Kingdom of Simien
The Kingdom of Simien (Hebrew: ממלכת סאמיאן), also called the Kingdom of Beta Israel (ממלכת ביתא ישראל), was a Jewish kingdom. It was also called the "Land of the Gideons" by Rabbi Abraham ben Eliezer Halevi in the 14th century. This name comes from the kingdom's first ruler. The Kingdom of Simien was part of northwestern Ethiopian Empire. The traveller Benjamin of Tudela first talked about this kingdom being somewhere in the Horn of Africa in the 12th century CE.[2]
Kingdom of Simien ממלכת סאמיאן | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Jewish settlements in Ethiopia | |||||||||
| Status | According to legends:
Sovereign Jewish kingdom (350-351) Axumite Territory (351-960) Reestablished (960-1329) Vassal State of the Ethiopian Empire 1329-1625 | ||||||||
| Location | Semien Mountains and Semien Province Tzelmet province,wegera province | ||||||||
| Capital | Amba Yehouda[1] | ||||||||
| Common languages | Geʽez, Kayla, Qwara, Amharic | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Ethiopian Beta Israel | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• | 350 | ||||||||
• | 351 (re-established in 960 until invaded again in 1329 by Ethiopia and annexed in 1625) | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Ethiopia | ||||||||
A Ethiopian-Jewish legend says the Kingdom of Simien started in the 4th century CE. It started after the Kingdom of Aksum converted to Christianity during Ezana's reign.[3][4] Local history says that around 960, the Jewish Queen Gudit defeated the empire. She then burned its churches and literature. There is evidence of a similar invasion around this time. There is also evidence of churches being burned. However, some western authors think that she was not real. It is still not sure whether Aksum was still a kingdom at this time. Tradition says that she reigned for forty years and her dynasty lasted until 1137 AD. Then, it was overthrown by Mara Takla Haymanot. This started the Zagwe dynasty.[5]
Kingdom Of Simien Media
Coins with the image of Emperor Ezana of Axum
The steles of "Judith's Field" near Aksum, traditionally dated to the time of Gudit, are thought to mark the graves of lower ranked officials.
The Ras Dashen area which used to be part of the kingdom
Notes
References
- ↑ Morié, Louis J. (1904). Histoire de L'Éthiopie (Nubie et Abyssinie): Histoire de L'Abyssinie. Paris. p. 115.
- ↑ Fauvelle-Aymar 2013, p. 383.
- ↑ Bruce 1804, p. 485.
- ↑ Kaplan 1992, p. 94.
- ↑ Henze, Paul B. (2000). Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia. Hurst & Company. ISBN 978-1-85065-393-6.
Sources
- Andersen, Knud Tage (2000). "The Queen of the Habasha in Ethiopian History, Tradition and Chronology". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 63 (1): 31–63. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00006443. JSTOR 1559587.
- Bruce, James (1804). Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (2 ed.). James Ballantyne.
- Fauvelle-Aymar, François-Xavier (April 2013). "Desperately Seeking the Jewish Kingdom of Ethiopia: Benjamin of Tudela and the Horn of Africa (Twelfth Century)". Speculum. 88 (2): 383–404. doi:10.1017/S0038713413000857. JSTOR 23488846. S2CID 163444188.
- Kaplan, Steve (1988). "The Invention of Ethiopian Jews: Three Models". Cahiers d'Études Africaines. 33 (132): 645–658. doi:10.3406/cea.1993.1497. ISSN 0008-0055. JSTOR 4392496.
- Kaplan, Steve (1992). The Beta Israel: Falasha in Ethiopia: From Earliest Times to the Twentieth Century. New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-814-74848-0.
- Kaplan, Steve (2003). "Betä Əsraʾel". In Uhlig, Siegbert; Bausi, Alessandro; Crummey, Donald; Goldenberg, Gideon; Yemām, Bāya (eds.). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Vol. 1. Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 553.
- Kaplan, Steve (2007). "Beta Israel". Encyclopedia Judaica. Vol. 3 (2 ed.). Thomson Gale. pp. 499–508.
- Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. The Red Sea Press. ISBN 978-0-932-41519-6.
- Quirin, James Arthur (1992). The Evolution of the Ethiopian Jews: A History of the Beta Israel (Falasha) to 1920. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-812-23116-8.
- Seeman, Don (Summer 1991). "Ethnographers, Rabbis and Jewish Epistemology: The Case of the Ethiopian Jews". Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought. 25 (4): 13–29. JSTOR 23260928.