Enderta Province - Early History

Early History

After the fall of the Axumite empire some time in the late 9th century AD, the ruling house of Tigray was moved to Inderta. After some four hundred years later however, the Solomonic dynasty had been restored fully and with it, the northern Tigrayan province of Inderta/Enderta had been increasingly asserting its independence under Emperor Yekuno Amlak in 1270. In the 14th century the Tigrinya-speaking lands (Tigray-Mereb Melash) were divided into two provinces, separated by Mereb River by the newly enthroned amhara Emperors. The governor of the northern province received the title Baher Neagsh (Ruler of the sea), whereas the governor of the southern province was given the title of Tigray Mekonen (Lord of Tigray). The Portuguese Jesuit, Emanuele Baradas' work titled "Do reino de Tigr" and written in 1633-34 states that the "reino de Tigr" extended from Hamasien to Enderta, from the borders of Dankel to the Tekeze. He remarked that Tigray extended to the watershed of Semien although the political power of the Tigray Mekonen did not extend beyond the Tekeze. He also stated that Tigray-Mereb Melash was divided into twenty-four smaller political units (principalities), twelve of which were located south of the Mereb and governed by the Tigray Mekonen based in Enderta. The other twelve were located north of the Mereb under the authority of the Baher Negash, based in the district of Serae. Before the restoration of the solomonic dynasty, and during the time of the Zagwe dynasty, the Chief of Enderta was the Tigray Mekonen Ingida Egzi who was a protagonist of the "solomonic" legitimacy who played a major role in restoring the solomonic dynasty along with the chief priest of Aksum by the name of Tekeste Birhane; the two, Ingida Igzi and the powerful chief priest of the cathedral of Aksum, Tekeste Birahne are listed among the most influential dignitires on the side of Yekuno Amlak and among the pro-solomonic champions who played a major role in ending the zagwe dynasty and in restoring the solmonic dynasty. Ingida Igzi continued to be an influential chief in 13th century Abyssinia and as the chief of Enderta after the restoration of the solomonic emperor Yekuno Amlak. In his 1316/7 campaigns in the south, Emperor Amda Seyon had to turn north to strengthen his control over areas that had in the meanwhile gained more autonomy. The northern Tigrayan province of Enderta had increasingly been asserting its independence since the Solomonic restoration under Yekuno Amlak in 1270; during Yekuno Amlak's time, the Chief of Enderta, Ingida Igzi was succeeded by his son, Tesfane Igzi; as hereditary chief of Enderta, Tesfane Igzi' had the most power among the northern provinces and held the title Hasgwa and Aqabé Tsentsen ('keeper of the fly whisks - an ancient Aksumite title) and threatened the Amhara-based lineage currently in power; as early as 1305, Tesfane Igzi' referred to Inderta as "his kingdom," his son and successor, Ya'ibika Igzi, did not even mention the Emperor Amda Seyon in his 1318/9 land grant. Ya'ibika Igzi among other things is credited for commissioning the writing and translation into Geez of one of the most distinguished books of Christian Ethiopia: Metsahafe kibre negist or " The book of the Glory of the Kings." The book was compiled and translated into Geez by a group of Abyssinian clerics at the command of Ya'ibika Igzi. The text, in its existing form, is at least seven hundred years old, and is considered by many Ethiopian Christians and rastafarians to be an inspired and a reliable account. Not only does it contain an account of how the Queen of Sheba met Solomon, and about how the Ark of the Covenant came to Ethiopia with Menelik I, but contains an account of the conversion of the Ethiopians from the worship of the sun, moon, and stars to that of the "Lord God of Israel". As Edward Ullendorff explained in the 1967 Schweich Lectures, "The Kebra Nagast is not merely a literary work, but—as the Old Testament to the Hebrews or the Qur'an to the Arabs—it is the repository of Ethiopian national and religious feelings. It is The foremost creation of Ethiopic literature. Based on the testimony of this colophon, "Conti Rossini, Littmann, and Cerulli, inter alia, have marked off the period 1314 to 1321–1322 for the composition of the book.