Abyssinia

Abyssinia, the name of which is derived from the Arabic word Habesh, a mixture, in reference to the mixed population, is a mountainous country of E. Africa, lying between 7° 30' and 15° 40' N. lat. and 35' and 40° 30' E. long. It is bordered on the N. and N.W. by Nubia, on the E. by the African possessions of Italy, on the S. by the territory of the Gallas, on the W. by the regions of the Upper Nile. The area is about 200,000 square miles, and the population between three and four millions. Abyssinia consists of a series of extensive tablelands, the average height being 7,000 feet, intersected by deep valleys hollowed out by the action of water, and by precipitous mountain ranges, the chief of which are the Samen (15,000 feet), the Lamalmon, and the Lasta. The slope is abrupt towards the Red Sea, more gradual towards the valley of the Nile. The whole region must have been the scene of immense volcanic activity in the latter part of the Tertiary age (q.v.), and there are still some thermal springs in the interior, and occasional eruptions on the coast of the Red Sea.

The principal rivers are tributaries of the Nile. The Mareb, the most northerly, rises in the mountains of Taranta, and after a course of over 500 miles loses itself in the sand, though in the rainy season it reaches the Atbara. The Takazza or Atbara rises in the Lasta mountains, and after a course of about 800 miles flows into the Nile. The Abai, Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue Nile, rises in two mountains near Geesh, 10,000 feet above the sea-level, passes through the Lake of Dembea, and after enclosing the province of Godjam in a semicircular curve, flows northwards till it joins the White Nile at Khartoum. The Hawash rises in the province of Shoa, and flows N.E. to Lake Abhelbad. The largest lake is the Tzana, 60 miles by 40.

In the river valleys and swamps the heat and moisture are suffocating and pestilential, but in general the climate is pleasant and healthy. The vegetation varies with the altitude from tropical plants to the pines, heaths, and lichens of N. Europe. The soil is fertile, three crops being grown in the year in some parts. Maize, wheat, barley, peas, beans, and taff and tocussa, two kinds of grain used locally for bread, are cultivated, as are also the date, orange, banana, pomegranate, lemon, vine, sugar cane, cotton, coffee, and indigo.

The cattle are small and humped, the sheep fat-tailed and woolly, the horses strong and active, and there are numerous goats. The spotted hyaena is the most destructive of the animals, but the elephant, rhinoceros, lion, and many other wild beasts are found. Eagles, vultures, hawks, and other birds of prey, partridges, pigeons, parrots, and thrushes are plentiful.

In Abyssinia there are three distinct ethnical elements: 1. The aboriginal Negro, on the northern and western slopes. 2. The Hamitic, aboriginal, on the plateaux (Agau, Dembea, Falasha, Klamants) and recent intruders in the south and southeast (Gallas). 3. The Semitic (Himyaritic branch), intruders from south-west Arabia, and throughout the historic period constituting the dominant political race. Of the Semites there are two branches - the Tigre in the north-east, and the Amharic in all the other provinces. Originally both spoke a Himyaritic language, the Ghez, which about the fourteenth century became differentiated into the two neo-Himyaritic languages, Tigrina and Amharina, the former slightly, the latter profoundly modified by Hamitic words and grammatical forms. Ghez is still studied as the language of the liturgy, while Amharina has become the language of the court, of diplomacy, and general intercourse. All these languages are written in a peculiar syllabic alphabet resembling that of the Himyaritic inscriptions in Yemen; but none possess a literature in the strict sense of the term. Like their speech, the Semites themselves have become largely blended with the surrounding Hamitic populations. But as both Semites and Hamites belong to the Caucasic stock, the modern Abyssinian type is remarkably regular, though the normal complexion is a yellowish-brown, with a great variety of shades, from the almost light colour of the nobles to the dark brown and even black of the lower classes. The people are Christians of the Monophysite sect; the National Church being a branch of the Coptic, and its spiritual head, the Abuna, always a Copt consecrated by the Patriarch of Alexandria; but the Falashas, i.e. "Exiles," practise Jewish observances, and have even been regarded as Jews, or as the "Lost tribes of Israel." Socially the Abyssinians are more civilised than the neighbouring Gallas and Somalis, but fall far below the European standard. They may be described as in the "barbaric" state, the natural evolution of their social system having been arrested by the interruption of their intercourse with the Byzantine empire, caused by the sudden irruption of Islam into the Nile valley in the seventh century. The industrial arts are little developed. The Abyssinians, who call themselves "Ithiopiavian," i.e. "Ethiopians," in the elevated style, and "Habeshi" in familiar language, are a lighthearted, intelligent people, but vainglorious and of coarse habits. Their feasts of raw flesh, as described by Bruce, are still in use; polygamy is prevalent, and the marriage tie easily severed. The national garb is the shuma, a cotton or silk robe of the toga type. Education is entirely in the hands of the clergy, who own much of the land.

The four chief provinces are Tigre in the N., Amhara in the centre, containing the capital Gondar, Godjam in the S.W., and Shoa in the S.E. Abyssinia was known in the time of the Ptolemys, and in the fourth century Christianity was introduced. In the sixth century the greatest height of prosperity was reached, but the Mohammedan conquests of the seventh century drove the Abyssinians back into their tableland. Legends of Prester John were from the fourteenth century onwards identified with the King or Negus of Abyssinia, and in the fifteenth century the Portuguese reached the country in search of him. They tried to introduce the Roman Catholic faith, but though the Royal family accepted it for a short time in the seventeenth century, the bulk of the people remained unchanged. Theodore began to extend his power, and in 1855 was crowned king by the Abuna. In consequence of a fancied insult he imprisoned the British Consul, Captain Cameron, together with all the other Europeans in his dominions, and refused to negotiate with the embassy sent in 1864. A British expedition of 16,000 men of all arms was sent out under the late Lord Napier of Magdala, and were welcomed by the inhabitants as their deliverers. In 1868 the fortress of Magdala was stormed, and he was found dead. On the departure of the British troops a struggle for supremacy ensued among the native chieftains, but in 1872 Prince Kassai of Tigre was crowned under the name of John. In 1885 Italy annexed Massowah and virtually the whole coast. King John and his Minister, Ras Alula, protested, and in 1887 an engagement took place between the Italians and Abyssinians, in which all but ninety of the former were killed. King John, however, was killed by the Dervishes at Metemneh in 1889. Thereupon Menelek became king, and accepted the protectorate of Italy.