Video Lesson

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

• justify Shewa`s isolation from the political developments of northern Ethiopia;
• explain about its relationship with the kings of Gondar;
• appreciate the kings` military achievements in expanding their territory;
• examine the relationship between the kingdom and the neighboring peoples.

Brainstorming Questions

• Can you name some political centers in the kingdom of Shewa?
• What is the role of territorial expansion for ethnic interaction and integration?

Key terms and concepts

The Shewan dynasty was founded at the end of the 17th century by Negasi Kirstos who claimed descent from King Libne Dingil (r. 1508-40). The political center of the kingdom was first at Ayne in Menze. By about 1700, Negasi travelled to Gondar to gain official recognition from King Iyassu I where he died of small pox. He was succeeded by Sibstie (r. 1703-1718).
The next ruler, Abiye (r. 1718-1745), expanded the kingdom as far as Har Amba and established his new political seat at Doqaqit, near the present day Debre Sina. His son and successor, Meridazmach Amhayesus (r.1745-1775) seized the strategic mountain of Ankober further south east, and established Ankober as his political center. The administration of the kingdom became firm and stable.

During the Zemene Mesafint, the Kingdom of Shewa remained independent and exempted from the chronic civil wars of the period. The period of the next ruler, Asfawossen (r.1775- 1808), was remembered for the rapid expansion of the kingdom and administrative organizations.

Trusted chiefs were appointed as governors of the regions of the kingdom. They were called Abegazoch which was a common title for the Shewan governors. These administrative units were Yifat, Menz, Ankober and Merhabete. They were further divided into sub-units. For instance, Yifat was comprised of Yifat proper, Gidim and Ephrata; Menz contained Mama Midir, Lalo Midir and Gera Midir; and Merhabete included Gishe and Antsokia in the north and Moret in the south.

Asfawossen died in 1808 and his son and successor, Wossenseged (r. 1808-1813), strove to strengthen his administration instead of territorial expansion. He established marriage ties with the surrounding Oromo in order to strengthen the friendship with them. Moreover, he followed a policy of religious toleration and social equality as a means of forging unity among the heterogeneous population of his kingdom. Wossenseged was the first ruler of the kingdom to assume the title of Ras. He died in June 1813, and was was succeeded by his brother, Sahle Selassie (r. 1813-1847).

Sahle Selassie was the first Shewan ruler to assume the title of Nigus (King). The power of Shewa reached its climax during his reign. He expanded the kingdom to the south and southwest directions. He rebuilt the church of Debre Birhan Selassie. He also appointed powerful chiefs, and arranged marriage ties with the neighboring Muslim and Oromo chiefs.
Nigus Sahle Selassie had a strong desire to make Shewa a modern and powerful kingdom and to acquire firearms. To this effect, he made independent contacts with the outside world through Aussa and Tajura. It was during his reign that Europeans first reached the kingdom. In the 1830s and 1840s, the Frenchmen like Combes and Tamisier; Protestant missionaries like Krapf and Isenberg; the French adventurer Rochet d’ Hericourt; and the English mission led by Major W.C. Harris visited the court of Sahle Selassie. He approached foreigners with a warm reception in his court and then informed them of his interests in medicine, craft and art, in the construction of towns, bridges, and mechanical devices.
Moreover, he requested these Europeans for guns and masons. In the 1840s, he concluded a treaty of trade and friendship with Rochet d’ Hericourt and Major Harris, the French and British envoys respectively.

Shewa under Sahle Sellassie was greatly expanded and reached the highest degree of autonomy. Trade developed in the kingdom, and traders could travel across the kingdom safely. This brought much revenue to the royal treasure. Sahle Selassie’s annual revenue in the 1840s was estimated at between 80,000 and 300,000 Maria Theresa thalers. He died in 1847, and was succeeded by his son, Haile Melekot (r. 1847-1855). Generally, the Shewan kingdom lived under a fairly stable government as it was located far from the northern provinces of the Christian kingdom that experienced constant warfare.