Why / What President Donald Trump Should Learn From The Great Christian Emperor of Ethiopia Zar’a Ya’qob (1434—1468)

Because it is only ETHIOPIA and her Almighty God EGZIABHER Who the anti-Christians from Arabia are terrified of. Remember of Prester John of Ethiopia? By coincidence that the inauguration of the President of the United States is taking place almost on the very day of “Ethiopian” Epiphany?

According to one of the 268 stories in the Ta’amra Maryam, “The Miracles of the Virgin Mary,” a popular Ethiopian theme, Emperor Dawit prayed to The Virgin Mary before raiding anti-Christian Egypt. In reply she advised the emperor, in the name of God, to divert the Nile. The river is referred to in the leg-ends as the „Abbay“ or the „Geyon“, the Biblical river of paradise that flows through the land of Ethiopia (Genesis 2:13) . When the Egyptians saw that their waters had receded, they sued for peace and promised never again to be the foes of Christianity.

In the 15^th century, Emperors Dawit and Yishaq were very successful in fighting the infidel Muslims (pay attention how they project to call us “infidels”) in the Horn of Africa. After Emperor Yishaq defeated Islamic Ifat by capturing Zeilla in 1415, the Mamluk Sultan Barsbay retaliated, as he did when he came to power in 1422, by closing the Ethiopian monastery in Jerusalem. Emperor Yishaq lost no time in taking revenage on mosques and Muslims in Ethiopia, while Barsbay responded by threatening to harm the Copts in Egypt.

With the ascension of the ascension of the greatest of the Solomonian emperor, Zar’a Ya’qob (Seed of Jacob) (1434—1468), to power, the European-Nile connection became central to general Ethiopian strategy. Zar’a Ya’qob launched wars against Muslim Adan and stove to spread Christianity with the help of a united church.

When Sultan Jaqmaq (1438—1453) came to power, he renewed the Mamluks’ attacks against crusaders stationed in Cyprus and Rodes in the eastern Mediterranean. H was especially angered by Coptic participation in the anti-Islamic coordination effort at the Council of Florence (remember this council) and ordered the Coptic Patriarch to report any communication he received from Zar’a Ya’qob. There followed a chain of anti-Coptic actions in Egypt, including new taxes and the burning of churches.

In November 1443 a delegation from Zar’a Ya’qob handed this letter to Sultan Jaqmaq:

From the righteous…. Zar’a Ya’qob….King of Kings of Ethiopia…

To the noble, elevated Imam, the royal Sultan al-Zahir Jaqmaq, sultan of the Muslims and of Islam in Egypt and Syria. It is our goal to renew the understandings that existed between our predecessors. Let these understandings remain preserved without interruption. You, may the good Lord save you, know well what the shepherd needs to do with his sheep. Our father the Patriarch and our brothers the Christians, who are under your government and under your noble kingdom, are very few, weak, and poor. They cannot be more numerous than just one Islamic community in one of the regions of our country. And you, may the good Lord save you, are not aware of the Muslims under our government, that we are the rulers of their kings and and we always treat them well, and their kings live with us wearing golden crowns and riding horses? And are you not aware, you and your Sultan, that the River Nile is flowing to you from our country and that we are capable of preventing the floods that irrigate your country? Nothing keeps us from so doing, only the belief in God and the care for his slaves. We have presented to you what you need to know and you should know what you have to do.

Zar’a Ya’qob’s letter created little understanding. Jaqmaq responded by sending an emissary bearing gifts and an evasive reply. When Zar’a Ya’qob detained the emissary, Jaqmaq detained the Patriarch in Cairo, forcing him to write to the Ethiopian requesting the emissary’s release. Before his release, however, the Egyptian prisoner was taken to observe Zar’a Ya’qob inflict yet another defeat on Adal’s sultan, Shihab al-Din, in 1445. When Jaqmaq wrote to the new Adalite sultan suggesting that he make peace with Zar’a Ya’qob, the latter responded in 1449 that the Ethiopian Emperor had built a navy of 200 ships in preparation for an attack on Mecca and aimed to destroy the Kaaba. He further warned that Zar’a Ya’qob was contemplating blocking the Nile.

Zar’a Ya’qob brought Ethiopia’s awareness of the Nile’s political significance to its peak. He also added significant religious and cultural dimensions to this awareness by overseeing the competion of the translation and modification fo the Ta’amara Maryam. This collection of narratives included The Virgin Mary‘s advice to fight Egypt and Islam by diverting the Geyon, the Nile. Zar’a Ya’qob institutionalized the veneration of Mary as preeminent among the saints of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and in 1441 he introduced the reading of passages from the Ta’amra Maryam as a major ritual on Sundays. The Nile legacy of the Virgin Mary, together with that of the entire Solomonian period, was to endure. The idea that the Geyon was part of Ethiopia’s biblical heritage, that Ethiopia dominated its flow, and that Ethiopian control of the river was sanctioned by heaven remained part of the Christian Ethiopian ethos.

Raf’ sha’n al-hubshan. Al-Suyuti – in the last section he addresses mythical concepts of future catastrophes and contains short quotation about the destruction of various places all over the world. According to one such tradition, Egypt will be destroyed due to the drying up of the Nile. According to another, Mecca will be destroyed by the Ethiopians.

In defense of Orthodoxy, he nevertheless introduced dramatic innovations in Church life and policy. Many of these changes had to do with the liturgical cycle; after a Christmas Day victory over an invading Muslim army which greatly outnumbered his own, Zara Yaqob decreed that from then on Christmas would be celebrated every month, and went on to add numerous other monthly feasts as well. Intensely devoted to the Mother of God (and greatly impressed by reports of her contemporary miraculous apparition at Metmaq, Egypt), the emperor required that every church have an altar dedicated in her honor, and ordered all 33 of her festivals to be observed as if they were Sundays no matter when they fell in the week. Several classic works of Ge’ez literature date from his reign, most of them in some way connected to veneration of the Theotokos; among them is a translation of the Western European Miracles of the Virgin.

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Egypt: Judgment Days Coming?

On Friday 5 April, an imam in Khusus (a poor area on the outskirts of Cairo) issued a call from the mosque: ‘Kill the Christians and cleanse Al Khusus’ of ‘infidels’. Four local Copts were killed in the subsequent Islamic pogrom. On Sunday 7 April, as Coptic Christians gathered at St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo for the funeral of the four, Muslims came and started stoning the mourners. The mob grew as more and more Muslims joined in, many arriving with weapons, including guns and Molotov cocktails. Cairo police took more than an hour to respond and when they did arrive, they did nothing to quell the attack. Live TV footage shows most police remaining motionless throughout the attack, while some actually join in, lobbing tear gas grenades into the church compound. One Copt died from gunshot wounds whilst dozens were wounded. The police didn’t help the Christians, in fact it arrested four Christians It is clear by now, that, if the police arrest anyone, it will only be Christians; Muslims will not be charged. The courts will never or almost never rule in the favor of any Christians. Indeed, high-ranking government officials accused the Christians themselves of attacking the cathedral! there are, according to baptismal records of the Coptic Orthodox Church, some 16 million Christian Copts in Egypt.

In Egypt “Islam is taught in all state schools to all pupils, but Christianity cannot be taught to Christian children. Coptic teachers cannot teach Arabic. Copts are encouraged to convert to Islam, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face harassment and severe persecution. Copts, despite being loyal to their original country, despite their pious prayers for their country, for their government, for its president, for all Egyptians, for the Nile, and for the army, Copts are woefully underrepresented in Egypt’s military, judiciary, diplomatic corps, academia and almost all electoral bodies.

The disturbing thing is the Islamist regime continues getting big loans and U.S. military aid. With Egypt threatening Nile riparian countries like Ethiopia, things would even go worse. The ignorant world remains indifferent; the hypocritical, despicable main stream mediais usually determined to be “even-handed” or to ignore the extent of the situation, preferring to seek alleged abuses and human rights violations in other, near-by countries like Ethiopia. In the coming days, they will start perpetuating a massive fraud, talking trash, spewing venomous lies and leveling false accusations towards Ethiopia, concerning the construction of the Renaissance Dam.

History about to repeat itself?

In the historically crucial years of 1875 – 1876, Khedive Ismail of Egypt invaded Ethiopia without much success. This was the time when Egypt was suffering because of food shortage after the annual Nile River flood failed. Economic crisis hits Egypt, its total foreign debt came to £94,000,000. Seriously concerned with the country’s financial situation, Ismail asked for British help in fiscal reform. Britain responded by sending Steven Cave, a member of Parliament, to investigate. Cave judged Egypt to be solvent on the basis of its resources and said that all the country needed to get back on its feet was time and the proper servicing of the debts. Cave recommended the establishment of a control commission over Egypt’s finances to approve all future loans. A year earlier, Khedive Ismail sold 176,000 Suez Canal shares to the British government

In order to divert attention from Egypt’s state of confusion and disorderliness, Europe and America encouraged Egypt to invade Ethiopia – by arming the Muslim Khedive Ismael’s army and sending mercenaries alongside the Egyptian army to fight against the Orthodox Christian country of Ethiopia. But, Ismael’s Egyptian forces were again defeated by Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia. The battle at Gura involved 12,000 well-equipped Egyptians, hundreds of European, almost fifty American, and several Ottoman mercenary officers. Of the 6,000 Egyptians that took part in the battle, 4,000 were either killed, wounded or captured (and then killed).

The humiliating defeat of Egypt and its allies followed by their cowardice murder of Ethiopian leaders like Emperor Yohannes. This hatred, of course, was driven by a shame-based Muslim culture that is deeply humiliated by Arab weakness and Ethiopian strength. During the Crimean War, troops from the same Egyptian army fought admirably in southern Russia (Orthodox Christian State) and a decade later, also performed well fighting in the army of Napoleon III in Mexico. Yet, this same army suffered disastrous defeats in the 1870s during Western-powered campaigns in Ethiopia. Losing a war is a traumatic experience for any country, and it often leads to an internal revolution and scapegoating.

In 1876, Egypt was punished not only by the Ethiopian army, but also by mother nature. In the next consecutive years Egypt was repeatedly struck by food shortage because the annual Nile River flood failed. In 1878, England and France gain cabinet seats and control over Egyptian finances. The food shortage, the whole chaos and military fiasco eventually lead later to the British occupation of Egypt.

Currently, we are witnessing similar scenarios, as the situation in Egypt is more or less marked by correspondence of Khedive Ismael’s Egypt. The economy is in decline, the financial food security is precarious, the waters of the Nile are speaking, is and Islamic intolerance is soaring. Yes, life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps us gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere. Now, Egypt seems to be like fish in troubled waters, it’s a tinderbox!

Over the past couple of years everyone has become curious to know why the Western World go over to ally with those forces who later become their own enemies. US defense minister, Hagel was recently in Egypt to try and preserve military ties with the Muslim Brotherhood-led gov’t

In the above short video, FOX News’ Hanniti asks why the US government is ready to  unconditionally give billions of dollars in aid to the rouge state of Egypt. It’s amazing to observe how the three discuss so emotionally about a country whose mainstream society has never been, will never be an ally to the United States. You never see this sort of emotional devotedness to nations like Ethiopia. In fact, in time of war, God forbid!, one of the speakers sounds like the useful idiot who would be willing to serve the Egyptian army as mercenary.

“In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He waves over it. And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts which He has determined against it. In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction”. [Isaiah 19:16-18]

• U.S.-Ethiopian relations were established in 1903

• U.S.-Egyptian relations were established in 1922

• Ethiopia and Ethiopians never been hostile to Western nations

• Egypt’s Muslim brotherhood is the root source of Islamic terrorism

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የአፄ ዮሐንስ እና የንጉሥ ምኒልክ ዕርቅ

 

*ከማሞ ውድነህ*

…ካለፈው የቀጠለ…

 

“አሁንኮ አባታችን ያቀረቡልዎ ክስ የደንከልን በር ለሃይማኖት ተግባር ነው ብላችሁ ከገዛችሁ በኋላ ለንግድ ሥራና ለመንግሥት መገልገያ እንዲሆን አደረጋችሁ፤ የትንባሆ ነገር በሕዝቡ ዘንድ እንዲለመድ አድርጋችኋል ነውና ለዚህ መልስ ይስጡ” ብለው ጠየቋቸው።

አባ ማስያስ በጸጉር የተሸፈነ የዱር ድመት የመሰለ ፊታቸውን ወደ ዕጨጌው ዘወር አድርገው፤

“እሳቸውኮ እኛን በሆነ ባልሆነ የሚወነጅሉን አገራችሁ ከአውሮፓ መንግሥታት ጋር ተወዳጅታ በጥበብ እንዳትኮራ እንደ እነርሱ በመሳሰሉ ከእስክንድርያ በሚላኩ ሰባኪዎች አማካይነት አገራችሁ የግብጽ ጥገኛ ሆና እንድትኖር ከግብጽም ፈቃድ እንዳትወጣባቸው፡ በዚህ አገሩ የሚኖሩ እስላሞች ክርስቲያይኖች እንዳይሆኑባቸው የግብጽ ከዲብ ባለሟልነት እንዳይቀርባቸው ብለው ነው” ብለው ሲሳለቁ ዕጨጌውን ቁጣ ቱግ አድርጎ አስቆጣቸውና፤

“ስሙ ወይ ማስያስ! ማንነትዎንኮ አሳምሬ ደርሼበታለሁ! የጣሊያኑ ንጉሥ ነፍስ አባት አይደሉም? ይህን ያምናሉ? ወይስ ይክዱኛል?” ብለው አፈጠጡባቸው።

“ይኽ ነገር እውነት ነው?” ብለው ዮሐንስም ተጨመሩ። የችሎቱ ፍጥጫ ከአባ ማስያስ ላይ ተከመረ።

“ብሆንስ ምንድነው ነውሩና ጥፋቱ?” አሉና አባ አንገታቸውን ደፉ።

“ነውሩና ጥፋቱማ” ብለው እጨጌም አባን ገለማምጠው፡ የችሎቱንም ሁኔታ ቃኝተው ክርክራቸውን ቀጠሉበት። “ነውሩና ጥፋቱማ እንደ አባትነትዎ ከንጉሥዎ አጠገብ ሆነው መምከርና ማስተማር ሲገባዎ በወንጌል ስም፡ በክርስቶስ ስም ከሰው አገር ገብተው ሃይማኖት እየበረዙ ወንድምና ወንድም ለማፋጀት ተንኮል እየሠሩ መገኘትዎ ነው” ብለው ሲመልሱላቸው ችሎቱ “ይበል ይበል” ብሎ አስተጋባላቸው።

አፄ ዮሐንስ አንገታቸውን አቀርቅረው ሲተክዙ ቆዩና በሆዳቸው ውስጥ ሲጤስ የነበረውን ንዴት ደጋግመው በመተንፈስ ካስወጡት በኋላ፤

“እኮ ለዚህስ የሚሰጡት ምላሽ አለዎት?” ብለው ጠየቋቸው የዐይኖቻቸውን ቅንድቦች ዘግተው።

“የንጉሥ ነፍስ አባትነት ከሀገራቸው ወጥታችሁ አታስተምሩ ብሎ አይከለከልም፡ እርሳቸውስ የከዲቡ” ብለው ተናግረው ሳይጨርሱ እጨጌ አቋረጧቸውና፤

“ጃንሆይ! በዚህ ችሎት የምትገኙ መኳንንትና ሊቃውንት! ልብ በሉልኝ! ‘ስሱ ሲበላ ይታነቃል! ሐሰተኛ በአነጋገሩ ይታወቃል እንዲሉ፥ የግብጽን ጦርና የመኳንንት ወስላቶች የምትረዱስ እናንተ አይደላችሁም? እውነተኞቹ የወንጌል ሰባኪዎች ከሆናችሁ ቀደም ሲል የቱርክ ጦር ዛሬም ግብጾች ክርስቲያኑን ሁሉ “እስላም ካልሆንክ” እያሉ ሲያስጨንቁት ለምን አልገላገላችሁም?” ብለው አንገታቸውን አሰገጉባቸው።

“እኮ? የደንከልን የባሕር በርስ ለንግድና ለወታደር ተግባር እንዲውል አሳልፋችሁ አልሰጣችሁም? የትንባሆ ዘርስ በእርሻ ላይ እየዘራችሁ ሕዝቡን እያስለመዳችሁት አይደለም? ለግብጥ ጦርና እኔን ካሎረፉ ወስላቶችስ ጥግና ጋሻ ሁናችሁ የለም? ይህን ሁሉ ታምናላችሁ? ትክዳላችሁ?” ብለው አፄ ዮሐንስም ቁጣና ፍጥጫ ጨመሩበት።

 

Continue reading…AtseYohannesNegusMenilik2

 

 

 

የአፄ ዮሐንስ እና የንጉሥ ምኒልክ ዕርቅ

*ከማሞ ውድነህ*

“የእስበሳችን ነገር ያለ ማክረሩ ነው የሚሻለው። ጠንካራ ክንድና ብርቱ ትኩረት የሚገባው ግን እንደ አዞ ከውሀ ውስጥ ብቅ የሚለው ነው“ (አሉላ አባነጋ)

አፄ ዮሐንስ ከጉራዕ ጦርነት በኋላ ሐማሴን ውስጥ ሰነባብተው ወደ ዐደዋ ከመመለሳቸው በፊት የሰሜን ኢትዮጵያ በር የተከበረና የታፈረም እንዲሆን ሲሉ ደጃዝማች ኃይሉ ተወልደ መድኅንና ራስ ባርያውን በገዥነት ሲሾሙ፡ ስመ–ጥሩውን አዋጊያቸውን ሊጋባ አሉላን በራስነት ማዕረግ አስኮፍውሰና አስጊጠው ከመረብ ማዶ ያለውን አገር በጦር አበጋዝነት እንዲጠብቁ ሾሙዋቸው። ከዚያ በኋላም የአፄ ዮሐንስ ትልቁ የሥራ ምዕራፍ የኢትዮጵያን የውስጥ ጉዳይ ማደላደልና ማለሳለስ አንድነቷን ማጽናትና ሕዝቡ ፍትሕ አግኝቶ አርሶና ነግዶ እንዲተዳደር የማድረጉ ጉዳይ ነበር።

ይህን ዓላማቸውን ሊያደናቅፉባቸው እንደሚችሉ አሥግተዋቸው ከነበሩት ሁኔታዎችም ጋር መፋጠጡን ተያያዙት። በሰሜን ኢትዮጵያ በኩል የውስጡን ተቀናቃኝ ቀርቶ የውጭውንም ወራሪ ጠላት ከአንዴም ሁለቴ ኃያሉ ክንዳቸውን ስለአሳረፉበት ለጊዜው ረጭ ብሎላቸዋል። በምዕራብና በመካከል ኢትዮጵያም በኩል የቤገምድር የወሎና የጐጃም ሁኔታ ጋብ ብሎላቸዋል። የጥርጣሬና የሥጋት ትኩረታቸውን የሳበባቸው ግን ሸዋ ሆነ። የወጣትነት ጓደኛቸውና ምስጢረኛቸው ምኒልክ “አፄ” ተብለው ቁጥሩ እስከ ሰባ ሺህ በሚደርስ ሠራዊት ጐልብተው፡ ከሸዋም አልፈው ወሎንና ጐጃምን ለመደረብ ከሚያስፈራሩበት ደረጃ ላይ ወጥተዋል።

አፄ ዮሐንስ ግን፡ የምኒልክን ሁኔታ አንሥተው ከመኳንንቶቻቸውና ከጦር አበጋዞቻቸው ጋር በሚወያዩበት ሰዓት ሁሉ ደጋግመው የሚያነሡት ጉዳይ ነበራቸው።

“ዋናው ሥጋቱና ችግሬ የሠራዊቱ ብዛት አይደለም። ለዚህ ለዚህስ እኔም ላቅ ያለ እንጅ ከእርሱ ዝቅ ያለ ሠራዊት የለኝም። ግን እንደዚያ ማሳያ እንደሚሉት የሰይጣን መልእክተኛ የመሰለ ፈረንጅ ከአጠገቡ አስቀምጦ፡ ከነሙንዚንገር ጋርም የሚያደርገው መላላክና መስማማት ነው።

ከዚያ ሌላ ደግሞ እነዚህ ሚሲዮኖችም በዚያ በኩል ገብተዋል፡. ዋናው ዓላማቸውም ምኒልክን አሳስተውና ጦር አስመዝዘው ከኔ ጋር ለማጋጨት መሆኑን አላጣሁትም። ግዴለም የማደርገውን ዐውቃለሁ” እያሉ ዛቻ አዘልና ትካዜ–ለበስ አነጋገር ያሰሙ ነበር። እርግጥም ነው በዚያ ዘመን ፒዬር አርኖ የተባለ ፈረንሳዊ በዘይላ በኩል ወደ ሸዋ ገብቶ የምኒልክ ባለሟል ሆኖ የእርሳቸውንም መልእክት ይዞ ወደ ግብጽና ፈረንሣይ እየሔደ ‘ዮሐንስን ለመጣል ትልቅ መሣሪያ ይሆናችኋል‘ እያለ ያሽቃብጥ ነበር። ከእርሱም ሌላ ደግሞ በምሕጻረ ቃል “አባ ማስያስ” እየተባለ የሚጠራው ሎሬንዞ ጉልየሞ ማሳያ የሚባለው የሮማ ካቶሊክ ሚሲዮን አባል በሸዋና በከፋ ውስጥ ድርጅቱን አቋቁሞ የምኒልክን ባለሟልነትም አትርፎ ከሚሲዮናዊነቱ ይልቅ በዲፕሎማቲክና በስለላው ሙያ ተሠማርቶ ዮሐንስንና ምኒልክን ለማራራቅና ለማጋጨት በመካከላቸው ገብቶ ነበር።

እነዚሁ ሁለቱ አውሮጳውያን የምኒልክን ጉልበት ከዮሐንስ ጉልበት የጠነከረ ለማድረግ ሲያደርጉት የነበረውን ጥረት ሲከታተሉት የነበሩት ዮሐንስም ክንዳቸውን በቀላሉ የማይታጠፍ ለማድረግና ምኒልክንም ለማስገበር ሲሉ የሠራዊታቸውን ቁጥር እስከ አንድ መቶ ሺህ ከአደረሱት በኋላ፥ ክዚሁ ውስጥ እስከ ዐርባ ሰባት ሺህ

የሚደርሰውን ልዩ ልዩ መሣሪያዎች አስታጠቁት። ከጉንደትና ጉራዕ ጦርነቶች የተገኘው ቀላል መካከለኛና ከባድ መሣሪያም የበላይነታቸውን ያረጋገጡበት ዋናው ትጥቃቸው ነበር።

ከመሣሪያው ጥራትና ብዛትም ሌላ በአጼ ተክለ ጊዮርጊስና በግብጾች ላይ ያገኙት ድል ዝናቸውንና ጥንካሬያቸውን “አበሻ መሬት አውጥቶ በአፍሪቃ፡ በእስያና በአውሮጳ ውስጥ አስተጋብቶላቸው ነበር። በአሜሪካም ውስጥ ቢሆን፡ “የኛ የጦር መኮንኖች ያዘመቱትን የግብጽን ጦር ድል ያደረገ ብርቱ ንጉሥ” የሚል ጸጸት–ለበስ ታዋቂነት አትሮላቸው ነበር።

ታዲያ እንደዚያ ሆኖ ስሙ የገነነ ሠራዊት ሸዋ የገባ እንደሆነ ሊያደርስ የሚችለውን ብርቱ ጉዳት አስቀድመው የተረዱትና የተጠነቀቁበት ከጐልማሳው ምኒልክ ይልቅ አዛውንቱ አጐታቸው ዳርጌ ንበሩ። “ጉዳዩን በቀላሉ አትዩት፤ በየልቦናችሁ ምከሩበትና በእርቅ ይለቅ” ሲሉ አዛውንቱ “ጦር ጠማኝ” ይሉ የንበሩት የምኒልክ የጦር አበጋዝ ግን፤

“ወይ እሳቸው መጥተው፥ ያለዚያ እኛ ዘምተንባቸው ሳንሞካከር እንዴት አስቀድመን እንገብራለን” እያሉ ምኒልክን ይወተዉቱ ነበር።

በዮሐንስ ቤተ መንግሥት እንደአባት ይታዩ የንበሩት ራስ አርአያም በበኩላቸው፤

“የሁለት ወንድማማች ጠብ ማንን ጐድቶ ማንን ይጠቅም ይመስላችሁ? ኢትዮጵያን እኮ ነው የሚያዳክማት! ኢትዮጵያን እኮነው የሚያሳንሳት! ኢትዮጵያን እኮ ነው የጠላቶቿ መሳቂያ የሚያደርጋት! ታሪክ ይወቅሰናል፤ ትውልድ ያፍርብናል፤ ታቦትና መስቀል አስይዘን ካህናትን ወደ ምኒልክ እንስደድ እንጂ ጦር መምዘዙን አልስማማበትም” እያሉ የእህታቸውን ልጅ ከነጦር አበጋዞቻቸው ይቆጡ ነበር።

 

 

Continue reading…AtseYohannesNegusMenilik

 

 

 

Revolt on the Nile: Religion & Politics

The following interesting study can help us understand the never ending cunning path Egypt follows in restricting and manipulating Ethiopia from using, or diverting the waters of the river Nile. For the time being, Egyptian politicians and leaders of the Coptic church will of course be used by Muslim religious elites, as clients or lobbyists, with a long-term strategic agenda to influence the Ethiopian political landscape. The current charm offensive performed by Egyptian parliamentarians and their Prime Minister will certainly be culminated with visits, to Ethiopia, of high-ranking Coptic leaders.

Eric Chaney, Harvard University, February 22, 2011

Can religious leaders use their popular influence to political ends? This paper explores this question using over 700 years of Nile flood data to investigate the extent to which religious leaders derived political influence (defined as monetary transfers from the military) from their control over popular support. In finding evidence consistent with such popularly-derived influence, it provides the first empirical evidence sup-porting the key premise of theories stressing the importance of religion in generating institutional outcomes.

Results show that deviant Nile floods reduced the dismissal probability of Egypt’s highest-ranking religious authority by roughly one-half. Qualitative evidence suggests this decrease reflects an increase in political power stemming from famine-induced surges in the religious authority’s control over popular support. Additional empirical results support this interpretation by linking the observed probability decrease to the number of individuals a religious authority could influence. The paper concludes that the results provide empirical support for theories suggesting religion as a determinant of institutional outcomes.

Recent research suggests that political freedom is correlated with a country’s primary religious affiliation both historically and today. Political rulers seem to have generally satisfied the demands of the religious elites to the extent necessary to prevent rebellion.

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ንጉሥ አምደጽዮን – ጀግናው ኢትዮጵያዊ

 

በመሪራስ አማን በላይ ተጻፈ። ከታላቅ ምስጋና ጋር

የአፄ ይኩኖ አምላክ የልጅ ልጅ የአፄ ውድም አርእድ ልጅ አምደጽዮን ስመ መንግሥታቸውን ሣልሣዊ ገብረመስቀል (ንጉሥ ላሊበላ) ንጉሠ ነገሥት ዘኢትዮጵያ ተብለው በአንድ ሺህ ሁለት መቶ ዘጠና ስምንት (1298) ዓ.ም. ነገሡ።

የቀደማዊው ምኒልክን (ምንይልክ) ዘርና የነገሥታቱን ታሪክ ለማጥፋት ሮማውያንና አረቦች በሚልኳቸው መልእክተኞቻቸውና ጳጳሳቶች ከአዳም እስከ ምኒልክ የተጻፈው መጽሐፈ ሱባኤ መጽሐፈ አበው ከምኒሊክ እስከ አልአሜዳ ዘመን የተጻፉት መጽሐፍት ተለቅመው ጠፍተው በምትካቸው በአረብኛ ቃል የተጻፉ ተተክተው ሳለ እንዲሁ አይሁዳዊ የሆነቸው የአረቦች ጠላት ዮዲት ተነስታ የአረብኛን መጻሕፍቶችና አዋቂዎችን ስታቃጥል እንዲሁ አብሮ የነበረው በግእዝ የተጻፈው መጻሕፍ ሁሉ የሚበልጠው ተቃጥሎ ነበር።

ከግብፅ የመጡት ጳጳስ አባ ያዕቆብ፡ በአፄ አምደጽዮን መልካም ተግባር እንዲሁም የኖረውንና የተደበቀውን መጻሕፍት ሁሉ አሰባስቦ በመጻፉ ተናደዱና በየገዳማቱ በየአድባራቱ ለሚኖሩ መነኮሳትና መምህራን ጥሪ አድርገው እኛን ሳያማክር ሳይጥይቅ ወደየገዳማቱ መጻሕፍቶችን ልኮአልና እንዲቃጠሉ ምእመናኑም ለአፄ አምደጽዮን እንዳይገዙ አውግዙ ብለው የኤጲስ ቆጶስነት ማእረግ እየሰጡ ላኩዋቸው። አላማቸውም አፄ አምድጽዮን የአጻፉትን መጻሕፍት እንዳይቀበሉ ለማውገዝ ነበር።

በዚህን ጊዜ የጳጳሱን ፍቅድ ለመሙላት ብለው አባ አኖሪዎስና አባ ፊልጶስ የደብረ ሊባኖስን መነኮሳት አስከትለው ንጉሠ ነገሥቱ አፄ አምደጽዮን ከሚኖሩበት ዳጉ ሂደው በድፍረት ስር ማሽና ቅጠል በጣሽ አስማት ደጋሚ ደብተራ ሰብስበህ እግዚአብሔር የማይወደውን መጽሐፍት አጽፈህ በየገዳማቱ ልከሃልና በቶሎ ሳይራባ እንዲቃጠል አድርግ አሉት።

አፄ አምደጽዮንም እኔ የፃፍኩት እግዚአብሔር ለአባቶቻችን የአደረገላቸውን ተአምርና ቃልኪዳን እንዲሁ በዘመናቸው የሆነውን ሁሉ ለትውልድ ታሪካቸው እንዲተላለፍ እንዳይረሳ አጽፌአለሁ እንጂ እናንተ እነደምትሉትና እንደምታስወሩት አይደለም አላቸው።

አባ አኖሬዎስም ታሪክ ብትፈልግ ከግብጽ ለኛ ብለው የመጡትን ጳጳስ ቃል በሰማህና የሚሉህን ባደረክ ነበር፡ ግን አሁን በራስህ ፍላጎት ያደረከውን ስህተት አምነህ መጽሐፍቱን አሰብስብህ ባታቃጥለው አውግዤሃለሁ አገርም አይገዛልህ ብለው ተናገሩት።

ንጉሥ አምደጽዮንም አባ አኖሪዎስን በገበያ ላይ በጅራፍ እንዲገረፉ አዘዘ።

በዚህን ጊዜ የቤተ ክህነቱ ወገን በአባ አኖሬዎስ መገረፍ አጉረመረመ፡ ስሙንም ለማጥፋትና ለማቆሸሽ የአባቱን እቁባት እህቱንም አገባ ከሃዲም ነው ብለው መነኮሳቱ እየፃፉ በየገዳማቱ ላኩ አስወሩበትም፡ ነገር ግን ውግዘቱም ሆነ ሐሰተኛው ወሬ አምደጽዮንን ከክብራቸው ከመንግሥታቸው ሊያወርዳቸው ቀርቶ እንዲያውም በጦርነትም ይሁን በመንፈሳዊ ሥራቸው የእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ አልተለያቸውም፡ ከቀን ወደቀን መንግሥታቸው እየጸና እስከ ውቅያኖስ ባሕር ድረስ ባሉ ጎሣዎች ተከበሩ ታወቁ።

በአፄ አምደጽዮን መንግሥት ላይ የሚያምጽና መንግሥታቸውን የሚገለብጥ ሌላ ሰው እንዲነግሥ ቤተ ክህነቱ ተማከረ፡ በጻጻሱ በአባ ያእቆብ አሳሳቢነት በሚፈለጉበት የቱርክና የግብጽ የየመን ሱልጣኖችና ሸሆች በኢትዮጵያው በክርስቲያኑ መንግሥት ላይ እንዲያምጹና እንዲወጉት ለባላባቶች የጦር መሣርያና የጦር አሰልጣኞች ለወላስማዎች ላኩላቸው። የተላኩትም ከባላባቶች ጋር መጥተው ተቀላቀሉ።

በዚህን ጊዜ በንጉሥ አምደጽዮን በኩል ያለውን ኃይል የሚገልጽ ሰላይ እየላኩ ለይፋቱ ባላባት ለሃቅ አድዲን እንዲያምጽና እንዲዋጋ በአረብኛ ጽፈው ላኩለት። እርሱም ከአዳሉ ባላባት ጋር ተማክሮ ለአምደጽዮን እንደማይገብር አስታወቀ።

እንደዚህም ሆነ፡ ሃቅ አድዲን በወላስማ ላይ የበላይ እንደሆነ ኢትዮጵያንም ጠቅልዬ የክርስቲያን መንግሥት አጥፍቼ የእስላም መንግሥት በምትኩ አስቀምጣለሁ ብሎ ክርስቲያኖችን መግደል ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናትን ማፍረስ ጀመረ። እንዲሁም ንጉሥ ነገሥቱ እንደሚያደርጉት በኢትዮጵያ አገሮች የሚሾሙትን ሱልጣኖችና ኢማሞች ከሊፋዎችንም እየሾመ ይዘጋጅ ጀመር።

አፄ አምደጽዮንም ይህንን ወሬ በሰሙ ጊዜ በ1300 ዓ.ም ከተጉለት ወደ ይፋት ሄደው በወንድሙ በደራደርና በሐቅ አድዲን እየተመራ የሚመጣውን ሠራዊት ድል አድርገው ደራደርን በፈረሱ ላይ እንዳለ በጦር ወግተው ገደሉት። የእስላሞች ጦር መሪ ባላባት ሐቅ አድዲን ወደ ግዞት ወደ ጎጃም ተላከ። በእርሱ ፈንታ የወላስማን ማዕረግ ለወንድሙ ልጅ ለሰበን ሰጥተው የአመጸውን ሽረው ያላደመውን ሹመው በሰላም ወደ ዳጎ ተጉለት ተመለሱ።

አፄ አምደጽዮን በነገሡ በአሥራ ስምንተኛው ዘመነ መንግሥታቸው በወላስማ ስብረዲን የሚባል እስላም ተነሳና ለአምደጽዮን የሚገዛውንና የሚገብረውን ሁሉ አጥፍቶ አብያተ ክርስቲያናትን አቃጥሎ በምትኩ ጃሚዎችንና መስጊዶችን ማሰራት ክርስቲያኖችን መግደል ጀመረ።

አፄ አምደጽዮንም ሊቀ አፍራስ ዘየማን ሊቀ አፍራስ ዘጸጋም ሊቃውንተ ሃራ ዘፄዋ የሆኑትን ሁሉ ጥሪ አድርገው ከሾሙና ከሸለሙ በኋላ ሰብረዲን (ሰበር–አደዲን)ወደሚኖርበት ወደ አዳልና ወደ ሞራ አገር ላኳቸው።

ከተላኩትም የቀኝ ፈረሰኞች የግራ ፈረሰኞች የጨዋ ሠራዊት አለቆች ከሰበር አደዲን ሠራዊት ጋር ገጥመው ድል አድርገው ብዙ ህዝብ ከማረኩና የታሰሩትን ከአስፈቱ በኋላ በመንደሩ ብዙ ወርቅና የዳሉል ሉል ድንጋይ ከአረብ አገር የተላከለት የጦር መስሪያ ሰይፍና ጦር ከሰብር አደዲን ቤት አግኝተው ወሰዱ። ሰብር አደዲን ግን አስቀድሞ ስለሸሸ ሊያገኙት አልቻሉም።

በአፄ አምደጽዮን ላይ ጠላት ሁነው የተነሱት የቤተክህነቱ ባለስልጣናት በየገዳማቱና በየአድባራቱ ህዝቡ አንገዛም እንዲልና እንዲያምፅ ሰብከውት ስለነበር በሰሜን በፀለምት በጠገዴ በወገራ በደንቢያ የተሾሙ ሁሉ አመፁባቸው።

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Emperor Menelek Wasn’t Barbarian

The following amazing article was written and published by the World’s best Newspaper, by the New York Times, 113 years ago, on May 4, 1896

Origin of Monastic Live – Africa. Not so Dark After All – Emperor Menelek’s Descent from Sheba—Priests Can Divorce—The Problem in the Soudan—Many of the Monasteries Said to Possess Valuable Documents and Manuscripts.

Christendom has a deeper interest in Abyssinia and its remarkable monarch, Emperor Menelek, than the world at large has stopped to consider. It is not the fate of the Italian Army nor the march of the British toward the Soudan that attracts thinking people. It is the general focusing of the world’s lenses upon that part of the globe which was literally the cradle of culture and of Christianity.

It has been the vogue to speak of Africa as a “dark continent.” a God-forsaken and debauched region. There has been some foundation—nay, one had almost said positive justification—for this practice because among the wild and untamed tribes of Central Africa and the inhabitants of the South and West all the excesses of debased carnalism prevailed.

Not so, however, in Abyssinia has this been the case, despite the habitudes of sensational correspondents and those who were part of or accompanied besieging and invading European armies. Abyssinia/Ethiopia and Egypt have been and still continue to be the repositories of the relics and treasures of a wondrous civilization, a grandeur, learning, and culture to which modern historians referentially defer and point with reverential awe.

If the wars which have begun in Africa, particularly in that region of which Ethiopia is part, reveal the treasures hidden in the monasteries of the Coptic monks and the monophysite priests, they will be a blessing to Christianity, science, and progressive civilization.

Emperor Menelek has been regarded as a “barbarian” by Europeans, who seem to have adopted the term with even less justification for it than had the Roman people when they applied it to all other races on earth. But when this “barbarian” is investigated he turns out to be by birth and possibilities very much of a gentleman of lofty lineage and invaluable possessions. He rules to-day a country of about 100,000 square miles, inhabited by 5,000,000 persons, whose forefathers were believed to be the oldest and greatest people known to history. They are divided into three great subdivisions of the whole: First, the Ethiopians of Tigré, who speak the ancient Geez language; second the Amharic tribes, living in Amhara and Shoa, and, third, the Agows of Wag Lasta, said to be of Phoenician origin. There are also the Gallas, who settled in Amhara and Shoa.

It must be admitted that the frequent civil wars brutalized and depraved these people by engendering evils and vices and by destroying the literature that once belonged to Abyssinia and which tradition tells us was important and extensive. Abyssinia is situated between latitudes 8 degrees 30 minutes and 16 degrees 80 minutes north, and between longitudes 34 degrees 20 minutes and 43 degrees 20 minutes east. It is bounded north and northwest by Nubia and south and east by Galla and Somali and Adal. Its topography may be described as elevated table land and extensive valleys, and it has many thriving cities. So much for the geographical summary of Emperor Menelek’s dominions. Of its relations to Christianity and the world’s early greatness a few words of description will be interesting.

Menelek claims to be a direct descendant from the Queen of Sheba and her son Menelek, whose father was said to be Solomon, and the legendary lore of this part of Africa says that the first Menelek was a Jew and was educated by the wise King himself. Be this as it may, the present Menelek is a wise man, and is bent on being classified by his European cousins as their peer—a potentate of common sense and progressive, of longer descent and loftier lineage—prepared to take his place among them for the benefit of his people and humanity. He wishes to belong to the Geneva Convention, and it is asserted that he stands ready to throw open the innermost recesses of his kingdom and its monasteries to the properly accredited explorer.

There should be plenty to repay research of this character in a land so wealthy in Biblical tradition, and where stands the oldest temples and religious edifices. In Axum, the city of the Queen of Sheba, there stands a cathedral to-day as old as Christianity itself. If historians are to be believed.

Coptic Christianity was and is the religion of the people. There are, of course, many Mohammedans and Jews. The first apostle of Christianity in Abyssinia chroniclers claim to have been the Chamberlain of Queen Candace of Ethiopia, whose baptism is recorded in Acts Vll., 27. But Frementius and Adesius of Tyre were slaves to the King of Abyssinia, and on his death the former became tutor to the hereditary Princes, and Adesius went back to Tyre. This was in A.D. 320, and Frementius formed a Christian Church among the Greek and Roman merchants in Axum. He then went to Alexandria and was consecrated by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. The King was baptized and Axum became the See of a Metropolitan, with seven suffragans. In the fifth and sixth centuries the monophysites controlled the patriarchal See of Alexandria.

Subsequent to this Christianity spread over Nubia and Abyssinia and continued to spread until the Mohammedans overran the country and planted the faith of Moslem wherever they appeared. Through the frightful days of the seventeenth century Abyssinia remained faithful in a large sense to Christianity, and Rome, through the Portuguese, made vigorous efforts to bring the Abyssinian Christians beneath the Papal rule. The effort was not successful for any length of time any more than was the effort to establish the Anglican Church there when Andraos was consecrated Abuna, or Metropolitan, of Abyssinia by the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria, in 1841.

The Church has always been monophysitic and has many peculiar features in its ritual; the Jewish Sabbath was observed as well as the Christian; circumcision preceded baptism; dancing was in the services just as it was in the Jewish Temple; baptism among the Coptic Christians was by immersion, and communion was administered daily to the laity.

The Church is a monastic Church. The beginning of the monastic life was in the deserts of Egypt, and the Coptic Christians gave the impulse to the development of Christian asceticism, which later resulted in monasteries and convents. The most celebrated convents in Abyssinia are Debra Libanos, in Sliso; St. Stephen, on Lake Haik; Debra Denus and Axum Thion, in Tigré, and Lahbela, in Lasta.

Each Church has a Tabot, or ark of the Covenant, behind the curtain of is own holy of holies, which may have lent some color to the tradition that the Ark of the Covenant from the Temple had been transferred for safety to Axum by the early Menelik when it was imperiled. But, as Mr. Kipling points out, “that is another story.”

At present this article’s purpose is to show that this “barbarian” Menelek is not such a barbarian after all, and that he really may be, and very likely is, the custodian of the archives and secrets of the earliest Christians and the orthodox Jews. One thing is quite certain. It is that the Coptic Christians were the first of great Christians, and that Africa was not so dark a continent then as people imagine. The Copts were the principal sect of Christians in the Valley of the Nile, and were and still are descendants of the inhabitants of Egypt in the days of the Ptolemies. There is ancestral greatness.

A few additional peculiarities in Abyssinian Christianity are worthy of note. Priests have power to divorce, and a married man can cast his matrimonial gyves and throw the support of his children on to his wife’s shoulders by becoming a monk. The Bible is in eighty-one books and is written in the ancient language of Axum, and contains the Roman Catholic canon and many other books.

Thus it will be seen that Christendom, through these wars and strifes now raging in the Valley of the Nile, may acquire information hitherto hidden from all but Abyssinian and Coptic fanatics’ eyes for centuries.

It is asserted that in many of the monasteries valuable documents and manuscripts have been saved for ages, just as were manuscripts in the Middle Ages in Europe. It has even been suggested and published that tomes, parchments, and volumes believed to have perished with the library at Alexandria were in reality secreted in Coptic convents and sanctuaries throughout Ethiopia, Abyssinia and Nubia to be resurrected shortly by means of these bitter conflicts and annihilation of armies.

Abyssinia and Ethiopia – once the Ethiopian Empire – are repositories of secrets vital to history and to progress. Shall they be revealed by force of arms or by moral suasion and courtesy to a monarch who has hitherto been proclaimed a “barbarian”?

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Medieval Democratic Ethiopia

Medieval Prosperous And Democratic Ethiopia

During Ethiopia’s isolation period, beginning in the 11th century, Ethiopians developed some of the most remarkable ecclesiastical architecture in the world. Between the 10th and 16th centuries churches carved from rocks became commonplace — the 13th century being the most remarkable. In the 12th century for instance Ethiopia’s King Lalibela oversaw the construction of 10 chapels and churches, dark-aisle and pillared, carved out of mountains near the capital of Roha. These skills had a long history, from the cutting of pre-Axumite subterranean tombs to the quarrying of the medieval rock-hewn churches and it seems reasonable to claim for them an indigenous origin. It should be no surprise that the inhabitants of an area as rocky as the Ethiopian Highlands should become expert in handling stone.

In the 15th century, when the Portuguese traveled to Ethiopia on their search for legendary Christian figure, Prestor John, whom they needed to help them against the Ottoman Turks, and who they believed ruled over a kingdom in Africa, they were surprised to find a kingdom much like there own. Ethiopia was closely linked with distant lands as far way as Europe, not only economically but also culturally. It was an Ethiopia very like the kingdoms of medieval Europe, a land ruled by proud and contumacious nobles bound in fealty to their king, with a hierarchy of lesser nobles and vassals below them and, at the bottom, land less peasants laboring for all
When in the 1520’s Europeans reached the Ethiopian highlands, they found and described a civilization at about the same level as their own.

By 1500 Ethiopia was at its peak. It was a rich, powerful, literate, and in many ways democratic Christian culture. The Ethiopian empire enjoyed the utmost tranquility at that time, order and security reigned everywhere.

Ethiopian priests and monks taught art, science, and other subjects. Ethiopia’s government in the middle ages was mostly democratic. The king was above the democratic process, but below him were district elections of the Tellek Sew (great man), who could be voted out of office or demoted to a lower government position with an assembly of the people in his district.

The Golden age of Ethiopian civilization, the well-being and peaceful coexistence of Ethiopians and the socioeconomic and religious advancement of Ethiopia was halted by the first Muslim Jihad that the country had to experience during the Muslim invasion lead by the Muslim militant, Ahmad ign Ibrahim al-Ghazi. In 1529, because of this devastating barbaric invasion, the Ethiopians lost an entire army and many of their ruling elite. Churches and monasteries were ruthlessly plundered and sacked and their treasures destroyed or given to the Islamic army…Many of the priceless treasures of Ethiopian literature and painting, miniatures in books or murals on church walls, were destroyed and such relics which by chance escaped destruction can today give only a rough idea of the achievements of those creative and productive centuries. In 1533 Ethiopia’s most holy place, Axum, was, razed to the ground. Almost half a Millennium has passed since that black spot has been painted in Ethiopian history, yet, Ethiopia and Ethiopians still do seem to have difficulties in recovering from the trauma. Until this time the Christian country had never been laid waste or overrun by the enemy.

By 1543, even though Ethiopians were able to defeat the Muslim army and take back their lost territory, many Ethiopians were already forced to convert to Islam, and the once great Ethiopian culture that had flourished for hundreds of years was gone. The well-planed, orchestrated and destabilizing attack on the sovereignty, dignity and peaceful life of medieval Ethiopians lead to the reign of new era, of barbarism and cruelty against all the people of color, as it opened doors to European and Arab powers to enslave and colonize other African populations in the African Continent.

Let’s remember 1533!