While presenting an historical account of the internal dynamics of Islam in Wallo, Ethiopia, with particular emphasis on the modes of its introduction and dissemination, and on its relationship with the Ethiopian state and regional power structure, this book describes the background to, and manifestations of, the revival and consolidation of Islam in the region in the nineteenth century by assessing the role of Muslim scholars, traders and chiefs in that process. It also traces the origin of the tradition of Islamic renewal and reform, and analyzes the response of Wallo Muslim religious intellectuals to the attempt of the Ethiopian Christian monarchs of the period to bring about the political unification of the kingdom by imposing a policy of religious coercion on the Muslims of Wallo. Based largely on hitherto-untapped oral and written indigenous sources, and supplemented by external archival and documentary evidence, the study is aimed at redressing the historiographical and interpretive imbalance embedded in the scholarly, institutional and popular perceptions on Islam in Ethiopia.

Political liberalization and economic reform, the weakening of the state, and increased global interconnections have all had profound effects on Muslim societies and the practice of Islam in Africa. The contributors to this volume investigate and illuminate the changes that have occurred in Africa, through detailed case studies.

Drawing on international and multidisciplinary expertise, this pioneering edited collection analyzing Islam in contemporary Ethiopia challenges the popular notion of a 'Christian Ethiopia' imagined as the century-old, never colonized Abyssinia, isolated in the highlands and dominated by Orthodox Christianity.

The ongoing Egyptian-Ethiopian dispute over the Nile waters is potentially one of the most difficult issues on the current international agenda, central to the very life of the two countries. Analyzing the context of the dispute across a span of more than a thousand years, The Cross and the River delves into the heart of both countries' identities and cultures. Erlich deftly weaves together three themes: the political relationship between successive Ethiopian and Egyptian regimes; the complex connection between the Christian churches in the two countries; and the influence of the Nile river system on Ethiopian and Egyptian definitions of national identity and mutual perceptions of the Other. Drawing on a vast range of sources, his study is key to an understanding of a bond built on both interdependence and conflict.

In October 1875, two months after the takeover of the Somali coastal town of Zeila, an Egyptian force numbering 1,200 soldiers departed from the city to occupy Harar, a prominent Muslim hub in the Horn of Africa. In doing so, they turned this sovereign emirate into an Egyptian colony that became a focal meeting point of geopolitical interests, with interactions between Muslim Africans, European powers, and Christian Ethiopians. In Emirate, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Ben-Dror tells the story of Turco-Egyptian colonial ambitions and the processes that integrated Harar into the global system of commerce that had begun enveloping the Red Sea. This new colonial era in the city’s history inaugurated new standards of government, society, and religion. Drawing on previously untapped Egyptian, Harari, Ethiopian, and European archival sources, Ben-Dror reconstructs the political, social, economic, religious, and cultural history of the occupation, which included building roads, reorganizing the political structure, and converting many to Islam. He portrays the complexity of colonial interactions as an influx of European merchants and missionaries settled in Harar. By shedding light on the dynamic historical processes, Ben-Dror provides new perspectives on the important role of non-European imperialists in shaping the history of these regions.

Im Frühjahr 1906 fand die von Kaiser Wilhelm II. entsandte Deutsche Aksum-Expedition statt, die unter Leitung des deutschen Orientalisten Enno Littmann (1875-1958) stand. Schon 1913 wurden die Ergebnisse, zu denen erste systematische Ausgrabungen in Aksum, die Dokumentation von Kirchen und Klöstern, die Aufnahme von 37 Gesängen in amharischer und arabischer Sprache und die Sammlung zahlreicher Inschriften gehörte, publiziert. Zur Vorbereitung der 100. Wiederkehr dieses Ereignisses fand vom 2. bis 5. Mai 2002 in München die Erste Internationale Littmann-Konferenz zum Thema "Archaeology and History of the Horn of Africa" statt, die in der Öffentlichkeit und in Fachkreisen ein breites Echo fand. Sie wurde nach dem Muster der von F. Hintze begründeten Internationalen Meroitisten-Konferenzen organisiert. In 80 Beiträgen wurde der aktuelle Forschungsstand auf ausgewählten Gebieten behandelt. Knapp die Hälfte davon ist in diesem Band abgedruckt. Drei der vier Hauptreferate sowie sechs Diskussionsbeiträge zum Thema "Archaeology of the Horn of Africa" (R. Fattovich), vier Beiträge zum Thema "The History of the Horn of Africa", sieben Beiträge zum Thema "The Ethiopian Church" (S. Munro-Hay) und sechs Beiträge zum Thema "Enno Littmann und die Deutsche Aksum-Expedition" (R. Voigt) liegen in dem voluminösen Band vor. Sie werden ergänzt durch sieben Beiträge zu "Recent Research and New Discoveries".

First full-length history of the Oromo 1300-1700; explains their key part in the medieval Christian kingdom and demonstrates their importance in shaping Ethiopian history.