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Medri Bahri Land of the Seaምድሪ ባሕሪ
c.1137–1879
Medri Bahri at its height in the 1520s
Capital	Debarwa (Until 17th century) Tsazega (17th century–1879)
Common languages	Tigrinya · Tigre · Beja · Ge’ez
Religion	Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Government	Elective monarchy
Negassi
• circa 950 AD (first)	Unknown
• 1841–1879 (last)	Ras Woldemichael Solomon
Historical era	Middle Ages to Early modern period
• Established	c. 1137
• First mentioned	c. 1450
• Coastline conquered by the Ottomans	1557
• Annexed by the Ethiopian Empire	1879
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Aksum Ethiopian Empire
Today part of	Eritrea

Medri Bahri (Template:Lang-ti, English: Land of the Sea Kingdom), also known as Mereb Melash, was an Eritrean kingdom emerged in 1137 until conquest by the Ethiopian Empire in 1879. It was situated in modern-day Eritrea, and was ruled by a Negassi (at times also called the Bahri Negasi, Bahr Negash in Amharic, Najassi in Arabic, or "king of the sea" in English).

In 1680, Medri-Bahri’s political process was described by the German scholar J. Ludolph as being a republican monarchy. This republican political process was found no where else in the Horn of Africa and was distinct to the kingdom of Medri Bahri.

History

Overview

Added link. After the fall of the Kingdom of Axum a number of Beja kingdoms started appearing in the country north of the Mareb River, while south of it was controlled by the Zagwe dynasty. The Baqlin, Basin and Jarin kingdoms were some of the more well organized and notable ones. About 600 years ago those were replaced by another Beja kingdom known as Belew, which governed the majority of the Eritrean lowlands. "...between the 12th and 16th centuries CE peoples of mixed Beja and Arab ancestry known as the Balaw (Belew) seem to have been politically dominant in much of Eritrea (Conti Rossini 1928; Munzinger 1 864; Zaborski 1 976). The Beja were known to be in the Asmara area (see Conti Rossini 1928) and are remembered in the oral traditions of people residing in the Hamasien region that includes the Asmara Plateau." The Belew kingdom was hugely influential on the history and culture of the Eritrean people, as in the Tigrinya speaking Eritrean highlands you can find people who trace their ancestry to the arabized Bejas of the Belew Kingdom, along with place names originating in that era.

David Buxton has stated that the areas under the direct rule of the Zagwe kings apart from their centre of power in Lasta "probably embraced the highlands of modern Eritrea, Tigray, Waag and Bete Amhara" The area from the Eritrean highlands to the Red Sea was known as Ma'ikele Bahr ("between the seas/rivers," i.e. the land between the Red Sea and later as the Mereb river) in Tigrinya. It was later renamed to the Amharic domain of the Bahr Negash ("King of the sea"), the Medri Bahri ("Land of the Sea," "Sea land") during the Ethiopian Empire (although it included some areas like Shire on the other side of the Mereb, today in Ethiopia). In the 13th century, the ruler of the Tigrinya speaking people to the north of the Zagwe domain was known as the "Tigray Makonnen," and the Enderta based Makonnen Ingida Igzi supported Yekuno Amlak during his rebellion against them. His descendants would later claim independence from the Solomonic Dynasty, culminating in the warrior king Amda Seyon's conquest of Enderta. Afterwards he would place his son, Bahr Seged, as the ruler of the Mekelle Bahr. The first time the title Bahr Negash appears is during the reign of Emperor Zara Yaqob (r. 1433–1468), who perhaps even introduced that office. His chronicle explains how he put much effort into increasing the power of that office, placing the Bahr Negash above other local chiefs and eventually making him the sovereign of a territory covering Shire, in what is now Tigray, and the highlands (Template:Lang-ti) of what is now Eritrea including Hamasien and Seraye. To strengthen the imperial presence in the area, Zara Yaqob also established a military colony consisting of Maya warriors from the south of his realm. Near the end of his reign, in 1464/1465, Massawa and the Dahlak archipelago were pillaged by emperor Zara Yaqob, and the Sultanate of Dahlak was forced to pay tribute to the Ethiopian Empire.

In the 1520s, Medri Bahri was described by the Portuguese traveller and priest Francisco Alvares. The current Bahr Negash bore the name Dori and resided in Debarwa, a town on the very northern edge of the highlands. Dori was an uncle of emperor Lebna Dengel, to whom he paid tribute. These tributes were traditionally paid with horses and imported cloth and carpets. Dori was said to wield considerable power and influence, with his kingdom reaching almost as far north as Suakin, plus he was also a promoter of Christianity, gifting the churches everything they needed. By the time of Alvares' visit, Dori was engaged in warfare against some Nubians after the latter had killed his son. The Nubians were known as robbers and generally had a rather bad reputation. They originated somewhere five to six days away from Medri Bahri, possibly Taka (a historical province named after Jebel Taka near modern Kassala, however P. L. Shinnie suggests an origin in the area around Old Dongola, but this region could not be reached from Eritrea within five - six days

16th century

After the Aksumite empire, the area from the Eritrean highlands to the Red Sea was known as Ma'ikele Bahr ("between the seas/rivers," i.e. the land between the Red Sea and the Mereb river). It was later renamed as the domain of the Bahr Negash ("Ruler of the sea"), the Medri Bahri ("Land of the Sea", "Sea land" in Tigrinya, although it included some areas like Shire on the other side of the Mereb, today in Ethiopia). The entire coastal domain of Ma'ikele Bahri was under the Adal Sultanate during the reign of Sultan Badlay. The first time the title Bahr Negash appears is during the reign of emperor Zara Yaqob (r. 1433-1468), after his reconquest on behalf of the Ethiopian Empire, who perhaps even introduced that office. His chronicle explains how he put much effort into increasing the power of that office, placing the Bahr Negash above other local chiefs and eventually making him the sovereign of a territory covering the Shire, a region south of the Mareb river in what is now Ethiopia, The highlands (Template:Lang-ti) of what is now Eritrea including Hamasien and Seraye. To strengthen the imperial presence in Medri Bahri, Zara Yaqob also established a military colony consisting of Maya warriors from the south of his realm.

In the 1520s, Medri Bahri was described by the Portuguese traveller and priest Francisco Alvares. The current Bahr Negash bore the name Dori and resided in Debarwa, a town on the very northern edge of the highlands. Dori was an uncle of emperor Lebna Dengel, to whom he paid tribute. These tributes were traditionally paid with horses and imported cloth and carpets. Dori was said to wield considerable power and influence, with his kingdom reaching almost as far north as Suakin, plus he was also a promoter of Christianity, gifting the churches everything they needed. By the time of Alvares' visit, Dori was engaged in warfare against some Nubians after the latter had killed his son. The Nubians were known as robbers and generally had a rather bad reputation. They originated somewhere five to six days away from Medri Bahri, possibly Taka (a historical province named after Jebel Taka near modern Kassala).

The Bahre-Nagassi ("Kings of the Sea") alternately fought with or against the Abyssinians (modern day Ethiopia) and the neighbouring Muslim Adal Sultanate depending on the geopolitical circumstances. Medri Bahri was thus part of the Christian resistance against Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi of Adal's forces, but later joined the Adalite states and the Ottoman Empire front against Abyssinia in 1572. During the 16th century said Ottomans also began making inroads in the Red Sea area. The territory became an Ottoman province or eyalet known as the Habesh Eyalet. Massawa served as the new province's first capital. When the city became of secondary economic importance, the administrative capital was soon moved across the Red Sea to Jeddah. Its headquarters remained there from the end of the 16th century to the early 19th century, with Medina temporarily serving as the capital in the 18th century. Turks briefly occupied the highland parts of Baharnagash in 1559 and withdrew after they encountered resistance and pushed back by the Bahrnegash and highland forces. In 1578 they tried to expand into the highlands with the help of Bahr negus Yeshaq who had switched alliances due to power struggle, and by 1589 they were defeated by the Ethiopian Emperor Sarsa Dengel. After that Ottomans abandoned their ambitions to establish themselves on the highlands and remained in the lowlands until they left the region by 1872.

17th century-1890

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The Scottish traveler James Bruce reported in 1770 that Medri Bahri was a distinct political entity from Abyssinia, noting that the two territories were frequently in conflict.

The kingdom was conquered by Ethiopia in 1879, when Ras Alula seized control of the region after he betrayed Ras Woldemichael Solomon and imprisoned him. The region then became an Italian colony in 1890.

Geography

At its peak, the Kingdom of Medri Bahri stretched from the Red Sea to the Mareb River and beyond, covering areas of Shire (Including Inda Selassie) and its surrounding regions. This vast region was subdivided into three main provinces, namely Akele Guzai, Hamassien and Serae. Of these three, Serae was the most politically important district, as the most influential and important people took up residence there. As a consequence, this was also the wealthiest, the best maintained and the best protected district. In the language of Tigrinya language "Medri Bahri" means "Land of the Sea" in reference to the Red Sea which Eritrea has a long coastline of this sea. This kingdom had a border to the south with Tigray Region, a province of the Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia.

Demographics

Medri Bahri was composed of the following modern ethnic groups: Tigrinya people, Bilen people, Saho people, Tigre people, and the Irob people.

Notable people

• Bahr Negus Yeshaq
• Woldemichael Solomon
• Bahta Hagos

Notes

1. Caulk, Richard Alan (2002). "Between the Jaws of Hyenas": A Diplomatic History of Ethiopia (1876-1896). ISBN 9783447045582.
2. J. Ludolph(1977), Forschung, P. 38
3. Islam in ethiopia (First ed.). Boca Raton, FL. 2008. ISBN 9781315888262.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. Yaʻqūbī, Aḥmad ibn Abī Yaʻqūb,? (2018). The Works of Ibn Wāḍiḥ al-Yaʻqūbı̄ : an English translation. Leiden. ISBN 9789004364165.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
5. Buxton, David (1970). The Abyssinians. New York: Praeger. p. 44. ISBN 0-500-02070-1.
6. ^ Tamrat 1972, p. 74.
7. Daniel Kendie, The Five Dimensions of the Eritrean Conflict 1941–2004: Deciphering the Geo-Political Puzzle. United States of America: Signature Book Printing, Inc., 2005, pp.17-8.
8. Richard M. Trivelli, Afrika spectrum 33(1998) 3: p. 259.
9. Taddesse Church and State, p. 73
10. Taddesse Church and State, p. 74
11. ^ Pankhurst 1997, p. 101.
12. ^ Connel & Killion 2011, p. 54.
13. Connel & Killion 2011, p. 160.
14. ^ Pankhurst 1997, p. 102-104.
15. ^ Pankhurst 1997, p. 270.
16. ^ Pankhurst 1997, p. 102-103.
17. ^ Pankhurst 1997, p. 154-155.
18. Werner 2013, p. 149-150 & note 14..
19. Connel & Killion 2011, p. 96.
20. Daniel Kendie, The Five Dimensions of the Eritrean Conflict 1941–2004: Deciphering the Geo-Political Puzzle. United States of America: Signature Book Printing, Inc., 2005, pp.17-8.
21. Owens, Travis. BELEAGUERED MUSLIM FORTRESSES AND ETHIOPIAN IMPERIAL EXPANSION FROM THE 13TH TO THE 16TH CENTURY (PDF). NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 12, 2020.
22. Pouwels, Randall (31 March 2000). The History of Islam in Africa. Ohio University Press. p. 229. ISBN 9780821444610.
23. Werner 2013, p. 149-150 & note 14. P. L. Shinnie suggests an origination from the area around Old Dongola, but could this region not be reached from Eritrea within five - six days of travelling time.
24. Okbazghi Yohannes (1991). A Pawn in World Politics: Eritrea. University of Florida Press. pp. 31–32. ISBN 0-8130-1044-6. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
25. Siegbert Uhlig (2005). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 951. ISBN 978-3-447-05238-2. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
26. Jonathan Miran Red Sea Citizens: Cosmopolitan Society and Cultural Change in Massawa. Indiana University Press, 2009, pp. 38-39 & 91 Google Books
27. Connel & Killion 2011, p. 66-67.
28. Richard Alan Caulk (2002). "Between the Jaws of Hyenas": A Diplomatic History of Ethiopia (1876-1896). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 143–149. ISBN 978-3-447-04558-2.
29. Henry Salt: A Voyage to Abyssinia. Published in 1816 pp
30. Tronvoll 1998, p. 38.

References

• Connel, Dan; Killion, Tom (2011). Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. ISBN 9780810875050.
• Pankhurst, Richard (1997). The Ethiopian Borderlands: Essays in Regional History from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century. ISBN 9780932415196.
• Tamrat, Tadesse (1972). Church and State in Ethiopia (1270–1527).
• Tronvoll, Kjetil (1998). Mai Weini, a Highland Village in Eritrea: A Study of the People. Red Sea Press. ISBN 9781569020593.
• Werner, Roland (2013). Das Christentum in Nubien. Geschichte und Gestalt einer afrikanischen Kirche.

Further reading

• d'Avray, Anthony (1996). Lords of the Red Sea. The History of a Red Sea Society from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries. Harrassowitz.

• History of Eritrea
• Former kingdoms