D. 570) that there
was one great elephant, and some say thirteen elephants,[3] employed in
the army which Abraha, the Abyssinian Ruler of Yemen led against Mecca, an
expedition famous in Arabian history as the War of the Elephant, we are
disposed to believe that these must have been elephants imported from
India. There is indeed a notable statement quoted by Ritter, which if
trustworthy would lead to another conclusion: "Already in the 20th year of
the Hijra (A.D. 641) had the Nubas and Bejas hastened to the help of
the Greek Christians of Oxyrhynchus (Bahnasa of the Arabs) ... against
the first invasion of the Mahommedans, and according to the exaggerated
representations of the Arabian Annalists, the army which they brought
consisted of 50,000 men and 1300 war-elephants."[4] The Nubians
certainly must have tamed elephants on some scale down to a late period
in the Middle Ages, for elephants, - in one case three annually, - formed a
frequent part of the tribute paid by Nubia to the Mahomedan sovereigns of
Egypt at least to the end of the 13th century; but the passage quoted is
too isolated to be accepted without corroboration. The only approach to
such a corroboration that I know of is a statement by Poggio in the matter
appended to his account of Conti's Travels. He there repeats some
information derived from the Abyssinian envoys who visited Pope Eugenius
IV. about 1440, and one of his notes is: "They have elephants very large
and in great numbers; some kept for ostentation or pleasure, some as
useful in war. They are hunted; the old ones killed, the young ones taken
and tamed." But the facts on which this was founded probably amounted to
no more than what Cosmas had stated. I believe no trustworthy authority
since the Portuguese discoveries confirms the use of the elephant in
Abyssinia;[5] and Ludolf, whose information was excellent, distinctly
says that the Abyssinians did not tame them. (Cathay, p. clxxxi.;
Quat., Mem., sur l'Egypte, II. 98, 113; India in XVth Century, 37;
Ludolf, I. 10, 32; Armandi, H. Militaire des Elephants, p. 548.)
NOTE 5. - To the 10th century at least the whole coast country of the Red
Sea, from near Berbera probably to Suakin, was still subject to Abyssinia.
At this time we hear only of "Musalman families" residing in Zaila' and
the other ports, and tributary to the Christians (see Mas'udi, III. 34).
According to Bruce's abstract of the Abyssinian chronicles, the royal line
was superseded in the 10th century by Falasha Jews, then by other
Christian families, and three centuries of weakness and disorder
succeeded. In 1268, according to Bruce's chronology, Icon Amlac of the
House of Solomon, which had continued to rule in Shoa, regained the
empire, and was followed by seven other princes whose reigns come down to
1312. The history of this period is very obscure, but Bruce gathers that
it was marked by civil wars, during which the Mahomedan communities that
had by this time grown up in the coast-country became powerful and
expelled the Abyssinians from the sea-ports. Inland provinces of the low
country also, such as Ifat and Dawaro, had fallen under Mahomedan
governors, whose allegiance to the Negush, if not renounced, had become
nominal.
One of the principal Mahomedan communities was called Adel, the name,
according to modern explanation, of the tribes now called Danakil. The
capital of the Sultan of Adel was, according to Bruce at Aussa, some
distance inland from the port of Zaila', which also belonged to Adel.
Amda Zion, who succeeded to the Abyssinian throne, according to Bruce's
chronology, in 1312, two or three years later, provoked by the Governor of
Ifat, who had robbed and murdered one of his Mahomedan agents in the
Lowlands, descended on Ifat, inflicted severe chastisement on the
offenders, and removed the governor. A confederacy was then formed against
the Abyssinian King by several of the Mahomedan States or chieftainships,
among which Adel is conspicuous. Bruce gives a long and detailed account
of Amda Zion's resolute and successful campaigns against this confederacy.
It bears a strong general resemblance to Marco's narrative, always
excepting the story of the Bishop, of which Bruce has no trace, and always
admitting that our traveller has confounded Aden with Adel.
But the chronology is obviously in the way of identification of the
histories. Marco could not have related in 1298 events that did not occur
till 1315-16. Mr. Salt however, in his version of the chronology, not only
puts the accession of Amda Zion eleven years earlier than Bruce, but even
then has so little confidence in its accuracy, and is so much disposed to
identify the histories, that he suggests that the Abyssinian dates should
be carried back further still by some 20 years, on the authority of the
narrative in our text. M. Pauthier takes a like view.
I was for some time much disposed to do likewise, but after examining the
subject more minutely, I am obliged to reject this view, and to abide by
Bruce's Chronology. To elucidate this I must exhibit the whole list of the
Abyssinian Kings from the restoration of the line of Solomon to the middle
of the 16th century, at which period Bruce finds a check to the chronology
in the record of a solar eclipse. The chronologies have been extracted
independently by Bruce, Rueppell, and Salt; the latter using a different
version of the Annals from the other two. I set down all three.
BRUCE. RUEPPEL. SALT.
Reigns. Duration Dates. Duration Reigns. Duration Dates.
of reign. of reign. of reign.
Years. Years. Years.
Icon Amlac 15 1268-1283 15 .. .. 14 1255-1269
Igba Zion 9 1283-1292 9 Woudem Arad 15 1269-1284
Bahar Segued \ Kudma Asgud
Tzenaff " | Asfa " 3 1284-1287
Jan " | 5 1292-1297 5 Sinfa "
Hazeb Araad | Bar " 5 1287-1292
Kedem Segued / Igba Zion 9 1292-1301
Wedem Arad 15 1297-1312 15 .. .. .. ..
Amda Zion 30 1312-1342 30 .. .. 30 1301-1331
Saif Arad 28 1342-1370 28 .. .. 28 1331-1359
Wedem Asferi 10 1370-1380 10 .. .. 10 1359-1369
David II 29 1380-1409 29 .. .. 32 1369-1401
Theodorus 3 1409-1412 3 .. .. 1 1401-1402
Isaac 17 1412-1429 15 .. .. 15 1402-1417
Andreas 0-7/12 1429 0-7/12 .. .. 7 1417-1424
Haseb Nanya 4 1429-1433 4 .. .. 5 1424-1429
Sarwe Yasus \
| 1-1/12 1433-1434 1 .. .. 5 1429-1434
Ameda Yasus /
Zara Jacob 34 1434-1468 34-1/8 .. .. 34 1434-1468
Beda Mariam 10 1468-1478 10 .. .. 10 1468-1478
Iskander \
| 17 1478-1495 17-7/12 .. .. 16 1478-1494
Ameda Zion /
Naod 13 1495-1508 13 .. .. 13 1494-1507
David III 32 1508-1540 32 .. .. 32 1507-1536
Claudius .. 1540 .. .. .. .. ..
Bruce checks his chronology by an eclipse which took place in 1553, and
which the Abyssinian chronicle assigns to the 13th year of Claudius.
