An eighteenth century Ethiopian dynastic marriage contract between Empress Mentewwab of Gondar and Ras Mika'el Sehul of Tegre

Richard Pankhurst

doi:10.1017/S0041977X00135748

An eighteenth century Ethiopian dynastic marriage contract between Empress Mentewwab of Gondar and Ras Mika'el Sehul of Tegre

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 December 2009

Richard Pankhurst

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The decline of the Gondarine monarchy and the concomitant increase in wealth and power of Tegre province, and of its capital Adwa, led, in the mid-eighteenth century, to a shift in the Ethiopian balance of power. This development, which threatened the then impoverished ruling house of Gondar, and the very continuity of the but weakly centralized State, resulted, as on other such occasions, in a major dynastic alliance between the contending parties. The compact involved two of the most important Ethiopian political figures of the century: Emperor Bakaffa's astute widow Empress Mentewwab, and the first of the great warlords of Tegre, Sehul Mika'el, a rich and powerful chieftain who was soon to emerge as the maker and breaker of kings. Mika'el was by then already well known in the Ethiopian metropolis where, according to the later Scottish traveller James Bruce, he was so ‘lavish in his money’ that ‘all Gondar were his friends’, as a result of which it was ‘plain’ to ‘everybody, that nothing could stop’ his ‘growing fortune’.

Type: Articles
Information: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , October 1979 , pp. 457 - 466

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00135748 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 1979

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References

^{page 457 note 1} The chronicle states that after the death of Emperor Iyasu II in 1755 Empress Mentewrvab ordered gold to be brought from the treasury to give to the churches and monasteries to pay for the tāzkar, or commemorative service, for her son, but only 80 (or in another text 20) dinar of gold could be found as the late monarch had ‘wasted his riches’. Guidi, I., Annales regum ';Iyasu II el 'Iyo'as, Paris, 1910, text, 172, translation, 182Google Scholar.

^{page 457 note 2} Bruce, J., Travels to discover the source, of the Nile, II, Edinburgh 1790, 655–6Google Scholar. On the life of Mika'el see also Ali, Ismail, The career of Mika'el Sehul of Tigray (1692–1780), Haile Sellassie I University history senior essay, 1972Google Scholar.

^{page 458 note 3} Guidi, , op. cit., translation, 174Google Scholar.

^{page 458 note 4} ibid., 226.

^{page 458 note 5} ibid., 181, 226.

^{page 458 note 6} ibid., 183. See also 226–7.

^{page 458 note 7} ibid., II, 661.

^{page 458 note 8} ibid., 1805 edition, v, 422.

^{page 458 note 9} ibid., 1790 edition, II, 657.

^{page 458 note 10} Guidi, , op. cit., translation, 226–7Google Scholar.

^{page 458 note 11} Perini, R., Di qua dot Maréb (Maréb-mellásc'), Firenze, 1905, 210Google Scholar.

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^{page 460 note 14} ibid., translation, 10, 183, 226.

^{page 460 note 15} ibid., 226

^{page 460 note 16} Bruce, , op. cit., 1805 edition, IV, 96Google Scholar.

^{page 460 note 17} ibid., IV, 98.

^{page 460 note 18} ibid., 1790 edition, II, 612–13.

^{page 460 note 19} ibid., II, 613, 661. See also III, 127.

^{page 460 note 20} Early in the nineteenth century the British traveller Henry Salt reported that girls married ‘at ten, eleven, or twelve ’ years of age, while a later observer Mansfield Parkyns wrote, ‘I have seen brides of eight or nine years old’. Valentia, , Voyages and travels to India, Ceylon, the Bed Sea, Abyssinia and Egypt, II, London, 1809, 506Google Scholar; Parkyns, M., Life in Abyssinia, II, New York, 1854, 38Google Scholar. See also Perini, , op. cit., 407Google Scholar.

^{page 460 note 21} Guidi, , op. cit., translation, 223Google Scholar.

^{page 460 note 22} ibid., 184–5. See also 227.

^{page 460 note 23} ibid., 193. See also 227.

^{page 460 note 24} ibid., 194.

^{page 460 note 25} Bruce, , op. cit., 1790 edition, III, 200Google Scholar.

^{page 461 note 26} ibid., III, 203.

^{page 461 note 27} ibid., III, 205–6.

^{page 461 note 28} ibid., III, 207.

^{page 461 note 29} ibid., III, 209. See also II, 613.

^{page 461 note 30} Guidi, , op. cit., translation, 203Google Scholar. Bruce, it is interesting to note, refrains from any mention of mourning for Wäldä Hawaryat's supposed death, nor is there any indication of such bereavement in the report of the Scotsman's treatment of the royal patients which Salt later obtained from an Ethiopian eye-witness Däbtära Aster. Salt, H., A voyage to Abyssinia, London, 1812, 334Google Scholar.

^{page 461 note 31} Guidi, , op. cit., translation, 11Google Scholar; Bruce, , op. cit., 1805 edition, IV, 99Google Scholar.

^{page 461 note 32} Bruce, , op. cit., 1790 edition, II, 613, III, 211Google Scholar.

^{page 461 note 33} ibid., III, 209, 211, 220.

^{page 461 note 34} Guidi, , op. cit., translation, 11Google Scholar; Bruce, , op. cit., 1790 edition, III, 209, 211, 241, 393Google Scholar; Blundell, H. Weld, The royal chronicle of Abyssinia 1769–1840, Cambridge, 1922, 214Google Scholar.

^{page 462 note 35} Bruce, , op. cit., 1790 edition, III, 241–2Google Scholar.

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^{page 462 note 38} British Library, Orient MS. 776, 3r.

^{page 462 note 39} Idem, Orient MS. 778, lr. which records the marriage of Abbeto Gälawdewos the son of Ras Wäldä Giyorgis to Wäyzäro Wälättä Seyon, the daughter of Wäyzäro Wälättä Rufa'el.

^{page 463 note 1} Däjjazmac, literally ’commander of the gate’, a military title given to or assumed by important provincial rulers. Blundell, Weld, op. cit., 508Google Scholar; Massaia, G., Lectiones grammaticales pro missionariis qui addiscare volunt linguam Amaricam, Paris, 1862, 255–6Google Scholar; Sellassié, Guébré, Chronique du régne de Ménétik II roi des rois d'Ethiopie, Paris, 1930–1931, I, 94Google Scholar.

^{page 463 note 2} Abbeto, an honorific title applied to princes or lords of consequence. Guidi, I., Vocabolario amarico-italiano, Roma, 1901, 454Google Scholar; idem, Annales Iohannis I, 'Iyāsu I et Bakaffā, Paris, 1903–5, translation, 346; Blundell, Weld, op. cit., 508Google Scholar; Sellassié, Guébré, op. cit., i, 67Google Scholar.

^{page 463 note 3} Wäyzäro, a title traditionally accorded to princesses. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 509Google Scholar.

^{page 463 note 4} Altaśi. The princess's name, according to the chronicle, was in fact Altas. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyāsu II et Iyo'su, translation, 10–11, 183Google Scholar.

^{page 463 note 5} Meder, land. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 106Google Scholar.

^{page 463 note 6} Ad Abbo. This place, according to the text, is in Na'eder, i.e. north of Tamben, and should therefore apparently not be identified with Ady Abbo west of Ŝire mentioned in several medieval land grants. Guidi, , Annales Iohannis I, 'Iyāsu I et Bakāffā, translation, 165Google Scholar; Hunting-ford, G. W. B., The land charters of northern Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, 1965, 33, 36, 88Google Scholar.

^{page 463 note 7} Zehay, another locality in the Na'eder area.

^{page 463 note 8} Ad Räb, also in the Na'eder area.

^{page 463 note 9} Agura Maqaber, somewhere in Na'eder area, and probably the site of a mäqaber, or grave-yard. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 276Google Scholar.

^{page 463 note 10} Deqena, in the Na'eder area.

^{page 463 note 11} Ad Amhara, likewise in the Na'eder area.

^{page 463 note 12} Ad G^wanso, also in the Na'eder area.

^{page 463 note 13} Sälim Bayeta, another place in the Na'eder area.

^{page 463 note 14} Däbrare, in the Na'eder area.

^{page 463 note 15} Ad Zeban, in the Na'eder area.

^{page 463 note 16} Enzona, in the Na'eder area, and possibly the place of the same name mentioned in a land grant of Emperor Susenyos in the seventeenth century. Huntingford, op. cit., 60.

^{page 463 note 17} Qäyeh Medri, in the Na'eder area, and possibly Qayeh Medr referred to in the above land grant of Susenyos. Huntingford, , op. cit., 60Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 18} Gebsäs, in the Na'eder area, and apparently the place cited in the above land grant of Susneyos. Huntingford, , op. cit., 60Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 19} Mem_waq, also in the Na'eder area.

^{page 464 note 20} Ad Gumbi, the last of the places described as in Na'eder.

^{page 464 note 21} Na'eder, a region south of Adwa and east of Adet, already to be found in a fifteenth-century land charter of Emperor Zär'ä Ya'eqob, and, much later in the nineteenth-century tax records of Emperor Tewodros. Huntingford, , op. cit., 35, 89Google Scholar; Holland, T. J. and Hozier, H. M., Record of the Expedition to Abyssinia, London, 1870, mapGoogle Scholar; Pankhurst, K. and Germa-Sellassie Asfaw, Tax records and inventories of Emperor Tewodros of Ethiopia (1855–1868), London, 1978, 31, 39, 46, 73Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 22} Gäbgäb, an area mentioned in an early Aksumite land grant as well as in tax documents of Emperor Tewodros, and thought by Huntingford to be situated south of Asmara. Huntingford, , op. cit., 29, 86Google Scholar; Smith's New Map of Abyssinia (London, 1867)Google Scholar; Pankhurst, and Sellassie, Germa, op. cit., 74Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 23} Af Gume, possibly the place of that name mentioned in a fourth-century land charter of the cathedral at Aksum. Huntingford, , op. cit., 29Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 24} Debeza, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 25} Ayba, probably the village or locality north of Gäralta frequently mentioned in Ethiopian chronicles, and also in the tax records of Emperor Tewodros. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyāsu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 229Google Scholar; Huntingford, G. W. B., An introduction to the historical geography of Ethiopia, London, 1969 (manuscript in th e library of School of Oriental an d African Studies), 306Google Scholar; Holland an d Hozier, op. cit., map; Simon, G., VEthiopie, Paris, 1885, plate opposite 190Google Scholar; Pankhurst, and Germa-Selassie, , op. cit., 27, 35Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 26} Ćeqqa, a district ruled by a ĉeqqa Ŝum, or village chief. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 847–8Google Scholar; Parkyns, , op. cit., n, 190Google Scholar; Wylde, A. B., Modern Abyssinia, London, 1901, 495Google Scholar; Perham, M., The government of Ethiopia, London, 1948, 275Google Scholar; Ullendorff, E., The Ethiopians ³, Oxford, 1973, 178Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 27} Adeq Sandun, conceivably a copyist's error for Ad Däq Sandud, a locality in the Ĉalaqot area referred to in a late eighteenth-century land grant of Emperor Täklä Giyorgis and in the tax records of Emperor Tewodros. Huntingford, , Land charters, 63Google Scholar; Pankhurst, and Sellassie, Germa, op. cit., 65, 77Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 28} Tämben, a district around Abbi Addi, north of Mäqäle. Huntingford, , Land charters, 32, 34, 41, 64Google Scholar; Combes, E. and Tamisier, M., Voyage en Abyssinie, IV, Paris, 1838, mapGoogle Scholar.

^{page 464 note 29} Edgeb, an unidentified locality.

^{page 464 note 30} Särizba, the location of which is also unidentified.

^{page 464 note 31} Abargäle, a district east of the Takkaze river on the south-western borders of Tegre. Holland and Hozier, op. cit., map.

^{page 464 note 32} Walewa, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 33} Dorozeba, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 34} Barsäne, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 35} Kähvare, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 36} Gamĉa, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 37} Lebäbarfa, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 38} May Ĉelemeyanatu agär, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 39} Jiqeniba, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 40} Wägr Saba, the location of which is uncertain.

^{page 464 note 41} Ad Sälam, possibly the place of that name mentioned in an early nineteenth-century land grant made by Däjjazmaĉ Sebagades of Tegre. Huntingford, , Land charters, 73Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 42} Ad Qäŝi, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 43} May Täkli, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 44} Märebät, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 45} Asgädu, possibly Asgade, a locality south of Ŝire mentioned in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century land charters of Emperors Lebnä Dengel and Fasiladas as well as in tax records of Emperor Tewodros II. Huntingford, , Land charters, 33, 61Google Scholar; Pankhurst, and Germa-Sellassie, , op. cit., 43Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 46} Ad Abeye, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 47} Ad Dänagul, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 48} Bitanya, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 49} Karfaho, probably the place of that name mentioned in a fourteenth-century land grant of Emperor Säyfä Ar'ad. Huntingford, , Land charters, 32Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 50} Nuna, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 51} Ma'ckälay, probably the place of that name referred to in a late eighteenth-century land grant to the convent of Sädya in Tegre. Huntingford, , Land charters, 66Google Scholar.

^{page 464 note 52} Amfi, th e location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 53} May Erba, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 54} Beraqo, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 55} Ad Sägän, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 464 note 56} Ad Qadasom, possibly Ad Qadaso, a locality in Ŝire mentioned in a fifteenth-century land charter of Emperor Yeshaq as well as in the nineteenth century tax records of Emperor Tewodros. Huntingford, , Land charters, 34Google Scholar; Pankhurst, and Germa-Sellassie, , op. cit., 43Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 57} Haddis Addi, a locality referred to in a land charter of Emperor Lebna Dengel, and thought by Huntingford to be situated either south-west of Adi Ugri or else near May Barazo west of Aksum. Huntingford, , Land charters, 29, 42, 86, 91Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 58} Ad Eyo, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 465 note 59} Sara'e, a district north of the Märäb river. The area was mentioned in a fourteenth-century land charter of Emperor Säyfä Ar'ad. Huntingford, , Land charters, 88, 193Google Scholar; Lefebvre, T. and others, Voyage en Abyssinie, Paris, 1846–9, in, 16–19Google Scholar; Holland and Hozier, op. cit., map.

^{page 465 note 60} Amho, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 465 note 61} Ad Hankera, probably the place of that name given to the cathedral of Aksum in two land grants. Huntingford, , Land charters, 29, 70Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 62} Ad Aqäyt, probably the place of that name granted to the cathedral of Aksum in several land charters and likewise referred to in nineteenth-century tax records of Emperor Tewodros. Huntingford, , Land charters, 29, 35, 67Google Scholar; Pankhurst, and Germa-Sellassie, , op. cit., 84Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 63} Ad Ŝehay, the location of which is unidentified.

^{page 465 note 64} Ad Näqizom, probably the place of that name in Ŝire mentioned in a fifteenth-century land grant by Emperor Yeshaq to the convent of Däbrä Abbay, and referred to as Ad Naqizo in tax records of Emperor Tewodros in the nineteenth century. Huntingford, , Land charters, 34Google Scholar; Pankhurst, and Germa-Sellassie, , op. cit., 43Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 65} Was, a guarantor. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 570Google Scholar. Later in the text the scribe writes waŝ in error.

^{page 465 note 66} Agär, country. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 502Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 67} Abbeto Tewodros, who thus acted as guarantor for Wäldä Hawar3rat's paternal land inheritance, was probably a nobleman from Tegre.

^{page 465 note 68} Neburä Ed, literally ‘one who is put in office through the laying on of hands’, the title given to the civil and religious governor of Aksum. Beckingham, C. F. and Huntingford, G. W. B., The Prester John of the Indies, II, Cambridge, 1961, 557–8Google Scholar; Guidi, , Vocabolario, 386Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 69} Täkle, presumably the Neburä Ed of this time, would have been a good guarantor for property in much of Tegre.

^{page 465 note 70} Näft, a gun. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 410Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 71} Säyf, a straight sword. Idem, 189.

^{page 465 note 72} Ŝotäl, a two-edged sword, often curved. Idem, 218; Parkyns, , op. cit., II, 19–20Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 73} Blatttengeta, an honorific title given to a high official of the court, usually with civilian rather than military responsibilities. Massaia, , op. cit., 256Google Scholar; Guidi, , Vocabolario, 315Google Scholar; Blundell, Weld, op. cit., 508Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 74} Blattengeta Kabtu, who served as guarantor for half the movable property given by Ras Mika'el, was a trusted Gondar courtier and sometime commander of the Mäĉĉa troops. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et ‘lyo'as, translation, 169, 197, 242Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 75} Balambaras, literally a ras, or chief, in charge of an amba, or mountain, a title given to lesser dignitaries at court. Massaia, , op. cit., 258Google Scholar; Sellassie, Guebre, op. cit., i, 245Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 76} Balambaras Mentäsenot, the guarantor for the other half of the movable property, was another prominent Gondari courtier. A trusted chief he had been made Ŝaläqa, or commander of a thousand men, in 1746, Balambaras in 1747, and was for a time a Fitawrari in charge of the town of Yebaba in northern Gojjam. Later, in 1756, he was appointed Azzaj, or judge, and Raq Masära, or Master of Ceremonies, and though soon relieved of the latter post, continued to play some part in political and military affairs. Guidi, , Amiales regum 'Iyasu II et 'lyo'as, translation, 137–8, 152, 158, 172, 193, 197, 220, 262Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 77} Däjjazmaĉ Wäräññia, one of the two arbiters, was a Galla who had given trusted service to Emperor Bakaffa, and now held the important post of governor of Gojjam. Described in the chronicle as a friend of Emperor Iyasu II Wäräññia was the first chief to arrive in Gondar after the late monarch's death. He continued to play a major role in court affairs for almost a decade, and died in 1763. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et lyo'as, translation, 181, 186, 207 et passimGoogle Scholar; Blundell, Weld, op. cit., 216Google Scholar; Bruce, , op. cit., 1790 edition, II, 605–6, 613, 660Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 78} Abbeto Ya'eqob son of Abbeto Asm a Giyorgis, th e second of th e tw o arbiters, wa s a courtier who later served as a witness for the marriage of another member of the nobility at Gondar, Abbeto Galawdewos. British Library Orient MS. 778, Ir.

^{page 465 note 79} Abbeto Asmä Giyorgis was possibly the brother-in-law of Emperor Iyasu I, and if this identification is correct had died in 1700. Guidi, , Annales Iohannis I, 'Iyasu I et Bakāffä, translation, 222, 228Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 80} Fessame, conclusion. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 895Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 81} Liqe, literally a ‘superior’, a title given to judges attached to the court and also to heads of churches. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 22Google Scholar; idem, Annales Iohannis I, 'Iyasu I et Bakaffa, translation, 347; Blundell, Weld, op. cit., 509Google Scholar; Sellassié, Guébré, op. cit., I, 66, 88Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 82} Liqe Täklä Haymanot, the first of thirteen persons mentioned as concluding the marriage arrangements, was a courtier throughout the reign of Emperor Iyasu II, later served as Jan Ddrdba Azzaj, or Royal Prosecuting Magistrate, and died in 1761. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu et 'lyo'as, translation, 45, 59, 98, 118, 119, 127, 133, 141, 202, 206Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 83} Liqe Isayyas was probably Azzaj Isayyas who had been in charge of Dabra Berhan Sellase church at Gondar from 1747 to 1752 for which reason he was referred to by the title of Mäl'akä Berhanat. He died in 1760. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et 'lyo'as, translation, 153, 166, 203Google Scholar.

^{page 465 note 84} Liqe Näĉĉo was probably the cleric of that name whom Has Mika'el later put in charge of the church of Attatame Qeddus Mika'el at Gondar which carried with it the title of Mdl'akd Qdnna't. Blundell, Weld, op. cit., 204Google Scholar; idem, Vocabolario, 414.

^{page 466 note 85} Liqe Fasilo was a courtier who later became Sähafe Te'ezaz, or Royal Secretary, in 1788. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II el 'Iyo'as, translation, 197, 200Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 88} Azzaj, a title given to a major domo or head of the palace servants, but also to the more important judges. Combes, and Tamisier, , op. cit., in, 195Google Scholar; Massaia, , op. cit., 257Google Scholar; Guidi, , Vocabolario, 486–7Google Scholar; Sellassié, Guébré, op. cit., I, 190Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 87} Azzaj Tewodeseyas, who had been appointed governor of the coastal province of Bur in 1730 at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Iyasu II, was a prominent courtier at Gondar, and died in 1756. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iydsu 11 et 'Iyo'as, translation, 38, 59, 115, 158, 189Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 88} Azzaj Bätre was another courtier from the time of Iyasu II. Guidi, , Annales regum 'lydsu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 59Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 89} Liqe Kokäbä Leda had been appointed Sahafe Te'ezaz, or Royal Secretary, in 1749, and given the additional position of Tardsemba Azzaj, or judge, in 1753. He died in 1758. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 63, 158, 168, 196, 262Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 90} Bahrey, who had been appointed Azzaj in 1744, had undertaken a mission to Tegre for Emperor Iyasu II in 1752, and died in 1764. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 126, 166Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 91} Abun, literally ‘our father’, the title given to the Metropolitan, or head, of the Ethiopian church, who traditionally came from Egypt. Bruce, , op. cit., 1790 edition, in, 316–17Google Scholar; Guidi, , Vocabolario, 455Google Scholar; Ullendorff, , op. cit., 103Google Scholar. The Abunä at this time was Yohannes who had arrived from Egypt in 1745 and died in 1761. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 127, 129, 181, 207Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 92} Eĉage, the title given to the head of the monks, an official who resided at Gondar and was second in importance only to the Abunä. Bruce, , op. cit., 1790 edition, III, 319Google Scholar; Guidi, , Vocabolario, 511Google Scholar; Sellassié, Guébré, op. cit., I, 39Google Scholar; Mellessa, Ghiorgis, ‘Gondar yesterday and today’, Ethiopia Observer, XII, 3, 1969, 171Google Scholar. The Eĉage at this time was Ewostatewos who had been appointed a little earlier in 1755 and was replaced in 1757. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 178, 181, 192Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 93} Aläqa, literally a ‘superior’, a title given to the head of a church. Massaia, , op. cit., 260Google Scholar; Guidi, , Vocabolario, 414Google Scholar; Sellassié, Guébré, op. cit., I, 66Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 94} Iyäsus, or Addababay Iyasus, one of the principal churches of Gondar. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 760Google Scholar; Corte, A. A. Monti della, I castelli di Gondar, Roma, 1938, 100Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 95} Seraj Masäre, the title given to a high official at the court who was responsible for crowning the monarch. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 862Google Scholar;Sellassié, Guébré, op. cit., I, 48Google Scholar; Huntingford, , Land charters, 108Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 96} Dengel, Habtä was appointed Seraj Masdre in 1747Google Scholar, and, having crowned Emperor Iyo'as in 1755, died in 1758. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 153, 196Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 97} Gemja Bet, literally gemja, or cloth, bet, or house, the term given to the treasury. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 719Google Scholar; Sellassié, Guébré, op. cit., II, 392Google Scholar. The word would, however, seem to designate the church of Gemja Bet Maryam, so called because of its location by the treasury. Corte, Monti della, op. cit., 100Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 98} Liqä Ma'emran, i.e. liqä, or chief, of the ma'emran, or learned men, a title given to judges attached to the court. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 23Google Scholar; Huntingford, , Land charters, 107Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 99} Liqä Ma'emran Neway, who had held the position of Sahafe Te'ezaz, or Royal Secretary, from 1747 to 1749, died in 1760, whereupon the title of Liqa Ma'emran was accorded to his son Keflu. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 153, 206, 207Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 100} Däbrä Berhan, or Dabra Berhan Sellase, one of the foremost churches of Gondar. Jager, O. A. and Pearce, I., Antiquities of north Ethiopia, Stuttgart, 1974, 47–56Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 101} Mäl'akä Berhanat, a title given to the head of the church of Däbrä Berhan at Gondar. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 414Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 102} Mäl'akä Berhanat Walda Rufa'el was in charge of Däbrä Berhan church in 1754—5, and was at one time or another also associated with two other Gondar churches Hamara Noh and Qeddus Rufa'el. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 163, 166, 173, 185Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 103} Aläqendt, condition of being a n Aldqa, o r head. Guidi, , Vocabolario, 415Google Scholar.

^{page 466 note 104} Brothers, i.e. those of Wäldä Hawaryat. Has Mika'el, according to the chronicle of Emperor Iyo'as, had a second son, Däjjazmaĉ Wäldä Kidan, but was actually succeeded as ruler of Tegre by another son Däjjazmaĉ Wäldä Gabre'el. Guidi, , Annales regum 'Iyasu II et 'Iyo'as, translation, 223Google Scholar; Kolmodin, J., Traditions de Tsazzega et Hazzega, Upsal, 97Google Scholar; Perini, , op. cit., 211Google Scholar.

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An eighteenth century Ethiopian dynastic marriage contract between Empress Mentewwab of Gondar and Ras Mika'el Sehul of Tegre

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