The Defiance of the Tenth-Century Empress Yodït (Judith) of Ethiopia from an

Unpublished Manuscript by Aleqa Teklé (Tekle-Ïyesus) of Gojjam

Author(s): Reidulf K. Molvaer
Source: Northeast African Studies , 1998, New Series, Vol. 5, No. 1 (1998), pp. 47-58
Published by: Michigan State University Press

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The Defiance of the Tenth-Century
Empress Yodït1 (Judith) of Ethiopia from
an Unpublished Manuscript by Aleqa2
Ttklé (Tskle-ïyesus)3 of Go j jam
Reidulf K. Molvaer

Frognerkilen, Oslo, Norway

Ethiopians have preserved vivid traditions about a fierce and destructive queen,
known under various names (Yodït, Gudït, Isat, Isato), who brought down the
ruling house of Aksum which came to be known as the "Solomonic dynasty,"
out of power from whenever-or soon after-she arose in the ninth or tenth cen-
tury, until its "restoration" around 1270 (some favor the year 1268 or some
other date). Her reign seems to have been gradually "moved" closer to the turn
of the first millennium A.D., with apocalyptic associations for Christian
Ethiopia. Several theories have been suggested to explain the phenomenon of
Yodït, and not all are confident that she even existed. Still, many Ethiopians,
especially the Amhara, explain various local cultural and ethnic characteristics
by reference to her reign.
Below, I present a translation of a previously unpublished text about Yodït
from Aleqa Teklé's history of Ethiopia in which the author makes many origi-
nal observations. My comments are contained in the notes.

When Dignajan4 ruled, the Head of the clergy ( Lïqe-kahinat ) was Abba
Yidla. He came from Tigray and settled at Dawint.5 He married an Amhara
lady called Maqda (or Maqida)6 and got six sons - they were called "the
(church) scholars ( debteroch ) of Zion {Siyon)."7 At that time, the Jews

® Northeast African Studies (ISSN 0740-9133)

Vol. 5, No. 1 (New Series) 1998, pp. 47-58

47

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48 ReidulfK. Molvaer

(Felasha)8 of the highlands of Simén9 fought (with) the Christians, and the
Christians were defeated and were taken captive, and all converted to the
Jewish faith.10 After the death of the king of the Jews,11 ïlaliya,12 his daughter
Yodït (or Gudït) 13 became queen. At that time, there were many bandits (shif-
ta ) in Ethiopia.14 When the son of Dignajan, Digayjan,15 ruled, the Head of the
clergy was Asqe-Léwï. Because Yodït wanted to kill him, he fled and settled at
Itïssa16 in Bulga.17 After the death of Digayjan, Anbessa-Widim became emper-
or under the name of Dawït the First.18 The emperors who ruled from Emperor
Gebre-Mesqel19 to Dilnad (Dil Ne'ad)20 made their realm traditional (pagan, ye-
bahriy )21 and left their Creator and lived by (believed in) spirits [zar) and sor-
cery ("sorcerers," tenqway)22 And God heaped their sins upon them and put
an end to their kingdom and gave it to strangers ( ba'id ).23 The Zagwé24 family
("children") of Lasta25 took it.26
When the daughter of ïlaliya, Yodït, was staying in the highlands of Simén,
the King of Ethiopia, Anbessa-Widim, mobilised his army and fought her, but
he was defeated and died there.27 Thereupon, Yodït went down to Tigray and
burnt Aksum, and she killed Dilnad, the son of the king.28 Then she finished
off the royal family - no one remained (there).29 Since then, Aksum has never
been rebuilt.30

In those days, the whole royal family, except the one who ruled, was guard-
ed in detention [israt] at (the top of the mountain of) Debre-Damo,31 so that
they ("the others") should not cause riots.32 The son of Dilnad called Mahbere-
Widim escaped from there and fled and entered Shewa and came to Bulga, and
Lïqe-kahinat Asqe-Léwï received him; and when all the nobles of Shewa under-
stood that he was the son of the king, they recognized (or installed, "intro-
duced") him (proclaimed him king) with honor. And all the nobles of Shewa
accepted (or received) him with joy.33
But when Yodït heard that the nobles had received him with joy and honor,
she became angry and made a military campaign against Shewa. When she
arrived between Farta34 and Gayint,35 she camped at a place called Ayb Beniqib.
The number of soldiers was very great, and when she looked at them from a
mountain (or hilltop), she ordered the soldiers to drop one stone each ( benefse -
wekef) at the same ("one") place, and when it was all heaped, she marched in
speed to (wards) Shewa. When the Shewans heard about her campaign, they

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 The Defiance of the Tenth-Century Empress Yodït 49

mobilized the army and met her at Tehulederé,36 and they fought for three days.
The Shewan army was defeated and fled. She returned singing songs of victory
(iyyefekkerech) and camped in that same place called Ayb Beniqib; and she
made the remaining (or surviving) soldiers take one stone each from the heap
she had caused to be made (last time they were there) to another place, and by
counting (or calculating, estimating) the remaining heap of stones, she knew
the number of those that had been killed and left behind; she found that (the
numbers of) the ones fallen and the ones that had returned (with her) were
(about) equal. Now that place is called Kimmir Dengïyya ("heap of stones").37
Yodït returned to her capital ("town"), Dembïya,38 while the Shewan army
was watching her flanks [iyyetegennenat). Then she had herself crowned ("she
put on a crown"). The Ethiopians (Habeshoch) called her Empress
("Emperor") Fire (Asé Isat).39 She did a lot of harm ("evil work"), but she was
not able to eradicate their faith. She burnt down many churches. Yodït, called
Empress Isat, ruled over Tigray, Begémdir and Gojjam, but Lasta and Shewa40
did not submit to her.41

Empress Isat and her children ruled for 40 years.42 This happened 1000
years after the birth of Christ.43
Thereafter44 the Lastas (Lastoch) (the family of Zagwé)45 ruled.
When the son of Dilnad, Mahbere-Widim, stayed in Shewa, he got the son
Agb'a leSiyon, Agb'a leSiyon got Sinfe-Arťd, Sinfe-Arťd got Negash Zoré,
Negash Zoré got Asfiha, Asfiha got Ya'qob, Ya'qob got Bahre-Assegid, Bahre-
Assegid got Widma-Assegid, and Widma-Assegid got Yikunno Amlak.46 The
time these children of Dilnad were without kingship and lived in exile was 333
years.47

I shall add only one general observation after this translation of Aleqa
Teklé's text. The centralizing tendencies in Ethiopia have always been strong,
but opposition from oppressed groups has also periodically exerted a powerful
centrifugal force. Only during the Era of the Princes (when local, provincial
rulers were practically autonomous in their regions) -a century before
Téwodros II (1855-68) rose in response to the colonial threat-were regional

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50 ReidulfK. Molvaer

forces or leaders strong enough to largely neutralize the extractive and oppres-
sive powers of the emperors, without, however, tearing the country apart.
There did not seem to have been any desire to dismember Ethiopia even at that
time, in spite of a strong tendency to run or rule each region according to its, or
its leader's, own interests and priorities. Attempts to challenge and limit the
extractive and oppressive power of the central government have mostly (unlike
what happened during the Era of the Princes) turned into attempts by "rebel
leaders" (at the head of people fighting for freedom and self-determination) to
reach the imperial throne, and when successful they have become as oppressive
as their predecessors, only that oppressors and oppressed have exchanged roles.
This was the case with Yodït and Graññ (although the latter was not crowned
emperor), and it was the ambition of other challengers of the imperial authori-
ty from outside and inside the country. Recent secessionist movements have
been the result of European colonialism. The present process of decentraliza-
tion in Ethiopia looks like an attempt to break with the "traditional" way of
wielding and competing for power (and in this respect it is not so unlike the Era
of the Princes), but even this seems not to be motivated by a wish to "balka-
nize" the country. If the experiment succeeds, it may be the start of a new and
perhaps more democratic phase in the history of Ethiopia; but it is of course not
possible to know what the outcome will be. Would-be or presumed liberators
have often turned into (or turned out to be) oppressors in the past.

Notes
1. Transcription used: vowels in the Ethiopian order: e, u, ï, a, é, i, o; consonants about
as in English (including ch and sh), ñ = ny, zy as s in pleasure, glottal consonants
underlined, but q = k.
2. Amharic words occurring in this article: abba, "father," used of or to a priest or
monk; abun (abune before a name), "bishop, archbishop, patriarch;" aleqa, title of
a scholar in the church or head of a church; amba , "a flat-topped mountain (often
settled), a mesa;" bahriy (possessive form: ye-bahriy ), "nature, character, attribute;"
ba'id , "a stranger, one who does not belong;" debtera (pl. debteroch ), a lay scholar
and/or musician in the church; habesha (pl. habeshoch ), a term used for Christian
Ethiopians (from which the word Abyssinia derives); israt, "imprisonment, house-
arrest, confinement to one's own land or property or a specified area;" liqe-kahinat ,
"head of the clergy" (who represented the clergy and presented their "cases" before
the authorities); shifta , "rebel, bandit, outlaw;" Siyon , "Zion, the Temple in

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 The Defiance of the Tenth-Century Empress Yodït 51

Jerusalem, Jerusalem;" tenqway , "sorcerer;" zar , "an evil spirit" (of a more
"human" and humane kind than a demon).
3. An Oromo from Wellega, born of pagan parents in 1868, captured and taken to
Gojjam seven years old and brought up as a Christian in the family and also the
house of Tekle-Haymanot, King of Gojjam. He became a well-known painter and
clergyman ( aleqa ) as well as historian. He died in 1936 and is buried in Debre-
Marqos, the capital of Gojjam. He wrote a history of Ethiopia and a history of
Gojjam, neither of which was published. See his life history in my article on
Emperor Téwodros II (forthcoming).
4. Various sources spell his name differently, e.g., Dagnajan, Dagnazyan. (Digna, from
déganï, means follower, servant; jan is an imperial title.) He is either placed in the
ninth or tenth centuries. (Some of the notes in this article are partly based on
Sergew Hable Sellassie, Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to 1270 , Addis
Abeba 1972; and I refer to traditions mentioned by Tekle-Sadiq Mekuriya in his
History of Ethiopia. Desta Tekle-Weld's Amharic dictionary has also been useful.)
5. Dawint is north of (Amara) Sayint in former Amhara province, west of Yejju (now
in Wello but formerly part of Begémdir).
6. The name is an Ethiopian version of Magda (short for Magdalena). (It is different
from the form Makda or Makida, the name of the [legendary?] Tigrayan queen of
Ethiopia, "Tigré Saba" - who according to Ethiopian tradition ruled at the same
time as Nimrod - in Ethiopia Namrud - of Babylon, and is better know as Nigiste-
Azéb, "the Queen of the South," cf. Matthew 12:42, Luke 11:32, or Nigiste-Saba,
"the Queen of Sheba," cf. 1 Kings 10:1-10, 2 Chronicles 9:1-9.)
7. There are several traditions about the origin of the delotera. One source says that the
first debtera were 150 (or 300) priests from Aksum whom Emperor Dignajan took
with him to Amhara. Another that the name was given because the king used tents
as churches or tabernacles {debtera seems to mean "tabernacle, tent"). Some say
that the debtera got their name because they do work similar to that of the Levites
in the Old Testament Tabernacle (and, later, the Temple), tabote-Siyon.
8. The Felasha had adopted Judaic beliefs, perhaps before Ethiopia became Christian
in the 4th century. The word Felasha means migrant or exile; they think of them-
selves as refugees from Israel.
9. Mountainous area in the north of Begémdir and south of Tigray. The Felasha had
been driven into this inhospitable area during persecutions by zealous Christian
rulers.

10. The important question in relation to the success of Yodït and her father is not pri-
marily related to where they came from but where they got their following. The tra-
dition that Yodït was of Jewish faith (a Felasha) from the north (the Simén area) is
strong; but among her and her father's troops there were perhaps as many "pagans"
from lands in the south recently incorporated into the Ethiopian empire as there

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52 ReidulfK. Molvaer

were "Jews" (i.e., Felasha and others with Judaic beliefs). Yodït's geographical
provenance does not explain much, any more than, for example, the fact that Hitler
was from Austria but got his power and greatest following in Germany. The ques-
tion of the historicity of Yodït is debated. However, more significant for an under-
standing of Ethiopia than the question of the precise identification of the person(s)
who wrought havoc in Ethiopia prior to the ascent of the Zagwé dynasty is the way
this story or legend has formed Ethiopian views of their society, and the way it has
given rise to various interpretations of present-day ethnic compositions and cultur-
al traits. The story has had powerful explanatory force and influence. (See farther
on this in R. K. Molvaer, Socialization and Social Control in Ethiopia , [Wiesbaden
1995].)
11. Of the several groups with Judaic beliefs in Ethiopia, the Felasha are known as the
Jews or the Black Jews of Ethiopia. "The king of the Jews" is here the ruler of the
Felasha in northern Begémdir.
12. Another source gives her father's name as Ayzur (an emperor of Aksum who was
suffocated by the admiring crowd the same day he was crowned - since then it
became illegal to approach an emperor) and her mother's name as Mikiya Mariyam.
Another source makes her the grand-daughter of Emperor Widma (or Widim)
Asferé. Some believe that Yodït was half Italian, an assumption probably connected
with the tradition that her father's name was ïtaliya, "Italy." The different tradi-
tions about the "parentage" of Yodït savour of invention suiting various "interests:"
the clerics, sole historians of Ethiopia until recent times, would see her victories as
an expression of some degree of "legitimacy" (even the Zagwé, who came after her,
had to legitimize their rule with a genealogy going back to the Old Testament); and
the tradition that her father was called "Italy" fits later interests, e.g. seeing her
fierceness and "illegitimacy" in line with later Catholic attempts to interfere with
Ethiopian affairs, especially in the seventeenth century. We can probably conclude
that we do not know her father or her genealogy. (We do not even know her name
for sure: see the next note.) It is probably farfetched (but not untypical of the often
fanciful etymological speculations of debiera ) to hint at the possibility that the name
Italy for her father may have been suggested - through a process of association - by
the name of the Beja tribe of Rum, which is somewhat close to Rom, a common
Ethiopian form of the name for Rome (beside Roma and Romé). The Rum ruled
northern Ethiopia for some time and became famous in legend and poetry, but then
suddenly vanished about this time; cf. Jean Doresse, Ethiopia , English translation
(London, 1959), 90-92. That would make Yodït a Beja, of the people that troubled
Ethiopia for centuries after the rise of Islam. (The Beja tribe of Rum may have
taken its name from the 11th century Turkish sultanate Rum in Asia Minor, where
Rum means Rome. Cf. J. M. Roberts, History of the World , [London, 1993], 286.)
Tekle-Sadiq Mekurïya writes that Yodït's father was called Gédéwon, "Gideon."

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 The Defiance of the Tenth-Century Empress Yodït 53

13. The alternative name between parentheses is in my copy of the manuscript. Gudït
(the female form of Gud, equal to Gudeñña and Gudennït) is clearly a nickname,
probably given her because of the similarity between Yodït and Gudït. Gudït means
"the freak, the monster, the unnatural or unusual or surprising or strange one." She
was reputedly very beautiful (perhaps by assimilating her with the apocryphal bib-
lical Judith; cf. Judith 8:7, in the Revised Standard Version: "She was beautiful in
appearance, and had a very lovely face"), as beautiful as Nigiste-Azéb, "the Queen
of the South" (literally, "South-West," the direction of Ethiopia from Israel), i.e.,
"the Queen of Sheba," whose beauty is, in the national epic Kibre-negest, given as
the reason why King Solomon wanted to have a child by her (and the outcome of
which liaison Ethiopians say was Minilik I). One source says that the name Yodït
means "very beautiful." Desta Tekle-Weld points out that Yodït is short for Yihudït,
"the Jewess," and the name may thus have been given her as an epithet or sobri-
quet - and then we do not know her real name, - but it might confirm that she came
from one of the Judaized groups, e.g., the Felasha; however, we cannot be sure of
that as the name may have been invented for her later, perhaps to "justify" perse-
cutions of the Felasha for example during the reign of Zer'a Ya'qob (1434-1468);
consequently we cannot be sure that she was a Felasha or came from the north at
all - she might have come from Damot or one of the recently invaded regions fur-
ther south (Ethiopians had reached the Awash and Omo valleys in the ninth and
tenth centuries). However, the uniform tradition that she was "Jewish" should not
be easily rejected (if she is a historical figure at all, which is likely). Tekle-Sadiq
Mekuriya mentions the tradition that she was first called Astér, "Esther" (a name
not used after she destroyed Debre-Damo), and that she married a Christian ruler
(probably of part of Lasta) called Zer'a Ya'qob who did not know that she was
"Jewish" but who later converted to her religion and was then given the name
Selomon by Yodït.
14. Among "bandits" there were undoubtedly many "Jews" as well as many from
recently conquered areas who opposed the authority of the Ethiopian emperors.
The shifta were (and are) not only simple highwaymen but competitors for politi-
cal power, often people of high status in their own right.
15. His name can in other sources be found as Dagajan or Gidajan. At least one source
gives him the "throne name" of Anbessa-Widim, but in this (Teklé's) and other
texts, Anbessa-Widim succeeds Digayjan, some putting Yodït/Gudït between them.
16. This is also the place where Abune Tekle-Haymanot (who is said to have effected
the transfer of power from the last Zagwé emperor to the "restored" Solomonic
dynasty in 1270) was born. The mention of the place may therefore have some
"symbolic" value or connotation.
17. Bulga is in Shewa east (and slightly north) of Addis Abeba.

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54 ReidülfK. Molvaer

18. Other sources place Yodït between Digayjan and Anbessa-Widim, mostly in the
ninth century, giving, e.g., 845 or 890 as the year she became queen or empress of
Ethiopia; see also later in this text. One source says that Anbessa-Widim was the
throne name of Digayjan. Tekle-Sadiq Mekuriya makes Anbessa-Widim the son of
Dignajan; and since he was a minor when he became emperor, Yodït thought him
weak and therefore attacked Aksum (with Felasha soldiers from Simén and Lasta)
and destroyed it (including some stelae), but nobles took Anbessa-Widim and fled
to Shewa. Then she became empress in 842. When she killed the royal scions at
Debre-Damo, she was called Isato or Gudït and no more Astér. When she sent sol-
diers to attack Shewa (after she had ruled for 23 years), they were defeated by the
army of Menz led by Anbessa-Widim; then, after Anbessa-Widim had moved to
Mer (h)abété, she led her army in person but was so frustrated by the ravine-like
terrain in Ahiyya Fej and Doba that she was beaten back by the Shewan troops who
knew the area well. She returned to Aksum and ruled for another 17 years. (Doba
and Ahiyya Fej are place names connected with Hayle-Sillasé's ancestors; see n. 185
p. 353 in Gebre-Igziabiher Elyas and R. K. Molvaer, Prowess, Piety and Politics: The
Chronicle of Abeto Iyasu and Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia [ 1909-1930 J, Cologne
1994.)
19. Gebre-Mesqel was the son of Emperor Kaléb and became emperor when his father
abdicated and became a monk. Dates given for Gebre-Mesqel's reign vary, 534-548
being one estimate based on old sources. In Ethiopian folklore, Gebre-Mesqel is
closely associated with zar (cf. R. K. Molvaer, Socialization and Social Control in
Ethiopia , [Wiesbaden, 1995]; earlier in this history by Teklé; and Sergew Hable
Sellassie, op. cit., who refers to Aleqa Teklé, i.e. Tekle-ïyesus, as "Tekle Giorgis").
20. Dilnad, or, more commonly, Dil Ne'ad or Dilne'ad, is regarded as the last of the
"Solomonic" kings before Yodït and/or the Zagwé dynasty, and whose line is said
to have been restored to the throne at the "Solomonic restoration" in 1270 (or
thereabouts). The dates of Dilnad's rule depend on when Yodït came to power, one
estimate for his reign being 905-915.
21. This seems to mean that a kind of "nature" religion was adopted, animism or spir-
it-worship. Christianity was not abandoned, but a great admixture of "paganism"
seems to have contributed to giving the Ethiopian version of Christianity its special
features during the centuries after Gebre-Mesqel. (About this: earlier in this chron-
icle, and Sergew Hable Sillassie, op. cit., 160.) Later, Islam also influenced Ethiopian
Christianity.
22. On these phenomena, see R. K. Molvaer, Socialization and Social Control in Ethiopia
(Wiesbaden, 1995); R. K. Molvaer, Medical Anthropology (Basle and Addis Abeba,
1990); and R. K. Molvaer, Tradition and Change in Ethiopia (Leiden, 1980).
23. Although the emperors of the Zagwé dynasty were ardent Christians and built
many churches, e.g. the rock churches at Lalïbela, they are considered "strangers"

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 The Defiance of the Tenth-Century Empress Yodït 55

because they were not counted (and did not count themselves) as descendants of
King Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba (they did not belong to the
"Solomonic dynasty"). Another reason is probably that they did not share the same
kind of Monophysite Orthodoxy as the Ethiopian Church has traditionally pro-
fessed. The change of the name of their capital to Roha may perhaps give a clue to
their allegiance, which was of a kind (probably Chalcedonian, i.e., mainstream
Orthodox) that caused all literary productions from their time to be obliterated after
their "fall." Roha is another name for Edessa, then in northeastern Syria, now Urfa
in Turkey. When it first became Christian, not later than a.D. 190, it was Syriac-
speaking, and it probably became Monophysite, like so many Syriac-speaking
churches; W. Walker, A History of the Christian Church , Revised edition, New York
1959, 78. Later it became an important centre of the Orthodox Church, but already
in the eleventh century, the knights of the First Crusade (1096-9) conquered it and
made the county of Edessa a fief under their kingdom of Jerusalem, till a Seljuk gen-
eral recaptured it in 1144; J. M. Roberts, History of the World , London 1993, p. 298;
this means that at the time the Zagwé dynasty rose, Edessa/Roha may have been a
Latin, Catholic town, but it is hard to imagine that this can have influenced the
Zagwé in their choice of name for their capital. Edessa lives in Orthodox concep-
tion first of all as the town where St. Alexis spent so much of his life; E. Auerbach,
Mimesis , English translation, Princeton 1953, pp. 111-119. In the Ethiopian version,
the beginning and end of the story is even moved from Rome to Constantinople,
then the most important town in Orthodox Christendom (unless their version has
kept this town from the original Byzantine version, now lost); A. Gérard, African
Language Literatures, London 1981, 10.
24. The origin of the name is disputed but may be derived from Agew: ze-Agew ("of
[the] Agew"), and -é is often added to designate persons from a certain area (e.g.
Gojjamé, "a person from Gojjam"). Historians believe the Agew to predate the
"Semitic" Ethiopians in Ethiopia, whereas Ethiopian traditions maintain that they
came to Ethiopia at about the same time.
25. In northern Wello. Its northern district is Wag, on the border with Tigray. When
the Zagwé dynasty abdicated or was overthrown in (around) 1270, they were
allowed to continue as regional rulers of Lasta (and Wag) with the title Wagshum,
"ruler of Wag" (but in reality ruler of Lasta), a title which in the 20th century may
have been given as an honorary title to people unrelated to the Zagwé family.
26. The sources differ on whether the Zagwé took over from the "Solomonic" line or if
Yodït broke the line (some posit a couple of "Solomonic" emperors after Yodït,
others not).
27. See note 18 for another tradition reported by Tekle-Sadiq Mekuriya.
28. The formulation here gives the impression that she went to Aksum immediately
after she had defeated Anbessa-Widim, even before Dilnad could be crowned (he

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56 ReidulfK. Molvaer

was merely "the son of the king"). However, Dilnad is mostly thought to have been
the last of the "Solomonic" kings before they were ousted from power, and to have
ruled for ten years. Aksum was perhaps only the nominal capital at this time, as the
actual capital may have been moved southwards (perhaps to near Lake Hayq). In
the tradition reported by Tekle-Sadiq Mekurîya, Anbessa-Widim returned to
Aksum after the death of Yodït and the Tigrayans received him with joy and placed
him on the throne of his father and he ruled for c. 20 years, when he was succeed-
ed by his son Dilne'ad. But the people of Simén and Lasta who had been stirred up
by Yodït rebelled again and again, and in the end, led by Mera Tekle-Haymanot,
they made Dilne'ad flee to Shewa. Mera Tekle-Haymanot then ruled Ethiopia and
became the founder of the Zagwé dynasty.
29. The objectives of this campaign thus seem to have been to destroy the political cap-
ital of the old Aksumite empire, at the same time obliterating the most sacred cen-
ter (the "heart") of Christian Ethiopia, and to exterminate the royal line of the
ancient Christian kingdom.
30. This comment by Aleqa Teklé seems to hint at the dramatic (apocalyptic) nature
ascribed to this event: the fate of Aksum is similar to that of Zion, (the Temple in)
Jerusalem. Aksum had been Ethiopia's capital for about a thousand years (like ancient
Jerusalem for Israel) with the country's principal sanctuaiy called Debre-Siyon.
31. Debre-Damo, in Tigray, is best known for its inaccessible ancient monastery or
monastic community, believed to have been founded in the fifth century by Abune
Aregawï/Aregay/Ze-Mïkaél, one of "the Nine Saints" who fled to Ethiopia from the
persecutions of Monophysites after the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The oldest
preserved church in Ethiopia is on top of this mountain {amba).
32. The line of succession was never defined in Ethiopia until Hayle-Sillasé did so in
the twentieth century, so that any royal son (legitimate or not) could contest the
throne (probably on the assumption that the best suited - or God's appointee -
would win). It was to avoid such power-struggles that all royal children except the
ruler and his "nuclear family" were kept under strict guard in a place "beyond
reach" and with few possibilities of escape. (Samuel Johnson gives a romanticized
flavor of life in such a "prison" in his tale Rasselas , [London, 1759].)
33. If this is true, it means that the son of Dilnad became ruler of Shewa. Perhaps this
tradition serves to indicate that the transfer of the seat of government to Shewa did
not take place only with the "restoration" of the "Solomonic dynasty" in 1270 but had
happened much earlier (in the tenth century) with Mahbere-Widim. (Already Dilnad
is thought to have moved his capital from Aksum in Tigray to Wello, perhaps to Hayq,
as mentioned.)
34. This is a mountain in Begémdir.
35. Gayint is the name of a "tribe" ( neged ) and an area west of Dawint, in Begémdir.
36. This is in Wello province.

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 The Defiance of the Tenth-Century Empress Yodït 57

37. Henry Blanc tells almost the same story in A Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia
(London, 1868), 339f. The place is between Debre-Tabor and Gayint in Begémdir.
38. Dembïya is north of Lake Tana and south of Gonder (and Foggerà, Wegera) in
Begémdir. (It is often mentioned as part of the "unit" Dembïya and Foggerà.)
39. In other sources we find the form Isato, or Isato Gudït. Although Isat means "fire,"
the connotation is perhaps rather "fire and brimstone," referring not only to her
destruction of churches etc., but to her as an agent of divine judgement and pun-
ishment over Ethiopians who had turned away from God.
40. These were the five core provinces of Christian Ethiopia, but the empire had
extended southwards by this time, and southern Eritrea was still part of the
Christian area, although the Beja, who adopted Islam, had penetrated the north.
The Christian Bilén (or Bogos), who had moved south to Lasta from Eritrea due to
pressure from the Beja, moved back to the area around Keren in Hamasén in Eritrea
during the havoc caused by Yodït, and remained Christian till the second half of the
19th century, when they became largely Muslim.
41. This statement may have been made to "justify" that the rulers later came from
these two provinces: the Zagwé from Lasta and the "restored Solomonic dynasty"
from Shewa. There are, however, strong local traditions that there were rebellions
by oppressed populations ("Kembata" slaves and soldiers who lived in submission
to the "Semitic" population) also in these areas (some of them successful, e.g. in
Menz, with results which many Amhara think explain various characteristics of the
Shewan dynasty, or people from northern Shewa, or from Menz; see R. K. Molvaer,
Socialization and Social Control in Ethiopia [Wiesbaden, 1995]).
42. Other sources say that she alone ruled for forty years, but varying dates are given
for her rule. One source says that she died when she was struck by lightning.
43. This date is probably meant as an approximation for "towards the end of the first
millennium." This dating may have been colored by the expectation of cataclysmic,
apocalyptic occurrences preceding the expected return of Christ at the end of a
thousand years (cf. Revelation 20:1-7), although the Ethiopians had (and have)
beliefs somewhat different from many Western churches in this respect, saying that
this event will occur in the eighth millennium ( simminteññaw shï) after the cre-
ation of the world, a time they find depicted in Psalm 12, or Psalm 11 in the Geez
Bible (with an interesting example of their method of biblical interpretation). Other
sources place Yodït/Gudït in the ninth century.
44. As mentioned, there is disagreement whether the Zagwé followed immediately after
Yodït or if there were some "Solomonic" rulers between them.
45. The words between parentheses (yeZagwé zeroch ) are in my copy of the manuscript.
Some historians believe, as noted, that a weakened "Solomonic" dynasty continued
to rule for some time between Yodït and the Zagwé kings. If that was the case, the
earlier phrase that the Zagwé "took" the kingdom, would mean that they were the
ones who ousted the Solomonic dynasty, not Yodït.

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58 ReidulfK. Molvaer

46. Other sources give other lists of kings, e.g., Dil Ne'ad (or Anbessa-Widim),
Mahbere-Widim, Agb'a-Siyon, Sinfe-Ari'd, Negash Zaré, Asfiha, Ya'qob, Bahr
Assegid, Id(i)m Assegid, Yikunno Amlak. Another: Girma Asferé, Dil Ne'ad,
Mahbere-Widim, Negash Zaré, Wenag Seré, Akile-Widim, Tesfa-ïyesus. (Negash
Zoré is spelt so in my source - it is not a typing error for Zaré.)
47. This time span of 333 years occurs in many sources, some giving it as the time the
Zagwé dynasty ruled, not - as indicated here - the period the "Solomonic line" was
"deprived" of the throne, including the rule of Yodït. The figures vary consider-
ably - from 133 to 375 years for the Zagwé dynasty alone; cf. C. Conti Rossini,
[Bergamo, 1928], 303.

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