Hamasien
Encyclopedia
Hamasien was the name of an histoical province including and surrounding Asmara
, now part of modern Eritrea
. The region has been divided and distributed amongst the modern Maekel
, Debub
, Northern Red Sea
, Gash-Barka
and Anseba
regions
.
Hamasien's population are predominantly followers of Oriental Orthodox Christianity and members of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
with a considerable minority of Sunni Muslim, Roman Catholic and Lutheran communities. Traditionally being the center of the Kebessa (i.e. the Eritrean Highlands), it was the locality of the old palace town of Debarwa
(the capital of Bahr Negus Yeshaq
). The border was changed further to place Debarwa in the province of Seraye before its present status of being the capital of the Tselema district in the Debub (Southern) region.
; judging from excavations in the Sembel area outside Asmara, it has been so since at least 800 BC
. The earliest surviving appearance of the name "Hamasien" is believed to have been the region ḤMS²M, i.e. ḤMŠ, mentioned in a Sabaic
inscription of the Axumite king Ezana
. The region may have been mentioned as early as Puntite
times by Ancient Egyptian records as 'MSW (i.e. "Amasu"), a region of Punt.
During the early medieval centuries, it was ruled by the Bahri negasi from Debarwa
. According to Francisco Alvares
, writing in the early 16th century, the Bahri negasi's authority extended almost as far as Suakin
in modern Sudan
. Despite the Emperor of Ethiopia
's allegations and grants of control of the country of the Bahri negesitat the Zagwe
and Solomonic dynasties
, the 1984 "Proceedings of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal
of the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples," declares that "There was no administration that connected Hamasin and Serae to the centre of the Ethiopian
Kingdom With the decline of the importance of the Midri Bahri in the 17th to 19th centuries, the province enjoyed a period of communal rule under councils of village elders, the so called shimagile who enforced traditional laws which had prevailed uniquely in the region alongside feudal authority since ancient times. The region appeared in European maps as 'The Republic of Hamasien'. In the late 19th century, Hamasien was briefly invaded and occupied by the Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV who granted control of the region to Ras Alula
. Ethiopian forces wrestled for control over the region with Ottomans initially and later with Italian colonialists. Following the death of Emperor Yohannes at the Battle of Gallabat
, Hamasien was occupied by the Italians
, who incorporated it into their colony of Eritrea and making one of its villages, Asmara, the capital of the colony, a status it retains today as the capital of the sovereign country of Eritrea.
Asmara
Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...
, now part of modern Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
. The region has been divided and distributed amongst the modern Maekel
Maekel
The Maekel Region , known as the Regione Centrale in italian, is one of the six regions of Eritrea.-Overview:It is the smallest region in area, and contains the major city and national capital, Asmara...
, Debub
Debub
Debub Region, also known as the Southern Region, is a region of Eritrea. It lies along a portion of the national border with Ethiopia.-Overview:...
, Northern Red Sea
Northern Red Sea
The Northern Red Sea Region of Eritrea is one of the country's six regions. It lies along the northern three quarters of the Red Sea, and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and the coastal city of Massawa.-Location:...
, Gash-Barka
Gash-Barka
Gash-Barka is one of the six regions of Eritrea. It is situated in the south-west of the country, bordering the Anseba region to the north, and the Central and Southern regions to the east; the county of Sudan lies to the west and Ethiopia to the south....
and Anseba
Anseba
Anseba is an inland region of Eritrea, in the west of the country.-Overview:Its capital is Keren and it has an area of about 23,000 km². It is named after the Anseba River around which the region is situated. The river begins in the central Eritrean highland plateau, in the suburbs northwest of...
regions
Regions of Eritrea
||At the time of Independence in 1993 Eritrea was arranged into ten provinces. These provinces were similar to the nine provinces operating during the colonial period. In 1996, these were consolidated into six regions...
.
Hamasien's population are predominantly followers of Oriental Orthodox Christianity and members of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III after Eritrea gained its independence in 1993.-Origins:...
with a considerable minority of Sunni Muslim, Roman Catholic and Lutheran communities. Traditionally being the center of the Kebessa (i.e. the Eritrean Highlands), it was the locality of the old palace town of Debarwa
Debarwa
Debarwa is a market town with a population of about 25,000 in central Eritrea, about 25 kilometers south of the capital Asmara. It is the capital of the Debarwa district in the Debub administrative region...
(the capital of Bahr Negus Yeshaq
Yeshaq
Yeshaq, the Ethiopian and Eritrean equivalent of "Isaac," can refer to multiple people:*Yeshaq I of Ethiopia, Emperor of Ethiopia *Bahr negus Yeshaq, Bahr negus of Ethiopia during the late 16th century...
). The border was changed further to place Debarwa in the province of Seraye before its present status of being the capital of the Tselema district in the Debub (Southern) region.
History
The former province was the political and economic center of EritreaEritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
; judging from excavations in the Sembel area outside Asmara, it has been so since at least 800 BC
800s BC
-Events and trends:* 804 BC—Adad-nirari III of Assyria conquers Damascus.* 804 BC—Death of Pedubastis I, pharaoh.* c. 800 BC—Greek Dark Ages end.* From c. 800 BC – The Upanishads are composed.* c. 800 BC–700 BC—Pre-Etruscan period in Italy....
. The earliest surviving appearance of the name "Hamasien" is believed to have been the region ḤMS²M, i.e. ḤMŠ, mentioned in a Sabaic
Sabaean language
Sabaean , also known as Himyarite , was an Old South Arabian language spoken in Yemen from c. 1000 BC to the 6th century AD, by the Sabaeans; it was used as a written language by some other peoples of Ancient Yemen, including the Hashidites, Sirwahites, Humlanites, Ghaymanites, Himyarites,...
inscription of the Axumite king Ezana
Ezana of Axum
Ezana of Axum , was ruler of the Axumite Kingdom located in present-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, he himself employed the style "king of Saba and Salhen, Himyar and Dhu-Raydan"...
. The region may have been mentioned as early as Puntite
Land of Punt
The Land of Punt, also called Pwenet, or Pwene by the ancient Egyptians, was a trading partner known for producing and exporting gold, aromatic resins, African blackwood, ebony, ivory, slaves and wild animals...
times by Ancient Egyptian records as 'MSW (i.e. "Amasu"), a region of Punt.
During the early medieval centuries, it was ruled by the Bahri negasi from Debarwa
Debarwa
Debarwa is a market town with a population of about 25,000 in central Eritrea, about 25 kilometers south of the capital Asmara. It is the capital of the Debarwa district in the Debub administrative region...
. According to Francisco Alvares
Francisco Álvares
Francisco Álvares was a Portuguese missionary and explorer. In 1515 he traveled to Ethiopia as part of the Portuguese embassy to emperor Lebna Dengel accompanied by returning Ethiopian ambassador Matheus. The embassy arrived only in 1520 to Ethiopia where he joined long sought Portuguese envoy...
, writing in the early 16th century, the Bahri negasi's authority extended almost as far as Suakin
Suakin
Suakin or Sawakin is a port in north-eastern Sudan, on the west coast of the Red Sea. In 1983 it had a population of 18,030 and the 2009 estimate is 43, 337.It was formerly the region's chief port, but is now secondary to Port Sudan, about 30 miles north. The old city built of coral is in ruins...
in modern Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. Despite the Emperor of Ethiopia
Emperor of Ethiopia
The 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...
's allegations and grants of control of the country of the Bahri negesitat the Zagwe
Zagwe dynasty
The Zagwe dynasty was an historical kingdom in present-day Ethiopia. It ruled large parts of the territory from approximately 1137 to 1270, when the last Zagwe King Za-Ilmaknun was killed in battle by the forces of Yekuno Amlak...
and Solomonic dynasties
Solomonic dynasty
The Solomonic dynasty is the Imperial House of Abyssinia. Its members claim lineal descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the latter of whom tradition asserts gave birth to the first King Menelik I after her Biblically described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem .-Overview:The dynasty, a...
, the 1984 "Proceedings of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal
Permanent Peoples' Tribunal
The Permanent Peoples' Tribunal is international opinion tribunal that was founded in Bologna June 24, 1979 at the initiative of Senator Lelio Basso. - International opinion tribunal :...
of the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples," declares that "There was no administration that connected Hamasin and Serae to the centre of the Ethiopian
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...
Kingdom With the decline of the importance of the Midri Bahri in the 17th to 19th centuries, the province enjoyed a period of communal rule under councils of village elders, the so called shimagile who enforced traditional laws which had prevailed uniquely in the region alongside feudal authority since ancient times. The region appeared in European maps as 'The Republic of Hamasien'. In the late 19th century, Hamasien was briefly invaded and occupied by the Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV who granted control of the region to Ras Alula
Alula Engida
Ras Alula Engida was a general and Ethiopian politician...
. Ethiopian forces wrestled for control over the region with Ottomans initially and later with Italian colonialists. Following the death of Emperor Yohannes at the Battle of Gallabat
Battle of Gallabat
The Battle of Gallabat was fought 9–10 March 1889 between the Mahdist Sudanese and Ethiopian forces. It is a critical event in Ethiopian history because Nəgusä Nägäst Yohannes IV was killed in this battle...
, Hamasien was occupied by the Italians
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, who incorporated it into their colony of Eritrea and making one of its villages, Asmara, the capital of the colony, a status it retains today as the capital of the sovereign country of Eritrea.