Gudit
Encyclopedia
Gudit is a semi-legendary, non-Christian
, Beta Israel
, queen (flourished c.960) who laid waste to Axum
and its countryside, destroyed churches and monuments, and attempted to exterminate the members of the ruling Axumite dynasty. Her deeds are recorded in the oral tradition and mentioned incidentally in various historical accounts.
Information about Gudit is contradictory and incomplete. Paul B. Henze wrote, "She is said to have killed the emperor, ascended the throne herself, and reigned for forty years. Accounts of her violent misdeeds are still related among peasants in the north Ethiopian countryside." Henze continues in a footnote,
There is a tradition that Gudit sacked and burned Debre Damo
, which at the time was a treasury and a prison for the male relatives of the king of Ethiopia
; this may be an echo of the later capture and sack of Amba Geshen
by Ahmed Gragn.
, where she was described as Bani al-Hamwiyah, ought to be read as Bani al-Damutah, and argued that she was ruler of the
once-powerful kingdom of Damot, and that she was related to one of the indigenous Sidamo
peoples of southern Ethiopia
. This would agree with the numerous references to matriarchs ruling the Sidamo polities.
If Gudit did not belong to one of the Sidamo peoples, then some scholars, based on the traditions that Gudit was Jewish, propose that she was of the Agaw
people, who historically have been numerous in Lasta, and a number of whom (known as the Beta Israel
), have professed an Israelite pre-Ezra Judaism
since ancient times. If she was not of Hebrew, Israelite or Jewish origin, she might have been a convert to Judaism by her husband, or pagan
. Local traditions around Adi Kaweh where she allegedly died and was buried indicate her faith was pagan-Hebraic,rather than Israelite or Jewish [Leeman 2009].
when Gudit started her revolt, near the end of the reign of the king who had deposed the Abuna Petros. As Taddesse Tamrat explains, at the time "his own death in the conflict, and the military reverses of the kingdom were taken as divine retribution for the sufferings of Abuna Petros."
This chronological synchronicity with the tenure of Patriarch Philotheos, and the intervention of king Georgios II of Makuria
, provides us a date of c.960 for Gudit. A contemporary Arab historian, Ibn Hawqal
, provides this account:
Another historian mentions that the king of Yemen
sent a zebra
to the ruler of Iraq
in 969/970, which he had received as a gift from the Queen of al-Habasha.
Taddesse Tamrat has speculated that one effect of Gudit's otherwise ephemeral rule, might be the pockets of various languages related to Amharic scattered across southwestern Ethiopia (e.g. Argobba
, Gurage and Gafat
), which could have been Axumite military settlements isolated by her conquests and later Sidamo migrations.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, Beta Israel
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
, queen (flourished c.960) who laid waste to Axum
Axum
Axum or Aksum is a city in northern Ethiopia which was the original capital of the eponymous kingdom of Axum. Population 56,500 . Axum was a naval and trading power that ruled the region from ca. 400 BC into the 10th century...
and its countryside, destroyed churches and monuments, and attempted to exterminate the members of the ruling Axumite dynasty. Her deeds are recorded in the oral tradition and mentioned incidentally in various historical accounts.
Information about Gudit is contradictory and incomplete. Paul B. Henze wrote, "She is said to have killed the emperor, ascended the throne herself, and reigned for forty years. Accounts of her violent misdeeds are still related among peasants in the north Ethiopian countryside." Henze continues in a footnote,
- On my first visit to the rock church of Abreha and Atsbeha in eastern TigrayTigray ProvinceTigray was a province of Ethiopia. The Tigray Region superseded the province with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995. The province of Tigre merged with its neighboring provinces, including Semien, Tembien, Agame and the prominent Enderta province and towards the end of 19th century it...
in 1970, I noticed that its intricately carved ceiling was blackened by soot. The priest explained it as the work of Gudit, who had piled the church full of hay and set it ablaze nine centuries before.
There is a tradition that Gudit sacked and burned Debre Damo
Debre Damo
Debre Damo is the name of a flat-topped mountain, or amba, and a 6th century monastery in northern Ethiopia. The mountain is a steeply rising plateau of trapezoidal shape, about 1000 by 400 meters in dimension. With a latitude and longitude of , it sits at an elevation of 2216 meters above sea level...
, which at the time was a treasury and a prison for the male relatives of the king of Ethiopia
Amba (geology)
An amba is a characteristic geologic form in Ethiopia. It is a steep sided, flat topped mountain, often the site of villages, wells and their surrounding farmland. These settlements were located there because they were very defensible and often virtually inaccessible plateaus.The original term in...
; this may be an echo of the later capture and sack of Amba Geshen
Amba Geshen
Amba Geshen is the name of a mountain in northern Ethiopia.It is located in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, northwest of Dessie, and sits at a latitude and longitude of . Part of Ambassel woreda, it is one of the mountains of Ethiopia where most of the male heirs to the Emperor of...
by Ahmed Gragn.
Ethnicity
The Italian scholar Carlo Conti Rossini first proposed that the account of this warrior queen in the History of the Patriarchs of AlexandriaHistory of the Patriarchs of Alexandria
The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria is a major historical work of the Coptic Church. It is written in Arabic, but draws extensively on Greek and Coptic sources....
, where she was described as Bani al-Hamwiyah, ought to be read as Bani al-Damutah, and argued that she was ruler of the
once-powerful kingdom of Damot, and that she was related to one of the indigenous Sidamo
Sidama people
The Sidama people of southern Ethiopia are an ethnic group whose homeland is in the Sidama Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. They number 2,966,474 of whom 149,480 are urban inhabitants, the fifth most populous nation in Ethiopia...
peoples of southern Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. This would agree with the numerous references to matriarchs ruling the Sidamo polities.
If Gudit did not belong to one of the Sidamo peoples, then some scholars, based on the traditions that Gudit was Jewish, propose that she was of the Agaw
Agaw
The Agaw are an ethnic group in Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea.-History:The Agaw are perhaps first mentioned in the 3rd c. AD Aksumite inscription recorded by Cosmas Indicopleustes in the 6th century...
people, who historically have been numerous in Lasta, and a number of whom (known as the Beta Israel
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
), have professed an Israelite pre-Ezra Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
since ancient times. If she was not of Hebrew, Israelite or Jewish origin, she might have been a convert to Judaism by her husband, or pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
. Local traditions around Adi Kaweh where she allegedly died and was buried indicate her faith was pagan-Hebraic,rather than Israelite or Jewish [Leeman 2009].
Historical evidence
It was during the office of Patriarch Philotheos of AlexandriaPope Philotheos of Alexandria
Pope Philotheos of Alexandria was the Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark .It was during his office that a conflict between Alexandria and the king of Ethiopia that began in the time of Cosmas III ended, helped by the efforts of Georgios II of Makuria...
when Gudit started her revolt, near the end of the reign of the king who had deposed the Abuna Petros. As Taddesse Tamrat explains, at the time "his own death in the conflict, and the military reverses of the kingdom were taken as divine retribution for the sufferings of Abuna Petros."
This chronological synchronicity with the tenure of Patriarch Philotheos, and the intervention of king Georgios II of Makuria
Georgios II of Makuria
Georgios II was ruler of the Nubian kingdom of Makuria. When Jawhar, the governor of Egypt, sent a mission to receive the baqt, he included an invitation to Georgios to embrace Islam...
, provides us a date of c.960 for Gudit. A contemporary Arab historian, Ibn Hawqal
Ibn Hawqal
Muḥammad Abū’l-Qāsim Ibn Ḥawqal was a 10th century Muslim writer, geographer, and chronicler. His famous work, written in 977, is called Ṣūrat al-’Arḍ ....
, provides this account:
- The country of the habashaHabesha peopleThe term Habesha ābešā, Ḥābešā; al-Ḥabašah) refers to the South Semitic-speaking group of people whose cultural, linguistic, and in certain cases, ancestral origins trace back to those people who ruled the Axumite Empire and the kingdom known as DʿMT .Peoples referred to as "Habesha" today...
has been ruled by a woman for many years now: she has killed the king of the habasha who was called Haḍani [from Ge'ezGe'ez languageGe'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
haṣ́ani, modern aṣ́e or atseEmperor of EthiopiaThe Emperor of Ethiopia was the hereditary ruler of Ethiopia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1974. The Emperor was the head of state and head of government, with ultimate executive, judicial and legislative power in that country...
]. Until today she rules with complete independence in her own country and the frontier areas of the country of the Haḍani, in the southern part of [the country of] the habashi.
Another historian mentions that the king of Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
sent a zebra
Zebra
Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
to the ruler of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 969/970, which he had received as a gift from the Queen of al-Habasha.
Taddesse Tamrat has speculated that one effect of Gudit's otherwise ephemeral rule, might be the pockets of various languages related to Amharic scattered across southwestern Ethiopia (e.g. Argobba
Argobba language
Argobba is an Ethiopian Semitic spoken in an area north-east of Addis Ababa by the Argobba people. It belongs to the South Ethiopian Semitic subgroup together with Amharic and the Gurage languages...
, Gurage and Gafat
Gafat language
The Gafat language is an extinct Semitic language that was once spoken along the Abbay River in Ethiopia. The records of this language are extremely sparse. There is a translation of the Song of Songs written in the 17th or 18th Century held at the Bodleian Library...
), which could have been Axumite military settlements isolated by her conquests and later Sidamo migrations.
External links
Further reading
- Knud Tage Andersen, "The Queen of the Habasha in Ethiopian History, Tradition and Chronology", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 63 (2000), pp. 31-63