made its appearance; and the more probable account of the destruction of the Ethiopian army is, that they perished by this distemper. The war of the elephant is supposed to have terminated about A. D. 360: from which time to that of Elesbaan, named also Caleb, we meet with nothing remarkable in the Ethiopic history; excepting that the court and principal people, if not the nation in general, relapsed into idolatry, which, it is said, prevailed till A. D. 521, when they were again converted by their king, Adad or Adag, whom some suppose to be the same with Elesbaan. Be that as it may, Elesbaan engaged in a war with the Homerites, or Sabæans, in Arabia Felix; whom he overthrew in battle, and put an end to their kingdom; after which he embraced the Christian religion in token of gratitude for the success he had met with. In the time of this prince a violent persecution of the Christians took place in Arabia. The Jewish religion had now spread itself far into that peninsula; and in many places the professors of it were become absolute masters of the country, insomuch that several Jewish principalities had been erected, the sovereigns of which commenced a severe persecution against the Christians. Among the rest, one Phineas distinguished himself by his cruelty, having prepared a great number of furnaces or pits filled with fire, into which he threw those who refused to renounce Christianity. The Christians applied for relief to the emperor Justin; but he, being at that time engaged in a war with the Persians, could not interfere: however, in 522, he sent an embassy to Elesbaan, who was now also a member of the Greek church, intreating him to exert himself for the relief of the Christians of Arabia. On this the emperor commanded his general Abreha, governor of Yemen, to march to the assistance of Aretas, son to a prince of the same name, whom Phineas had burnt: while he himself prepared to follow with a more considerable force. But, before the arrival of the Ethiopian monarch, young Aretas had marched against Phineas, and entirely defeated him. Soon after, the emperor himself arrived, and gave Phineas a second defeat: but, notwithstanding these misfortunes, it does not appear that either the principality of Phineas, or any of the other Jewish ones, was at this time overturned; though it seems certain that, at this time, the Ethiopians possessed part of the Arabian peninsula. According to the Arabian historians, the war of the elephant, with the miraculous destruction of the Ethiopian army, took place in the reign of Elesbaan. Some historians mention, that the Ethiopian monarchs embraced the doctrine of Mahomet soon after the impostor made his appearance; but this seems not to be well founded: though it is certain that the Najaski, or Ethiopian governor of Yemen, embraced Mahommedanism, and that he was related to the royal family. On this occasion, however, the Ethiopians lost all the footing they once had in Arabia; the governors being expelled by Mahomet and his successors. They fled to the African side of the Red Sea with numbers of their subjects, where they erected several small kingdoms, as Adel, Wypo, Hadea,

Mara, and others. During the conquests of the caliphs, the Jews were for some time every where driven out of their dominions, or oppressed to such a degree that they voluntarily left them. Ethiopia offered them an asylum: and in this country they became so powerful, that a revolu tion in favor of Judaism seemed ready to take place. One family had always preserved an independent sovereignty on a mountain called Samen, the royal residence being on the top of a high rock; and several other high and rugged mountains were used as natural fortresses. Becoming by degrees more powerful, Judith the daughter of one of their kings, formed a design of overturning the Ethiopian government, and setting aside the family of Solomon, who had hitherto continued to enjoy the sovereignty. This design was facilitated by several circumstances. The empire had been weakened by an unsuccessful war, famine, and plague; the throne was possessed by an infant; and the absurd custom of confining the whole royal family on a rock, named Damo, gave her an opportunity of cutting them all off at once by surprising that place. Fortunately, however, the king escaped the general catastrophe, and was conveyed by some of the nobility of Amhara to the province of Xoa, or Shoa; by which means the line of Solomon is stated to have been preserved, and afterwards restored, though not till after a very considerable interval.

Judith, having by this massacre established her own power, assumed the imperial dignity, though in direct opposition to the established law, that no woman should enjoy the sovereign power. The people, however, seemed to have submitted quietly to her government, as she sat on the throne for forty years, and afterwards transmitted the sovereignty to five of her posterity, who reigned successively. We are not furnished with any particulars concerning their reigns; farther than that they were great oppressors. Another revolution took place, and a new set of usurpers, related to the family of Judith, but not their direct lineal descendants, succeeded to the throne. These were Christians, and governed with much greater lenity than the Jewish sovereigns had done; but still, being usurpers, none of their transactions are recorded in the Abyssinian annals, excepting those of Lalibala, who was accounted a saint. He lived in the end of the twelfth, or beginning of the thirteenth century, and proved a great prince. At that time the Christians in Egypt were grievously persecuted by the Saracens, who had a particular abhorrence of masons, builders, and stone-cutters; looking upon them as the chief promoters o idolatry, by the ornaments connected with their works. The refugees of this description were joyfully received by Lalibala; and were employed by him in hewing churches out of the solid rock, after the example of the ancient Troglodytic habitations: many works of this kind still remain in the country. He undertook, however, a still more arduous task; that of lessening the stream of the Nile, and thus starving the whole kingdom of Egypt, now in the hands of his enemies. From the account given by Mr. Bruce of this project, it appears that there was some possibility

of accomplishing it; not indeed by turning the course of the Nile itself, but by diverting that of many of those branches which convey into it the water of the tropical rains. He says, that Lalibala succeeded in his enterprise so far as to divert the course of two large tributaries of the Nile, and that they have ever since flowed into the Indian Ocean. He next proceeded to carry a level towards a lake named Zagvia, into which many rivers flow, whose streams contribute to increase that of the Nile; and, had this been accomplished, the loss of so much water would have been very sensibly felt by the Egyptians. This enterprising monarch was prevented by death from executing his design; though Mr. Bruce informs us of a written account at Xoa, in which it was asserted, that he was dissuaded from it by certain monks, who told him, that by sending down such a quantity of water to the eastern and dry parts of Africa, these countries would soon become so fertile and populous, that they would rival the empire of Ethiopia, or at least withdraw their allegiance from it. The remains of these works were seen by the Portuguese ambassador in 1522.

All this time the princes of the ancient line had been obliged to content themselves with the sovereignty of the province of Xoa, and made no attempt to regain their former dignity; but they were unexpectedly restored without bloodshed or disturbance, by Naacueto Laeb, the grandson of Lalibala. This prince, of a pacific disposition, was persuaded by a monk named Tecla Haimanout, greatly celebrated for his sanctity, to resign the crown, to which, though he received it from his father, he could not pretend to have any right. It was now agreed therefore that Naacueto should give up the empire to Icon Amlac, the lineal descendant of Solomon, who then possessed the sovereignty of Xoa; but that a portion of land should be irrevocably assigned to Naacueto and his heirs, over which he should be allowed to exercise an absolute sovereignty, as a testimony of this sacrifice. The monk, in this treaty, did not forget his own interest. He had founded a famous monastery in Xoa, and was primate of the whole empire under the title of Abuna. He now insisted that one-third of the kingdom of Ethiopia should be ceded to himself, for the maintenance of his own dignity, and the support of the clergy, convents, &c., throughout the country; and that no native Abyssinian should ever enjoy the same dignity with himself, even though he should have been chosen and ordained at Cairo, as was the custom with the Abyssinian prelates. These extraordinary terms were complied with, and Icon Amlac ascended the throne of Ethiopia.

This prince did not remove the seat of government from Tegulat, the capital of the province of Xoa; but continued there during the whole of his life, which lasted fifteen years after his accession. We are ignorant of the transactions of his reign, as well as that of several of his successors; five of whom ascended the throne in as many years: and we have no particular account of the transactions of the empire tll the time of Amda Sion, who began to reign in 1312. He was the son of Weden Araad, the youngest brother of Icon Amlac, and succeeded to the throne on the

death of his father. He professed the Christian religion; but his practice seems to have been very opposite to its precepts. He began his reign with living publicly with a concubine of his father's; and quickly after committed incest with his two sisters. On this he was first exhorted to repentance, and then excommunicated, by Honorius, a monk greatly celebrated for his sanctity, and who has since been canonised. The prince, enraged at this indignity, caused the saint to be severely whipped throngh every street of his capital. The same night the town was set on fire, and reduced to ashes; the clergy persuading the people, that the blood of Honorius had turned to fire as it dropped on the ground, and thus occasioned the catastrophe; but Amdi Sion, suspecting that the monks themselves had been the incendiaries, banished or imprisoned them all, so that their hopes of exciting an insurrection were disappointed; and, being dispersed into those provinces where the inhabitants were mostly Jews or Pagans, they were now obliged to apply to their proper duty, viz. the diffusion of the gospel. While the emperor was busy with the monks, one of his commercial factors was assassinated by the Moors in the province of Isat; on which he assembled his troops, and fell upon the nearest of the Mahommedan settlements, massacring all he met without exception. He ultimately laid waste the whole country with fire and sword, carrying off an immense booty. For some time the Moors were so surprised that they did not think of making opposition; but at last they took up arms, and attempted to surprise the Abyssinian monarch in his camp. With this view they approached the camp in the nighttime, expecting to have found the emperor and his soldiers immersed in sleep. Unexpectedly, however, he had been joined by a considerable part of his army, whom he drew up in battle array to receive his enemies. An engagement ensued, in which Amda Sion behaved with great valor; killed the Moorish general with his own hand, and gained a complete victory. He then commanded such of his soldiers as could not find houses ready built, to build huts for themselves, and a large tract of land to be ploughed and sown, as if he meant to stay in the country of the enemy during the rainy season. The Mahommedans now perceiving that they were in danger of being totally exterminated, willingly submitted to his terms; while the monarch conciliated the affections of his people by dividing among them the vast plunder he had acquired. But the Moors no sooner found themselves freed from immediate danger, than they prepared for a new revolt. They renewed hostilities by plundering some villages belonging to the Christians, and destroying their churches. A most formidable combination had taken place; but the superstition of Amano, king of Hadea, one of the chiefs of the revolt, was instrumental in giving the first blow to the rebellion. This man, by the advice of a necromancer, in whom he put great confidence, instead of marching his troops to the assistance of his allies, remained at home, where he was defeated and taken prisoner by a detachment of the imperial army. The governor of Amhara was next despatched against Saber

eldin, the revolted governor of Fatigar, with orders to lay waste the country, and use every method to force him into an engagement, in which he was defeated; the victors plundering his house, and taking his wife and children prisoners. But in the mean time intelligence was received of a new revolt among the Falasha, who had assembled a formidable army. They were, however, entirely defeated by Tzaga Christos, another Abyssinian general, who soon after joined the emperor. Saber-eddin, no longer able to support himself against the united forces, was obliged to surrender at discretion, and all the rest were quickly reduced; so that Ainda Sion was at leisure to march against the kings of Adel and Mara, who, having now united their forces, resolved to give him battle. At this the Abyssinian monarch was so exasperated, that he vowed to take ample vengeance; swore on the holy eucharist, in the presence of his whole army, that though but twenty of his army should join him, he would not turn his back upon Adel or Mara, till he had either forced them to tribute and submission, or entirely extirpated them and ther religion.' The army not only applauded this with loud shouts, but protested that they looked upon themselves to be all bound by the oath he had taken: and, as he had mentioned in his speech that the plunder had been purchased by the lives of their Christian brethren, they determined to show their abhorrence at keeping any of it. Taking lighted torches therefore in their hands, they set fire to the plunder that had been amassed since the beginning of the war. Notwithstanding this enthusiasm, however, the expedition did not proceed successfully. This arose principally from the superstition of the Abyssinians, who were always averse to travelling, and especially to fighting, in the night. Their enemies, therefore, always chose this season for coming to an engagement; and so harassed the Abyssinian monarch, that his troops began to complain; and, on the commencement of the rainy season, insisted on being allowed to return. Amda Sion on this told them, that, if they were afraid of rains, he would conduct them to a country where there were none; meaning Adel, which, though within the limits of the tropical rains, has them at a different season to Abyssinia. Thus he persuaded his army again to set forward; but was so grievously harassed by the nocturnal attacks of the Moors, that he was once more in danger of being deserted; and when by his eloquence he had dissipated the apprehensions of the soldiers, he was seized with a violent fever. To add to his disasters, while the troops were indulging themselves in inaction, they heard that the Moors, having assembled an army of 40,000 men, were in full march to attack them. The king now fainted on attempting to make himself ready for battle. Still, however, his courage was unabated. Having refreshed himself, he said to his soldiers: As it never was my opinion, that it was my own strength and valor, or their want of it, which has so often been the cause of preserving me from their hands; so I do not fear at present that my accidental weakness will give the enemy any advantage over me, as long as I trust in God's power as much as I have ever done.' VOL. VIII.

6

The drooping spirits of the Abyssinians were, it is said, revived by this speech, and they only begged that their monarch would now trust to their valor, and not expose his own person. His advanced guard, however, was soon attacked and driven back on the main body by a detachment of the Moors, who had along with them a number of women provided with drugs to poison, and spells to enchant the waters. On this a dreadful panic seized the whole Abyssinian army; who, for the greater part, not only refused to advance, but resolved to leave the camp, and return homewards immediately. The king, sensible that all was lost if this pernicious scheme should be adopted, and perceiving that nothing was to be gained by reasoning with men so much terrified, only requested that such as would not fight, would stand quiet spectators of the battle. Even this had little effect: so that finding the enemy now ready to make an attack, he ordered his master of the horse, with only five others, to attack the left wing of the enemy; while he, with an almost equally small party, made an attack on the right. This desperate effort was attended with decided success. The king, notwithstanding his weakness, killed with his own hand two commanding officers of the enemy's right wing; while his son despatched another of considerable rank belonging to the left. The Moorish army on this began to lose courage; while the Abyssinians, ashamed of their conduct, rushed furiously on to rescue their prince from danger. The battle then raged for some time with great fury; but at last the centre and left wing of the Moors were defeated, and the right, composed principally of Arabians, retired in a body. Not knowing the country, they entered a deep valley entirely covered with wood and surrounded by perpendicular rocks. The Abyssinians imagining they had nothing more to do, began to strip and mangle the bodies of the killed and wounded'; but Amda Sion, perceiving the situation of the Arabians, ordered a detachment to ascend the rocks, whence they rolled down immense stones; which threw them into such confusion, that, being neither able to fly nor resist, they were all killed to a man. The fate of the Moors was little better. The other division of the Abyssinian army found them lying round a pool of water, which they lapped like dogs, and fell upon them with fury, At last, wearied with slaughter, they took a few prisoners, among whom was Saleh king of Mara with his queen; the former of whom was hanged by order of Amda Sion, and the latter cut in pieces, and her body given to dogs. This signal victory was gained in the end of July 1316; but, as the rains at that season set in with violence, most of the army now again insisted on returning home. The emperor and principal officers, however, were of opinion, that the advantages so dearly purchased ought by all means to be pursued, till they had either reduced the Mahommedans to subjection, or at least deprived them of power to make future attacks on the empire. This opinion being adopted, Amda Sion sent home the baggage, women, and incumbrances of the army, retaining only the veteran soldiers. Advancing farther into the Mahommedan territory, he took up his residence in a large town 2 R

called Zeyla; from whence he, on the night of his arrival, sent out a detachment to surprise a village near it, named Taraca. Continuing to advance, he detached parties to lay waste the country round; and in this expedition cut off two of the principal authors of the conspiracy. He then proceeded to invade Talab and Abalge in the territories of the king of Adel, and, being well supported by his troops, defeated the latter in a pitched battle; the king himself, with almost all his men, being killed on the spot. In this desperate state of their affairs, three Adelian princes, sons of the late king, with their uncle, waited upon Amda Sion to intreat his pardon; but the only promise they could obtain was, that if the queen, with the rest of the royal family, would surrender themselves to the conqueror next day, he would cease to lay waste their territory. The nobles, however, resolved to venture another battle, and bound themselves by an oath, to support each other to the last. The conflict was long doubtful; and in opposition to Amda Sion appeared the young king of Wypo, who every where encouraged his troops, and made the most obstinate resistance. At last the Abyssinian monarch sheathed his sword, and taking a bow wounded the young prince mortally in the neck. On this the Adelians fled, but were so completely intercepted by two Abyssinian detachments, that only three men escaped. On the side of the Abyssinians, however, the victory was dearly purchased; many of the principal officers being killed, and scarcely a man of their cavalry escaping without a wound.

At last, weary of conquest and carnage, this victorious monarch, who never was defeated, returned in triumph to his capital, where he ended his days after a reign of thirty years. In his time we find that the rest of the royal family were not confined, according to the ancient practice; for Saif Araad, the son and successor of Amda Sion, distinguished himself in one of the battles in which his father was engaged. Though this prince was by no means destitute of military talents, the Abyssinian empire enjoyed a profound peace during his reign. The only remarkable transaction was the relief given by him to the Coptic patriarch, whom the sultan of Egypt had thrown into prison. At this time a great trade was carried on through the desert, by caravans between Cairo and Abyssinia, as well as from Cairo and Suakem on the Red Sea; but the Ethiopic monarch having seized the mer chants from Cairo, and sent parties of horse to interrupt the caravans in their passage, the sultan was soon content to release the patriarch, whom he had imprisoned only with a view to extort money. In the reign of Theodorus, who held the crown of Ethiopia from 1409 to 1412, an infringement was made on the treaty above-mentioned, between Icon Amlac and the Abuna, Tecla Haimanout. By that treaty the Abuna was to have a full third of the whole empire for the support of his dignity and that of the church; but Theodorus, considering this as an unreasonable acquisition, reduced it very considerably, though he still allowed the priesthood an ample revenue out of every province of the empire. The annals of this prince's reign are very defec

tive; Mr. Bruce supposes that they have been mutilated by the ecclesiastics. By his subjects, however, he was considered as such a saint, that in Mr. Bruce's time the people believed he was to rise again and to reign 1000 years in Abyssinia. Zara Jacob, who began his reign in 1434, is the next prince of whom the Abyssinian annals narrate any affair of consequence. The character of this prince is represented as not inferior to that of Theodorus, or indeed of any monarch that ever sat on the throne of Ethiopia. He is in short set forth as another Solomon; though, from some parts of his conduct, this character seems to be rather exaggerated. The first remarkable transaction of his reign was his sending an embassy to the council of Florence. The ambassadors were priests from Jerusalem, who, in that assembly, adhered to the opinions of the Greek church; and the embassy itself was judged to be of such consequence, as to be the subject of a picture in the Vatican. This prince obtained also a convent at Rome from the pope for the use of the Abyssinians: which was preserved until the middle of the last century. He seems to have been very desirous of keeping up a correspondence with. Europeans as well as the Asiatics; and in his time we first read of a dispute in Abyssinia with the Frangi or Franks, on the subject of religion. This was carried on in presence of the king between one Abba George and a Venetian painter, Francisco de Branco Lone, in which the former confuted and even convinced his antagonist; but from this time we find a party formed for the church of Rome, which probably took its rise from the embassy to the council of Florence. Zara Jacob is disgraced, however, by being the first who introduced persecution for religion into Abyssinia; while, for this reason probably, he is so highly commended by the ecclesiastics. The state of Christianity in Ethiopia was now indeed very corrupt. The Greek profession had been originally established on the model of Alexandria; but in the low provinces bordering on the coast of Adel, the Mahommedan superstition prevailed. Many of that persuasion had also dispersed themselves through the towns and villages in the internal parts of the empire, while, in other places, the grossest idolatry was practised: such as the worship of the heavenly bodies, the winds, trees, cows, serpents, &c. All this had hitherto passed unnoticed: but, in the reign of Zara Jacob, some families being accused of worshipping the cow and serpent, were brought before the king, who pronounced sentence of death upon them. Their execution was followed by a royal proclamation that whoever did not carry on his right hand an amulet with these words upon it, I renounce the devil for Christ our Lord,' should not only forfeit his personal estate, but be liable to corporal punishment. The spirit of persecution thus begun, quickly diffused itself, and an inquisitor was appointed to search for criminals. This was Amda Sion, the king's chief confident, who pretended to all that absurd and austere devotion common to hypocrites; and, at the same time, assumed no uncommon parade and attendance. He kept a number of spies, who brought him intelligence of those who were secretly guilty of

any idolatrous or treasonable practices; when, proceeding with his attendants to the house of the delinquent, he would cause the family first to bring forth refreshments for himself and his party, and then order the whole to be put to death. Among those who suffered in this barbarous manner were the king's two sons-in-law, who had been accused by their wives, the one of adultery, and the other of incest. After this the public dislike to these measures became so great, that no farther persecution took place during this reign. The attention of the emperor was also now called to the state of his affairs in the different provinces. The Moorish provinces, becoming rich by the extensive trade they carried on, frequently employed their wealth in exciting rebellions. Zara Jacob now, therefore, divided the empire more distinctly, increased the number of governments, and set about repairing the churches, which had fallen into decay. So zealous was he in this respect, that having heard of the destruction of the church of the Virgin in Alexandria by fire, he instantly built another in Ethiopia to repair the loss. The last public transaction of his reign was the quashing of a rebellion in the interior. In the decline of his life his domestic conduct becomes a dark stain upon his memory. The mother of the heir apparent, wishing to see her son on the throne, began to form schemes to oblige his father to take him into the government. These being discovered, her husband cruelly caused her to be whipped to death; and finding that his son afterwards performed certain solemnities at her grave, ordered him to be loaded with irons, and banished to the top of a mountain.

On the accession of Bæda Mariam, in 1468, the old law for imprisoning all the royal family was revived, and a mountain, named Geshan, or Amba-geshen, selected for the purpose. See AMBA-GESHEN. Having thus secured himself from any danger of a rival, to ingratiate himself with the people, he proclaimed a pardon to all those who had been banished; after which he prepared for war, On this the king of Adel, being alarmed, sent ambassadors requesting the continuance of peace. The Abyssinian monarch told them, that his design was to destroy the Dobas; a race of shepherds very wealthy, but extremely barbarous, professing the pagan religion, and greatly resembling the Gallas; and that he was determined not to make war on them as a common enemy, but to extirpate them as a nuisance. The king of Adel no sooner received this intelligence than he invited the Dobas to send their women and children, with their most valuable effects, into his kingdom; but Bæda, having obtained notice of their design, seized an avenue through which they must necessarily pass, and massacred every one of the party. After this, entering their country, he committed such devastations, that they were glad to submit, and even to renounce their religion, to free themselves from sach an enemy. The emperor then turned his arms against Adel, where they were attended with equal success; but while Bada himself was advancing towards the capital, he was seized with the pains of death.

The modern acquaintance of Europeans with

Ethiopia or Abyssinia, took place about this time. Some intercourse by individuals had been carried on between this country and Italy; but the knowledge of it conveyed to Europe in this manner was very imperfect and obscure. Even its situation had been forgotten, and though some confused notions were entertained of a distant Christian prince, who was likewise a priest, Marco Paulo, the famous Venetian traveller, affirms that he had met with him in Tartary; and it was universally agreed that his name was Joannes Presbyter, Prete Janni, or Prester John. When the Portuguese began to extend their discoveries along the coast of Africa, more certain intelligence concerning this prince was obtained. Bemoy, one of the kings of the Jalosses, a nation on the western coast of Africa, had assured the Portuguese navigators of the existence of such a prince so strongly, that king John II. determined to send ambassadors to him; and the discovery was of the greater consequence, that a passage to the East Indies was now attempted both by land and sea. The ambassadors were named Peter Covillan and Alphonzo de Paiva. These were sent to Alexandria, whence they set out on their journey, to explore the sources of the Indian trade, the principal markets for spice, &c., but, above all, to learn whether it was possible to arrive at the East Indies by sailing round the continent of Africa. In the prosecution of this scheme our two travellers arrived at Cairo; thence they went to Suez, and from that to Aden, a city beyond the straits of Babel-Mandel. Covillan then set sail for India and De Paiva for Suakem. The latter lost his life without making any discovery; but Covillan passed over to Calicut and Goa. Thence he returned to Africa, visiting the gold mines of Sofala, and passing from thence to Aden and to Cairo, where he was met by two Jews with letters from the emperor of Abyssinia. One of these was sent back with letters to that monarch; but with the other Covillan proceeded to the island of Ormus in the Persian Gulf. Here they separated; the Jew returning home, and Covillan repassing the straits of Babel-Mandel, whence he proceeded to Aden, and afterwards entered the Abyssinian dominions about A. D. 1490.

When Covillan arrived in Abyssinia, Alexander, the son of Bædal Mariam, was emperor, and was employed in levying contributions on his rebellious subjects. He met with a kind reception, and was conveyed to the capital, where he was promoted to the highest posts of honor; but was never allowed to return to Europe. The intelligence, however, which he transmitted to the court of Portugal, proved of much importance. He not only described all the ports in India he had seen, with the situation and wealth of Sofala, but advised the king to prosecute the discovery of the passage round Africa with the utmost diligence; affirming that the Cape at the southern extremity of the continent was well known in India; and accompanying the whole with a chart which, he had obtained from a Moor, and which showed exactly the situation of the Cape and the neighbouring countries. Alev ander seems to have been endowed with many good qualities. His reign however was disturbed