Video Lesson

Learning Competencies: After learning this lesson, you will be able to:

• describe the major achievements of the period;
• appreciate the architectural advancements of the time;
• feel pride in the achievements of the ancestors;
• name some rulers of the Gondarine period.

Brainstorming Questions

• Have you ever seen the royal enclosure at Gondar? If so, how do you feel?
• What are the major characteristics of the Gondarine period?
• Who was Etege Mintiwab? What is your attitude towards a female ruler?

Key terms and concepts

During the reign of Fasiledes (r. 1632-1667), Gondar was established as the permanent capital of the Christian highland kingdom around 1636. The city featured grand castles, palaces for kings, residences for the Abun and Echegge, and churches, reflecting architectural styles from the Aksumite and Zagwe periods. Numerous churches were built outside the imperial quarter, serving as major centers for education, music, and poetry. Gondar attracted scholars in poetry, theology, law, and other religious fields. The city also became known for its thriving arts, including church paintings, cross-making, and calligraphy. Overall, Gondar emerged as the central hub of the kingdom’s political, intellectual, religious, and economic life.

Gondar became a major trading hub, leveraging its position as a key market even before it became the royal capital under Fasiledes. Fasiledes likely moved to Gondar to control the trade routes and boost revenue. A major trade route from the southwestern Ethiopian region entered Gondar and split into two branches: one leading to Massawa on the Red Sea coast and the other westward to Metemma on the Sudanese border. Besides the renowned weekly market, daily markets flourished after Gondar’s establishment. The Gondar market became a central meeting place where people from surrounding regions traded cattle, honey, butter, and grain for urban products like those from weavers, potters, blacksmiths, leatherworkers, and goldsmiths.

The trade was mainly dominated by Muslims, who also took part in weaving. Items of
various crafts were provided by the Falashas (better known as the Bete-Israel or Ethiopian
Jews), who were mainly engaged in masonry, pottery, basketry and metal works. Thus, in
the daily market of Gondar, foreign merchants, residents of the city and the rural population exchanged their various products.

In Gondar, different communities, including Muslims, Bete-Israel, and expatriates like Armenians, Indians, and Persians, were segregated and lived in separate quarters outside the city. This arrangement allowed the city to expand, and by the late 18th century, Gondar had around 70,000 inhabitants from various religious and cultural backgrounds. Despite its prosperity, which primarily benefited the ruling class living in luxury, Gondar’s glory was short-lived. The city was geographically distant from the center of the Christian kingdom, leading to a loss of control over central and outlying territories. This contributed to the rise of regionalism and the increasing autonomy of powerful regional lords.

Gondar flourished during the reigns of its first three kings: Fasiledes (1632-67), Yohannis I (1667-82), and Iyasu I (1682-1706). Iyasu I, known as Iyasu the Great, was the most powerful of these rulers. He conducted successful military campaigns across the Abay River and in Shewa, collecting tribute while acknowledging Shewa’s power. His reign saw significant reforms, including revisions to the Fitha Negest (civil code), amendments to land laws, and reorganization of taxes and customs, which boosted trade and strengthened ties with Egypt.

Near the end of his reign, Iyasu I broke the closed-door policy by inviting French physician Jaques Poncet for treatment of a skin disease in 1699. This led to visits from Jesuits and a Franciscan missionary, and Iyasu sent a delegation of young Christians to the Pope, causing suspicion among the clergy. Facing growing opposition, Iyasu fled to an island in Lake Tana, where he was assassinated. His son, Tekle Haymanot (r. 1706-08), succeeded him.

After Iyasu I’s death in October 1706, Gondar experienced significant political instability. Power struggles led to frequent murders and assassinations of kings, with five rulers between 1706 and 1721 being either murdered or poisoned by rivals. This turmoil weakened the monarchy, making it difficult for the kings to defend Gondar, which was occasionally plundered by robbers and bandits. King Bekaffa (r. 1721-30) eventually began his reign in 1721, marking the end of this period of disorder.

Meanwhile, the clergy and members of rival ruling families were engaged in an endless religious controversy. The controversy was the legacy of a religious conflict between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The reign of Bekaffa was relatively more peaceful than those of his predecessors. During his reign, the kingdom enjoyed a short period of political stability. Bekaffa was admired for his efficient administration.
But his reign witnessed the beginning of the autonomous development of Shewa, which continued to be ruled by an independent line of rulers for more than a century.

Iyasu II, also known as “Iyasu the Little” (r. 1730-1755), succeeded his father Bekaffa as king, with his mother, Etege Mintiwab, serving as regent. Mintiwab, a prominent figure from Qwara, secured her son’s position by leveraging support from her kinsmen and regional lords. In 1732, she appointed her brother, Welde Leul, as Rasbitweded (prime minister). Mintiwab and her Quaregnoch political elite concentrated power in their hands, significantly influencing the governance of the Christian Kingdom.

After a short while, however, the influential position held by the lords and chiefs of Quara in the court incited strong opposition from the lords of other provinces. Iyasu II himself was tired of the growing power of his mother’s kinsmen. So, he decided to get rid of them and be replaced by allies from Oromo lords, particularly the Wollo Oromo chiefs. Iyasu’s father, Bekaffa, had earlier spent some years of exile with the Wollo Oromo chief called Amizo. Consequently, Bekaffa maintained good relations with this Oromo family, some of whom he had invited to his court. Iyasu extended his relations with theOromos further by marrying Wabi who was baptized as Bersabeh. This event marked the active involvement of the Wollo Oromos in the politics of the Christian highland kingdom.

Iyasu II was succeeded by his son Iyo’as (r. 1755-1769), born to Wabit (Bersabeh). During Iyo’as’s reign, the influence of the Oromo increased significantly. The Quaregnoch family, feeling overshadowed by the Yejju Oromos, began to challenge Iyo’as’s rule. To strengthen his position, Iyo’as relied on his Oromo cousins, Lubo and Birile, who arrived in Gondar with 3,000 horsemen. This increased the influence of the Wollo Oromo, and the Oromo language became commonly spoken at the Gondar court.

Etege Mintiwab was a rare and successful female political figure in Ethiopia, known for her effective leadership. She combined her natural beauty with political acumen, managing to maintain control after her husband, Bekaffa’s, death by keeping it secret. She appointed her relatives from Quara to key positions to quickly suppress any uprisings.

Mintiwab formed strategic political marriages with influential lords from Begemder, Gojjam, Wollo (Yejju Oromo), and Tigre. These alliances bolstered her influence, although the marriage of her son Iyasu II to an Oromo woman eventually led to prolonged conflicts between the Quaregnoch and the Yejju Oromos. Mintiwab’s efforts integrated Oromos into Ethiopia’s power structures for the first time. Her concern for society was evident through her support for the clergy and construction of churches like Debre Tsehay Qusquam and Narga Sellassie.

Mintiwab’s growing influence of the Wollo Oromo sparked opposition from the Amhara elites. After Rasbitweded Welde Leul’s death in 1767, Mintiwab invited Tigrean lord Ras Michael Sehul to help resolve the power struggle. Ras Michael suppressed opposition, became Rasbitweded, and took control of the throne. He eventually had Iyo’as murdered in 1769 and installed Yohannis II, marking the beginning of the Zemene Mesafint (Era of the Warlords).