Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/90

ABYSSINIA. his personal qualities than to any traditional rights. Certain parts of the country are ruled by petty kings or ras, some of them appointed by the Negus, while others are sufficiently strong to defy his authority, and may throw the country into a state of disorder at his death. The petty chiefs have retinues of followers ready to support them in any undertaking so long as there is any prospect of plunder. This class of professional warriors, whose usefulness lasts as long as there are any insubordinate tribes to pacify, is a great hindrance to the development of the country. The revenue is derived from tithes paid in kind, and taxes on commodities, especially gold and ivory sold in the market. The collection of taxes is intrusted to the governors of the villages or shums, who are practically unrestricted as to the methods used or amounts collected. The laws of the country are supposed to be copied from the old Roman code, but they are almost disregarded by the native judges, who are guided in their decisions, as a rule, by their personal preferences or the social position of the defendant. The Abyssinian army, numbering about 150,000, is almost entirely composed of cavalry and is very well adapted for swift movements, as it is not encumbered by any commissariat, its maintenance being obtained from inhabitants of regions through which it passes. This kind of commissariat naturally leaves ample room for abuse and falls most heavily on the agricultural population. The regular army may be supplemented by irregular and provincial troops in case of need.

The political divisions of the country are subject to continual alteration; but the following are the most important: (1) The kingdom of Tigré, extending between the River Takazze or Bahr-el-Aswad (Black River), and the mountains of Samen on one side, and the district of Samhara on the other. Its chief towns are Antalo and Adowa. (2) The kingdom of Amhara, extending on the west of the Takazze and the Samen Mountain, and including Gojam. The capital, Gondar, is situated in the northeast of the plain of Dembea or Gondar, at an elevation of about 7,500 feet. (3) The kingdom of Shoa (including Efat), lying southeast of Amhara and separated from the Galla tribes by the Hawash. This is, by all accounts, the best organized and most powerful state now existing in Abyssinia. The capital, Ankobar, at an elevation of about 8000 feet, contains 7000 inhabitants, and enjoys a delightful climate.

The capital of Abyssinia, formerly at Adowa, was transferred after the Italian war to Addis Abeba, which has grown from a village to a city of about 80,000 inhabitants within two to three years.

The location of the people between the Nile and the Red Sea permitted the commingling of Hamites from the north, Himvaritic Semites from Asia, and negroes from the south. The Abyssinians are of medium stature; in color they vary from brunette to translucent black. The principal language of the upper classes is the Amharic, closely allied to the ancient Geez (still used in ritual), and is written in a syllabary resembling that of the old inscriptions in Yemen, Arabia. The Amharic is the language of the court. (See .) Of the same stock are the Tigré and Tigriña tongues. The language of the common people throughout a great part of the country is the Agua (Agow), a Hamitic tongue. The Gallas, who form an important element in the population, likewise speak a Hamitic language. The Abyssinians are in the hand epoch of the iron age, and are herdsmen. Polygamy prevails extensively. They have little that deserves the name of literature. Education is in the hands of the clergy. The national religion is a perverted Christianity, introduced into the country in the fourth century. The tribe of the Falashas profess Judaism. The Gallas are Mohammedans.

Abyssinia is a part of the ancient and vaguely defined Ethiopia. (For its ancient history, see the article on .) The people still call themselves Ethiopians, the name Abyssinians, by which they are generally known outside their own borders, being a Portuguese form of the Arabic Habsh or Habesh, signifying "mixture," and referring to the diverse tribes which compose the population. The traditions, customs, and language point to an early and intimate intercourse with the Jews; and the Book of Kings professes to record the rulers down from the Queen of Sheba and her son Menelek by Solomon, King of Israel; but this book is not to be depended upon unless corroborated by independent evidence. Greek influence was introduced through an invasion by Ptolemy Euergetes (247-221 B.C.). In the fourth century Christianity was introduced, and Frumentius, who had been instrumental in its introduction, was in 326 consecrated as a bishop by Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, and became, as Abuna Salamah ("our father of peace"), the head of the Abyssinian Church, with his seat at Axum, then the capital. The Coptic rite, older than that of Rome or Moscow, has prevailed in Abyssinia to the present day, in spite of efforts to introduce other forms of Christianity made by the Jesuits in the sixteenth century and by representatives of Protestant churches in later years. The head of the Church is still the Abuna, who is sent from Alexandria; but he shares his ecclesiastical authority with the native Echegheh, or head of the monastic bodies. Monasticism of the Oriental type was introduced about the year 470, and became a permanent feature of the life of the country. The monks number about 12,000. In the sixth century the King of the Homerites, an Arab convert to Judaism, began a persecution of the Christians, and King Elesbaas, or Caleb of Axum, invaded Arabia, and conquered Yemen, which was ruled as a province of Abyssinia for sixty-seven years.

This was the most flourishing period of Abyssinia; its influence then reached farthest and it was most in touch with the outside world. In 590, the overthrow of Abrahah, the last Abyssinian ruler of Yemen, left Arabia open for the spread of Mohammedanism, which soon rose like a flood and rolled around Abyssinia, cutting it off from the outside world and from the influences that had been urging it forward. It thus became a primitive, half-barbarous civilization in a state of arrested development. A line of usurpers took the place of the ancient sovereigns in the tenth century and reigned until about 1300. In the reign of Naakweto Laab, the last of this line, Tekla Haimanot, an ardent patriot, who possessed great influence because of the dignity of his character and the unselfishness of his life, succeeded in negotiating a treaty between the King and the representative