Regnal lists of Ethiopia

Ethiopian and Eritrean traditions record a range of different monarchs from earlier times whose existence has not been verified by modern-day archeology. Their stories and legends may have elements of truth but it is unclear to what extent this is the case. Numerous king lists have been recorded either on manuscripts or via oral tradition. However, surviving information on the kings prior to the reign of emperor Yekuno Amlak (1270–1285) is often scattered, incomplete or contradictory. The king lists that do refer to pre-1270 Ethiopia rarely match completely with one another. This variation is likely because the lists were compiled over a long time period across several different monasteries. It is also possible that the variations in succession order could be due to tampering with the lists after the 13th century that resulted from "dynastic quarrels" and "ideological re-readings" of the Axumite regnal lists. Carlo Conti Rossini suggested the lists were compiled in the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries following the restoration of the Solomonic dynasty and were compiled from Arabic documents, inscriptions on coins and monuments, and, in the case of some names, from South Arabian mythology. It is unclear what sources were used to construct the various regnal lists. These may have included numismatic sources (i.e. Aksumite currency), inscriptions, literary texts and surviving historical and archival records. Oral traditions that interpreted local antiquities and ruins may have also been used. === Notable rulers before the Zagwe dynasty === These dates suggest that the period of Menelik I to Dil Na'od should cover roughly two millennia. The remaining monarchs should theoretically fit within this timeline, but there is difficulty in making the dates fit. For example, no list provides enough names between Menelik I and Bazen to realistically cover a period of ten centuries. Some lists also include too many reigns between Bazen and Abreha and Atsbeha to fit comfortably between the 1st and early 4th centuries. == Regnal list variations ==

(1595–1678)|290x290px Historian Manfred Kropp noted that numerous regnal lists exist that date back to the 13th century and these are reliable documents. However, for the period before this there are only legendary memories of the Axumite rulers. Regnal lists were created to provide a connection between the Solomonic dynasty and the legendary Axumite kings while skipping the Zagwe dynasty. Such lists were written for the purpose of proving the legitimacy of the ruling Solomonic emperors and had information drawn from chronicles held in monasteries. Kropp believed that Ethiopian regnal lists were intended to fill in the gaps between major events, such as the meeting of Makeda and Solomon, the arrival of Frumentius and the beginning of the Zagwe dynasty. The great variation in names and order between regnal lists was likely because this process took place across several different monasteries and were also passed on orally. Not all names on the regnal lists are Abyssinian in origin. Some names originate from South Arabian mythology, the religious language of Alexandria, and Greco-Roman sources, and transformed into local Abyssinian forms. E. A. Wallis Budge commented that any written information on the period of Ethiopian history before the 13th century was "incomplete" and "untrustworthy". However, he felt that this was because any regnal lists or chronological works held in Axum were likely burned or destroyed before Yekuno Amlak ascended the throne in 1270. Budge noted that numerous regnal lists were known to exist in which the number and order of kings were rarely the same. He felt that it was clear that the chronographers of Abyssinia from the 13th and 14th centuries "did not know how many kings had reigned over [their country] from the time of Makeda [...] or the exact order of succession". Budge theorized that while the regnal lists showed evidence that they were based on legend and tradition, some parts of the list suggested that the scribes did indeed "[have] access to chronological and historical documents of some kind", including Coptic and Arabic texts which were possibly brought over by monks fleeing Egypt and Nubia during the time of the Arab conquests. Some lists began with Adam or David. Spanish Missionary Pedro Páez believed that the reason for the differences in names on various lists was because the Ethiopian emperors used different names prior to their accession to the throne, and some lists used their regnal names while others listed their birth names. This was supposedly done in imitation of Menelik I, who was named David when he was crowned. E. A. Wallis Budge theorised that the existence of multiple king lists suggest that these represent rival claimants to the throne. == Studies and comparisons of the regnal lists ==

in 1894. The book Chaldeae seu Aethiopicae linguae institutiones by Mariano Vittori was notable for being the first European book on Ge'ez grammar, and was published in Rome in 1552. There was a leaflet with a list of kings was included as an appendix containing 153 names up to emperor Lebna Dengel. Two European missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries, Pedro Páez and Manuel de Almeida, visited Ethiopia and personally saw two different regnal lists on which they based their respective writings on the history of Ethiopia. The manuscripts likely dated to before 1620. Both Páez and de Almeida stated that the Ethiopian emperor lent them books from the church of Axum containing the regnal lists. August Dillmann wrote an article comparing the regnal lists in 1853. Dillman compared three lists and simply named them as A, B and C. Dillmann believed that list A was the longest because it included all rulers, regents, co-regents, pretenders and even heads of individual parts of the empire, while lists B and C only had the most important names. Carlo Conti Rossini attempted to co-ordinate and compare the large number of different regnal lists, bringing together 86 different lists from libraries in Ethiopia and Italian Eritrea. The lists were divided into eight groups based on similarities and number of kings, and they were categorized by the letters A to H. Rossini's list A, B and C match Dillmann's C, B and A respectively. Across Rossini's different lists, no name appears on all lists and no individual list contains all recorded names. The most common names to appear on the lists are Menelik I, Bazen, Abreha and Atsbeha and Gebre Meskel. == Regnal lists of the Aksumite period ==

The following section details the types of regnal lists that chronicle the rulers of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea before the Zagwe dynasty, covering both the legendary and historical periods of the Kingdom of Aksum. Dillmann List A / Rossini List C from the Church of Ura Kidane Mihret, Zege Peninsula, Lake Tana, Ethiopia.|224x224px August Dillmann's List A and Carlo Conti Rossini's List C both begin with the legendary serpent king Arwe and end with the Axumite king Gebre Meskel, containing 91 names. The names and regnal lengths below are taken from these two lists. Reign lengths in italics are outliers that only appear on a few lists, and priority is given to reign lengths that appear on both Dillmann's and Rossini's lists. Names can vary greatly across regnal lists, so priority for names is also given to those that appear on both lists. Dillmann noted that his list A could be found in the works of Mariano Vittori, James Bruce, Edmond Combes, Maurice Tamisier and Eduard Rüppell. Dillmann believed that list A was the longest of the three he compiled because it included all rulers, regents, co-regents, pretenders and even heads of individual parts of the empire, while lists B and C only had the most important names. Rossini's list C was based on 16 documents dating to the 16th–19th centuries. These include certain copies of the Kebra Nagast and regnal lists recorded by Pedro Páez, Manuel de Almeida and Mariano Vittori. Because this list ends with Gebre Meskel and does not continue to the end of the Axumite kingdom, some writers chose to 'complete' the line of kings by using other lists. Dillmann noted that Eduard Rüppell continued by using list B, while Mariano Vittori used what Dillmann called list C. James Bruce's list diverges after the reign of Bazen and matches Dillmann's list C/Rossini's list A after this point. The following table is mostly based on Dillmann's and Rossini's lists, but will also include information from these sources: • Chaldeae seu Aethiopicae linguae institutiones by Mariano Vittori (1552). • The second of three regnal lists recorded by Pedro Páez in his book História da Etiópia (1620). Páez believed this list contained the throne names kings took upon their accession, while he thought his first list contained birth names. A manuscript from Debre Libanos of unknown age has a similar line of succession to this list. • Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (Volume 2) by James Bruce (1790). He had gathered information for his regnal list from local scribes, though did not believe they were trustworthy or that his regnal list was complete. • A Voyage to Abyssinia (1814) by Henry Salt. After the joint reign of Abreha and Atsbeha, Salt's list diverges from Dillmann's list A/Rossini's list C and instead matches list B from both historians. • Voyage en Abyssinie (Volume 3) by Edmond Combes and Maurice Tamisier (1838). Combes and Tamisier included two lists for the period from Menelik to Bazen. The first list is similar to James Bruce's list except it omits two rulers who reigned before Bazen, while the second list is similar to Henry Salt's list except it replaces Handadyo's name with "Zagdur" used by Bruce and mistakenly gives Gasyo 4 months of rule. Combes and Tamisier's list from Bazen to Abreha and Atsbeha is almost identical to Salt's list, including moving Abreha and Atsbeha's reign much earlier, except that Zegen and Rema (no. 39 and 40) are mistakenly counted as one ruler. • Reise in Abyssinien (Volume 2) by Eduard Rüppell (1840). His list begins with Bazen and dates the period from the birth of Christ to the reign of Gebre Meskel as 5500 to 6214 A.M. (up to the year 714 on the Gregorian calendar). His list then continues in a way that matches the "List B" recorded by both Dillmann and Rossini. • The first of two manuscripts held in the British Museum published in E. A. Wallis Budge's A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia Volume I (1928). This manuscript was filed under Oriental No. 821, fol. 28b. Budge did not quote any names before Ebna El-Hakim or after Abreha and Atsbeha. • A list of kings provided by E. A. Wallis Budge which he dated to the period c. 360–550 from the end of Abreha and Atsbeha's joint reign to the beginning of Gabra Maskal's reign. Budge was unclear on the source of his information, and appears to combine information from different lists into this one. He believed these monarchs were "kinglets" who ruled parts of Ethiopia separate from other lines of kings between 360 and 480. Mariano Vittori preceded his list with naming Cush and Ham of the Bible. James Bruce's list begins with Menelik rather than Arwe. This list uses the prefix "Ela" for most rulers from number 48 to 83. Salt adds the prefix "Za" for most rulers from Arwe to Hadus, except Menelik I, Awda, Kawuda, Kanazi, Haduna and Herka, the last instead having the "El" prefix. Combes' and Tamisier's uses the prefix "Za" for all rulers except Arwe, Makeda and Menelik, as well as Awida, Kanazi, Haduna and Bazen on their second list. Manuscript Oriental No. 821, fol. 28b quoted by Budge uses the "Za" prefix for all rulers except Ebna El-Hakim, and the co-regents Bezta and Zemare. Additionally, on this manuscript all names from Asgwagwa to Ahywa (except for Besi Sawesa, Wakana and Hadus) have the "Ela" prefix as well. A noticeable problem with this list is that over 400 years pass between the end of Bazen's reign and the beginning of Abreha and Atsbeha's reign. This pushes their joint reign to the early 5th century, a whole century after the traditional early 4th century date for the Christianisation of Ethiopia. Because of this, Henry Salt deliberately altered the placement of Abreha and Atsbeha on his list so that the thirteenth year of their joint reign would fall correctly on the date when Christianity was introduced to Ethiopia instead of contradicting this tradition. Salt noted that his list makes a "very striking error" by placing Abreha after El Ahiawya and thus suggesting that his thirteenth year of rule took place 465 years after the birth of Christ. As a result, Salt's personal king list alters the order slightly by placing Abreha and Atsbeha much further up the king list (the table below however retains the order of his original source). Salt additionally believed that there should only be one king named Ameda, though his list has two kings of this name. Salt theorised that the change of prefix from "Za" to "El" after the reign of Za Elasguaga reflected a change of dynasty. He believed that this theory could be confirmed by the short reigns of Za Baesi Tsawesa, Za Wakena and Za Hadus, who all reigned for a combined total of 1 year, 4 months and 2 days after the first "El" king, El Herka. He believed that the "Za" kings were the "shepherd kings" or "original Ethiopians" before being replaced by a new "race" of kings. Salt suggested that this change may have been caused by colony of Syrians who were placed by Alexander the Great near the mouth of the Red Sea according to an account written by Philostorgius. Frederick Edwards noted the rulers numbered 3 to 5 on this list do not appear on Rossini's other lists, unless they can be equated with Zagdur, Subabasyu and Tawasya on list D, where they follow Menelik. Dillmann List B / Rossini List B bringing the Zion Tabot (Ark of the Covenant) to Aksum.|200x200px August Dillmann's list B and Carlo Conti Rossini's list B both contain 69 names from Menelik I (known as "Ibn-Hakim" on this list) to Dil Na'od, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Axum. This list does not contain reign lengths for most monarchs. The list should cover a period of roughly 2,000 years from the 10th century BCE to the 10th century CE, but the lack of dates makes it difficult to accurately map the number of rulers over this time period. Dillmann's list B is compiled from four different collected lists, the same ones used for his list A. Rossini's list B is based on 33 documents dating to the 16th–19th centuries. These include the Gadla Takla Haymanot and chronicles held in the British Museum, Bodleian Library and Bibliothèque nationale de France. Each ruler is stated to be the son of the preceding king. Some variations of the list specifically call these rulers the "Kings of Axum". Henry Salt believed the kings from Alla Amidas to Dil Na'od reigned for a total of 354 years. E. A. Wallis Budge dated the period from Constantinos to Del Na'ad to c. 600–970. Apart from Dillmann's and Rossini's lists, the following table includes information from these sources: • A Voyage to Abyssinia (1814) by Henry Salt. Salt's list prior to Abreha and Atsbeha closely follows Dillmann's list A/Rossini's list C, but after this point it more closely follows list B from both historians. However, Salt also quoted a "corrupt" list for the period from Ibn Hakim to Bazen that is similar to list B below. Edmond Combes and Maurice Tamisier's list in Voyage en Abyssinie (Volume 3) (1838) is virtually the same as Salt's list except for minor differences of name spellings. • Reise in Abyssinien (Volume 2) by Eduard Rüppell (1840). His list of rulers before Gebre Meskel matches Dillmann's List A/Rossini's List C, while afterwards it matches the "List B" recorded by both Dillmann and Rossini. • ''Études sur l'histoire d'Éthiopie'' (1882) by French Orientalist René Basset. This list claimed that each king was the son of the previous king, except for Saba Asgad, who was the brother of his predecessor Zaray and both were sons of Sarguay. • A translation of The Life of Takla Haymanot by E. A. Wallis Budge (1906). Each king is the son of the previous king on this list. • The second of two manuscripts held in the British Museum published in E. A. Wallis Budge's A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia Volume I (1928). This manuscript was filed under Oriental No. 821, fol. 36a. Budge regarded this manuscript to be the most authoritative. Dillmann List C / Rossini List A August Dillmann's list C and Carlo Conti Rossini's list A both begin with Bazen and do not name any rulers from the BCE era. Both lists end by naming Terda Gabaz, a princess who passed the throne to the Zagwe dynasty. These lists notably do not name Dil Na'od as the last king of Axum, and place some rulers after his name that preceded him on other lists. Dilmann's list includes 44 names and Rossini's list includes 47 names. Dillmann noted that his list C could be found in the works of Mariano Vittori and James Bruce. Rossini's list A was based on 22 documents dating to the 16th–19th centuries. These documents included manuscripts held in the British Museum, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Royal Library of Berlin and Bodleian Library, as well as the private collection of Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, the Ethiopian manuscripts Serata Mangest, Weddasé Amlak and Kitara Tasbuki, and regnal lists recorded by Mariano Vittorio, Pedro Páez and Manuel de Almeida. Dillmann's list C begins by stating "In Axum, the serpent had its rule, and after our Redeemer was born, these were the kings of Axum". Apart from Dillmann's and Rossini's lists, the following table also includes information from these sources: • Chaldeae seu Aethiopicae linguae institutiones by Mariano Vittori (1552). • The third of three regnal lists recorded by Pedro Páez in his book História da Etiópia (1620). Páez believed this list contained the throne names kings took upon their accession, while he thought his first list contained birth names. The third list was placed directly after the second as a continuation of names following Gebre Meskel, however there is a significant overlap of names between the two lists. • Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (Volume 2) by James Bruce (1790), from a monastery of Debre Libanos. Rossini List D , who appears on Rossini's lists C, D, E and F. Carlo Conti Rossini's list D is based on 6 documents. These include a manuscript from Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie's collection (number 105), the Chronicle of Azaz Delbo, and regnal lists recorded by Melchior da Silva, Pedro Páez and Manuel de Almeida. The list has 67 names from Angabo to Dil Na'od. All names on this list also appear on Rossini's lists B and C, though some are spelled differently. Like those lists, list D also lacks reign lengths. Apart from Rossini's list, the following table also includes information from these sources: • The first of three regnal lists recorded by Pedro Páez (1620). Páez believed this list contained the birth names of the kings while the second and third lists included throne names they took upon their accession. Rossini List E Carlo Conti Rossini's list E is found in only one manuscript given to him by the Monastery of Enda Sellasé in Akele Guzai in Eritrea. The list attempts to establish a relationship between the ancient dynasty and the Hamasien region. E. A. Wallis Budge quoted this list in his book A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia (Volume 1) (1928). There are 67 names on this list. This list includes reign lengths for some rulers, but not all of them. Rossini List F shown with Makeda, who is his daughter in this version of the legend.|200x200px Carlo Conti Rossini's list F is based on two manuscripts. Each manuscript has some variation of names and order, and will be referred to as "FA" and "FB" on this list, as quoted by Frederick Edwards (FA) and Joseph Tubiana (FB) respectively. Version FA includes 34 names from Angabo to Dil Na'od, while FB includes 31 names from Menelik I to Dil Na'od. At least one of these manuscripts was dated to the 16th century. An abridged version with 17 names and individual years of rule from Angabo to Leb Dare is known to exist. Rossini List G Carlo Conti Rossini's list G is based on a single manuscript held in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris (Manuscript 149). This list has some names that do not appear elsewhere, and also some names are out of order compared to other lists. This list is essentially an expansion of list F. Rossini List H Carlo Conti Rossini's list H is noticeably different from other list variations. Despite containing some familiar names, many names are unique to this list. It is based on three manuscripts. This list contains 25 names from Menelik I to Luzay. An alternate version with 27 names was found in one copy of the Kebra Nagast which adds names and reign lengths of Ethiopian emperors from the 17th and 18th centuries. This manuscript was in the collection of Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie (Manuscript 97). Comparison of the regnal lists Time span on lists with reign lengths The 1922 regnal list attempted to combine the different lists after Abreha and Atsbeha into one line succession dating from 306 to 920 E.C., and did this by placing most of the kings in Dillmann's List A/Rossini's List C directly after Abreha and Atsbeha and then continuing the line with the kings from List B. This allowed a sufficient number of kings to reign between Abreha and Atsbeha in the early 4th century and Alla Amidas in the late 5th century, and also continued the line of kings into the early 10th century. Alternate pre-Menelik regnal lists Beginning with Adam This regnal list chronicles kings who ruled before Menelik I, but relies on Biblical chronology, particularly from the Book of Genesis. This list essentially serves as a document of the lineage of Menelik through his father Solomon. The following list was included in E. A. Wallis Budge's book A History of Ethiopia (Volume I) and was quoted from two manuscripts; One held in the British Museum and another held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which was published in René Basset's 1882 book ''Études sur l'histoire d'Éthiopie. The names of these kings also appear in the 14th-century text Kebra Nagast''. Budge believed this list had "no historical value" and was only intended to fill the gap from Adam to Solomon. The last king, 'Ebna Hakim, does not appear in the Bible and is meant to be Menelik I, the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The name Ebna Hakim translates to "Son of the Wise Man" (i.e. Solomon) in Arabic. The Kebra Nagast lists an additional king named 'Orni between Hezron and Aram, who was the son of Hezron and father of Aram. Budge believed this king to be Oren, son of Jerahmeel. Beginning with Ham Another Ethiopian tradition claims that the Ethiopian monarchy was descended from Ham, son of the Biblical prophet Noah. While Ham is not included in the Biblical regnal list mentioned above, a claimed genealogy from Ham to the founders of Axum does exist. According to this tradition, Axum was founded within a century after the Great Flood. This genealogy chronicles kings descending from Ham who represent Ethiopia and Axum. E. A. Wallis Budge called this dynasty the "Dynasty of Kush" and referred to the Angabo dynasty as the "Native African dynasty". Enno Littmann recorded a tradition from an Ethiopian priest named Gabra Wahad, who stated the following: == Zagwe dynasty lists ==

, who appears on all Zagwe lists. Ethiopian and Eritrean traditions are in agreement that the Zagwe dynasty ruled at some point after the fall of Axum in the 10th century and directly preceded the Solomonic dynasty (1270–1974), but differ regarding when this dynasty first came to power, how long it remained in power and even the number of kings who ruled. Ethiopian historian Sergew Hable Selassie noted there are three main lists of Zagwe kings, known as the short, long and longer lists. He felt that the longer list was probably the most accurate. Short List Recorded in Carlo Conti Rossini's work ''Storia d'Etiopia'' (p. 305). Pedro Páez recorded a version with reign lengths and noted this list was likely incomplete. Manuel de Almeida also quoted a list that claimed this dynasty only had 5 kings who ruled for 143 years. A manuscript held in Paris (no. 64) claimed the Zagwe dynasty had 5 kings whose rule began in either 1145 or 1147 and ended in either 1268 or 1270. Long list Variation 1 Recorded in Carlo Conti Rossini's work ''Storia d'Etiopia'', Eduard Rüppell's Reise in Abyssinien and René Basset's ''Études sur l'histoire d'Éthiopie''. Also recorded in the Paris Chronicle and a manuscript held in the British Museum (Or. 821, fol. 28b). The 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia uses a similar list of kings for the Zagwe dynasty, but with some differences in reign length, giving the dynasty a total of 333 years of rule. James Bruce used this version of this list in his book Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile, though considered Tatadim, Jan Seyum, Germa Seyum, Harbai and Mairari to be descendants of Gudit who ruled at Lasta, while the other six kings were theorised to be Christian according to Bruce. Variation 2 Recorded in Eduard Rüppell's Reise in Abyssinien and Carlo Conti Rossini's "La caduta della dinastia Zague" (p. 295). Rüppell's list originated from the Chronicle of Berhan Sagad and stated these kings reigned for a total of 333 years. Variation 3 Recorded by Carlo Conti Rossini from a text from Dabra Libanos. Longer list == Descendants of the Axumite line during the Zagwe period ==

Some regnal lists include names of monarchs who were descended from Dil Na'od and preceded the restoration of the line under Yekuno Amlak. According to Henry Salt, these kings were based in Shewa after the family fled there following the destruction of Axum by Gudit. The following lists are included in this table: • A list published in Henry Salt's A Voyage to Abyssinia (1814). Salt dated their period of rule to 925–1255. • A list published by René Basset in 1882. This list stated that each king was the son of the previous king, with these kings representing eight generations directly from Dil Na'od to Yekuno Amlak. • A list published by E. A. Wallis Budge in 1928 in his book A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia (volume 1). == Alternate variations of the Solomonic line ==

Beginning with the reign of Yekuno Amlak, the line of rulers becomes more consistently noted and dated across various regnal lists. However, some emperors have been excluded from certain lists: • The first regnal list quoted by Pedro Páez omitted two of the sons of Yagbe'u Seyon. • The second regnal list quoted by Pedro Páez omitted Andreyas, who reigned for 6 months in 1429 and 1430. The same regnal list did not name directly the ephemeral sons of Yagbe'u Seyon, but simply stated that two of his sons ruled for three years followed by three grandsons who reigned for two years. • The 1922 regnal list of Ethiopia omitted Susenyos II, perhaps due to doubts over his legitimacy. A manuscript from the Debre Damo church provided a slightly altered line of succession from Yekuno Amlak to Lebna Dengel: The above list omits at least one of the sons of Yagbe'u Seyon. The second Amda Seyon is credited with having "fought ten kings and killed all of them", but this is likely a confusion with Amda Seyon I. == 1922 regnal list ==

The longest regnal list of Ethiopian rulers was written in 1922 and contained 321 names from 4530 BC to 1779 AD. This list combines names from the majority of other regnal lists along with many additional names of rulers of ancient Nubia (which was often called Aethiopia historically) and ancient Egypt, as well as names that originate from the Biblical, ancient Greek, Coptic and Arabic literature. This regnal list first received attention in the Western world when it was published in Charles Fernand Rey's 1927 book In the Country of the Blue Nile after he had been given a copy by the Prince regent Tafari Makannon. == See also ==