunder 'lbey U.N. mandate. and poisons,in all ofwhich hc washurt and miraculouslysuruived. said that therc was no significanror generalrciationship lle is still continuing rhc strugglewithin the lrameworkof the, betweenEthiopia and Eritrea; ratLer, Eritrea harbouredfeelings DritreanLibcration Front. ofressentlnentand evcnhostility torvads thc neighbotrringcoun- In 1948,two wceksaltcr the lour mcmbercommittec had lcft try, Ethiopia. It was rhe view of thesetwo dclcgarionsthat the Eritrea,these tcrrorist gangs began a seriesofattacks on rhesup- economic,ethnic, racial, historical, security and other reasons portcrs of independemcc.They assasinatedtwenty one people, put forward for the mergerof tbe two countricswere insulfrcient having tied up live of them and cur off their headsin lull view of justificationlor thetn to prcscnta recommendationofthis solution their women and chiledrcn (r). Thcse gangsalso raidcd farms to the U.N..'I'hey alsodeclared that theywere nor convincedthar and gold rrines. 1'he Erhiopian pres dcscribedrhc rerroristsas this was thc wish ol thc rnajority of the inlubitanls or that it was patriots and thcy wcrc givcn political.asylurn irr the district of tbe bestmeans to cnsurethc w€lfareofthe inhabitants. --l;,lBnN,E.tr*nissi(!,, retakd io mc wt,enr merhnn h Kuwait nr (r)'Ihe resrimonialof Dr. MohammadSalch Eddin,,e trflpdanfofeign sec.e- '966, afkr hc had becomcambaisador of ttis counrry, rhar rtre llurmesc delgatc 1ary,r{d markedwilh anbiguirr and rcscwarion;helxxqroncd rhe presen- was in favour of rbe prcposakot drc Pakislaniand Cuarcmalan rarioo of lbc vielv ot Ih govennent unril rl,e commnsioDcornplet€d iB dclcgalc rille dre lastDomenl ald participarcdh wriring rhejr rcpon, bur invcstigarioosin Eritrca. be finallyjoincdthc SourbAliican dclesarionh supporrorfederal union on (?) ThcrcportofcouDrAslnsa,d,e Iralian lorc;si sccferary,darcd on r7l4i,95o, fcccivingsrict iNrrucrio.s fiom h; sovcn,mcn(,whi.h wasu.d$ p.csufc waspositive aDd in hvou. of;ndcpenddn.e. (r) Muhammad Shcikh,who had beo a mcnrbo ofrhc l,akishni ddcsarion (r) + (4) Efnrcaa Colo.y in't;ansiLnn,,K.N. I rcvask^.

t2l Addi Abua in the'l igrai province (r ). Irr the period bctwccn Octo- who had bccn opposed to ledcrarion wirh Iithiopia and who bacl bcr r9.g9 and fcbruary I95o, thcsc !.irngs assasiu:rtcdcightccn bccn assasinatcdon tle day beforc by (hc Shat'tagarrgs. The word 'Shalia' Dritrcan parthans, and grenadeswcrc tlrrowD al the centresol'thc ir Eritrca stands for political terrorisnr. This armcd IndcpcrrdenccParty in Asrnara, Nlassawa,and AddiWigri; a large strugglc lasted for thrcc days and resultcd ir the dcath of morc 't uumber ofpcoplc wcrc killed or woundedh thescincidents (r). than nlty people besideslargc numbers o[ wounded',. he com- Trevaskis says that Ed{rea resortccl to violcncc after seeing tlrat mission'sreport addcd: "The British Adminisrrdrion supplicd rhe violencein Palestirrcachieved fur thcJews irl Paleslir)ewhat would nrembersol-thc comissionwith sccrerreporrs concerning the Shaha -I havc becn impossiblc to achicvc by pcacc, cspccially after thc activities. hcscrcports, which can not be divtrlgcd in view ol'ttreir independenccparties erouped within the IDdcpcndcrrceBloc, thus sccret naturc, clcarly indicate that most ol-thesegangs cornc from rcprcsent;ngaD overwhclming rnajority. Iithir4ria to llritrea and their woundcd are treared ar Ethiopiarl 'l he U.N. corrrmissionwitnesscd ;rctsol violence in Asmam. hospitals". The lollowing is stated in thc repor-t-of the Pakistane{nd Guate- Ihe Iithiopian governmentdid not srop at organizing tcrrorisr malan delegations. acts,but alsoexploitcd religion asa meansofrcalizing irs colonialist "l'aragraph rB5 During the s(ay ol thc comrnissionin dcsigns on Eritrea. It m;rde the Orthodox Church in Eritr.ea a warnnrg in the '[!hiopia' Asrnara, it unfortunately learrt of maDy assasinations,highway lpublish newspaper that ir would not attacks crimes of arson and othcr acts of violcnce the v;ctoms i perlirnlr riter ofbaptisrrr,marriage, burial orconlcssionto membcrs otrl,,lrrdepenJen,e ol which werc the support€N of the Ildcpcndcnce Bloc.'Ilcn , Ulororrlreiriamilies. fhusChrisrianIrirrcans assasination attc,npts incrcased to include Italians and others I fourrtl th.nr.elvcshelorr. nvo .rlrerrrarivcs:cithcr mernbenhip during the stay ofthe conrnrissionin Ildtrea and alter ib dcparture in thc bloc or abandoning theirreligious laith. for Geneva. The Reconrnendation of rg5o Paragraph IBfJ On february 2r, I95o, the commission lcarnt ofthc tcrrible, bloody struggle thai had taken place between Thc Rcsolution of Federal Union After Moslcms and Christains in thc city o[ Asmara as a result of the A Long Heated Discussion 'I throwing ofa bomb near the headquartersof the Fedcration party he reports of the U.N. [ritrea comrlission wcre prcsentcd at funcral processionwhich compriscd (!c body (2) of a Moslcrn 1r' thc Ceneral Asscmbly in is filih ordinary scssion.Also, resolu- tions proposcd by the mernbcr statesto solv€ the Drirrean problern (r) Ibid. 't 'Itevaskis. !rcf. d. ll, ',rustin,portaDl werc: ( ' ) Eritrcaa Colonrin l ransition,K.N. t,fes.',t' (r) whcn tlc authornrq!ifcd ofa numbcof tl)cl,:idcNof(hc na I ional Dolencnt ,.\) A dralt resolution proposed by the Soviet union inviting the (l,c all ruled that it couldl,ave Leen d,e abour sourccoftl,e bomb, thcy c,{r Gencral Asscmbly to r€co.mmendgranting Eritrea indepen- headguancnoft|e Fcd$arionPa y, and rvereinclin€d to thi,k rl,atnhad dence imrnediately, (he bccn (be work ol li'rciso .oloni.list circls to createa conli$ioDalw.angle the withdrawal of British occupation rha! irould enalrlerl,edr ro pud! rhu,gh thci. sche'nesfor the pariilion of Ibrccs within thr€e months, starting olr the day the Ccneral Asscmbly approvcs this resolution a d tlre anneration of a

222 423 part ofthe llritrcan tcrritory to Dthiopia to ensurcIthioPia's Dthiopiabe grantedsuch a rcgion as would ensurelor it a passagcto tl)cseavia thc port ofAsscb. passageto lhescavia thc portofAsscb. B) A draft rcsolution proposecl by lraq which rccommended, D) Pakistan presenteda drali resolutionrecommending rhe among other things, that the question of ivhclher [,ilrca declarationol- the sovercign,independent state of Dritrca by should enter into the framcwork of some lbrm of federation thefirstoflanuary, rg53and rhara nationalassembly meeting with Etlriopia undcr the Ethiopian crown or whethcr it be held by Octoberrs(, r95r, sothat dlis assemblyunderrake shoukl bccorrca sovereignstate a.d thegranting ofEthiopia a 1h€drafting ofa constitutionfor Dritreaand the lormationofa convenient passagewayto the Re-dSea shoukl be dccidcd by a provisionalgouvernment, taking into considerationthat rhe first day ofApril, 1952,be fixed as the final date.'llhe draft national assemblywhiclr truly rcpresentsthe PeopleofDritrea by.July Ist, I95r. Bcsidesthat, thc clr:rft resolutionstiprrlated rcsolutionrecommended that allpowcrsexercised by thc state thc appointment ofa U.N. .eprescnta(ivc in [ritrca and a undertaki g administrationbe turnedover ro this temporaw council to assistand glridc hirn anclhe$ thc Iiritrcan peopleto governmentgradually, providcd that rhe transiriono[power decidc the alorcmcntionerl qrrcstionand labour on irnplernen- bc compleledby January rst, 1953,at the larest.B€sides nng'r. that, thc dralt resoludonslipulated rhat a U.N- representative be appointedto assisttbe pcopleofEritrea to lorm a national c) I lreU S A . sul,l'orr, J br Urazil. IJrrr rn.r. C.rrrrJ,r. Dnrrlrrk. \ asscrnbly,draft a conslitulion and lorm an inclepcndcnt E,1ua'lor.Cr,'.c'. LiLcria.l\lariro. I'rrrarnr. l'arrp'r.,). lhr u' Ilritrean governnrcnt,and (hat a ccJuncilbe conrposcdof the ard 1ur k.v. a I esolutiorrr,1on,rr.rx ling rhcd':rltirg ProposcrJ I r€presentativesof five statesand thrcc representativcsof the of a dlrailrd r..olution srip'rlaljrtsrlrc , orrrersiorrof l-rirrea I llritrcan peopleto guidc the U.N. dclcgat€,and providchim into an authonomous self governing unit lcdcratcd with rvithcounciland adviccJn fLrlfillinghis chargcs and his acrions. E thiol,iaunJer tlre sovcr cignt ol rlrr Ltlrinlri,rrrcrou r. 'lhe 1 dralt rcsolution, baving included orher suggestions D) A drali resolution proposed by Poland rccorrrrnendinggran- corccrniDg(he procedurcs that mustbe followedin the transi- tingDritreaindependcnccithrecyearsduirgwhichitrviUbe tion pcriod, rccommcndcdthat the independentErilrca bc placed under thc rulc ofa coul)cil o[six mcn)L]crs:one {iom ;nvite.dto join rhe Unired Nations in accordancewirh rhc Ethiopia, t$,o froln thcArab countries,and thrcc from l]ritrea, fourlL articleof the charrer. provided that two of these members bc lrorn thc indeginous population and one lrorn the [uropean inhabitarts of thc It is clearfrom thesedraft resolutionsthat a largenumber of province. The council worrld submit a report aDnually to the counlriessupportccl the nrdependenceof Eritrea.,Therepresenta- Ccneral Assembly and undertake the appoirtr eni of an tivc of lJitain spokeagainst tlie indepeudcncedraft rcsolutions, adm;nistrator who cnjoys executive authority and is accoun- statingdrat the populaliono[ lritrea consistedof di{Ierentraces table to the courcil. Beridcs that, the draft resolltion rccorn- of.liferent languages,traditions and cultures,and that Eritrca mcnded tlrat the British occupation forccs withdraw three was a poor couDtry which imported onc eightth of its ccrcals months aftcr the approval ol the draft resolution and that rcquircmentslrom abroad; (lle lorgot that Britain importedthrec (r5) 224 215 qrarlcla ofi(l grain reqLriremenllic,rn abroad). 'I D licans unity rvith Iitbiopia, they did nor acccpr rjrc he Soviet rcpresentativearswercd him saying rhat rv|enever. -waDted Iraqi dlaft resolurion instead of trying ro impose fedcrati,cl on it wasan issueconcerning rhe grarI ring of jndcperidcnce roa cololy, Iiritreans without allorving them sclfdetermjnation in accordancc tbe colonialist state in quesrion always alleged thar rhe popularion rvilh delnocratic methods. lvas not ready yer ro sbouldcr the responsibiliriesofgovcrnment. lIc added that it was not srrange rhat Drirrea, which haclrcmainecl The Results of Voting on lhe Five under ltalian control lor sixty yearsJlrad not attained the degree Draft Resolution in rhe First of national awarenessattained by other lree countdes. lhen hc Comrnir rec said that htrmanity was living then in rhc age of liberation fron: colonialist states and that it was nor pennissible thar a lbreigr A) The Sovict dr.alt r.esolution:36 lbr, B against, and 14 absten, s(atecontinue governing asa colonialist state. Allhough thc Sovier rcpresenlative exprcssedhis arlmiration B) The Laqi .lr:rli resolurion: 28 vr)rcs ror, 2r vores aganrsr, ibr the [(Liopian pcople lor rcsistingcolonialism, and approved of r r abstentlons. Dlhiopia's right to a passagewayro rhc Rcd Sra, he said rhat a Cy flre Arn'rirarr,lrJtrrerulur;on: jB vorestur,r4 vorc"againsr. state could not be lree il it wantcd to enslave another, and hc ' and B abstcnrions. declarcd that the Soviet proposal was c.nrsistcntwas the goals oI l)) Ihc Polish dralt resoludon: voles for, fivc vores against, the U.N. which shoulclseek to liberare opprcssedpcoples 37 insrcacl and r3 abstentioll. ofseeking to furthcr rhe interestsofcoloDial stales. li) The Paki/lani draft resolurion: 2() voles Ior, ,6 votes agaim., On the basisof Guaternala's proposal, rhe liritrearr polirical and r4 abstentions. partjes were givcn the right ro exprcss -fedla the:r poilts of vicw. Mr. Bairo, the secretarygeneral ofthe Federarion with Erhiopia The Gener-al Assembly Approves party spoke.He called for lederalion j nsrifying ir by ethnic, ccono- the Arnerican Dra{t mic, geograpbical, historical ancl cultural tics, and accuseclthe independcncebloc ofallegiance r.r Iraly. Inspite o[ the closenessof the rrumber o[ votes irr the first committee, (he American clraft won and was subsequcntlyprcscn- Mr. Ibrabim Sultan, spcaking lor the lslamic League party teclbclbre the Gencral Assemblylor the final vote. America rhrew and the independence bloc, made a statement before the 6rst its political weight to ensurethe successofirs drafr. Alier a stormy conrmittee ol-the General asscmbly in which hc summcd up the sessionwhich laslcd unt.il thrce a.m., rhe ceneral Assemblyappro- attitudcs ofthe Dritrean pcropleand their aspirations.He said that ved lheAmerican drali r-esolutionbya manority of46 votesagainst Eritreans wanted a prompt independence,the establishmentofa r{} votes ^nd dcmocratic 4 abstcntionsaird issuedit on December lnd, r95o, governmenr,and tb€ preseryationofEritrea's territorial ,A,. under the name federal rcsoludonNo. Here is i{s t€xt: unity within irs presrnt boundaries. Then he wondered why, if 3go Ethiopia and its supporre$ werc convinced rhar the majority of "ln view of tlre fact that in accordancewith the third clause ofthe elcventhsLrpplement of(he peac€rredty wirh Italy in r947, 226 thc slates concerne-dconsented to acccpt the rccommcndation 't'hnt within | ) [ritrca bccorncsa unit enjoying sellgovcrnment ol'thc Ccneral Asscnrbly about disposing with the fonncr ltalian fie liamcwork of fcderation with DthioPia undcr the sove- cololies and to take the necessarymcasures to irnplement it. rcignty of thc Othiopian Crown. And in view of the fact that in accordancewith thc second Eritrean government lrave legislative, executive paragraph ofthe alorementioncd clcventh supplernentthe disposal ?) lhat the powersin thc field ofdomestic allairs. opcration should be conducted in the light ofthe wishesand inte- andjudicial 'llre rcstsofthe populationand the interestsofpcacc and secudtvand 3) jurisdication of thc federal gove.nment sirall extencl taking into consideration the points of view of the govcrnrncrrts ovcr tbe lbllowing areas: concernecl,therefore, the General Assembly, in the light ()l the Delense, loreign allirirs, monetary and Gnancial allirirs, rcports ofllre U.N. Elitrea commissionand the provisionalcommit- foreigl tracie,domcstic trade, lirreign and dorrestic tmnsPort 'l ports. be ledclal government shall have Power to 'Ihe ..including wishc and the intcrcst ol tbc populalion ()1 l-ritrea, preservethe integrity of the tederation, and the right to levv including the vicwpoints of the difcrcnt religious, cthnic runifiedtaxes in the Ictleralion to meet the expenscsoffedcral and politic:rl groups in thc provinccs of the krritory ard thc posts and serviccs, Prov;ded the estimation cif thcsc taxes capacity of the people for sclfgovcrnment. and their collcction bc tire domain ofthe Dritrean governmcnt 'I'he on condition that Dritrea bear a fair sharc ofthese expenses' u) interestsofpeace and thc sccurity in llast Afiica. 'l issues 'I'he he domain oftlre Iritrean goverrrnrentshall cover the clhnicr c) clairned rjghts of Ethiopia on an economic, Bot assigned to the fcderal govcrnm€nt, including special historical and geographical the basis, including parlicularly powersofmaintaining an internal potice force, tax collection, to the sca. ilighlful nccd of lithiopia for sulllcient passagc meeting thc expenscsofdomestic postsand servicesand allo_ And 1)1'cnsuribgthc taking into considcratidl thc imporlancc catio[ ol its own bugdet. continued cooperationofforeign communitics in lhe economic one zone lor customs clcvclopmcntof Eritrea. 4) 1'hc lederation region shall consist o[ mcl thcre shall not be any restrictionson lh(: lreedom And in admission on its part that dealing with the prqblem purposcs, of peoplc and gooclswithin this zone Dritrca of Eritrca slrould be bascd on thc closc political and cconomic of ,tt.,u"ut"nt chargcd wi!h lcvying dutics on goodscoming into thc connection of the provincc with lithiopia, and out ol-its desiro shatl bc or going out ol it, provided that Eritrea bc the tlrat this connectionensure the populalion oflritrea oflull rqspect fedcration or exit oftl)ese and necessaryguarantcej for thcir institutions, traditions, place ofarrival 8oods. of equal numbers o[ rcJigionsand thcir languagesand the greatest possibleextlnt o[ 5) r\n irnperial federal council cornposed Eritrean and Iithiopian representativesshall meet once a selkovcrnmcnt togethcr with respectlbr the coDstitLrtions,ilutitu- year at least. It shall provide advice and counselconccrning tions, lradi(ions. the interrational situation and the inlcgrity ofthc the common affairs of the federation indicatcd in the alirre Drripile of Ethiopia, recommcnds: mentioned third clause.Thc citizcns ofEritrea shall partici-

229 patc in 'l thcjudicial and cxccurivcbranchcs, and thcyshall be in Dritrea. hc rights and intcrests ol foreign nationals rcprescntedin the legislativc branch ofthc Iccleralgovernmcnr resident in Eritrea shall bc Slraranteed in accordance in accordance with the law and according to the proporrion with the stipulationsofthe prcvious paragraph. o( the popula{ionofEritrea our ofrhe populationofrhe fede- government and likewise lhe government ol rario . 7) l'hc federal liritrea shall guaraulee enjoyment ofhumarr rights and basic 6) The nationality shallbe one irl thc lederarion. Iieeclom without any disclimination as to natiouality, race, languageor religion. Of tl)eserights are: a) All the population ol Erirrca exceprlor pcople oflcrreign 'lhc law and abstaining Iiom na tionalitiesshall bc consider.edas bcaring rhe nalionalily a) right o[cquality belbrc the of the lederation. discrimination against Ibreign Project5 and eslablisil- melrls wbich work in I]ritrea in the indlrstrial, com- b) All dle inhabitants presenr in llritrca who do nor have mercial, agriclrltural, educalional ficlds or organisalions a native lather or a nativc grancllather shall be considered which praclise a philanthropic acrivity, again/t IgvPtian bearersofthe nationality ol the Gderation. As for people cstablishnientsor against insurance compaDiesworking o{ foreign nationalities, rhey shall presenr themsclves in liritrea. within six monrhs ofthe implemcntatj()n ol the constinr- 'llre sccurity tion. 1'hey shall chooseeither to renouncethe nationaliry D) riqhrot peopleto lil,,lil,erlydnd 'l and of rhe federation or to keep their nationality. In casc c) he right to own Propertiesand disPosewith theln, thev excrcisedris choicc, they shall forleit rheir foreign no person shall be cleprived of his properties, inclrrding nationali(y. contractual rights, by illegal means or wilhout the c) The eligibility ofthe personsrvho acquirc dre nationality payment of fair, ellectivc compensation ofthe lederation in accordancewirh dre abovementioncd d) 1hc right to exercisefreedom ofspeech and exPressron clausesA and B to exercise their righb as citizens in and the right to cmbracc any creedor rcligion Eritrea shall be defined by rhe constiru(ionsof Erirrea 'I c) he right to an education and ils laws. 'lllre t'; right to excrcise thc frcedon of holding Pcaccful d) AU the people who bear a ldreign narionaliry, and \,\,ho incetings and asscrnblies. have beenresidenr in llritrca lor ten years by the date of to maintain corrcspondenccand residencc the approval ofthe curren( federal drali resolulion shall g) The righ( by drc rcquirements of the larv' have the right to obtain rhe nationality ofthe federation exccpt in casesdictated 'lhe wilh widlout meeting th€ qualification neccissaryfor naturali- h) right to Practiseany Professionin accordancc zation in accordance widr ledeml laws. People who do not obtain nationality the of rhe lcderarion shall be i) No personshall be arrcstedor detained without an ordcr pennitted to rcside and practise their lawlul prolissions lrom thc autholities conccrned, unless it be a casc of

23(] llagranl violation of thc :'pplicd law; and no pcmon population 6i Iiri trca, preparc a clraft ofthe Dritrcan constitu- shall be dcported except within the limits of&e law. tion to submit il to thc Dritrean assernbly,provide advice and 'Ile couscl to the Erilrcan assemblyand assistit in dmftirg the j) dght to a lair trial, drc right to pelition the emperor 'l constitution. hc constitution should be dralied on the lnsis ard the ight to appeal to the emperor to mitigate death of thc principles of dernocra(ic govclnmentr should include senrences. rhc guaranlees stipulated ir the previous pa|ag|aph ol tlte k) The Penal Code slrall nol be applied retroactively.Onty fedcral law, should bc consistentwith the stiPulationsol tlre respectlbr thc dghts ofothcrs and for their freedoms,the lederal law aDd should inclrrde the stiPulations concerning requiremcnrsuf public ordcr and pul,lic irrreresrsiralt the approval and ratilication of the federal law on the Part justify any restrictionson thc aforementionedrights. bchalf of the Eritrean peoplc. B) Clauses r to 7 of this dralt rcsolLrtionshall constituie dre r3) Ttrc federal law and the constitution of liritrea drall be in lederal code which shall be presented to thc clnpcror-for ellect oncc the emperor of Iithiopia has ratified the lederal cndorsement. the Lritrean asscn)_ 'l larv and once the U.N. rcPresentativeand 9) hcre shall be a transitior peri{)d not exceedingSeplenber bly have approved the conslitution and the Dmperor has r5th, 1952,during which the Eritrean goverlrnent shall bc rali6edir. organisedand rhe constitution drafted and irnplerncnted. r4) 1hc govcrnment ofthe Unitcd I(ingdom ol'Great Britain and Io) Thereshallbea representativeofthe U.N. in Eritrr:aappointed Norlhern lreland, beiig th€ admiristeiDg state, shall take by the General Assembly,and expclts appointcd by the U,N. thc nec€ssarymcasu.es to turn ovcr the administratioD to Sccrctary Gcncral slrall assisthim. the authorities concerned and this shall be accomplishcd as r r) The administering state shall continue to manage aflnirs nr soon as lhe Dritrean consitrrlion and the administlative codc Eritrea in dre transitional period. It shall undcrtakc, in arc put iito effect in accordance w;ih the afofemcntioned consulationwidr the U.N. rrprcscntative, thc preparation for clauser3- organizingan Dritrcan government assoooas possible, and the r5) lhc U.N. rePresentativeshall maintain lis hcadquartcrsrn qralification of Dritreans for all levelsofgovcrnmenial postsl Eritrea until thc adDtinistration has becn tu.ncd ovcr and and it shall take the nccessarymcasures to hold an asscrnbly hc shall submit appropriate rePcJrtsto thc U.N. Gcneml representativeof the liritrean people and chosenby it, 1hc Assembly about his assumption of his duties and his perlbr- administering state may, in agrcement with the U.N. repre- rnancc of thesc duties. llhe rePrcscntative may consult tbe Eritreans sentative, conduct negotiations on behalf of the provisional committce o[ the Gcneral Asscmbly as to Perfor- about the establishmentof a provisional customs lederation ming his hurctions in thq light of devclopments and within wilh Iithiopia and implement itwhen thatis feasible. lLe framc'wo.k ol the articles of the current drali resolution r2) The U.N. representative shall, in consultation with the He shall subrnit a report to the Certeral Assemblyand present administering state, the governrnent of Ethiopia, and the 10 it dre text of re Ilrilrean constitution once thc handovcr -

.)l rlrcl|d ri istrationand llrc a|llroriry is complere. r4tbj rgio, the GeDeralAsscmbly clcclcd by secrcrballot a) Aurhor.izesthe Sccrcrary Gcnefal in accordalce willr rhe 4,,/ci Mrr,1,,,nU N rrprn,errrariv'irr l-rirrer establishedprocedure: 'Io r make arrangemclls conccrning the paymenr of. The Soviet Union's Comrnents on thc Federal R€sotution an appropnare 'l'lre rernuncratron ro 1heu.N. reprcsen- dekgatc of the Soviet Union cornmcnted by cxpressing tative. his 6nal views on rhis rcsolutionI -lb 2 providc rhc U.N. rcpresenkrtjvewirh expcrts, " l hc fccleratiollprojccr can be considcreda marriage againsr stall and lacilir;cs considcredby rhe Secrctary the will ofone oi the two parries; ir is a marriage rvlrich does nor Ceneral r:eccssary 1rlimplement the stipulationsof adnritdivorcc".. fie rncnrionedrhat rnany delegatiorsexpressed the currenr drafr rcsolurion. tbeirsuppoltforindependcnce ancl orrly clisagrced abour the means b) 1hc GeneralAssembly wilt assistirr appointinga U.N. anctthe waiting pcliods. represcntarive in Eritrca. 'l It has becn dccidecl that a Le IndependcnccBloc exprcssedirs oPposirionto the rcsolLr- conrmjrtcc corrposed pr.ciclerrr of thc of the Ccnral tiona( the bcgi ring,lNr tl)cinsrable seruriry conditions in I-ritrca Assembly, trvo Vicc-l'r.csitlcnts, rhe presiclcrt of the rrrd rlreI,resrrrrs ur rlrcllriri'L u,lrrrirrirrlariorr b1,litlrrirrr rlerr., lourth comrnittee and the presiclcnt ot the provisiolal madc it acceptthc resolurionrclLrclanrly. All rhe politicalparrics political commitce norninate a candicl.rrc.ln casco{. hdd a recoDciliarionmcctiDg ar thc lillrl)iro rnovic,threatrein failure to agreeon the nomination ofo c candi.lare, rwo AsrDa.aand decidcdto rvorkrrurhlirlly anclsirrccrcly on the imple- or rhree candidari:sshall Lc norlirratcdlbr thc posl of rnertali(n of thc lederalresohtrioL U.N. rcpr."enrrrivei,, t_,ir, ea. 'l lrrrs,ilspitc ol the opposirjonol rhe m:rjorityof its people, lilitrca was linked to tlc Ethiopian |jmpir.e to realize thc irnper.ia, The Appointrnent of a Representarive in trritr€a lists designsol'the U.S.A., rvhich caslrerlthc price of its proposal The commirree nte tioned in the drafr rcsolurion nrcr acco._ in thc lbrrr of Arlcrican-lithiopiantrearies under which ir built dingly on Decernber trdr to consider the nomination ofcandklates mililary bascson dte llrjtrean terrik)rics and coasls. fol the post ofa U.N. reprcscntativc in Eritrea. It submittecl a report(r r - A) on December 7 5 r3rh, rhatit had asreedro nominate Putting the llederal Resolution inro Iijffect lhe following candidales: - lldrvardo Anzci Nlatenzo (Bolivia), who had been elccrcd Victor Ho (the assistantof drc Secretarl Gcneral for the by ll)c Gcneral Assenbly on Decernber r4th, t9io, U.N. rcpresen- maodateadministration and for infornration from terri(ories lativc jn Eritrea, hacl ro assistiir accourplishinga political whiclr do not gove|n thcmselves)_ settle ment- IIis pr;nc mission lvas t6 drafr a consriturion for Erirrea in Awang Gean (llunna) and Edwardo Anzci Marenzo conslrllationwidr dreEthiopian Governmenr, wirh thc Iropularion (Bolivia). In the 325rh geleral meering held on L)ecember oi Eritrea and.!vith the Ildtish aclrninistratiur.

234 ,35 On lfcbruary gth, r95r, thc U.N. reprcscntativearrived in the help of thc lcgal advisen appointcd by the U.N. Secretary 'lhen 'lhe Iifitrca nnd startcd his consulations. he retrrrned in Novem- Gclrcral. irxlirect elections werc concluctcd in two stages. bcr, rq5r, and submitted a prelimiary rcport about the progress In $e first stage $c candidates for electoral constituencieswere ofhis work to the General Assembly in its sixth session. elected. For cxample, a tribe or a group of villages would clect a number ofvolers entitled to el€ct one of the candidates by secret Sharp disagreernentstook placc dnroog the various Eritrean ballot il] thcsccond stage.In that case,the numberofvotcrs hardly and Ethiopian partics. Nlost of drese disagreements revolved exceedsthe fingersofone hand, mostly, tlre village lreadsand the around the lormation ofthe lcderal govcrrrment (how was ir to be tribal chicE. Ibrmcd, and was it considereda third government aparl froln the Eritrean and Ethiopian golernments?), the kind of relationship i['he elections for t|e [.itrean representative asscmbly, the bctrvccnthe Emperor ofEthiopia and the prinle minislerofDrirr€a, pafliamcnt, were conducted on i\,farch ?5th and 1nd, r952. They the appointment of thc Emperor's reprcsentativein Ddtrea, the were the lilst clcctions held in Dritrea, and the rcsults wcre as mannerofelectio s, and thc issucoflanguage and learning. follovili: 'lhc 1he U.N. representativeeverrrrally gavc in to rhc llthiopjan I'edcratiol with lithiopia I'arty ancl the Free American prcssures,and intcrprcted thc lcdcral rcsolution, which Icderation Party 32 had bcen originally marked by ambiguity and vague gcnemliza- 1he Indcpendcnt, Dernocratic Front ('l be lslamic . tions,.in Dthiopia's favour. He created a post fur the Dmperor's Leaguc and the other Indcpendcncc llloc Parlies) 19 reprcscntative which had not 'I been stipulated by lhe resolu{ion, he Islamic League ofthe Western Province r5 and designated the Ethiopian govemment as the lederal govern- 'l hc National Party I ment, "so that llthiopia will not loseits international peNonality". He did not establishany fedcral institulions apart liom what was The IndependantIslamic Lcague called the Imperial lederal Council conrposedof ter membeN, 'Iotal: 6B five Dritreans and five Lthiopians, without any delined powcrs. 'lhe fle also approvcd ofhoisting the Ethiopian flag in [ritrea bcsid€ lioglish, working as is their custom by the prilciple ol crarc. tlreIir irrc.rnIi.rg as ir wasrhe tl3g ofll,, lcderatior 'tlivicle and rulc', had crcated of the ldbal chicli loyal ol thcrr thc nolorious Ali Moussa llaclai the so- He ma,letl,c systemofclecrjons nl l$6 cJteSL,iier: undcl thc lcadcrsLip of callcd tslamic League I'ar-tv of the weslcrn provincc. Ils elements r) Direct clcctions in thc cities ofAsmara and Massawa only, were British lackcys that called for llrc Partition of tlrc counlry represented in 'the by nine deputiesout of68 deputies the Dritrcan in accordancervith dre llritish Scheme. Onglish managed to l'arliment. introduce theseelenrents in!o $e new parliamcnt by meansotthc 'lhus, 2) Indirect electionsin the rural areasaimed at massinga loyal syitemofindircct clcclions. Radai becamethe leadcrofa majority o[the leadersoftribes and sccts. bloc composcdol'r5 .leputics.With the allianccol'this selfselving 'Ihe l'artv, reprerentative drafied the Eritrean constitution with group with the supportcrs of the ledcration with Elhiopia

236 t37 asthc two olllcial langrragcsofllritrea. the llfitish l(lnrinislrrli.xr and lbc l'l(hiol)i^l govc rmerrt,aidcd 'thc by thc U.N. rcprescnlarivc,who did not cvctr acccpt thc ProPosal coDstitutioustipulaled that Eritrea havc a lcgislative of tlre Islamic Lcague Party ot sctling up and U N. npervision council wbosememlremwoLrld Deither be lessthan 5(rnorexceed 70. ofFcc in Eritrea to salcguard the fedcral syslem, managcd {o pull 1'hey were to bc clected for a tenure ol-ldur yean by direct and 'l oll the dcal. inclirect elections. lre council was to aPprove the laws and the 'Ihc also to clcct a premier and ov€rseehis activities. llritrean representativc assembly met for the llrsl time budgct. It was 'Ihe A generalaccountant electcdby the council would be independent on April :Bth, Ig52. British Governor General,thc U.N ofthe prcmier and would undeltakc summing up reports ol yearly represenlative and the Emperor's representative delivered the in augural speeches. 'l'hc constitution stipulated that the Dnrperor's reprcsentative On May 3rd, r 952 thc U.N. representativePresented the drali have the right to dcmand review of Dritrean draft laws if he felt of tlle cons(itution to the assembly, asserting the irnportance of thai tlreyinlringcd the international responsibility ofthe lederation. equal respect ftr thc two basic principles of thc U.N. Ceneral 'lhe assemblyresolution, selfgovernmcnt for [ritrea and ihc soveleignty council, aftel rccciving such a demand, ntay apProve of the Ethiopian Crown. rb. d|rft law l,y a tw. tlrirrlsnrajority. 'l he representativeassembly discrrssed {he dralt o[ the consti_ According lo the constitution, Dritrea would havc its inde- judicial be cxcrcised tulion in 40 meetingsin the period betweenMay rrtb anclJuly penclent legislative body. The power would r6th, r95r. On May r4th, thc assemblyunanirnously approved the by a supr-cnecourt thejulisdiction ofwhich cov€redthe disagree- first article concerning the appmval and ratification ofthc lacleral mentsc-oncerning the constitutionality ofthc laws.Theconstitution larv which corrprised clalrsesonc to seven, includirrg the U N could bc amencledin the council by a three lourtlN maiority. Ncr with the General Assemblyresolution 39o. amcndments could be rnaclc unlessth€y be compatible lederal larv.'l'hcsc anrenchnenlswonld go into clTectonceapprovcd apProved the articlc concer- OnJuly rnd, I95e, the assembly by dre Emperor. ning the emblemsofDritrea to be defincd by law. On the tenth of was unanirtously Dmperol ratified the July, tlre wlrole of the amcnded constitution On August Ir, rg52, the llthiopran ap1,ror e,l. Eritrean consitltion. On Septemberrlth, 1952,he mtilled the 'I'he ceremonyhekl inAddis Ababa, and thus the fed€ral Eritrca[ corstitution stipulatcd the establishment oi' ledcral lawina law went irto ellect. The Emperor pleclgedto respectfedcralism. a democratic lorm o[ government which might be described as On August 28th, the Eritrean represcntative assembly elected semipresidential.1'lre first article included a Pleclgeon the part of Tedla lJayro, the sccrctarygeneral ofthe Federation with EthioPia thc llritrean people to abide by the st\rulations ol the federal law' 'l'he Party, president of the executive briy (the council of nlinisters) constitution also stipulatecl the salcgualding of the cultural after the candidatc of tlre IndependenceBloc, Saleh IIeneit, had establishments,the religions of drc populatiotr otEdtrea ancl thcir 'l -I'igrinia been rulccl out as being under the legal age, fiough he was later langrrages. he constittltion also designated Arabic and

238 239 ambassadorby Ethiopia. Ali lvloussaRadai, the secrc- appointed and thc govemment buildings; the Dritrcan governrnent rvas left tary general of thc partition party, was elected speakel of the -I)rus, with nothing on which to establish dre sratc. a stillbor.n and thc Indepcndence llloc was excluded rcpresentativeassembly, liritrcan governrnentcarne into l>eing. from power. On Dcccmber r21h, 1952,the U.N. representativercad his On SepternberI5th, I95e, the Brirish admiristration olficially final rcport before thc Ceneral Assemblyof the U.N., in which Ie bandcd over powcr to the Eritrear and lithiopian governments' 'designcd' declared thc termination ofhis rnissionin irnplementing the lldera- Thc lritrean flag, by the Eritrean assembly,was raEed. tion between lithiopia and [ritrca. The General Assemblyappro- ofa blue base,a relererce to the Red Sca, lrom which It consisted vcd the rcportwitlrout th e slightest discussion. Dritrcan acquircd its name, amid a wreath ol-olivcbranch blossonts' 'lhe U.N. reprcscntative confirmed indicatirg the wild olivcs which grew abundantly on the Dritrean the confidence which thc U.N. had rcposcdin thc llthiopian governmcnt, plateau. IJowever, it resemblcd tLe U.N. llag, and was actrrally and said rhar it hact shoulcleredhcar,y responsibilitics,especially designcd by the U.N. refresentative afttr the mcrnhr of parlia- in rhe inter- 'I'hc national field, most important of which was ment had disagrced on the lbrm of the tlag. litlriopian llag safeguarding the terrilorial in{cgrity of t[e fcdcration whiclr was raisednext to it. could be imperiled 'Ihe eithcr by a secessionistmovemenl or by a merger with Ethiopia. Eritrcans had conllicting fcclings orr this occasion; the 'l'his conficlcnce, howcvcr, was rnisplaccd. The supporte$ of independcnceconsidcrcd the declaration of irrdcpen- federarion resolutiol was nullified on the eve of its implementalion dencc ancl thc es(ablishmentof a lame domestic Sovernmcnt a and bccamc nrcrc ink on papcr. Erhiopia irself underrook del'car for their struggle, while the supportcrs of lederation consi- rhe merger insteadof safeguardingthe fcdr:rarion. dered it a semi-victory. llut timc Provcd that the fcdcration was a catastrophe for everybody, espccially lbr tltosc who had madc it' They reaped the recomp€nseof Sinnimmar at the hands ol the government, which eventually threw their lcadersinto I Dthiopian prison. Not even the leadcr of the federation party,'Iedla Bayro, I cscaped this faLeand endcd up as a political refuge in Sweden, meannesshas always bcen a charactcristicof the Ethiopian Arnhara I rulers throughout the agesoftheir history 'Ihe inrplementation of the federation had an inauspicious start. On August I5th, I952, beforethe Emperor ra{illed the federal law and before the transfer of Powersto the Eritrcan government, theBritish administration handed over allthe Dritrean propcrtiesto rlrelithiopian government.Thc Ithiopian army seizedall airPorts, ports, telegraph and post lacilities, railways, all mcansoftransPo't

241) 241 i--l

CJraprerXlrI The Ethiopian Governrnent Abolished the Federation The Gradual Incorporntion of Eritrea 'Ihe li$t ten yeaNwhich followedrhe going ofrhe lederation into ellcct (rg52 - 6:) witnessedthe graclualibrogation of the basisofthe Gderationwhich werc built on the principleolresp€cr Ibr Eritreansovereignty in all matrersconcerning domestic afllirs,. ofa democraticregime, and the compositionofthe federalgovern_ menl ol equdlproporrions uf Erirreansand Erhiopiansand of equalproporrions in forigrrall:rirs, defi.n.e, erc.... Actrrally,Dtbiopia never recognized tbe sovereignty ofEritrea, despitcthe pledgesofthe Drnperor,on rati{],ingthe fecleralresolu_ tion, of sincerelyapplying the principlesof the U.N, inreerated .lhe inro rl,c lrirrearlou\titurion and the federalresolurionl Emperor's representativeand son-inJaw, Andelkalshu Masai, confirmedthe intention ofhis governmentofnot recognizingthe autonomyof[rihea whenhe said: "As hr as rlreoltrce of ^ the represrnrativeof hismajesry, tLe l-!mleror.tlrere are no domestic affairs or foreignaffairs, and rhere will bc no sucb thir)gir] future, tle affairsof Britrea concernthc wholeof llthiopia and rhe Empe.ror',. 'Ihe Errperor\ rcpresentativewas answeringthe criticism of rLemembem of lLe Erirreanpar tiamcnr sraring ibar rhe Ethio- ptan governmcnthad usurpedthe forhrneofEritrea and infr.iened the riglrtso[ rhe Erirreanpruple Ly inrerferingin rheclomesric allairs of Eritrea.

243 'l}e trmperor''s representativc inter'lilcd in all liritlear tJrairrranship ol thc par'liamentarrcl was appointed by thc limperor ln a losing l-rargainrl'ilh (he dePuties allaim, includirg the 1)utting of llri trean .jou.r)al ists on trial l)efore acl!,iscr1rl lis reprcsentative lithiqrian courts, rvlrich were c:rllcd thc federal corrrts.lIe suspcn- ol'the IndependenceBkrc, tle parliamentc]'cred AslalraWnld in iul,lirionr" lrrs ar as'i\trrrtrrIre dtrl novspapem arrcldissolved the political 1)arliesand the gcneml Nlikl'ril1'r'irrrr l\lirrtret Pn\r Iidclation ol lalmrrr urions lcd by lVulrlab Wulluaryarr, who sentativeoflhe llmperor,in return lor electirrgldriss Nluhammad \!as slro( lor thc seventh time and was scliorxly hurt arcl later A(lrrn, an IndepcnrlerrceLlkrc c!epLrty,sPeaker of the parlial'rcnt sought rcl'rrgeirr Cair. Idriss was tlisntissedterr mondrs later to be replaccd by Harncd trarag, who rvas sLrbscrvient1() the autltorities ldriss, togcther Under decree No. 6, r952, the Iidriopian enrperor cxpandecl his colleagueIbraLitr Sultan, th€ lcader ol lhe oPposition lhc ccrrnpassof lhc lllhiopian constituliona d the autocralic rvith souglrtrclirge in Cairo in I9lo. lithiopian laws so as lo include liritrca. As Iirr cl:claratiorr r3o, ir I)artiament, qovernrnentcveDtrrally managecl to annex r 95r, it cxpanclcclthejuriscliction ofthe Ethiofian conrtsin Ilritrea. . lhe Iithir4)ian '.l liritlr:a by nrcarxo{ its ncw prirncrninister alirrr a scrieso1-coct civc he trihiopian government scizcd llritrta's sharc of crrstoms rcvenucsand tried t()smothcr the llritrcarrecononry l;y all rncans, it even 0r'clcrecilirreigl| {actory olvners to lransl-ertbeir plan(s to In r957, thc llissolvcd'political parties ollicially'sent a dele- r\dtlis Ahaba. gation to rlreU.N. lertby the larvverN{uhamrnad Omar Kadi to r prolcst agairrstthe violatirxrof 1he U N resolutionlrv !-acerlrvith iucrcasing Iithiopian intcrlcrcrrceirr lijtlr:arr lo(lge a,rd 1o(lernald and inleNcntioo in accordanc€with 1l)e allirirs, tlrr: l}ilrc;rrr parlialrerrt, trrrk a dlcisiin rvitlr an or+ l,lrlriopir ol lcgal adviscrsol rhc UN ir rrded irr tlre iilal rvhclrling nra.joritvin i1sthirtieth scssnrron Nlay r5th, t!)54,in rltda,lati,,l ol tlreIJ.N. rep|esenlntivc,cl:ruse 2() r, alxlstatillg: rvhiclrit askctlthe Iirilrcan prir e rrirristelto rva|n the litlrirl:iarr |t1rort 'l grx'r'rrrnrcntto prm,ide the ne.essarysateg al.tlslirr the sovclcignty he li:xt ol clatrsc!(rI ol the lifitrcan consliturion.Il thc t)r'irncutirristcr lirilcd tri olxain It isobviorrs that tlrernissiou turdcrtaken by thc U.N- Gcrreral a Prorniscliom the Etlriopiangovcrnrlent within trventydays ol' Assernblv,in accorrlancewitlr tlre lmce lfeaty made with ltaly, sincerecooperation in applying the lLN. resolulion, then he \vould is consirlcr-crlat an end rxrcc the llderal cltartcr arcl the [ritrcart (o 'lhis have ask the U.N. to inteNeneimmecl;aielv. corstitulion lrave:jorrcirrto ellcfl 'loes not mean Lhal Ure 'Ieclla Il,rt tl'e pdm€ minister, llayro, wlro hacl lrttn sccrctarv U.N. jsnot entilictlt{) t cvicwthc lir itlean isrue'I he lcclcralcharlel ol tbe rr:rrclal ol t[e Fecleratiorr witL lithiopia I'alty, and who had arrclthc liritrcar corNliluliinrarc bascdon tlre PfinciPles erterr(l a s(ruggle lor power widr the ErrFror's rep|esentativc, tJ.N., and this inrtrrratiorraldocumr:trt shall n:rintain its legally it tlrcri:is needlbr lhe amcrtd' obcyerlthe Emt)cror'sinstructions and sub,nittedhis resigration. birxling Power.Staflirrg wilh tlris, Ile was appointcd arnbassadorin Sweclenonly to be withclrawn ,ne,,t.'i ilt".pretati,,n ofthc Iideral cbarter, tlrel the U N' General later and be appointed member of the senate which comprised Asscmbly, which issLredtbai international documcnt, renrains tLe to makc an anrcndrrentor an interPretation _all tlre out offavour elements,alier which he left the counlry as a soler:nrver arrthorized issue political refuges.His allv, Ali Moussa Iladai, alsoresigncd liom the Likervisc, if tbc ledcral rcsolrrtio is violatecl, the Eritrean

244 245 then becomeslhe concern oftlre U.N. General Assenbly. accordancewith clause5 ofjuddical law No. I33, Ig52 and clause of the Eritrean constitutirnr. Alter sevcral sessionslthe courl But the U.N. ignored the protest of rhe Erirrcan people, 9o a judgernent stipulating the illcgality ol dcclaralion sothc delegationhad roretum home after the Iirhiopian delegation, rendered No. r2r for contravening the Eritrean constitrrtion and that elec- led by Yelma Dersa, had pledged rhrough rhe dctegatidl o[ the the suPervisionof a srtpreme cornmissior s€t Sudan not to take any measuresagainst tt. tions be held under up by the court, irr accordance with clausc 45 of lhe Eritrean Horvever, the Iithiopian government welchcd on ils promises aDd sen{cncedtlre mernbe$ ofthe delegation to ten yearsol irnpri- ln accordance wi r dris .jlrdgernent, any government or sonment alter a suDlrnary Oial at which the lawyerJubr Lul was legislative asscmbly folmed in accordance with declaration (r2I) Dot penDitled to plead before the corrrt, but was translerred liorn would be unconslitutional. (The ruling of thc supreme court No the courtroom iD chains to prison. 1wo old men, lmam Moussa 2258 date.l on ,9/6/1956, and No. 48, 1956, regist€rei uncler and Haj SuleirnanAhmad Urrrar were seo{enccdto lorrr ycars riunller rr36and nurrber rrg3). inrp sonrrcnt with anothe. grolrp. Ir thar peliod, February, Ilut lhe primc nrinisler and the lirnperor igDorcd this judge- t958, the workers o[[ritrea demonst.ared dcnrarrclingthe abroga- rent and implementeddcclaralion No. (r2r). In othcr wotds, liu|l ol tlre untrir Iawc,dmlieil Ly rlre lrrrsirrersmrrrin.rgreenrcrrt llthiopia apPointed its lackcys alnong heads of tribes and sects with dle Emperor's represmtative, which hacl bcct discusseclirr tbc membersin a so-calledparliament which it clismissedon I4/ I I / r 96e nonlinal Eritrean pa[liament. and declared that Eritrea had becomc an Ethiopian province. Ol Ihese denronstratiorrswcre m€t with the restllt l)ollets lvirh thc lbllorving day, the Ethiopian Parliam€nt, which rvas also lhat tcns ofkilled aDd wounded lbll in rhe strccb ol As rara| add rominal, met and approvcd the anrexation, and thc Iimperor the odrer Eritrean cities. issuctlan olllcialdr, hrution to rl'isellcr-r. 1'lre new prirne rninister lowered thc Eritrean llag antl abo- These arbitraly measurm enjoyed no support by tltN Ilrioean lishccldre l}itrean insigniaby exploiringthe r)or)rinalparljamert people, many students and works of whom migrated abroad to in his decisions. lbund tatcr the nucleus of the armed revolutionary movement 'I'he Ethiopian autlrorities excluded all dle pardotic elcmcnrs agains( the Ethiopian occupation. 'l'he frorn th€ parliament at thc end of its firct teurrre. electiorrs were held under declaration No. rrr, which had been nullified The Reason WIry Edriopia Abolished the by tlre implementation ofthe llritrean constitution on Seplember Fcderal Resolution r5dr, r952. The U.N. resolution gave Dritrta a constitution bascd on the 'Ihe suprerne court, presicled over by rhe upright Blitish prirlciples of dcrrxrcratic governnreDt, wlich was comPletc{y judge, Sherir, had reviewed the protest lodge.l by the rcprcsenta- diflerent frorr thc autocracy oli the Dthiopia monarchy and its 'l tiv$ ol lhe Dritrean pcople against tbe electoral law, since it was absolutisrn. he Ethiopian constitutioD is a grant from tlle EnlPe- the autlrority assigned to protect the Edtrean constitution in ror-,who has the absolute right to vclo all laws issuedby his parlia-

24ti 247 rncnt. How could lhcsetwo incompatiblcsvst€rns bc rr:col]cilc(ll 'l his nraller hrd alwaysbeen a causeol arrxieryli)r rhc laudal 'I litlriopianregnre. his is why tl)c EthiopianIuedal lords lelt that thc abrogationo{ the democratic regi'nc in l-ritrea was a vi(al necessitylirr tl,e survival of thcir regine. N{orc.,vcr, Iiom thcir XVII poinl ol vicw, the recognitidrof llritrea's autoDornycoustituted Chapt€r rn ircertiv(: lbr olhcr pcrsccutednationalities irr rhc lltbirlriarr The Rise ofthe Eritrean Liberation Front 'I limpire to dernandsimjlar rights. he Ethiopian Dmpire,which and the Declaration ofthe Armed Struggle rvas$tablishcd by Nlenelikat the eod of the nineternlhccntrn-v The Founding ofthe Eritrean Liberation Front with iron and fire and by subugatingthc Galla, Somali,Danakil, thc escalationofPoiice terrorism in r958, a large nuarber Sidarna, Willamrr and other natiorralities,rvith the cornpliciry After llritrcarvorkers rvereforceclinto irnmigrating to lhe neighbourtrrg oftlril colonialiststatcs during dreperiod of thesurge ofcolonialisrrr dl hard circumstanccsin which lhey lackeclo{llcial and (lre par(i(iorrol'the Ali"icancontincnt, has suivived lirr tbt: countries undcr pape|xto prove lhcir i(lertity. lnsPitc of thc toler'ancethey en- last scvcntv vear-ssolelv bv the conccntratiou ofpowcr in thc hands in thc neighbouring Arab countries, thcir lives were ol tlre [npcror ald lris l-eLrdalistAmharo licutelants. lo;rdmit countered markcd by anxicty and unsetlledress.Ihc agony and the ar)ger thc principlc o1'lbdel.ationwith Eri(.ea a d a denrocraticrcgirnc snrorrldereclin their spiritsabettedthe acculnulatiorrol which warrantedpLrblic liberlies was bour)dt(r ruake (he nali(nra- wlriri I'rf irrr,,herrrrr,rijr lari',r,Jli'rdcr;\;ry litics incorporatcdby the Ethiopiarr linrpirc denrlr llre sanr(: rr,'ri!'s 'llrrrs, lights.'Ihis was lhr liurdcnrrntalrnotive lin ll)c abolitionol tlrt: rhe lldtrearr Lil)erari.,n|ror)l (I) alosc amolg dte lidcration and the sulljugatior ol Drirrca to thc hegernory ol thc workcr an(l stlclcn( cornmutritiesin tl'e Arab co ntrics o[ thc ccntralizedAmharic rule. Has t|e [thiopiarr Anrharic rrginrc Ivlicklle Iiast in rq6o. ln thc lbllou,ilrg year, it moved to thc Droun- mal|agedto realizeits vision? lhe libcratkrnlvar that lrasbcell rainsr-ifliritrca aliel tbcspon(aneous uPris;ng led lry thelate Harned g,;ing ol iu Ii trea Ibr lburtccn vears lirnrishes thc liviug prool' klrissAwati or I.{r-I96I a1thc hcld ol a llw fightcrsarm€rt wilh ol tlre ludicrous lailure ol tlrc l]thiopian policv. olclItaliarr rilles. l he &ont adoptedthc spontaneousuprising ancl evolvcd it durirrg rlre lbllciwnrg ye?trsinlo an organizecl armccl rcvoluti{nrir lir)ewilh the aimsofliberatiou througharmed strug gle augrnr:trtcrll,y p<,lirictlarrl diplorrraticcllbrts abroad btsnles

'lhr (r) cnu11.,(t i,{ tl,c tirDt wasPrNcdr(l lrv ihe Iiseol rllc Ilfirfcrrr LiLcfa ri,n,Nl(,!c,u.tr( rr rl,( d(l {1 I958iLllflSudar' lhc htrc.orgaDrzcdsrvtr (tc c.,lxr crlls ir nhst Ij,iud. .ities,a!d fh.ved a l)fornnrort,Posi'nc ;i rl,c poliri.al nx,bilizrri{)n.l rhe lilireaD nrascs ,h. \l(trcucll, wli'h lvxs ld by \lnhaDnna.t St, ldriss Nawrd, nrefgtd wirh thc lnonr in rqTo alier a kt!g stn,t.

24rl 249 'l the prcservalion ofthe integrity ofthe Eritrean s.ril. he loulclers ar arnoun(ofanrnlunition. By thc cnd of r963,dre number ofthe choselclris lvluhanrmad Adam to be (he chainnan ofthe executivc ernrrd figl'rea I'rd er, rcdcd orrclrurrJred. connnitree of the llront. 1he lithiopian Iimperor issuedorders to his ann€d forces in llritrea to use violence lreely lbr thc purpose ofquelling what hc The Developrn€nt of the Arrned Struggle called "the ntutiny" within onc month. He had already asserted 'I he almed strugglcrvasescalated with Eritrea's o\\,n resolrtces in a speechdelivered in Asnrara on zB.6.I96: and published in the 'Al-Zarnan' not give uP llrst and second with tlrc support of friends and brothers in thc ollicial newspaper that: "Ethiopia rvill invadcrs". The Arab countries. Nine non-commissioneclEritrean omcerswho had Eritrea, tlrrcrughwhich wc have always received servecl nthiopian lbrces waged tcrrorist camPaiSns against tlre PeoPle lbr a long tirne in the Suclaneseanry optcd to scruc their 'fhe honreland, joined (hc nrrmber ol cletaineesreachcd more than 3ooo at the end of resigncd liom the army, and ldw {ieedon 'I'hc 1963. inrluisitors uscd all kinds of tortxre means to ldrce Iigh ters at the lreginnimgof r 962. ln April r 962, 1heIrront maragc.l of Isracli exPerts,who (o purchaselivebr (en English nraric rilles in Aden for five hunclred coiiessions out ol thern, enlistilg tlre aid fight the gucri- guireas which had be€n raised by Iiritre;rn workcrs il the kingdonr lalcr lrained ior thern a spccial cornmando furce to uotil thc date of SarrrliArabia. tt went on buying vnall arnountsof anns and llas. Prisonsstill accornodatethousands ol Prisoners scvcralyean. arnmunition irr this nrauncr and smuggling lllem to the revolu- o{ writing;some ofthcsc relrlain without trial lor t;onaries, often to havc thcm conliscated by the governnrcnts of In 1964, thc [ritrean revolution got some financial and some of the neighbouring Arab counlries, whiclr clid not want ro rnilitary aid lrom sorne brotherly Arab count es, which hclped clorrrltheir diplorna(icrclatior)s rvith Eritrca lir. tbc snkcof rhc devck)t) the anred struggle to ilclude tLe enitrc lir,t.ean country- 'I Iilitlean rcvolutiorr. Also, Dritrearr residi'lg in Addis Atraba side. hc tithiopian Er pcror ordered the cvacuation ol the inhabi- supplied tlre revolutionari(.swith rifles and g.euadesir that cdrly tants Ii'oD lhe arras close to thc Sudanese borders t.) c.eatc an pfr(xl. rrninhabited zone to irrsulateexternal colltacts.l hc amry launched terro.istcaml)i,igrs on d)c villagesand anr:ilrilatedindiscrirnina- Or.lrrly rath, thc guerillasol tl)c |ront iarrrrcheda stliking 'fhis (hrcw tr:ly two thousand people. causcclthe people to llee to the corrrrrlamlo ol)erirlidr; lhey two greradcs at :r ctrernon\ 'I more than seventy thou- Leld by the Iinrperor''s representative in Aag)rdat to advocate thc Sudan to escaPemass rrrurdcr. herc are lile. incolporation of llrit'.ca into the [thiopia'r lirnpile. lhey killecl sandrel'Ugeesin thcSLrclan who leaclarnisearable than 22 scnid olln:ialsarrct olliccrs and rvou,xlcrl6c othcrs. 'l"knc hc celcrlorrycrrdtxl irr tragcdylirr thc Dthiopiarroccupants. Ethiopia Declares a State oflirnergency in Eritrea 'thc lilv lighlerslxrceeded to larrnchlightrirg rai(lson thc ln Deccntl)cr, I{)70, the DthioPia occuPalion authodiics arnty ald policcposts in the countryside;tLcy attackedthe Halhal imposed a stale ofcnrergency in lirihea follorving tLe murcler o1 'I'ehomi post and gained two rines liorr it, which was lheir first attack. Gcrcral Alaktrr, thl cornmandcr o[ the EthioPian forccs 'l'hcn thcy raided the Heikut.rh post;n broad daylight disguised in Dritrea arrcl ll)e escalation of Iighrilrg against the occuPation ^s Sudlrcsc tourists, and gained 5o dillcrerrt picccsoflirearms ancl iblces. ln accortlancervith tlris law, solclielswere allowed to aPPII-

"50 hend people on suspicion. This rcsuired in looting and number their predecessorsand abide by the principlc of "Ljve and Lct which isstillgoingon at the timeofwriting. Live", or will they prrrsucthe schemesdrawr by thosel)el;rc llrcn) '['hc poprrlar Liberation Forces of th€ Eritrean Liberarion of expansion torvards Dlitrca? 'l'he Fmnt and clash with the Ethiopian lorces in lcrocious battles, future will provide the ansrver; mcanwhilc, wc arr: aiming a1achievirg lull national independence. waiting. As lbr Edriopian diplomacy, it has conccnrrared irs €liirrrs oD depriving the causeof liritrea ofpolitical support. tt has mani- The National Unity is the Most Irnportant pulated the presenceof the Organization of All.ican Unity in its Achievemcnt of the Erirrean Revolution capit:rl, Aftlis Ababa to allcge that aDy support givcn to Dritrca 'I'hough wc havc indicated the catastrophescarscd by the is an interlbrence io lithiopia's intemal aflhirs, while the U.N. conllicts among the peoplc, we take pride in stating that the Eri- rlocurDcnts prove. that the Eritrcan issue has an international trean revolution has dote away widr divisivenes among th€ charactcrby whiih the U.N. is cornrDittcdto intcwenelegally in Ntoslemsand thc Clrristians wilhin thc lramework ol the Popular cascol' the irnpossibilityol' irrplernerrtingits resohrtion.It is no l,iberation Forces, arrd thc leeling of Oritrcan citizenship has secrct thal it was absolute allcgiaDcc to Anrclican policy that g-avc bccome dominant. lf there was any lcsson to be learnt. by thc the Iithiopian governnrent its wclfknown position in the Organi- liritrean peoptc frorrr the bitter federatiou experiehce,th€n it was zation of Aliican Unity. 1'he U.S.A. put huge rrilitary lacilitics this immortal lesson: Its salvation lies only in its national unity, ttt lhc disposalof rlrc Dthiopian govcrnrncrrt to police (he basin ()1' bypassing secondary cortmditions ancl abding by the thc l{c(l Sm. But di(l lhis assishrcc,ersurc thc survivalol thc PrinciPle, "'lhe religion is God's aud the country is for everybody". I.ithiopian rcgirnc? 1)rc lalc cvents iu Dlhiol)ia, whcrc thc recent couP d'etat lecl the slatwarb ofthe regime by installrrrentslo priso| cells, accused of crnbbzzlernclrt, corrupti(nr and disshalion at a ri"rc wlrcr'Irmile wasclainring thc livcsofthousarrds oflitlriopians, lravc plovrxl thc hrdict(nalailrrlc ol thc lithkrpiarrand Arnerical policics. 'llre llritrean war costs the Dthiopian trcasury more than a rl'ird ol-irs rcvenucsannually, in addition 1rl tlrousandskilled and tl)e acccrrtuatioD of complicalknls and historical rancor between the z peoplesas a result o[wrongly adhering to the expan- lionist, incorporative policy of Haile Selassie'sgovemrnent at a time wherr the peoplesotEthiopia need every penny lbr economic developrnent. Will the nerv rnlcrc o[ Dthiopia learn {iorn dre mistakes of

453 C.hapterXl'ru Languages in Eritrea and Their Elfect otr the Cornposition ofth€ People Eight Dialects in Eritrea

Since the agesol antiquity, liritrea lras been a Passageway lb| tlrt migrations ofpeopler whos€ el€meDlsgot mixed and whose blood was mingled through historical intemrarrying, which leaves no room lor classifyingit today on the basisofits racial afiliations.

Like orLer l,oprrlariorrsirr Nortlr F.astAirica, the pupuldriorl of Eritrea has been comptxed o[ various migratians during the last ten thousand years. Iroremost xmong thesemigrations are the migntions of the Nilotic Negro peoples liom the southcrn and western Sudan, the rnigrations of the Cushitic-Caucasian-Hamitic peoplesIi om the north, and the rnigrationsofdre Sabaeansand the IIimyariLe"trnm Y, m, rrrrr r"ss tlre Red Sea. 'Ihe population o[ Iiritrea speak gigh,t local dialccts apart 'l lrorn Arabic. lresedialects are divided into three maiD groups whiclrare: r) Semiticlanguages. z) Llamitic Cudriric languagcs. 3) Nilotic-Aliican languagcs.

r) The s;itic Languases 'l lre Senritic languages u.. foremost among the Eritrean dialects from the poinr ofview of their importaflce, their intellec_ tual and cultural role, and the number ofpeople who speak them

255 'I'hey 'l Peninsula and thcy are writter liom left to riflrt and have seven are leplcscntcd by l-igre and igliria, rhc st)cakersofwhich vowel accenls wrilter irl the lbrrn ol'independent letters starting nr,.ix,rl, \s rl,i'rBu',, ,,1 tlrr rot:rl |nprrlari,,lL tle letter'II'as lbllows: 'lhc rvitlr trvo languagcs wcre derived liorn rhc Gecz laugragc, wlrich had Sabaeanorigins and which rventorrt ol uscwith thc lall 'I oftlrc kirrgdornol Aksurnin the eightthccntury 4.D.. |e Sabaeal ll/ lauguagcsir the sorrthcrrrArabian lreninsula havc bccome cxtinct ft 0 rt 'fl o exccpt for'Al Mahara' language,which hassurvived in (he province o lt tlEf tlA HE HI lto ol l hufar, arrrl in the sixth province of the l)ernocratic Yemenite 'l I{epLrblic;it is an unwritten langLrageand resembles igre and 'l'iglinia 'Ihese 'Ceez' (he in itsstructurc and in nlany ilcnrso[its vocabulary. are the sarnc lc(ters used in and Arnharic 'l 'l languagcilr Iilhiopia.1'his is not strangesince f igrinia is dorlrinant iglc arul iglirriaarc sirnilariu origirrsantl il nrauyvocalrrr- in the legir;rrof tlreold kirrgdornol Aksurl: i,c, thc llritrcan pro- lary iterns, but l|ley have become two seperirte languagcs, likc vincesofserae, Hanraseinand Akkele Guazi ard the figt ai provilr- Frencharrd Italian, the speakersofwhich can not uDdeNtandeach ce in Eritrea. Wc can consider'l-igrinia the lcgal heir of Geez, otbetfully. fact that'Iigre is clos€rto Geezstructuraly and lexically, 'l'he desp'tethe following table indicates the similarity ol vocabulary becausethe morp|ology and syntax ofTigrinia have been inflLtcn- iternsamonq Arabic,'l igrinia ancl'I igre. cctl by the Cushitic structure, espccially by that of the Agau lan- Arabic Tigrinia Tigre gragc, though rnostofitsvocabulary items are Senritic. lrr view ofthc use ofCeez in the rcligious and culrural fields, 'l'igrinia has rot crca(cd a litcrature or a dcvclopeclculturc, arrcl ra?.ka onlylcw lnoks have bccn written in it.tlil:r,cvcr, a tangible progresl has takei placedulilrg |hl) last thir.tyycars thanks to thcendeavoLur l.li l3$l iblyl lefol bild of some irrtcllectuals such as Wuldab Wuldmaryarl, Djcsnesei lrht ta}|i6 Hagus and Dsse$i'l'esrna(the last two arc playwrights). Also, Ilev- bakyn Isaac Djabriosos (fIotn Sagniti) has written a nu rnber oll novcls of rij I 2i..)ra 2ti, religious character clue to Lis lxckgrnlrld, best known amonli ?anfi 25nl which is his book "Marcusai Weirri Il:rrrrbashai" ("Marcus, Wrtte ra2s ras and llrcad"). The newqrapcm which werc published in'l'igrittta at 'l'lre 'I the time of British occupation Irelpecldevelop thc lartsrraseand A) igrinic Language coin suitable words. Wuldab Wuldmaryam played a positive rolc Tigrinia is one of the two o{Iicial lang ages of ljitrca, thc in this respeclashe was thc lirst erlitor ol tlre ol))cial weeklygazctte. othcr bcing Arabic. It is written with Habashitc letlers which wcre The common law book chllcd "Lagu Djawa"is considerecl derived frorn the old llirrryaritic lettcrs in the southern Arabian 251 (' l) 256 thc oldest'ligri|ic writing and it datesback lo thc carly Irineleenth irrlluenccd by the Beja dialect and in Keren by the Agau. We can 'Iher€ century. arc rnany historical anrl religious boks irr tlte consider the Tigrc dialect dominar( in the rcgion ol l(eren, eqre- rronasterisarrd churcLcs,cq)ccially in the Debre llrzan monastely cially among thc Nlensa' tribcs, the purest Tigre d;alecr and the inAkkeleGuazi. closest to Geez, 'I'he Ilulopean missionariestr:rnslated rhe llitrle into Iiglinia and SrvedisLnrissionarics and also the Catholic nission wrore a nurnber of lirrcign scholars devotcd their attention to'l'igril]ia. a nrrrulrr ol rcligious booksin ligrc using Habashire lerrers.Some 'l'he linguist Pratu us, Nlauro de Leonessa,Conli l{ussini, Lesla' foreign words werc bouowed by'liigre from the Agau anrl Belin and Frankisc.rde llassanowrote a number of Moks about'figrinia clialects.Tigre is coDsidereda sophisiicated language of poetry. 'fhe and crlited a nurrbtr ol-dictonariesol-it. Gerrnan missiouary Litrnan compiled five volumes of Tigle poetry and song, and putrlished them in rgro, proving tltat'Iigrc lhc speakemof'l'igrinia in llritrea and tlre'ligrai province h:rsa vocabulary richer than that ofany Semitic dialect in North in DorlbelnElhiopia are estimatedat approxirnatelytlrree rnillioll last Africa. ln his wcll-known book aborrt Scmitic languagesin pcrplt, tlxrugh an ollicial censusis lacking. liorrr {l)e rcligitius Dritrea, Dillman wrote about it, and Muzinger elucidated itwith a asl)cct,rnost speakcrs ol'l'igrirtya are Ch sliarrs,il addiliut 1{) dictiorrary in thc uricl ninctccnth century. srrnc Illoslernrninoritics wlrich inhabit tlre Plateauar are called !\lGabarta'. Ullerll,'rl tlrin(s tlrat'I'igre is recerlingwith the increasein the rumber ol edLrc.rtedMoslems who adopt Arabicas a cultural Sincc the beginniugof DrlIioPi:rnoc{rrrPati(xr, the Iilhiopi;ur i?'nguages.lts ex{irctiorr is prdrablc ifAlabic bccouresrvirlespread arth(nitics h;rvr:Ii)irgl,t lg:'iIsl tbc rxc ol'lit.inia (as thcy tlid ir tiritrca. agairst Alabic) ar sclxx)lsar)(l i,r l,rrl,licar:tivitics, atrtl replaL:cd it rvitlr thcil orvn Arnllrric languageio ol llre Policyol' 'llre Pursuit containurcrt ancl Aurlrarization. Dritrean rcvolution givcs a) Thc Cushitic-Ilarnitic Languages llxr two l:utguages,Aralric arrd l igrirria its attclrli('r and stes to Iew people nr Iirilr.ca, rnainly arnorrg lhe I]arri Amer tibes tlrci' propagaliol|iD tlrclibcrated Edtrearr coturtrysidc 'Al ir thc lower llaraka Valley, speakthe languageofthe Hadnreb' 'I l|) he l igre I-arrguage Ileja, which we lrave discussedelsewhere. lt is orrc of the Flemitic 'l'igrc larrguagesconrmon in theeasternSudan. is comlnon in €astern, norlhern and western Dritrea, 'fhc lslauric rnajority. lt alsl)exrsnls 1()tlt llclir langr:age is rnsiclercd onc of thc Agau dialccts rvhich a|e lcgionsol'an 'lhe lxrrder arcas irrsiclcthe castern Sudart.'l'he rrurrttrero{ its sPeakers rvhich belorrg lo tl'e lamily of the olcl Cushitic languagcs. a! our)ts to a million and a hall in llritrca ancl thc Suclan ln vierv speakersof Belin around Kercn speak Tigre and Tigrinia also ol tll: laryc cxpansein lvhich thespcakc$ of'I igrc aresprcrd, ol thc becauseol lhcir Deedto clealivith theirurorc numerousndghbours. variety of their cnvironnrents and of their Iningling with speakers The Danakili and the Sahu dialects belong to thc Cushitic 'liigre of other dialects, diflerent dialects have developed ln Harnitic langrragelamily, among which arc tlre Galla and Somali Massawa it is in0uenccd by Arabic. Also, in the weslern r€gion it is dialects.

258 259 'l-.--.-.: -..

11rus, four Eritrean dialects belong to the Cushitc-llamitic family, though they are completely dillerent from eacb other, except for lexical origilrs.

I The Nilotic Laaguages Clnpter XDI tn the western most Eritrea, the Barya and Baza tribes sPeak two dialectswhich belong to th€ Nilotic languages,as mostofthesc A Geographical Synops is of the La d, lrom lhe southern Sudan in people are the product ofmigrations the Population ald the EconornY earlyages. Inspite ofits srnall area (I I9,ooo sq. kilometres or 5o,ooo sq. rlialeetsrre urruI itten' Al),r'I frorn'figra'ria,all ttrese miles), [ritrea comprisessuch as variety c]fterrain and climate as (ontinent. plateau, in the heat of 4) The Arabic Langrnge to hakc it n1o.lclfor a whole Its wirich lies Asmara, the capital, lorms atr extension of the certrat Arabic is c'onrmonin !)ritlea, especially il {he Nloslem cilies Afiican highlands. As lbr lhc w$tern they resenrblethe arxl rcgiols. It hasalso bccn the lirnguageol crrltrrlcfor Moslcrrts Pla;ns, 'l savanaland int|,VestAliica alrd thc Sudan. lts e4sterndcserts s;rrr:erfic okl ages. hc lidtrcarr pallianrent adoptcd it as an ollicial 'lhe resemble the barren lantl oll the Arabian Peninsula- height lalguage iu additiol to Tigrinia according to atticle 3B of the of thc plateau ranges lretween 6()(10to Booo lect above sea levcl, E.ii."ar, .onstitution. lts propagation enhancestlrc prornotion of and it comprisesthc provices ofHamassein, Akkele Guazi, and a culturc in Ilritrea and thc unilication of thc people who speak lar.gc of thc provinces of Keren ar)d lhc Coast Nakfa, drc vilr'nrsdialccls. Part cagritalol theCoast provincc lics in theIteart ofthe nor-tlrcrnplateaLr 'Rrua rvhichis called Hatab'. 'Ilre Dritrcar) plateau enloys Permanent sPnng weathcr, lhc highest degree of temperature in the morrth o[ May does rrot excecd86 "I, and thc lowcst dcgreein the month ofDcccn)berdoes not fall beloiv 38 "1. The annrral average rainf:rll rangesbetwcen 15 and 2l) inches. 'l'he arrourt ol'rain and the moderation of the climate allow 3D'c the cultivalion ol diflirdtts kinclsofccreals rrosl important utnong 7 rvhich is'tcIl, wLich is ouly to be Ibund in Yemen and South Africa, Sy.ian corn ('AIIonn'), lvheat, lcntils, beansand rttote tlnn lourty other kirrdso{ ccrcals. 'l'lre plateau sullers fiom thc erosionoflcrtile soil by scrapirtg 'l lbods ancl other crosive liclors. hereare dcnsewoods in the pro_

r6() 2br vilces ofserae and Al Gashin the southwest. The Hezno olain rivels is the.Ali Gaddi valley which irrigares in AJ

262 tQ1 which reaches45 inchesin view ofsummcr and winter rain. Coflae areexported to thc neighbouring countriesand to ltaly. is grown there. ln Eritrea there are dillerent kinds of wood on which local Corn is the staple diet of the inhabitants of rhe wesrern and industry relies.Thisis especially 'leffand thecasewith Daum treesrbargrow eastern plains, while wheat provide that in the plateau. on tlre banks of the Baraka and Al Gash rivcrbanks and are used Millets are grown on the coastsofrhe Red Seain limited quantities. in many industries such as buttons, wine, cartle fodder and other industries. The inhabitants ofthe plateau are farm€rs most ofwhom are Christians. The land is owned by the village on a communal basis. Eritrea has a vast fortune of fish, sea-shells,pearls and salt. 'Rasti'. (he 1'his system is called 1)rey live in housesbuilt ofstone and The exports of rnarine fortune currently exceed 3o million 'Fribiun'wood nrud and rooled with supported by beamsofwild dollan which are seizedby the Ethiopian authorities. 'l-bese 'lhere olive wood. houses are called Hedrnu. is anorher 'lhe 'Adjdu' 'Tekuf, Ilritrcan coast is about one thousand kilomctres long. kirrrl oll housescalled or which have a.corrical It bi:gins at Ras Kassar in the north and ends at Bab-el-Mendeb loolsuplxrltcd in tlrcnriddle bya ivoodcn beanr. in thc south in Ras Ralrita irr the French Sornaliland, calkd the As lbr the eastelnand wcsrernplains, they arc mosrlyinhabi(cd Afar and Issacoast. lt has a number ofnatural anchoragessuch as by serni-rrornadswho own cattle and at the samc time work ;n Marsa Teklai, Marsa Kuba, Marsa Kabkab, Marsa Zula, Marsa agriculture, and most of them proless Islam. Madar, Marsa Fatinrah, MarsaBarassuli and Mana Beylul. oI the population of llritrea live ilr the countrysiclc. [ritrea has 126 islands, the largert of whic]r is the Dahlak 'l)ris 78% is rvhy nrostofthe cxports ol Dritrea are livestockand agricul- I(ebn lsland, inwhich the prcsenceoloil, thc prospectingIbr which tural products most irnpo.tant ol which are bananas, which are is still rrndcnvay, is suspectccl. exp.Jrted (o Saudi Arabia and ltaly, tropical lirriG beans and Eritr'ea has about 4oo lactories some of which, such as the scsarne.Most meat is exported to Israel, whose company, Ankodi, textile lacbry, cmploy six thousand workers, and some are merely contI'(ts lhe rncatindustry uncler a treatynrade with thc Ethiopian small workshq)s which earploy ro workers. lintrea h self*ullicient occrrpatiorrauthoritics. irr most light industries, and the surplus is exported to Dthiopia 'lhe lilitrca eljoys selfsulliciency in food proclucts ancl only ard the neighbouring countries. most important Eritrean inrporls grains in draught seasons.Eritrea posse$esa livestock industries ar,:: rneat-pacling, Iiuit, fish, sweatrneats, Icatircr, ldrtunc ofcattlc, shceP,carnels and hcirscswhich total ten millioll fi:liliser, carpet, l)utt.rr)s, rriatches,wood, soap, salt, tcxlile, oil, 'l |clds. lre brccding of livcstock has bcen inlluenced by the state nail, plastic, rryk;rr,paper', npc, bags,cal and rcliigcratorasscmbly, ol rvar rvhich tlre cou try llas been in the throc'sofllurtccn years, p;p€s,cement, etc.... inchstdes. Most ofthese industriesare concen- as it is suliect to massslaugbter. trated in Asmara and are run by ltalians, however, most ol thc 'I'hcrc are livestock care cert€rs in Dritrea where.cattlc are cxpcrts now arc Drihcirn. vaccin;rted againstca(tle plague. Cashiani lras establishedin Dlibar The number ofworks employed in industry amounts to about Acl near Keren ranches to breed hybird cattle. Dairy products

264 a65 llg.aie.*diJ

Eritrea hasa variety ofmetals foremostamong which is iron. The variety ofclimatic and geographical environmentslorms Its depositsir the mountainsof Daggi Mahari and Gadam are animportant factor in thelifeofthe population and theirprosperity. eslimatedat about z5o million tons.There is gold, copper,nickel, [ritrea is linkedl-ry inseperable economic ties. mica, potassiumasbestosr mangan€ser uranium, titanium, marble The populationolEritrea isaboutthreemillion people. and other metals.Experts confirm the presenceofoil in the coasts of Erittea. Most of theseminerals have not been exploit€dyet inspiteofthe publicationofofficial statisticsabour rhem, because ol political instability.1'he PopularLiberation F-orces obstrucr the exploitationofminerals in Eritrea to preventthe colonialistlooting ofthe lortunesof[ri treaby thc Ethiopianoccupants. Dritrea has a well developed cornrnunicationsnetwork; its paveclroads,.which are 30r6 kilometreslong, link all theEritrean cities.It alsolras a railway wich is 3o6kilometres long, cxtcnding Iiom Massawato Agordat throughAsrnara. Ir is a singlelire and passerlhrougl) 35 tunnels. Eritrea is administrativelydivided inro nine proviDceswhich

'I'he r) provinceofHamasein; its capitalisAsmara, the capitalof the country.Its populationis 3oo,ooopeoplc. 2) fhe Red Sca province; its capital is Massawa,the principal port ofEritrea. Its populationis 5o,ooopeople. 'llre 3) provinceofDankalia; its capitalis Ass€b,the sccondport ofEritrea. Its populationis 3o,ooopeoplcs. 4) ]'he provnrceofrhe Coast; its capitalis Nakla. 5) T)reprovince otKeren, its capitalis Kcren. 'I 6) he provinceofAkkele Guazi,; its capiralis Addi Wigri. 'I 7) heprovince ofAkkeleGuazi; its capitalis Addilbich. 'Ihe B) provinceofBamka; its capitalisAgordat. 'l g) heprovinccofAl Gash;its provinceis llarentu.

266 267 Nineteenlh Centrrry": Dr. Shawki Atallah AI Gamal. "Knowing about the Kings of Islam in Habasha":lakieddin Ahrned lbn Ali Al Makrizi. "'lhc EgyptianAnny in the Ninet€enthCentury": Nluhanrrnad MahnroudAl-Suruji. ARABIC REFERENCES "The Mahdi ofSornaliland":Dr. MuharnadAl MutissemSayyed. " l'be Pictureof thc Earrh": lbn Flawkar. "African Civilizations": DcnnisPolm translatcdby Dar AI Hayat "Al Habashat at a f'urning Poirrtin Its History": lioulosMasa,ad. Beirut. " l he Storyol Habasha":Ahmad lbn HassanAl Haimi intrortrr- "The Red Seaand Colinialism":Dr.Jalal Yehya. ceclbyDr. lvlurad Kamel. "'Ihe Lawns of Gold and the Metals of Gems": Al Massoudi "Al l-labashalJctween Feudalisrnand rtrc lvlodcrn Age,': Dr. The U.N. Docurnentsabout Eritr€a (Tbe report ofthe lLasbedAl Barrawi. 'Ihe . four-n:embercommittce rg48 rcport of thc U.N. 'I "'I'hc History of the Civili?ations of llastern Ccurr.alSutlan,': missionin [ritrea, r95o - he final report of the U.N. Al SIater lluzzayliAbdulAziz. rel'relenlalrve'!i952) "'l'he Sudan'Ihrough rheAges": Dr. I\,lakkiSlrabika. "Africa in a New Light": byDavid Bathelson-translated byJamal " l hc Hist(xyol tlreEasrcrn Sudar 1he tlcja hovince,':Dar.ar. MuhammadAhrnad. NlLrharrrnradDarar. " l he Story ot the Italian Colonizationot Eritrea": Muhammad "'l hc Dctailcdllisroryo{ theAmbs',: Dr.Jawad Ali. Said Idris Nalad. " l lrcHistoryofthcArab lbcc": NluhanrnradArwa Danvaza. " llc Llrrrtlucxtol i\l Habash:r":Arrb lrakihAlGizarri. "lletween the Aralx ancl Habasha,': MulrarnmadAbdul Nlajicl Abdeen. "tslarrrin Al I laLasbal hr(,L,ql'tl'€ A!aL\,': liall,i ccittr. " l ho flistorvol Ethio1;ia":Zalrcr ltivad. "lhe Colonizarionol the Aliican Contincntarrcl lts Indelrcn_ dencc": Zaher Rivad. "Alrica amongEuropean counrrics',: Dr. MuharnrnadSafi Ddclin. "'1hc Policy of Iigypt in ttre Red Sca in the SccondHalf of thc

268 269 ENGLISH R.EFEITENCES "'l'hc Dthiopians" Introduction to peoptealrcl country: Edward INDDX Ullendorl Page "Ethiopia-:'I he Era ofthe Prilces: MordekhaiAbir. Thisbook... l3y Yousselllbrahim Yazbeck 7 "1he March to Magdala": LordNapier. Introduction II "Ethiopia (AncientCiries and TeDrples)', :.JeanDorcsse. ChapterI Theold races in llritrea...... r9 "'I'ravelsto Discovcrthe Source 'I'he oft|e Nile,,:JamesBruce. Chaptel II connotutionsof the old Nanrc: "lslam irr Etliiopia": SpencerTrimingbaur. CuJr.Alsum, Al Habasla,Erlriopia ... 23 'I'revaskis. "liritrea, A Colonyin Transitiou: Sir Kennedy ChapterIII Thc Relatiou of the Eritrean I'latcau "A Short History ofllritrea": Ilrig, Gcn. Lrrngregg. with the kingdom o[ Aksurn and the SoutlrcnrArabian Perrin'ula...... 3r "l'el.iplusol tlie liryrtrrcarrSca": (trarxtatcrl:r,,d lidilccl by W.H. Shofl) New York, r9ru. ChaplerlV Thc Roob of culture on the Eritrcan Platcauand is Relationwith the Arabs "Britair's Lnperial Roleirr the Red ScaBasirr" i'I hornasMariston. Belore and alier the Introduction of "A Contribution to rhe Physiographyof Nor.thcrn lithiopia": Cl'risria!'ity 37 At ul-Haggag. ChapterV 'Iribes 1he Struggle ol the Strong lbr rhc "A History of the Beja paulm of Northern Sudan,': A., ConrrolofAdulis 53 Canrbridge. 'l'hrough 'l'igre ChapterVI The Strugglein the Eed Sea " l he lvlorphohgyof t|c Noun: Ir.ll. I'alrrrcr,Oxtbrd, r96r. 59 'l'he "lJritishMilitaryAdministrationofOccupicdl euitodesinAIiica,' CbapterVll Bejal(ingdoms in the Middle Ages u9 Lord RennelofRodd, London, r94B. 'fhe ChapterVlll Rclation of Al lung Ilouse with "'llre SemiticLanguage of Ethiopia',: Ullendort, London, rg5r Dritrca...... \21 "fhe Land ofthe BurntFact":Johu Buccholzer. ChapterIX The Ertry of Islam inio Eritrea, The "1he Encyclopediaof lslam". Rise of the Islamic Principalitiesof the

270 27r Pagc Coastand the ArnharrrHabashito King- r35 ChapterX TheAnrlrara RingsAspireto Controlth€ liritrcan Coast r45 ChapterXl fhe Relation BctwcenEritrea and Ha- basl'ain theAgeoftheGondarllings ... t57 ChapterXII The Dglptian Khedivate Inrposesits Sovercightyon thc Coastof Dritrca and the Rulels of Ethiopia Renew their AspirationslbrtheCoast ...... t67 CLapterXllt Dlitreaunder I talianoccupati{xr ...... I85 ChapterXlV IlritreauDderBritainoccupatioo...-..... 207 ('g+r r952) 'fhe ClraptcrXV Problenrof llritrea Bclorctlrc U.N. ('94{l r952) ! l.tr 'l CllraptcrXVI he lithiopiar Clovcurncnt Alnlishcd '- reIredcration 243 'I'he ChaptcrXVII Ilise ot tlrc Dritlean Liberation Irrorrtand tlreDerhratior ol rLcAnrrcd Srrugglc ...... 249 ChaprcrxVIII LaugLragcsirr Eritrea anrl their Dflecton thcCornpositionofthe People ...... 255 ChapterXIX AGeographicalSynol;sottheltnd...... 261 ArabicI{clLrcrrccs.... 268 Ilnglishllefelences. . . . 27lr

212