Regnal lists of Ethiopia 📖 Wikipedia

Regnal lists of Ethiopia are recorded lists of monarchs who are claimed by tradition to have ruled the territory of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the historical territory of the Kingdom of Aksum and the Ethiopian Empire. These lists are often recorded on manuscripts or orally by monasteries and have been passed down over the centuries.

Many surviving physical regnal lists, as well as recorded oral lists, chronicle the line of kings beginning with Menelik I to the Solomonic dynasty. According to tradition, Menelik is believed to be the son of queen Makeda (the Biblical Queen of Sheba) and king Solomon. The rulers that followed Menelik were the kings of Axum, the Zagwe dynasty and the Solomonic dynasty. Some traditions record monarchs who reigned before Menelik. These regnal lists were used to prove the longevity of the Ethiopian monarchy and to provide legitimacy for the Solomonic dynasty until its fall from power in 1974.^[1] Eritrea became de facto independent from Ethiopia in 1991, and thus literature on regnal lists before this usually referred to them simply as "Ethiopian" and/or "Axumite" regnal lists. These lists were also referred to as "Abyssinian" because Abyssinia was a term used historically to refer to the highland areas of modern Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Ethiopian and Eritrean traditions record a range of different monarchs from earlier times whose existence has not been verified by modern-day archeology. Their stories and legends may have elements of truth but it is unclear to what extent this is the case. Numerous king lists have been recorded either on manuscripts or via oral tradition. However, surviving information on the kings prior to the reign of emperor Yekuno Amlak (1270–1285) is often scattered, incomplete or contradictory.^[2][3] The king lists that do refer to pre-1270 Ethiopia rarely match completely with one another.^[4] This variation is likely because the lists were compiled over a long time period across several different monasteries.^[5] It is also possible that the variations in succession order could be due to tampering with the lists after the 13th century that resulted from "dynastic quarrels" and "ideological re-readings" of the Axumite regnal lists.^[6]

Carlo Conti Rossini suggested the lists were compiled in the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries following the restoration of the Solomonic dynasty and were compiled from Arabic documents, inscriptions on coins and monuments, and, in the case of some names, from South Arabian mythology.^[7]

The chronography found in the regnal lists and related documents "seem to have developed following some points of the biblical chronological framework".^[8] The most common quoted points in the chronography in the lists are:^[8]

• The time from Arwe to Makeda – c. 800 years
• From Makeda to Bazen (in whose reign Christ was born) – c. 1,000 years
• From Bazen to the "brother-kings" Abreha and Atsbeha – c. 400 years
• The reign of Gebre Meskel
• The Zagwe dynasty
• The accession of emperor Yekuno Amlak – 1270 CE

Historian Manfred Kropp noted that numerous regnal lists exist that date back to the 13th century and these are reliable documents. However, for the period before this there are only legendary memories of the Axumite rulers.^[3] Regnal lists were created to provide a connection between the Solomonic dynasty and the legendary Axumite kings while skipping the Zagwe dynasty. Such lists were written for the purpose of proving the legitimacy of the ruling Solomonic emperors and had information drawn from chronicles held in monasteries.^[9] Kropp believed that Ethiopian regnal lists were intended to fill in the gaps between major events, such as the meeting of Makeda and Solomon, the arrival of Frumentius and the beginning of the Zagwe dynasty. The great variation in names and order between regnal lists was likely because this process took place across several different monasteries and were also passed on orally.^[5]

Not all names on the regnal lists are Abyssinian in origin. Some names originate from South Arabian mythology, the religious language of Alexandria, and Greco-Roman sources, and transformed into local Abyssinian forms.^[10]

E. A. Wallis Budge commented that any written information on the period of Ethiopian history before the 13th century was "incomplete" and "untrustworthy". However, he felt that this was because any regnal lists or chronological works held in Axum were likely burned or destroyed before Yekuno Amlak ascended the throne in 1270.^[2] Budge noted that numerous regnal lists were known to exist in which the number and order of kings were rarely the same. He felt that it was clear that the chronographers of Abyssinia from the 13th and 14th centuries "did not know how many kings had reigned over [their country] from the time of Makeda [...] or the exact order of succession". Budge theorized that while the regnal lists showed evidence that they were based on legend and tradition, some parts of the list suggested that the scribes did indeed "[have] access to chronological and historical documents of some kind", including Coptic and Arabic texts which were possibly brought over by monks fleeing Egypt and Nubia during the time of the Arab conquests. Some lists began with Adam or David.^[4]

Spanish Missionary Pedro Páez believed that the reason for the differences in names on various lists was because the Ethiopian emperors used different names prior to their accession to the throne, and some lists used their regnal names while others listed their birth names.^[11] This was supposedly done in imitation of Menelik I, who was named David when he was crowned.^[12] E. A. Wallis Budge theorised that the existence of multiple king lists suggest that these represent rival claimants to the throne.^[13]

The book Chaldeae seu Aethiopicae linguae institutiones by Mariano Vittori was notable for being the first European book on Ge'ez grammar, and was published in Rome in 1552.^[14] There was a leaflet with a list of kings was included as an appendix containing 153 names up to emperor Lebna Dengel.^[15]

Two European missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries, Pedro Páez and Manuel de Almeida, visited Ethiopia and personally saw two different regnal lists on which they based their respective writings on the history of Ethiopia.^[16] The manuscripts likely dated to before 1620.^[16] Both Páez and de Almeida stated that the Ethiopian emperor lent them books from the church of Axum containing the regnal lists.^[16]

August Dillmann wrote an article comparing the regnal lists in 1853.^[17] Dillman compared three lists and simply named them as A, B and C. Dillmann believed that list A was the longest because it included all rulers, regents, co-regents, pretenders and even heads of individual parts of the empire, while lists B and C only had the most important names.^[18]

Carlo Conti Rossini attempted to co-ordinate and compare the large number of different regnal lists, bringing together 86 different lists from libraries in Ethiopia and Italian Eritrea.^[19] The lists were divided into eight groups based on similarities and number of kings, and they were categorized by the letters A to H.^[19] Rossini's list A, B and C match Dillmann's C, B and A respectively.^[20]

Across Rossini's different lists, no name appears on all lists and no individual list contains all recorded names.^[21] The most common names to appear on the lists are Menelik I, Bazen, Abreha and Atsbeha and Gebre Meskel.^[22]

The following section details the types of regnal lists that chronicle the rulers of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea before the Zagwe dynasty, covering both the legendary and historical periods of the Kingdom of Aksum.

August Dillmann's List A and Carlo Conti Rossini's List C both begin with the legendary serpent king Arwe and end with the Axumite king Gebre Meskel, containing 91 names.^[23][24] The names and regnal lengths below are taken from these two lists. Reign lengths in italics are outliers that only appear on a few lists, and priority is given to reign lengths that appear on both Dillmann's and Rossini's lists. Names can vary greatly across regnal lists, so priority for names is also given to those that appear on both lists.

Dillmann noted that his list A could be found in the works of Mariano Vittori, James Bruce, Edmond Combes, Maurice Tamisier and Eduard Rüppell.^[25]

Dillmann believed that list A was the longest of the three he compiled because it included all rulers, regents, co-regents, pretenders and even heads of individual parts of the empire, while lists B and C only had the most important names.^[18]

Rossini's list C was based on 16 documents dating to the 16th–19th centuries. These include certain copies of the Kebra Nagast and regnal lists recorded by Pedro Páez, Manuel de Almeida and Mariano Vittori.^[21]

Because this list ends with Gebre Meskel and does not continue to the end of the Axumite kingdom, some writers chose to 'complete' the line of kings by using other lists. Dillmann noted that Eduard Rüppell continued by using list B, while Mariano Vittori used what Dillmann called list C.^[26] James Bruce's list diverges after the reign of Bazen and matches Dillmann's list C/Rossini's list A after this point.^[27]

The following table is mostly based on Dillmann's and Rossini's lists, but will also include information from these sources:

• Chaldeae seu Aethiopicae linguae institutiones by Mariano Vittori (1552).^[28][a]
• The second of three regnal lists recorded by Pedro Páez in his book História da Etiópia (1620).^[30] Páez believed this list contained the throne names kings took upon their accession, while he thought his first list contained birth names.^[31] A manuscript from Debre Libanos of unknown age has a similar line of succession to this list.^[16]
• Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (Volume 2) by James Bruce (1790).^[32] He had gathered information for his regnal list from local scribes, though did not believe they were trustworthy or that his regnal list was complete.^[33]
• A Voyage to Abyssinia (1814) by Henry Salt.^[34] After the joint reign of Abreha and Atsbeha, Salt's list diverges from Dillmann's list A/Rossini's list C and instead matches list B from both historians.^[35]
• Voyage en Abyssinie (Volume 3) by Edmond Combes and Maurice Tamisier (1838).^[36] Combes and Tamisier included two lists for the period from Menelik to Bazen. The first list is similar to James Bruce's list except it omits two rulers who reigned before Bazen, while the second list is similar to Henry Salt's list except it replaces Handadyo's name with "Zagdur" used by Bruce and mistakenly gives Gasyo 4 months of rule. Combes and Tamisier's list from Bazen to Abreha and Atsbeha is almost identical to Salt's list, including moving Abreha and Atsbeha's reign much earlier, except that Zegen and Rema (no. 39 and 40) are mistakenly counted as one ruler.^[37]
• Reise in Abyssinien (Volume 2) by Eduard Rüppell (1840). His list begins with Bazen and dates the period from the birth of Christ to the reign of Gebre Meskel as 5500 to 6214 A.M. (up to the year 714 on the Gregorian calendar).^[38][b] His list then continues in a way that matches the "List B" recorded by both Dillmann and Rossini.^[39]
• The first of two manuscripts held in the British Museum published in E. A. Wallis Budge's A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia Volume I (1928).^[40] This manuscript was filed under Oriental No. 821, fol. 28b. Budge did not quote any names before Ebna El-Hakim or after Abreha and Atsbeha.
• A list of kings provided by E. A. Wallis Budge which he dated to the period c. 360–550 from the end of Abreha and Atsbeha's joint reign to the beginning of Gabra Maskal's reign.^[41] Budge was unclear on the source of his information, and appears to combine information from different lists into this one. He believed these monarchs were "kinglets" who ruled parts of Ethiopia separate from other lines of kings between 360 and 480.^[42]

Mariano Vittori preceded his list with naming Cush and Ham of the Bible.^[43] James Bruce's list begins with Menelik rather than Arwe.^[32]

This list uses the prefix "Ela" for most rulers from number 48 to 83. Salt adds the prefix "Za" for most rulers from Arwe to Hadus, except Menelik I, Awda, Kawuda, Kanazi, Haduna and Herka, the last instead having the "El" prefix.^[44] Combes' and Tamisier's uses the prefix "Za" for all rulers except Arwe, Makeda and Menelik, as well as Awida, Kanazi, Haduna and Bazen on their second list.^[45] Manuscript Oriental No. 821, fol. 28b quoted by Budge uses the "Za" prefix for all rulers except Ebna El-Hakim, and the co-regents Bezta and Zemare.^[46] Additionally, on this manuscript all names from Asgwagwa to Ahywa (except for Besi Sawesa, Wakana and Hadus) have the "Ela" prefix as well.

A noticeable problem with this list is that over 400 years pass between the end of Bazen's reign and the beginning of Abreha and Atsbeha's reign. This pushes their joint reign to the early 5th century, a whole century after the traditional early 4th century date for the Christianisation of Ethiopia. Because of this, Henry Salt deliberately altered the placement of Abreha and Atsbeha on his list so that the thirteenth year of their joint reign would fall correctly on the date when Christianity was introduced to Ethiopia instead of contradicting this tradition.^[44] Salt noted that his list makes a "very striking error" by placing Abreha after El Ahiawya and thus suggesting that his thirteenth year of rule took place 465 years after the birth of Christ.^[47] As a result, Salt's personal king list alters the order slightly by placing Abreha and Atsbeha much further up the king list (the table below however retains the order of his original source).^[47] Salt additionally believed that there should only be one king named Ameda, though his list has two kings of this name.^[47]

Salt theorised that the change of prefix from "Za" to "El" after the reign of Za Elasguaga reflected a change of dynasty.^[44] He believed that this theory could be confirmed by the short reigns of Za Baesi Tsawesa, Za Wakena and Za Hadus, who all reigned for a combined total of 1 year, 4 months and 2 days after the first "El" king, El Herka.^[44] He believed that the "Za" kings were the "shepherd kings" or "original Ethiopians" before being replaced by a new "race" of kings.^[44] Salt suggested that this change may have been caused by colony of Syrians who were placed by Alexander the Great near the mouth of the Red Sea according to an account written by Philostorgius.^[44]

Frederick Edwards noted the rulers numbered 3 to 5 on this list do not appear on Rossini's other lists, unless they can be equated with Zagdur, Subabasyu and Tawasya on list D, where they follow Menelik.^[56]

August Dillmann's list B and Carlo Conti Rossini's list B both contain 69 names from Menelik I (known as "Ibn-Hakim" on this list) to Dil Na'od, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Axum.^[110][111]

This list does not contain reign lengths for most monarchs. The list should cover a period of roughly 2,000 years from the 10th century BCE to the 10th century CE, but the lack of dates makes it difficult to accurately map the number of rulers over this time period.

Dillmann's list B is compiled from four different collected lists, the same ones used for his list A.^[112] Rossini's list B is based on 33 documents dating to the 16th–19th centuries. These include the Gadla Takla Haymanot and chronicles held in the British Museum, Bodleian Library and Bibliothèque nationale de France.^[21]

Each ruler is stated to be the son of the preceding king.^[113] Some variations of the list specifically call these rulers the "Kings of Axum".^[114]

Henry Salt believed the kings from Alla Amidas to Dil Na'od reigned for a total of 354 years.^[115] E. A. Wallis Budge dated the period from Constantinos to Del Na'ad to c. 600–970.^[116]

Apart from Dillmann's and Rossini's lists, the following table includes information from these sources:

• A Voyage to Abyssinia (1814) by Henry Salt.^[35] Salt's list prior to Abreha and Atsbeha closely follows Dillmann's list A/Rossini's list C, but after this point it more closely follows list B from both historians. However, Salt also quoted a "corrupt" list for the period from Ibn Hakim to Bazen that is similar to list B below.^[55] Edmond Combes and Maurice Tamisier's list in Voyage en Abyssinie (Volume 3) (1838) is virtually the same as Salt's list except for minor differences of name spellings.^[117]
• Reise in Abyssinien (Volume 2) by Eduard Rüppell (1840). His list of rulers before Gebre Meskel matches Dillmann's List A/Rossini's List C, while afterwards it matches the "List B" recorded by both Dillmann and Rossini.^[118]
• Études sur l'histoire d'Éthiopie (1882) by French Orientalist René Basset.^[119] This list claimed that each king was the son of the previous king, except for Saba Asgad, who was the brother of his predecessor Zaray and both were sons of Sarguay.^[120]
• A translation of The Life of Takla Haymanot by E. A. Wallis Budge (1906).^[121] Each king is the son of the previous king on this list.
• The second of two manuscripts held in the British Museum published in E. A. Wallis Budge's A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia Volume I (1928).^[122] This manuscript was filed under Oriental No. 821, fol. 36a. Budge regarded this manuscript to be the most authoritative.^[13]

August Dillmann's list C and Carlo Conti Rossini's list A both begin with Bazen and do not name any rulers from the BCE era. Both lists end by naming Terda Gabaz, a princess who passed the throne to the Zagwe dynasty. These lists notably do not name Dil Na'od as the last king of Axum, and place some rulers after his name that preceded him on other lists. Dilmann's list includes 44 names and Rossini's list includes 47 names.^[151][152]

Dillmann noted that his list C could be found in the works of Mariano Vittori and James Bruce.^[29]

Rossini's list A was based on 22 documents dating to the 16th–19th centuries. These documents included manuscripts held in the British Museum, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Royal Library of Berlin and Bodleian Library, as well as the private collection of Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, the Ethiopian manuscripts Serata Mangest, Weddasé Amlak and Kitara Tasbuki, and regnal lists recorded by Mariano Vittorio, Pedro Páez and Manuel de Almeida.^[153]

Dillmann's list C begins by stating "In Axum, the serpent had its rule, and after our Redeemer was born, these were the kings of Axum".^[26]

Apart from Dillmann's and Rossini's lists, the following table also includes information from these sources:

• Chaldeae seu Aethiopicae linguae institutiones by Mariano Vittori (1552).^[154][d]
• The third of three regnal lists recorded by Pedro Páez in his book História da Etiópia (1620).^[155] Páez believed this list contained the throne names kings took upon their accession, while he thought his first list contained birth names.^[31] The third list was placed directly after the second as a continuation of names following Gebre Meskel, however there is a significant overlap of names between the two lists.
• Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (Volume 2) by James Bruce (1790), from a monastery of Debre Libanos.^[27][e]

Carlo Conti Rossini's list D is based on 6 documents. These include a manuscript from Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie's collection (number 105), the Chronicle of Azaz Delbo, and regnal lists recorded by Melchior da Silva, Pedro Páez and Manuel de Almeida.^[21] The list has 67 names from Angabo to Dil Na'od.^[165]

All names on this list also appear on Rossini's lists B and C, though some are spelled differently. Like those lists, list D also lacks reign lengths.

Apart from Rossini's list, the following table also includes information from these sources:

• The first of three regnal lists recorded by Pedro Páez (1620).^[166] Páez believed this list contained the birth names of the kings while the second and third lists included throne names they took upon their accession.^[31]

Carlo Conti Rossini's list E is found in only one manuscript given to him by the Monastery of Enda Sellasé in Akele Guzai in Eritrea.^[21] E. A. Wallis Budge quoted this list in his book A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia (Volume 1) (1928).^[170] There are 67 names on this list.^[171]

This list includes reign lengths for some rulers, but not all of them.