1922 Regnal List Of Ethiopia

The 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia is an official regnal list used by the Ethiopian monarchy which names over 300 monarchs across six millennia. The list is partially inspired by older Ethiopian regnal lists and chronicles, but is notable for additional monarchs who ruled Nubia, which was known as ''Aethiopia'' in ancient times. Also included are various figures from Greek mythology and the Biblical canon who were known to be "Aethiopian", as well as figures who originated from Egyptian sources (Ancient Egyptian, Coptic and Arabic).

This list of monarchs was included in Charles Fernand Rey's book ''In the Country of the Blue Nile'' in 1927, and is the longest Ethiopian regnal list published in the Western world. It is the only known regnal list that attempts to provide a timeline of Ethiopian monarchs from the 46th century BC up to modern times without any gaps. However, earlier portions of the regnal list are pseudohistorical and were recent additions to Ethiopian tradition at the time the list was written. Despite claims by at least one Ethiopian court historian that the list dates back to ancient times, the list is more likely an early 20th century creation, possibly originally written by Alaqa Taye Gabra Mariam or Heruy Wolde Selassie. The earlier sections of the list are clearly inspired by the work of French historian Louis J. Morié, who published a two-volume history of "Ethiopia" (i.e. Nubia and Abyssinia) in 1904. His work drew on then-recent Egyptological research but attempted to combine this with the Biblical canon and writings by ancient Greek authors. This resulted in a pseudohistorical work that was more imaginative than scientific in its approach to Ethiopian history.

This regnal list contains a great deal of conflation between the history of modern-day Ethiopia and ''Aethiopia'', a term used in ancient times and in some Biblical translations to refer to a generalised region south of Egypt, most commonly in reference to the Kingdom of Kush in modern-day Sudan. As a result, many parts of this article will deal with the history of ancient Sudan and how this became interwoven into the history of the Kingdom of Axum, the region of Abyssinia (which includes modern-day Eritrea) and the modern state of Ethiopia. The territory of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea was known as "Abyssinia" to Europeans until the mid-20th century, and as such this term will be used occasionally in this article to differentiate from 'ancient' Aethiopia (i.e. Nubia).

Background

Origins and alleged antiquity

Charles Fernand Rey's 1927 book ''In the Country of the Blue Nile'' included a 13-page appendix with a list of Ethiopian monarchs written by the Prince Regent Tafari Makonnen, who later became the Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930. Tafari's list begins in 4530 BC and ends in 1779 AD, with dates following the Ethiopian Calendar, which is several years behind the Gregorian calendar. Tafari's cover letter was written in the town of Addis Ababa on the 11th day of Sane, 1914 (Ethiopian Calendar), which was June 19, 1922 on the Gregorian Calendar according to Rey.

Rey revealed in another book he wrote, ''Unconquered Abyssinia'', that this list was given to him in 1924 by a court historian who was a "learned old gentleman". This court historian had "caused to be compiled ..on the instructions of Ras Tafari" a complete list of "rulers of Abyssinia from the beginning of time up to date." Rey noted that the list contained many names "of Egyptian origin", which was a "good illustration" of the difficulties in researching the history of Abyssinia. The court historian claimed that the regnal list had already been compiled prior to the "advent of the Ethiopian dynasty in Egypt" and that the original version had been taken to Egypt and left there, afterwards becoming lost.

Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, president of the Crown Council of Ethiopia, acknowledged the regnal list in a speech given in 2011 in which he stated:

The goal of the 1922 regnal list was to showcase the immense longevity of the Ethiopian monarchy. The list does this by providing precise dates over 6,300 years and drawing upon various historical traditions from both within Ethiopia and outside of Ethiopia.

Multiple versions of the regnal list are known to exist. Tafari's regnal list has 313 numbered monarchs from 4530 BC to 1779 AD ( E.C.) while Taye Gabra Mariam's version of the list continued up to contemporary times to include influential Rases of the ''Zemene Mesafint'' and emperors who had reigned since the time of Tewodros II''.''

The first three dynasties (4530–982 BC) of the list are mostly legendary and take various elements from the Bible, as well as Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, Greek, Coptic and Arab sources. Many of the monarchs of the Menelik dynasty (982 BC–AD 920) appear on Ethiopian regnal lists written before 1922, but these lists often contradict each other and many of the kings themselves are not archeologically verified, though in some cases their existence is confirmed by Aksumite coinage. Many of the historically verified rulers of the Ag'azyan (1985–982 BC) and Menelik dynasties did not rule over the region of modern Ethiopia but rather over Egypt and/or Nubia. It is only from the mid-1st century onward that the monarchs are certainly Aksumite or "Abyssinian" in origin.

Each monarch on the list has their respective reign dates and number of years listed. Two columns of reign dates were used in the list. One column uses dates according to the Ethiopian calendar, while the other column lists the " Year of the World", placing the creation of the world in 5500 BC. Other Ethiopian texts and documents have also placed a similar date for the creation of the world.G.W.B. Huntingford
"'The Wealth of Kings' and the End of the Zāguē Dynasty", ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies''
28 (1965), p. 7 The dating of 5500 BC as the creation of the world was influenced by calculations from the Alexandrian and Byzantine eras which placed the world's creation in 5493 BC and 5509 BC respectively.

Authorship

Neither Tafari Makonnen nor Charles Rey explicitly stated who wrote the regnal list originally or who supplied Tafari with a copy of it. Both Heruy Wolde Selassie and Alaqa Taye Gabra Mariam included versions of the list in their work, however there is clear evidence that a large part of the list's early sections is lifted from the work of an obscure French historian named Louis J. Morié.

Heruy Wolde Selassie and ''Wazema''

German historian Manfred Kropp believed the author of the regnal list was Ethiopian foreign minister Heruy Wolde Selassie (1878–1938). Selassie was a philosopher and historian, and had mastered several European languages. He had previously served as secretary to Emperor Menelik II (r. 1889–1913). At the time the list was written in 1922, Selassie was president of the special court in Addis Ababa, whose job was to resolve disputes between Ethiopians and foreigners.

Kropp noted that Selassie's historical sources include the Bible, Christian Arab writers Jirjis al-Makin Ibn al-'Amid (1205–1273) and Ibn al-Rāhib (1205–1295), and Christian traveller and writer Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160–240). Kropp argued that Selassie was one of a number of Ethiopian writers who sought to synchronize Ethiopian history with the wider Christian-Oriental histories. This was aided by the translation of Arabic texts in the 17th century. Kropp also felt that the developing field of Egyptology influenced Selassie's writings, particularly from Eduard Meyer, Gaston Maspero and Alexandre Moret, whose works were published in French in Addis Ababa in the early 20th century. Kropp believed that Selassie was also assisted by French missionaries and the works they held in their libraries. Kropp additionally theorized that Tafari Makonnen played a large role in the writing of the list.

Selassie wrote a book titled ''Wazema'' which contained a version of the regnal list. The title "''Wazema''" translates to ''The Vigil'', a metaphor to celebrate the history of the kings of Ethiopia. The book was divided into two sections, the first deals with political Ethiopian history from the dawn of history to modern times, while the second section deals with the history of the Ethiopian church. Kropp noted there were three different versions of the regnal list published in the works of Selassie. Selassie's regnal list omits the first dynasty of Tafari's list – the so-called "Tribe of Ori or Aram" – and also the first three rulers of the second dynasty, instead beginning in 2545 BC with king Sebtah. Selassie himself stated that he used European literature among his sources, including James Bruce's '' Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile'' (1790). Manfred Kropp felt the existence of multiple versions of the regnal list suggest that Selassie grew increasingly critical of the sources he used for the first version of the list in 1922. Ethiopian historian Sergew Hable Selassie commented that Heruy Wolde Selassie "strove for accuracy" but the sources he used for ''Wazema'' "precluded his success".

Manfred Kropp noted one important source for the information in ''Wazema''. Selassie himself told the reader that if they wish to find out about more about Joktan, the supposed founder of the Ag'azyan dynasty, they could consult page 237 of a book by "Moraya". At first Kropp thought this was referring to Alexandre Moret, but it was later made clear that Selassie's regnal list had been significantly inspired by a book called ''Histoire de l'Éthiopie'' by Louis J. Morié, published in 1904.

Louis J. Morié's ''Histoire de l'Éthiopie''

Louis J. Morié was a French historian who wrote a history of Ethiopia in the early 20th century. The two-volume work, titled ''Histoire de l'Éthiopie (Nubie et Abyssinie)'', was published in 1904, the first volume focusing on ancient Nubia (called "Ancient Ethiopia" by Morié) and the second volume focusing on Abyssinia ("Modern Ethiopia"). An abridged edition was printed in 1897, but only 100 copies were made for the author's friends. Historian identified the first volume as a key source in the creation of the 1922 Ethiopian regnal list and provided evidence from Morié's text that corroborated the names and information on the list. Kropp noted that Morié's book was more imaginative than scientific in its approach to Ethiopian history and blamed Selassie's European friends and contemporaries for the influence of Morié's book on Selassie's writing of Ethiopian history. E. A. Wallis Budge mentions Morié's book in his own similarly titled two-volume work ''A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia'', but surprisingly makes no mention of the clear similarity between Morié's narrative and the 1922 Ethiopian regnal list. Charles Rey, in his book ''Unconquered Abyssinia'', mentioned an "enthusiastic French writer" who had dated "the birth of the Abyssinian monarchy from the foundation of the Kingdom of Meroë by Cush about 5800 B.C." but Rey felt this writer could "not be taken seriously" because of his belief that the Deluge was a historical event. Rey was likely referring to Morié, who had claimed that 5800 BC was the approximate date when Cush began ruling ''Aethiopia'' and he also treated the Biblical flood narrative as historical fact. Like Budge, Rey apparently did not notice the striking the similarities between Morié's narrative and the 1922 Ethiopian regnal list.

Writing for ''Asiatic Review'', Frederick A. Edwards noted that Morié had " ttemptedto bring all the Kings named in the various thiopianlists into one line of succession" but warned readers that his work was an "unsafe guide" that "may well be disregarded" despite "osingas an authoritative precisian". Edwards observed that Morié's "identifications and his dates are quite arbitrary" and fails to provide authoritative sources for why these dates were chosen. Edwards concludes his brief overview of Morié's work by stating " orié'sidentifications of Kings in one list with those in another are often forced and unsatisfactory, and he has fallen into some obvious errors."

Morié's book displays his desire to hold on to religion and Biblical narratives in a world that was increasingly looking towards science. He showed concern with the possibility of abandoning religion, which would result in the "civilized" peoples of the world to descend down the moral scale. Morié felt that it was possible for science and religion to be in agreement. He described Atheism as a cause of moral and political decadence. Because of his anxieties of the decline of religion, Morié sought to base his historical narrative around the Biblical timeline. He described the Book of Genesis as the best source to consult on the most remote parts of human history.

Morié believed the "Ethiopian state of Meroe" was the oldest empire of the post-Flood world, having been founded by Cush of the Bible, and went on to birth the kingdoms of Egypt, Uruk, Babylon, Assyria and Abyssinia. Morié followed the Biblical tradition by crediting Nimrod, a son of Cush, with founding Uruk and Babylon, and crediting Mizraim, a son of Ham, with founding Egypt. He additionally identified Mizraim with the Egyptian god Osiris, Ham with Amun and Cush with Khonsu. Morié defined the history of "Ethiopia" as divided into two parts; Ancient Nubia and Christian Abyssinia, and defined "Ethiopians" as the Nubian and Abyssinian peoples. Morié acknowledged the potential confusion this could cause and thus occasionally used "Abyssinia" to specify which of these two regions he was writing about, with a priority of using "Ethiopia" for ancient Nubia.

Alaqa Taye's ''History of the People of Ethiopia''

Alaqa Taye Gabra Mariam (1861–1924) was a Protestant Ethiopian scholar, translator and teacher whose written works include books on grammar, religion and Ethiopian history. He was ordered by Emperor Menelik II to write a complete history of Ethiopia using Ethiopian, European and Arab sources. Taye's first historical work was ''Ya-Ityopya Hizb Tarik'' ("History of the People of Ethiopia"), published in 1922, the same year Tafari's regnal list was written. The book contained legends and folk stories around the origins of different people of Ethiopia. ''Ya-Ityopya Hizb Tarik'' was a condensed from of a much larger work titled ''Ya-Ityopya Mangist Tarik'' ("History of the Ethiopian State"), which has not been published and is only known to exist in partial form as manuscripts. Sergew Hable Selassie felt this book did not "do justice to aye'serudition and does not reflect his true ability", as it was based on "unreliable sources" and was "not at all systematic".

''History of the People of Ethiopia'' contains a regnal list that matches closely with the one copied by Tafari. The first edition from 1922 included a list of monarchs who reigned after the birth of Christ, beginning with Bazen (8 BC). The sixth edition from 1965 expanded the list to include monarchs who reigned from Akhunas Saba II (1930 BC) onwards, corresponding with the Ag'azyan and Menelik dynasties of Tafari's list. The first edition does refer to the earlier dynasties of Ori and Kam and provides some background information on them, despite not including them in the regnal list at the end of the book. The longer text ''Ya-Ityopya Mangist Tarik'' originally contained more in-depth information on all the dynasties that appear on Tafari's version of the regnal list.

In recent years, there has been more credible and conclusive evidence that some of ''Alaqa'' Taye's manuscripts were acquired by Heruy Wolde Selassie and published as his own works, including ''Wazema''. Such evidence strengthens the possibility that Taye wrote the original regnal list instead of Selassie. ''Ya-Ityopya Hizb Tarik'' preceded the publication of Heruy Wolde Selassie's book ''Wazema'' by at least seven years.

Like Selassie, Taye acknowledged Louis J. Morié, whose work he described as one of the many "learned books of history". Taye noted that his history had been selectively gathered from the works of Homer, Herodotus, James Bruce, Jean-François Champollion, Hiob Ludolf, Karl Wilhelm Isenberg, Werner Munzinger, Enno Littmann, Giacomo De Martino, 'Eli Samni', 'Traversi', 'Eli Bizon', 'Ignatius Guidi' ( Ignatius of Jesus?), Al-Azraqi, Ibn Ishaq, 'Abul-'Izz', Bar Hebraeus (called "Abul-Farag"), Yohannis Madbir and Jirjis al-Makin Ibn al-'Amid (called "Giyorgis Walda Amid"). He also gathered information from an unnamed history of Yemen, the '' Alexander Romance'' (called "The Book of Alexander") and an ancient work of history found at Zaway. Taye additionally noted numerous Biblical verses that he recommended to readers "look tattentively" in order to understand the history of the Ethiopian peoples and kings.

Other sources and cultural influences

Other Ethiopian regnal lists

Numerous regnal lists of Ethiopian monarchs from before 1922 are known to exist and show a clear influence on the compiling of the 1922 list. Some lists date back to the 13th century and are reliable for the period of the Solomonic dynasty, but are often based on legendary memories for the era of the Kingdom of Aksum. These lists allow chroniclers to provide proof of legitimacy for the Solomonic dynasty by linking it back to the Axumite period. The lists were also intended to fill in gaps between major events, such as the meeting of Makeda and Solomon in the 10th century BC, the arrival of Frumentius in the early 4th century and the rise of the Zagwe dynasty in the 10th century. However, many regnal lists show great variations in the names of the Axumite monarchs, with only a few, such as Menelik I, Bazen, Abreha and Atsbeha and Kaleb, frequently appearing across the majority of lists. The 1922 regnal list notably tries to accommodate all these differing traditions by including the majority of the different kings into one longer line of succession.

Biblical influences

Various Biblical figures are included on the 1922 regnal list. Three of Noah's descendants are named as founders or ancestors of the first three dynasties; Aram, Ham and Joktan, with some of their sons and descendants also appearing on the list. Other Biblical figures include Zerah the Cushite and the Queen of Sheba, whom Ethiopians call "Makeda". According to Ethiopian tradition Makeda was an ancestor of the Solomonic dynasty and mother of Menelik I, whose father was king Solomon of Israel. The meeting of Makeda and Solomon is recorded in the text ''Kebra Nagast''. The Biblical events of the flood and the fall of the Tower of Babel are both included in the chronology of the regnal list, dated respectively to 3244 BC and 2713 BC, with the 531-year period in between an interregnum where no kings are named. Another Biblical story included is that of the Ethiopian eunuch who visited Jerusalem during the reign of the 169th sovereign Garsemot Kandake.

Coptic and Arabic influences

The first dynasty of the regnal list, the Tribe of Ori, is taken from medieval Coptic and Arabic texts on the kings of Egypt who ruled before the Great Flood. Louis J. Morié recorded a similar list of monarchs to those that appear on the 1922 list. Morié noted the regnal list he saw was recorded by the Copts in their annals and was found in both Coptic and Arabic tradition. He noted there had originally been a list of 40 kings, but only 19 of them had been preserved up to the early 20th century. He believed that the regnal list originated from the works of Murtada ibn al-Afif, an Arab writer from the 12th century who wrote a number of works, though only one, titled ''The Prodigies of Egypt'', has partially survived to the present day. Alaqa Taye Gabra Mariam's statement "what we say from the historians of the ancients is from Murtad and the ''Azurotet'' of Egypt" seems to confirm Kropp's theory.

Manfred Kropp theorized the 1922 Ethiopian regnal list may have been influenced by the works of Ibn al-Rāhib, a 13th-century Coptic historian whose works were translated into Ge'ez by Ethiopian writer Enbaqom in the 16th century, and Jirjis al-Makin Ibn al-'Amid, another 13th century Coptic historian whose work ''Al-Majmu' al-Mubarak'' (''The Blessed Collection'') was also translated around the same time. Both writers partially based their information on ancient history from the works of Julius Africanus and through him quote the historical traditions of Egypt as recorded by Manetho. Jirgis was known as "Wälda-Amid" in Ethiopia. Kropp believed that some of the names of the early part of Tafari's regnal list were taken from a regnal list included within Jirgis' text which draws upon traditions from Manetho and the Old Testament.

A medieval Arab text called ''Akhbar al-Zaman'' (''The History of Time''), dated to between 940 and 1140, may have been an earlier version of the regnal list Morié saw. It is likely based on earlier works such as those of Abu Ma'shar (dated to c. 840–860). The authorship is unknown, but it may have been written by historian Al-Masudi based on earlier Arab, Christian and Greek sources. Another possible author is Ibrahim ibh Wasif Shah who lived during the Twelfth century. The text contains a collection of lore about Egypt and the wider world in the age before the Great Flood and after it. Included is a list of kings of Egypt who ruled before the Great Flood and this list shows some similarities with the list of kings of the "Tribe of Ori or Aram" included on Tafari's list, who also ruled before the Great Flood. Several kings show similarities in names and chronological order, though not all kings on one list appear on the other.

A number of Coptic monks from Egypt came to Ethiopia in the 13th century and brought with them many books written in Coptic and Arabic. These monks also translated many works into Ge'ez. It is possible that the legends from ''Akhbar al-Zaman'' may have entered Ethiopia during this time.

Ancient Egyptian and Nubian influences

Contemporary Egyptology played a large influence on the regnal list, as evidenced by the high number of names from Ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush. Many of the Egyptian and Kushite names included on the list belong to monarchs who did not rule the region of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea, and often have reign dates that do no match historical dates used by modern-day archaeologists. The rulers numbered 88 to 96 on the list are the High Priests of Amun who were the ''de facto'' rulers of Upper Egypt during the time of the Twenty-first dynasty (c. 1077–943 BC). Several other kings on the list have names that are clearly influenced by those of Egyptian pharaohs; Senefrou (8), Amen I (28), Amen II (43), Ramenpahte (44), Tutimheb (53), Amen Emhat I (63), Amen Emhat II (83), Amen Hotep (102), Ramissu (103) and Apras (127). Kushite rulers include the pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, namely Piye (106), Kashta (108), Sabaka (109), Taharqa (111), Tantamani (114) and Shebitku (123), as well as monarchs who ruled in later periods such as Aktisanes (65), Aspelta (118), Harsiotef (119), Nastasen (120), Arakamani (138) and Arqamani (145). There are also six queens given the name "Kandake" on the list (110, 135, 137, 144, 162, 169).

Louis J. Morié's ''Histoire de l'Éthiopie'' served as the main source for these Egyptian and Nubian monarchs and the regnal order they are presented in on the 1922 Ethiopian regnal list. However, there are other reasons why the author of this regnal list felt that the inclusion of Egyptian and Nubian monarchs was appropriate for a historical outline of Ethiopia/Abyssinia. One reason is due to the Axumite conquest of Meroë, the last capital of the Kingdom of Kush, by King Ezana in c. 325 AD. It was from this point onward that the Axumites began referring to themselves as " ''Ethiopians''", the Greco-Roman term previously used largely for the Kushites. Following this, the inhabitants of Axum (modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea) were able to claim lineage from the "Ethiopians" or "Aethiopians" mentioned in the Bible who were actually Kushites. Professor of Anthropology Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban believed the inclusion of Kushite rulers on the 1922 regnal list suggests that the traditions of ancient Nubia were considered culturally compatible with those of Axum. Makeda, the Biblical Queen of Sheba, was referred to as "Candace" or "Queen Mother" in the ''Kebra Nagast'', suggesting a cultural connection between Ethiopia and the ancient kingdom of Kush. Portuguese missionary Francisco Álvares, who travelled to Ethiopia in 1520, recorded one Ethiopian tradition which claimed that Yeha was "the favourite residence of Queen Candace, when she honoured the country with her presence".

E. A. Wallis Budge theorized that one of the reasons why the name "Ethiopia" was applied to Abyssinia was because Syrian monks identified Kush and Nubia with Abyssinia when translating the Bible from Greek to Ge'ez. Budge further noted that translators of the Bible into Greek identified Kush with Ethiopia and this was carried over into the translation from Greek to Ge'ez. Louis J. Morié likewise believed the adoption of the word "Ethiopia" by the Abyssinians was due to their desire to search for their origins in the Bible and coming across the word "Ethiopia" in Greek translations. Historian Adam Simmons noted the 3rd century Greek translation of the Bible translated the Hebrew toponym "Kūš" into "Aethiopia". He argued that Abyssinia did not cement its "Ethiopian" identity until the translation of the ''Kebra Nagast'' from Arabic to Ge'ez during the reign of Amda Seyon I (r. 1314–1344).

E. A. Wallis Budge argued that it was unlikely that the "Ethiopians" mentioned in ancient Greek writings were the Abyssinians, but instead were far more likely to be the Nubians of Meroë. He believed the native name of the region around Axum was "Habesh" from which "Abyssinia" is derived and originating in the name of the Habasha tribe from southern Arabia. He did note however that the modern day people of the region did not like this term and preferred the name "Ethiopia" due to its association with Kush. The Kushites are not known to have used the term "Ethiopian" to refer to themselves, however Silko, the first Christian Nubian king of Nobatia, in the early sixth century described himself as "Chieftain of the Nobadae and of all the Ethiopians". The earliest known Greek writings that mention "Aethiopians" date to the 8th century BC, in the writings of Homer and Hesiod. Herodotus, in his work ''Histories'' (c. 430 BC), defined "Aethiopia" as beginning at the island of Elephantine and including all land south of Egypt, with the capital being Meroe.For all references to Ethiopia in Herodotus, see
this list
at the Perseus Project. This geographical definition confirms that in ancient times the term "Aethiopia" was commonly used to refer to Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush rather than modern day Ethiopia. The earliest known writer to use the name "Ethiopia" for the region of the Kingdom of Axum was Philostorgius in c. 440 AD.

Scottish traveller James Bruce, in his multi-volume work '' Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile'' included a drawing of a stele found in Axum and brought back to Gondar by the Ethiopian emperor. The stele had carved figures of Egyptian gods and was inscribed with hieroglyphs. E. A. Wallis Budge believed the stele to be a "Cippi of Horus" which were placed in homes and temples to keep evil spirits away. He noted that these date from the end of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (c. 664–525 BC) onwards. Budge believed this was proof of contacts between Egypt and Axum in the early 4th century BC. Archaeological excavations in the Kassala region have also revealed direct contact with Pharaonic Egypt. Some tombs excavated in the Yeha region, the likely capital of the Dʿmt kingdom, contained imported albastron dated to c. 770–404 BC which had a Napatan or Egyptian origin.

Budge noted that none of the Egyptian and Kushite kings on the 1922 list appear on other known regnal lists from Ethiopia. He believed that contemporary Ethiopian priests had been "reading a modern European History of Egypt" and had incorporated in the regnal list Egyptian pharaohs who had "laid Nubia and other parts of the Sudan under tribute", as well as the names of various Kushite kings and Priest kings. To support his argument, he stated that while the names of Abyssinian kings have meanings, the names of Egyptian kings would be meaningless if translated into the Ethiopian language. Manfred Kropp likewise noted that no Ethiopian manuscript prior to the 1922 regnal list included names of monarchs resembling those used by Egyptian rulers. A comparison of known Ethiopian regnal lists shows that most of the monarchs on the 1922 list with Egyptian or Nubian names do not have these elements in their names on other regnal lists (see Regnal lists of Ethiopia). For example, the 102nd king on Tafari's list, Amen Hotep Zagdur, only appears as "Zagdur" on earlier regnal lists. The next king, Aksumay Ramissu, is only known as "Aksumay" on earlier lists, while the 106th king, Abralyus Wiyankihi II, was previously only known as "Abralyus". The 111th king, Tsawi Terhak Warada Nagash, is a combination of multiple kings. One king named "Sawe" or "Za Tsawe" is listed as the fifth king following Menelik I according to some lists, while another king named "Warada Nagash" is named as the eighth king following Menelik I on different lists. No known list includes both kings, and the 1922 list combined the two different kings as a single entry, with the addition of the name "Terhak", to be equated with the Kushite Pharaoh Taharqa, who otherwise does not appear on earlier Ethiopian regnal lists. Also missing from earlier Ethiopian regnal lists are the "Kandake" queens.

The inclusion of the High Priests of Amun who ruled Upper Egypt between c. 1080 and 943 BC can be directly traced to Morié's ''Histoire de l'Éthiopie'' and contemporary Egyptology. The association between these Egyptian High Priests and ''Aethiopia'' was particularly strong in European Egyptological writings in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this period, several major Egyptologists (such as Heinrich Brugsch, James Breasted and George Reisner) believed that the rise of the Kush kingdom was due to the influence of the High Priests of Amun moving into Nubia towards the end of the Twentieth Dynasty because of political conflict arising at the end of the New Kingdom. Brugsch in particular entertained the idea that the early Kushite kings were lineal descendants of the priests from Egypt, though this was explicitly rejected by Breasted. Later Egyptologists A. J. Arkell and Walter Emery theorized that a priestly "government in exile" had influenced the Kushite kingdom. E. A. Wallis Budge agreed with these ideas and suggested that the High Priests of Amun moved south to Nubia due to the rise of the Libyan pharaohs in Lower Egypt, and consolidated their high position by intermarrying with Nubian women. Budge further theorised that the name of the Nubian pharaoh Piye or "Piankhi" was taken from that of the High Priest of Amun Piankh and he was possibly Piankh's descendant. Such ideas around the Kushite monarchy originating from this specific line of priests are now considered outdated, but the popularity of these theories in the early 20th century explains their inclusion, in almost exact chronological order, on the 1922 Ethiopian regnal list.

Greek sources

A number of figures from Greek mythology are included on the regnal list, in most cases due to being described as "''Aethiopian''" in ancient sources. Louis J. Morié's ''Histoire de l'Éthiopie'' is largely responsible for their inclusion. His book included Memnon, a mythical king of "Aethiopia" who fought in the Trojan War, his father Tithonus, and his brother Emathion, who are all included on the regnal list under the names Amen Emhat II (83), Titon Satiyo (81) and Hermantu (82). Cassiopeia was also mentioned in Morié's book, but he confusingly uses the name for two different women. This results in the 1922 regnal list including Cassiopeia under the name of Kasiyope (49) while her husband Cepheus is listed four hundred years later under the name Kefe (71).

The list additionally included figures who were not part of Morié's narrative, showing that the author used other sources to build the regnal list. Diodorus' work (including ''Bibliotheca Historia'') influenced the inclusion of the "Aethiopian" king Actisanes (65) and the Egyptian king Mandes (66). Herodotus' ''Histories'' also had some influence on the regnal list, with the various names of rulers being re-used for "Ethiopian" monarchs, such as Nitocris (162), Proteus (67), Sabakon (122), Apries (127). Manetho's ''Aegyptiaca'' is another source for certain names on the regnal list, such as Sebikos (123), Tarakos (125) and Sabakon (122).

Conflict with other Ethiopian traditions

The list occasionally contradicts other Ethiopian traditions. One example is that of king Angabo I, who is placed in the middle of the Ag'azyan dynasty on this list but in earlier traditions was the founder of a new dynasty. In both cases the dating is given as the 14th century BC. E. A. Wallis Budge noted that there were differing versions of the chronological order of the Ethiopian kings, with some lists stating that a king named Aithiopis was the first to rule while other lists claim that the first king was Adam. Tafari's list instead begins with Aram.

Responses to the regnal list

Contemporary historian Manfred Kropp described the regnal list as an artfully woven document developed as a rational and scientific attempt by an educated Ethiopian from the early 20th century to reconcile historical knowledge of Ethiopia. Kropp noted that the regnal list has often been viewed by historians as little more than an example of a vague notion of historical tradition in north-east Africa. He added that the working methods and sources used by the author of the list remain unclear. Kropp further stated that despite some rulers' names having astonishing similarities to those of Egyptian and Meroitic/Kushite rulers, there has been little attempt to critically examine the regnal list in relation to other Ethiopian sources. He noted that Tafari's regnal list was the first Ethiopian regnal list that attempted to provide names of kings from the 970th year of the world's creation onwards without any chronological gaps. In particular, it was the first Ethiopian regnal list to consistently fill in all dates from the time of Solomon to the Zagwe dynasty. Kropp felt that the regnal list was a result of incorporating non-native traditions of "Aethiopia" into native Ethiopian history.

Egyptologist E. A. Wallis Budge (1857–1934) was dismissive of the claims of great antiquity made by the Abyssinians, whom he described as having a "passionate desire to be considered a very ancient nation", which had been aided by the "vivid imagination of their scribes" who borrowed traditions from the Semites

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases