Makhzumi dynasty
The Sultanate of Showa (Sultanate of Shewa) was a Muslim kingdom of uncertain historical origins situated in the territory of present-day Ethiopia. It was situated between the Ethiopian Highlands and the Awash River valley, approximately 70 km northeast of Addis Ababa in the vicinity of the town of Walale. Its location was in northern Hararghe situated in Harla territory.[1][2] According to the Book of Genesis, this was the region of the Havilah.[3]
The Shewa sultanate was one of the oldest documented Muslim states in the region. Its founding dynastic family, the Makhzumis, is said to have consisted of Arab immigrants who arrived in Showa during the 9th century.[4] This ruling house governed the polity from AH 283/AD 896 to 1285-86, a period of three hundred and ninety years. The Makhzumi dynasty reigned until it was deposed by the Walashma dynasty of Yifat or Ifat (1285-1415). Ifat was once the easternmost district of Shewa Sultanate. In 1285 Ali b. Wali Asma deposed the kings of Shewa and installed a certain MHz.[5][6]
There were nine recorded Sulṭāns of Showa (Shewa), who asserted descent from Wudd ibn Hisham al-Makhzumi.[7] The Showa chronicle records two other names before Sulṭān Malasmaʿī (r. 1180–1183). However, it is not clear what is their relationship with the Makhzumi dynasty.
| Ruler Name | Reign | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queen Badit | 1063 - 1108 | Daughter of King Maya, possibly Gudit who destroyed the Axum state[8][9] |
| 2 | Sulṭān Malasmaʿī | 1180 - 1183 | |
| 3 | Sulṭān Ḥusein | 1183 - 1193 | |
| 4 | Sulṭān ʿAbdallah | 1193 - 1235 | |
| 5 | Sulṭān Maḥamed | 1235 - 1239 | Son of Sulṭān Ḥusein. |
| 6 | Sulṭān Ganah | 1252 - 1262 | |
| 7 | Sulṭān Mālzarrah | 1239 - 1252 | Son of Sulṭān Maḥamed. Married Fatimah Aydargun, daughter of Sulṭān ʿAli "Baziwi" ʿUmar of the Sultanate of Ifat in 1245, and mother of Sultan Dilmārrah. |
| 8 | Sulṭān Girām-Gaz'i | 1262 - 1263 | Son of Sulṭān Ganah. Abdicated in favor of his elder brother. |
| 9 | Sulṭān Dil-Gāmis | 1263 - 1278 | Son of Sulṭān Ganah. He was deposed by Dilmārrah in 1269. He sought assistance from Yekuno Amlak in restoring his rule, and was briefly restored to the throne in July 1278, but was deposed again by August. |
| 10 | Sulṭān Dilmārrah | 1269 - 1283 | Son of Sulṭān Mālzarrah. He was half-Walashma on his mother's side, and also married a Walashma princess. When Yekuno Amlak overthrew him to re-install Dil-Gāmis in July 1278, the Sultanate of Ifat invaded and restored his rule. In 1280, Showa was incorporated into Ifat, and he was murdered in 1283, bringing a definitive end to the Sultanate of Showa. |
| 11 | Sulṭān ʿAbdallah | 1279 - 1279 | Son of Sulṭān Ganah. Briefly deposed Sulṭān Mālzarrah to restore the rule of the sons of Ganah. However, this rebellion was short lived, and Showa would be annexed into Ifat the following year. |
Shewa Sultanate, established in 896, is the first Muslim state inland and according to the chronicle of the sultanate no major report of conversion to Islam was reported before the beginning of the 12th century.[10][5][6] However, beginning with the conversion of the Gbbh people in 1108, whom Trimingham suggested them being the ancestors of Argobbas, other people were converted. By mid fourteenth century Islam expanded in the region and the inhabitants leaving north of Awash river were the Muslim people of Zaber and Midra Zega (located south of modern Merhabete); the Gabal (or Warjeh people today called Tigri Worji); and Tegulat & Menz people whom at that time were Muslims.[11][12][10] The chronicle of Shewa sultanate also mentions that in 1128 the Amhara fled from the land of Werjih people whom at that time were pastoralist people and occupied the Awash valley east of Shoan plateau.[13]
Ifat or Yifat, established in early medieval times, was the easternmost district of Shewa Sultanate and was located in the strategic position between the central highlands and the Sea, especially the port of Zeila.[14][15] In 1285 Ifat's ruler Wali Asma deposed Shewan kings and established the Walasma dynasty and Shewa with its districts including its centers, Walalah and Tegulat, became one of the seven districts of Ifat sultanate.[6][16][17] Tegulat, previously the capital of Shewa Sultanate, is situated on a mountain 24 km north of Debre Berhan, located in today's North Shewa Zone (Amhara), and was known by Muslims as mar'ade which later became the seat of emperor Amda Tsion.[18][19][20] The chronicle of Amde Sion mentions Khat being widely consumed by Muslims in the city of Marade.[21]
Based on Cerulli's study of the names of the princes J. D. Fage and Roland Oliver were convinced that the inhabitants of Shewa spoke Ethiopian semitic language likely Argobba language.[22] After Shewa was incorporated into Ifat an Egyptian courtier, Al Umari, would describe Ifat Sultanate as one of the largest as well as the richest of Ethiopias Muslim provinces, and Shewa, Adal, Jamma, Lao and Shimi are places incorporated into Ifat.[16]
See also
References
- ^ The Ethno-History of Halaba People (PDF). p. 15. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ Braukhaper, Ulrich (2002). Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia: Collected Essays. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 21. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ^ Bevan, William (1875). The Student's Manual of Ancient Geography. J Murray. p. 5. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
- ^ Quath, Faati (1957). Islam Walbaasha Cabra Taarikh [Islam and Abyssinia throughout history] (in Arabic). Cairo, Egypt.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Nehemia Levtzion, Randall Pouwels The History of Islam in Africa - Google Books" Ohio University Press, 2000. p. 228.
- ^ a b c Stuart Munro-Hay Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide - Google Books" I.B.Tauris, 2002. p. 365.
- ^ Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide, Page 365-366
- ^ "Gudit fl. 10th century Orthodox Ethiopia". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- ^ Munro-Hay, Stuart (3 May 2002). Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide. I.B.Tauris. p. 365. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ a b J. D. Fage, Roland Oliver The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3 - Google Books" Cambridge University Press, 1975. p. 107.
- ^ Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission Perspectives Des Études Africaines Contemporaines: Rapport Final D'un Symposium International - Google Books" 1974. p. 269.
- ^ Richard Pankhurst The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century - Google Books" The Red Sea Press, 1997. p. 41-42.
- ^ J. D. Fage, Roland Oliver The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3 - Google Books" Cambridge University Press, 1975. p. 107.
- ^ Nehemia Levtzion, Randall Pouwels The History of Islam in Africa - Google Books" Ohio University Press, 2000. p. 228.
- ^ David H. Shinn, Thomas P. Ofcansky Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia - Google Books" Scarecrow Press, 2013. p. 225.
- ^ a b Richard Pankhurst The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century - Google Books" The Red Sea Press, 1997. p. 45-46.
- ^ Harm Johannes Schneider Leprosy and Other Health Problems in Hararghe, Ethiopia - Google Books" 1975. p. 18.
- ^ George Wynn Brereton Huntingford The Historical Geography of Ethiopia: From the First Century Ad to 1704 - Google Books" British Academy, 1989. p. 78.
- ^ George Wynn Brereton Huntingford The Historical Geography of Ethiopia: From the First Century Ad to 1704 - Google Books" British Academy, 1989. p. 80.
- ^ Niall Finneran The Archaeology of Ethiopia - Google Books" Routledge, 2013. p. 254.
- ^ Maurice Randrianame, B. Shahandeh, Kalman Szendrei, Archer Tongue, International Council on Alcohol and Addictions The health and socio-economic aspects of khat use - Google Books" The Council, 1983. p. 26.
- ^ Fage, J.D (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge University. p. 107. Retrieved 22 December 2016.