Ethiopia, lying on the sea route between the great civilizations of the East and Egypt, played no mean role in the history and economic life of ancient times. Its relations with the Hellenic world—both cultural and economic—were particularly close. The importance of the Aksumite empire, which produced the famous stone obelisks of Northern Ethiopia, was recognized not only by the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire but by the prophet Mohamed, whose followers fled thither from the Arabian persecutions.
Converted to Christianity at a very early period, Ethiopia during the Middle Ages had much in common with the warring feudal kingdoms of Medieval Europe, though an examination of the economic and political structure of this ‘Land of Prester John’ reveals interesting contrasts.
Because of its long-established institutions, the chronicles of its kings, and the testimony of foreign visitors, Ethiopia offers fertile ground for the study of African history, which is receiving increasing attention throughout the world.
Dr. Pankhurst’s exhaustive study, the first attempt at a comprehensive economic history of the country, examines such topics as the system of government and taxation, the organization of the army, the mode of land tenure, the extent of urban development, the state of agriculture and farming, the utilization of forests and minerals, problems of communication, the direction of trade routes, the division of labor and the role of foreigners, health and medicine, the various types of currency and ‘primitive money’ employed, the character of internal and external trade, including the slave trade, and the question of access to the sea.
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION BY DR. K. M. PANIKKAR
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
The Red Sea and ‘the Land of Punt’ in Ancient Times… Indian Trade… The Periplus of the Eritrean Sea… The Adulis Inscriptions… The Inscriptions of Ezana… Aksumite Currency… The Conversion to Christianity… The Christian Topography… Aksumite Control of South Arabia… The Rise of Islam… The Decline of Aksum: Gudit and the Zagwe… The Solomonic Restoration… The Realm of Prester John in the Middle Ages… European Christendom and the Ottoman Turks… Ahmad Grañ and the Portuguese… The Galla Wars… The Later Portuguese… The Expulsion of the Jesuits… The Establishment of Gondar and the Decline of the Monarchy
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL LIFE 1300-1800
The Geography and Frontiers of the Realm
Government, Administration, and Justice
The Seclusion of the Royal Family
The Absence of a Fixed Capital and the Organization of the Court
Population and Towns
The Establishment of Gondar
The Army
The Effects of Warfare
State Revenues, Taxation, and Land Tenure
Church Property in Land
Church Schools
Agriculture
Livestock
Forestry
Mineral Wealth
The Peasant’s Difficulties
Diseases and Medicines
Food and Drink
Clothing
Currency
Nile Waters
Problems of Communication
The Division of Labour
‘Franks’ and Other Foreigners
Internal Trade and Trade Routes
Ethiopia’s Access to the Sea
The Ports and Foreign Trade
Trade in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean
Chinese Trade
The Slave Trade
Conclusion
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APPENDIX A. List of Aksumite Kings who issued Coins
APPENDIX B. Analysis of Aksumite Currency
APPENDIX C. Urban Population Estimates 1520- 1773
APPENDIX D. Chinese Coins Found in East Africa
APPENDIX E. The Habshis of India
APPENDIX F. Ibrahim Hannibal, Ancestor of Alexander Pushkin
APPENDIX G. Bibliography on Aksumite Currency
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
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