Amba Geshen
| Amba Geshen | ||
|---|---|---|
| height | 2355 m | |
| location | Amhara region , Ethiopia | |
| Coordinates | 11 ° 29 '55 " N , 39 ° 19' 6" E | |
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Amba Geshen ( Amharic ግሸን ተራራ Gəshen Terara ) is a mountain in the Ethiopian region of Amhara , northwest of Dese in the former Amba Sel district of Wollo province . It is one of the mountains on which many of the male heirs were interned on the imperial throne (Negus) - usually for life. Of three mountains (or amba ) that served this purpose, it was the second. The rest were Debre Damo and Wehni .
tradition
From an unknown point in the history of Ethiopia, it became a tradition that as soon as an emperor ascended the throne, his brothers and other male relatives were taken to royal prison, where they either died or lived until they ascended the throne. According to some traditions, this custom was introduced during the Zagwe dynasty , but others tell of an even earlier date. The first recorded mention of this practice comes from the reign of Jin Asgad , who imprisoned his brothers and own sons on Amba Geshen. Use Amba Geshens as a prison by the emperor Na'od I finished. However, Manuel de Almeida states that “those who were there before” were guarded until the reign of Emperor Claudius . Even then, the descendants of Emperor Takla Mariam remained under lock and key for treason against Emperor Ba'eda Mariam .
The emperors used this natural fortress as a treasury, even after the mountain had long ceased to serve as a royal prison. The Muslims under Ahmed Gragn tried several times to take Amba Geshen. The Futuh al-Habasha reports on the first (November 1531) and second (1533) attempt. The last attempt, in 1540, was finally successful and Ahmed Gragn had the entire garrison and all residents murdered. Thomas Pakenham notes that today's Ethiopians believe that the cross of Christ was buried on Amba Geshen by Saint Helena .
The first European to mention Amba Geshen was Francisco Álvares , who witnessed an escaped prince being brought back to Amba Geshen. However, the first European to provide an accurate description of the mountain was Almeida:
- “Almost round, but it has the shape of a cross at its tip. If one walked along the edge of the rock, a circling around the top would not be much more than half a iguana . If you walked around the mountain at its foot, however, it took half a day. It is so high that a strong arm could with great difficulty lift a stone from bottom to top with the help of a sling . It is bordered on all sides by craggy rocks that sometimes turn outwards so that it is impossible to get in. There is only one entrance ... called Macaraquer. "
Almeidez adds that were on the top of a natural pool and a source of water caused by Koso and Zegba were covered and wild cedars. He mentions two churches: Egzyabeher Ab, built by Emperor Lalibela , and Tekle Maryam, whose construction was started by Emperor Na'od and was completed by his son, Lebna Dengel . These survived the devastation of Ahmed Gragn. When Pakenham visited Amba Geshen in 1955, however, he found both churches with tin roofs renovated.
Another inaccurate account of Amba Geshen, titled Mount Amara , was published in Purchas, His Pilgrimage . Pakenham believes this inspired John Milton to portray Paradise in Paradise Lost .
literature
- ↑ translated into English in CF Beckingham and GWB Huntingford: Some Records of Ethiopia: 1593-1646 . Hakluyt Society (London 1954), pp. 101f
- ↑ Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader: Futuh al-Habasa: The conquest of Ethiopia . translated into English by Paul Lester Stenhouse annotated by Richard Pankhurst, Tsehai (Hollywood 2003), pages 254-263; 342-346.
- ↑ Thomas Pakenham: The Mountains of Rasselas . Reynal & Co. (New York 1959), p. 156
- ^ Francisco Alvarez: The Prester John of the Indies . translated by CF Beckingham and GWB Huntingford Hakluyt Society (Cambridge 1961).
- ^ Beckingham and Huntingford: Some Records . Pages 97f.
- ^ Beckingham and Huntingford: Some Records . Pages 98f
- ↑ Pakenham: Rasselas . P. 159
- ↑ Pakenham: Rasselas . Pages 139f