was carded off by some faithful adherents, and conveyed to
Shoa, where his authority was acknowledged, while Judith
reigned for forty years over the rest of the kingdom, and
transmitted the crown to her descendants. In 1268 the kingdom
was restored to the royal house in the person of Yekunu Amlak.
Portuguese Influence.
(14) Towards the close of the 15th century the Portuguese
missions into Abyssinia began. A belief had long prevailed
in Europe of the existence of a Christian kingdom in the far
east, whose monarch was known as Prester John, and various
expeditions had been sent in quest of it. Among others who
had engaged in this search was Pedro de Covilham, who arrived
in Abyssinia in 1490, and, believing that he had at length
reached the far-famed kingdom, presented to the negus, or
emperor of the country, a letter from his master the king of
Portugal, addressed to Prester John. Covilham remained in the
country, but in 1507 an Armenian named Matthew was sent by the
negus to the king of Portugal to request his aid against the
Mahommedans. In 1520 a Portuguese fleet, with Matthew on
board, entered the Red Sea in compliance with this request,
and an embassy from the fleet visited the negus, Lebna Dengel
Dawit (David) II., and remained in Abyssinia for about six
years. One of this embassy was Father Francisco Alvarez,
from whom we have the earliest and not the least interesting
account of the country. Between 1528 and 1540 armies of
Mahommedans, under the renowned general Mahommed Gran (or
Granye, probably a Somali or a Galla), entered Abyssinia
from the low country to the south-east, and overran the
kingdom, obliging the emperor to take refuge in the mountain
fastnesses. In this extremity recourse was again had to the
Portuguese. John Bermudez, a subordinate member of the
mission of 1520, who had remained in the country after the
departure of the embassy, was, according to his own statement
(which is untrustworthy), ordained successor to the abuna
(archbishop), and sent to Lisbon. Bermudez certainly came to
Europe, but with what credentials is not known. Be that as
it may, a Portuguese fleet, under the command of Stephen da
Gama, was sent from India and arrived at Massawa in February
1541. Here he received an ambassador from the negus beseeching
him to send help against the Moslems, and in the July following
a force of 450 musqueteers, under the command of Christopher
da Gama, younger brother of the admiral, marched into the
interior, and being joined by native troops were at first
successful against the enemy; but they were subsequently
defeated, and their commander taken prisoner and put to death
(August 1542). On the 21st of February 1543, however, Mahommed
Granye was shot in an engagement and his forces totally
routed. After this, quarrels arose between the negus and
Bermudez, who had returned to Abyssinia with Christopher
da Gama and who now wished the emperor publicly to profess
himself a convert to Rome. This the negus refused to do,
and at length Bermudez was obliged to make his way out of the
country. The Jesuits who had accompanied or followed the da
Gama expedition into Abyssinia, and fixed their headquarters
at Fremona (near Adowa), were oppressed and neglected, but
not actually expelled. In the beginning of the 17th century
Father Pedro Paez arrived at Fremona, a man of great tact and
judgment, who soon rose into high favour at court, and gained
over the emperor to his faith. He directed the erection of
churches, palaces and bridges in different parts of the
country, and carried out many useful works. His successor
Mendez was a man of much less conciliatory manners, and
the feelings of the people became strongly excited against
the intruders, till at length, on the death of the negus
Sysenius, Socinius or Seged I., and the accession of his son
Fasilidas in 1633, they were all sent out of the country, after
having had a footing there for nearly a century and a half.
Visits of Poncet and Bruce.
The French physician C. J. Poncet, who went there in 1698,
via Sennar and the Blue Nile, was the only European
that afterwards visited the country before Bruce in
1769. James Bruce's main object was to discover the sources
of the Nile, which he was convinced lay in Abyssinia.
Accordingly, leaving Massawa in September 1769, he travelled
via Axum to Gondar, where he was well received by King
Tekla Haimanot II. He accompanied the king on a warlike
expedition round Lake Tsana, moving S. round the eastern
shore, crossing the genuine Blue Nile (Abai) close to its
point of issue from the lake and returning via the western
shore. On a second expedition of his own he proved to his
own satisfaction that the river originated some 4o miles
S.W. of the lake at a place called Geesh (4th of November
1770). He showed that this river flowed into the lake, and
left it by its now well-known outlet. Bruce subsequently
returned to Egypt (end of 1772) via Gondar, the upper Atbara,
Sennar, the Nile, and the Korosko desert (see BRUCE, JAMES).
(15) In order to attain a clear view of native Abyssinian
history, as distinct from the visits and influence of
Europeans, it must be borne in mind that during the last
three hundred years, and indeed for a longer period, for
the old chroniclers may be trusted to have given a somewhat
distorted view of the importance of the particular chieftains
with whom they came in contact, the country has been merely
a conglomeration of provinces and districts, ill defined,
loosely connected and generally at war with each other. Of
these the chief provinces have been Tigre (northern), Amhara
(central) and Shoa (southern). The seat of government, or
rather of overlordship, has usually been in Amhara, the ruler
of which, calling himself negus negusti (king of kings, or
emperor), has exacted tribute, when he could, from the other
provinces. The title of negus negusti has been to a
considerable extent based on the blood in the veins of the
claimant. All the emperors have based their claims on their
direct descent from Solomon and the queen of Sheba; but it
is needless to say that in many, if not in most, cases their
success has been due more to the force of their arms than
to the purity of their lineage. Some of the rulers of the
larger provinces have at times been given, or have given
themselves, the title of negus or king, so that on occasion
as many as three, or even more, neguses have been reigning
at the same time; and this must be borne in mind by the
student of Abyssinian history in order to avoid confusion of
rulers. The whole history of the country is in fact one
gloomy record of internecine wars, barbaric deeds and unstable
governments, of adventurers usurping thrones, only to be
themselves unseated, and of raids, rapine and pillage. Into
this chaos enter from time to time broad rays of sunshine,
the efforts of a few enlightened monarchs to evolve order from
disorder, and to supply to their people the blessings of peace and
civilization. Bearing these matters in mind, we find that during
the 18th century the most prominent and beneficent rulers were
the emperor Yesu of Gondar, who died about 1720, Sebastie,
negus of Shoa (1703-1718), Amada Yesus of Shoa, who extended
his kingdom and founded Ankober (1743-1774), Tekla Giorgis
of Amhara (1770-1798?) and Asfa Nassen of Shoa (1774-1807),
the latter being especially renowned as a wise and benevolent
monarch. The first years of the 19th century were disturbed
by fierce campaigns between Guxa, ras of Gondar, and Wolda
Selassie, ras of Tigre, who were both striving for the
crown of Guxa's master, the emperor Eguala Izeion. Wolda
Selassie was eventually the victor, and practically ruled
the whole country till his death in 1816 at the age of eighty.
British mission and missionary enterprise.
(16) Mention must here be made of the first British mission,
under Lord Valentia and Mr Henry Salt, which was sent in 1805
to conclude an alliance with Abyssinia, and obtain a port on
the Red Sea in case France secured Egypt by dividing up the
Turkish empire with Russia. This mission was succeeded by many
travellers, missionaries and merchants of all countries, and
the stream of Europeans continued until well into Theodore's
reign. For convenience' sake we insert at this point a
partial list of missionaries and others who visited the country
during the second third of the 19th century---merely calling
attention to the fact that their visits were distributed
over widely different parts of the country, ruled by distinct
lines of monarchs or governors. In 1830 Protestant missionary
enterprise was begun by Samuel Gobat and Christian Kugler,
who were sent out by the Church Missionary Society, and were
well received by the ras of Tigre. Mr Kugler died soon
after his arrival, and his place was subsequently supplied
by Mr C. W. Isenberg, who was followed by Dr Ludwig Krapf,
the discoverer of Mount Kenya, and others. Mr (afterwards
Bishop) Gobat proceeded to Gondar, where he also met with
a favourable reception. In 1833 he returned to Europe, and
published a journal of his residence in Abyssinia. In 1834
Gobat went back to Tigre, but in 1836 ill health compelled
him to leave. In 1838 other missionaries were obliged to
leave the country, owing to the opposition of the native
priests. Messrs Isenberg and Krapf went south, and established
themselves at Shoa. The former soon after returned to England,
but Mr Krapf remained in Shoa till March 1842, when he
removed to Mombasa. Dr E. Ruppell, the German naturalist,
visited the country in 1831, and remained nearly two years.
M. E. Combes and M. Tamisier arrived at Massawa in 1835, and
visited districts which had not been traversed by Europeans
since the time of the Portuguese. One who did much at the
time to extend our geographical knowledge of the country was
Dr C. T. Boke (q.v.), who was there from 1840 to 1843.
Mr Mansfield Parkyns was there from 1843 to 1846, and wrote
the most interesting book on the country since the time of
Bruce. Bishop Gobat having conceived the idea of sending lay
missionaries into the country, who would engage in secular
occupations as well as carry on missionary work, Dr Krapf
returned to Abyssinia in 1855 with Mr Flad as pioneers of that
mission; Krapf, however, was not permitted to remain in the
country. Six lay workers came out at first, and they were
subsequently joined by others. Their secular work, however,
appears to have been more valuable to Theodore than their
preaching, so that he employed them as workmen to himself,
and established them at Gaffat, near his capital. Mr Stern
arrived in Abyssinia in 1860, and after a visit to Europe
returned in 1863, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Rosenthal.1
Rivalry of British and French factions
(17) Wolda Selassie of Tigre was succeeded in 1817, through
force of arms, by Sabagadis of Agame, and the latter, as
ras of Tigre, introduced various Englishmen, whom he much
admired, into the country. He increased the prosperity of
his land considerably. but by so doing roused the jealousy
of Ras Marie of Amhara--to whom he had refused tribute--and
Ubie, son of Hailo Mariam, a governor of Simen. In an
ensuing battle (in January 1831), both Sabagadis and Marie
were killed, and Ubie retired to watch events from his own
province. Marie was shortly succeeded in the ras-ship
of Amhara by Ali, a nephew of Guxa and a Mahommedan. But
Ubie, who was aiming at the crown, soon attacked Ras Ali,
and after several indecisive campaigns proclaimed himself
negus of Tigre. To him came many French missionaries and
