Chapter Three

Politics, Economy and Society in

Ethiopia and the Horn to the End of
the Thirteenth Century

By: Beyene Biftu (MA)

Oct. 2023
 Outlines

 3.1. Emergence of States

 3.2. Ancient States in the Ethiopia &
the Horn
 3.3. External Contacts
 3.4. Economic Formations
 3.5. Socio-cultural Achievements
 Introduction
 The process of state formation in the Horn had a
very long history. In such a way, several pre-
Aksumite states might have flourished and declined
for reasons that we do not certainly know.
 Owing to its nearness to the Red Sea and the center
of ancient civilization of Egypt and Mesopotamia, it
seems that the earliest states first emerged in the
northern part of the region.
 In fact, the process did not stop there since later on a
series of states came into being in various parts of
Ethiopia.
 The main problem in the study of these states is
shortage of sources to reconstruct their history.
 Engrossing Questions
 What does a state mean?

 Can you name some of the earliest

states in Ethiopia and the Horn?

 Explain how Ethiopian people in

different geographical locations
maintained relationships.

 Explain how religion facilitates peoples’

relations.
 3.1. Emergence of States
What does a State Mean?
 State refers to an autonomous political unit
having population, defined territory,
sovereignty and government with the power to
decree and enforce laws.
 State is a politically organized group of people
usually occupying a definite territory, having a
government with coercive powers and
supreme authority that maintains a monopoly
of the legitimate use of force within a territory,
whose borders are usually clearly defined and
internationally recognized by other states.
 Theories on the Origin of State
?
How and when exactly the state originated?
 we cannot be certain and exact in estimating out the
date of origin of the state.
 It, therefore, compels us to know the various
propositions regarding the origin and hence so many
theories telling their own ways.
 Important Theories of the Origin of State
• Divine origin theory;
• Force Theory;
• Social Contract Theory;
. Historical/Evolutionary theory; and
 Theories on the Origin of State
1. Divine Right Theory
 is the oldest theory, state is a divinely created
institution.(created by God) and governed by His
deputy or vicegerent.
 The ruler was a divinely appointed agent and he
was responsible for his actions to God alone.
 As the ruler was the deputy of God, obedience to him
was held to be a religious duty and resistance a sin.
 Nobody could limit his will and restrict his power.
 To complain against the authority of the ruler and to
characterize his actions as unjust was a sin for which
there was divine punishment.
 Cont’d…Theories
2. Social Contract Theory
 This theory held that the state came into being

as a result of a contract or agreement between

people.
 This theory considers the state of nature to be

mankind's original condition.

 There was no organization or authority in the

state of nature to regulate human behaviour

and relations with one another.
 Each man living therein led a life of his own,

uncontrolled by any laws of human imposition.

 In the state of nature life is ‘solitary, poor,

nasty, brutish and short’.

 Cont’d…Theories
 Individuals therefore seek to escape from the state of
nature by entering into a social contract, recognizing
that only a sovereign power can secure order and
stability.
 As a result, the people entered into a deliberate
contract that obliges citizens to respect and obey the
state, ultimately in gratitude for the stability and
security that only a system of political rule can
deliver and thus the state was born.
 Therefore, according to this theory, the state is a
human institution and the result of a human contract.
 The state is established by the people for the benefit
of the people.
 The three great thinkers: Thomas Hobbes, John
 Cont’d…Theories..
3. Force Theory
 This theory is of the view that might is right, it

traces the origin of state to conquest and

coercion where the powerful ones impose their
right over the weaker ones.
 A person physically stronger can capture and

enslaved the weak.

 Having increased the number of his followers,

over whom he exercised undisputed authority,

he became a tribal chief.
 This process of conquest and domination

continued till the victorious tribe secured

control over a definite territory.
 Cont’d…Theories

 It is believed that government exists to

protect and advance the interest of the
dominant groups in the society by enacting
law in their own interest.
 Karl Max support this theory by pointing out
that the state is nothing but the executive
committee of the bourgeoisie.
 He said that the state is nothing more than a
machine for the oppression of one class by
another.
 In other words, it is an instrument of class
oppression.
 Cont’d…Theories
4. Evolutionary or Historical Theory
 For this theory the state is a natural institution.

 Modern sociological, historical, and

anthropological research have all contributed to

the theory.
 This theory contends that the state did not

 emerge suddenly, but rather as a result of a

slow and steady evolution extending over a

long period of time and shaping itself into the
complex structure of a modern State.
 Social instinct, kinship, force or war, religion,

economic activities, and political consciousness

have all played a role in the evolution of the
 Emergence of state in Ethiopia and the Horn
 Historically, states arose independently in
different places and at different times, for
example, it emerged in Ethiopia and the Horn
independently from other parts of the world.
 One important factor for the emergence of
states was the beginning of sedentary
agriculture which made people to engage in
farming by forming settlement.
 Intermediaries (traders) also began to buy
agricultural products of sedentary people.
 In such way states were formed mainly through
the expansion of agriculture that gave rise to
 Cont’d…
 Moreover, the growth of trade facilitated the
development of states.
 The first states were theocratic states, where
priests maintained the social and religious affairs of
their people.
 Gradually, however, as production became market
oriented, the priests were gradually replaced by
chiefs, who began collecting regular and
compulsory tributes known as protection payments.
 Hence, Ethiopia and the Horn is one of the regions
in Africa, where early state formation took place.
 From small beginnings, such states gradually
developed into powerful kingdoms and even
empires with a well-demarcated social structure.
 3.2. Ancient States in Ethiopia and the
Horn
In North and Northeast
A. Punt
 Punt was the earliest recorded state in Ethiopia and the
Horn.
Evidence for the existence of Punt:
 Egyptian hieroglyphic writings and vivid paintings tell us
a series of naval expeditions, which the Egyptian
Pharaohs/kings sent to Punt. For example:
 1.Expedition sent by Pharaoh Sahure (r.2743-2731 B.C.)
to collect myrrh, ebony and electrum (gold and silver
alloy).
 2.Expedition sent by the Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut
(1490-1468 B.C.), under the leadership of Black Nubian
Captain Nehasi via Wadi-Tumilat and the expedition was
welcomed by Punt’s King Perehu and his wife Ati.
 Cont’d…Ancient States…
 The expedition was able to return collecting
frankincense, cinnamon, sweet smelling woods
(sandal), spices, ivory, rhinoceros horn,
leopard and leopard skins, ostrich feathers and
egg, monkeys, giraffes, people, etc.
 Exports of Punt to Egypt: Iron, bronze,
foxes, cattle, animals fur, dying and medicinal
plants
 Its imports from Egypt: axes, daggers,
swords, knives, sickles, clothes, bracelets,
necklaces, beads and other trinkets(cheap
jewelry).
 Cont’d… Ancient States…
Where do you think is the exact location of Punt state?
 The exact location of Punt has remained vague.
 Some scholars suggest that Punt might be located in
Northern or Northeastern Somalia because of the
reference to incense and myrrh. Some others suggest
that Punt might be located in Northern Ethiopia
because of the reference to gold, ebony and monkeys.
 The latter group argue that at that early period,
Egyptian sailboats might not have been strong enough
to pass through the Strait of Bab-el Mandeb into the
Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
 Considering the two suggestions, still some others
argue that it probably stretched from Swakim or
 Cont’d… Ancient States…
B) The State of Damat
 It was the first locally known state, while the second
regionally known state (next to Punt state)
 The state of Da’amat had a center a located to the
south of Aksum.
 According to the inscription of the king of Da’amat ,
dated to the 5th C. BC Da’amat king’s is said to have
used politico-religious title known as Mukarib and
worshipped various gods and goddesses like
Almouqah (principal god), Astarr (Venus god),
Na’uran (light god), Shamsi (sun god), and Sin (moon
god).
 There were similar practices in South Arabia at the
time.
 Cont’d… Ancient States…
 C) Other Pre Aksumite States
 i) The State of Yeha
 located to the Northeast of Aksum and was the
oldest of all centers next to Damat.
 It probably emerged around 1, 000 BC as a
small center where South Arabian merchants
and their agents bought and stored ivory,
rhinoceros horn and other goods.
 reached its climax from about 750 to 500 B.C.
 Remains of walls of some of its buildings and
stone masonry as well as still standing temple
 Cont’d… Ancient States…
ii) The State of Hawulti Melazo
 is situated to southeast of Aksum

 is a site where stone tablets that are inscribed

in rectangular temple surrounded by a wall

decorated with paintings representing herds
of cattle have been excavated.
iii) The State of Addi-Seglemen
 is located to southwest of Aksum,

 Is a site where a stone slab is found and the

oldest Ethiopian monumental inscription is

discovered.
 Cont’d…Ancient States
D) The Aksumite State
 The nucleus of the Aksumite state was formed around
200-100 B.C.
 Originally, it was small and it was expanded and
enlarged gradually in all directions
 According to Periplus of Erithrean Sea Aksumite
territories included:
 the Red Sea coast in the East,
 the Nile Valley in the West,
 Eritrea in the North
 Northern parts of Shewa in the South
 It also tells that Adulis was the major port of Aksum.
 The document also mentioned the Aksumite’s major
import and export items, accordingly:
 Cont’d… The Aksumite…
 The document also mentions that Zoscales
(c.76-89) was the then king of Aksum, used to
communicate in Greek language.
 The Adulis inscription which eventually was
published in Cosmas Indicopleustes’ book, the
Christian Topography, describes commercial
activities of the Red Sea areas.
 It also mentions the internal long distance
trade between Aksum and a distant region
called Sasu, most probably in Beni Shangul and
the adjoining lands beyond the Blue Nile.
 Furthermore, the existence of silent trade
 Cont’d… The Aksumite…
 Aksumite kings had extensive contacts with the outside world
notably with the South Arabian region which led to exchange
of ideas, material and spiritual culture.
 Occasionally, the contact involved conflict. E.g. Around
200A.D, the army of Aksumite king Gadarat attacked and
posed threats on peoples in Southern Arabian Peninsula, in the
present day Yemen.
 From the 3rd to 7th centuries, Aksumite kings like Aphilas,
Endybis, Wazeba, Ezana, Ousanas II, etc. minted and issued
different kinds of coins in gold, silver and bronze for both
overseas and local transactions.
 Aksum was one of the four great powers of the world (i. e.
Roman Empire, Persia, China and Aksum) at the time.
 Kaleb (r. 500-35) expanded overseas territories of Aksum
beyond Himyar and Saba.
 It was during Gabra Maskal that Yared developed Ethiopian
 Cont’d… The Aksumite…
Decline of the Aksumite State
 The Aksumite state declined since the late seventh
century because of internal and external challenges.
 With the destruction of the port of Adulis by the Arabs

around 702 AD
 Rise and expansion Muslims Arab which isolated the

Aksum state from its old commercial and diplomatic

partners.
 Environmental degradation,

 decline in agricultural productivity

 plague infestation started to weaken it.

 local rebellions challenged its hegemony.

 For eg. rebellions of the Beja, the Agaw and Queen

Bani al Hamwiyah (Yodit) finally sealed the collapse of

 Cont’d… The Aksumite…
Its major achievements:
 Surviving indigenous script and calendar as

well as EOC hymns and chants,

 paintings; diversified ceramic tools, ivory

curving,
 urbanization and sophisticated building

traditions (palaces, stele, churches).

 It developed complex administrative and

governance system,
 It also developed agricultural system
including irrigation.
 E) The Zagwe State (1150-1270)
Background
 Agaw elites took part in Aksumite state

structure serving as soldiers and

functionaries for at least four centuries.
 After integrating so well with Aksumite

ruling class, they successfully took over the

state administration.
 Accordingly, the Agaw prince Merra
Teklehaimanot married Masobe Worq, the
daughter of the last Aksumite king Dil
Na'od.
 Later, he overthrew his father-in-law and
 Cont’d…The Zagwe
 Its political center: was in Bugna District within
Wag and Lasta, more exactly at Adafa near Roha
(Lalibela).
 Its territory: extended from most of the highland
provinces of the ancient Aksumite kingdom in the
north down to northern Shewa in the south, the Lake
Tana region and the northern part of what is today
Gojjam in the west.
 Trade: The Agaw kings maintained the Aksumite
traditions. They renewed cultural and trade contact
with eastern Mediterranean region.
 Exports: Slaves, ivory and rare spices
 Imports: Cotton, linen, silver and copper vessels,
 Cont’d…The Zagwe
 Achievements:
 paintings and the translation of some religious
works from Arabic into Ge'ez, construction of caves,
rock-hewn-monolithic churches of Lalibela.
 For eg. among the eleven churches of Lalibela,
Bete Medhanelem is the largest of all and Bete
Giyorgis is said to be the most finely built in the
shape of the cross.
 Lalibela wanted to establish the second Jerusalem,
and even avoid difficulties, which Ethiopian
Christians encountered in their journey to the Holy
Lands.
 This was done by constructing churches based on
 Cont’d…The Zagwe
 Its Collapse: was due to internal problems of
royal succession and oppositions from groups
claiming descent from the ancient rulers of
Aksum who referred the Zagwe as
“illegitimate rulers.”
 Then, Yekuno-Amlak (r.1270-1285) members
of the power claimants or the Solomonic
Dynasty fought and killed the last king of
Zagwe, Yetbarek and took power and
‘restored’ the Solomonic Dynasty which later
stayed in power for many centuries
 E) South and Southwestern States

 Bizamo (establishment-in 8th century and it

was located opposite to the present area of
Gojjam and around the current Wambara
area);
 Damot, located in south of Abay, had
renowned king in the 13th century known as
Motalami;
 Enarya: was a kingdom in the Gibe region in
southwestern Ethiopia and its royal clan was
called Hinnare Bushasho (Hinnario Busaso);
 Gafat, unclear whether Gafat was a state or
not but it is claimed that its mountains were
rich in gold.
 G. Muslim Sultanates of East and Southeast
 Shewa where Makhzumite Sultanate in 896 A. D (283
A.H.) was established;
 Fatagar was founded around Minjar, Shenkora and
Ada’a in the eleventh century and known for cultivation
of wheat and barley, fruits as wells as herding of cattle,
sheep and goats;
 Dawaro: located south of Fatagar between upper
waters of Awash and Wabi-Shebelle extending to
Charchar in Northeast and Gindhir in Southeast and it
had a currency called hakuna;
 Bali was an extensive kingdom occupying high plateau,
separating basins of Shebelle and Rift valley Lakes;
 Ifat was a state located in the adjacent to Shewan
Sultanate.
 It was the strongest of all sultanates. Its territory ran
33
from northeast-southwesterly in the Afar plain eastward
to the Awash. It was established by Umar Walasma who
 Economy and socio-cultural
Economy:
achievements
1. Agriculture
2. Agriculture was basic economic activity in
highland parts and it consisted of use of local
irrigation technology and soil fertility techniques.
 Land tenure system (for its holding, sharing and
using)
 Common land tenure system of ancient time
comprised communal right to land which was a
group right of the family, clan and lineage.
 Peasants in the north had rist rights in their
respective areas.
 Rist is a kind of communal birthright to land. 35
 Cont…
2. Handicraft
 Indigenous handcraft technology such as
artisans had existed since the ancient period.
 Artisans were in engaged in metal work,

pottery, tannery, carpentry, masonry, weaving,

jewelry, basketry and others.
 E.g. Metal workers produced swords, javelins,

shields, knives, axes, sickles, hoes an others.

Tanners produced leather tools.
 However, the artisans were mostly despised

and marginalized. The ruling classes mostly

spent their accumulated wealth on imported
luxurious items rather than the domestic 37

technology.
 Socio-cultural Achievements:
A) Architecture: Steles/obelisks building were practiced in
Axum( the longest was 33 meters in height. The other two
had heights of 24 and 21 meters.
Zagwe period’s rock hewn churches were part of
UNESCO’s world heritage, registered in 1978.
B) Writing System: Scripts developed in Sabean and
Ge’ez languages.
C) Calendar: There was invention of Ethiopic solar
calendar.
 There was also Muslim (Islamic) calendar which is a
lunar calendar The Oromo and the Sidama (celebrating
new year-Fiche Chambalala) had a calendar based on
star known among the Oromo as Urjii.
D) Numerals
 Numerals appeared in Ethiopia and the Horn at the 38

beginning of fourth century AD. E.g. In Geʽez language

Thank
you!