Back ስሜን መንግሥት Amharic مملكة سيمين ARZ Reino de Simen Spanish Royaume du Simien French ממלכת הגדעונים HE Kerajaan Semien ID Сымен (царство) Russian Королівство Семін Ukrainian 塞米恩王国 Chinese
Kingdom of Simien ממלכת סאמיאן | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Jewish settlements in Ethiopia | |||||||||
| Status | According to legends:
Sovereign Jewish kingdom (350-351) Axumite Territory (351-960) Reestablished (960-1329) Vassal State of the Ethiopian Empire 1329-1625 | ||||||||
| Location | Semien Mountains and Semien Province Tzelmet province,wegera province | ||||||||
| Capital | Amba Yehouda[1] | ||||||||
| Common languages | Geʽez, Kayla, Qwara, Amharic | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Ethiopian Beta Israel | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | LEGEND: 350 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | LEGEND: 351 (re-established in 960 until invaded again in 1329 by Ethiopia and annexed in 1625) | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Ethiopia | ||||||||
The Kingdom of Simien (Hebrew: ממלכת סאמיאן), also known as the Kingdom of Beta Israel (ממלכת ביתא ישראל), also referred to as "Land of the Gideons" by Rabbi Abraham ben Eliezer Halevi in the 14th century named after the dynasty's first ruler. This kingdom refers to a Jewish kingdom said to have been located in the northwestern part of the Ethiopian Empire. The existence of such a kingdom somewhere in the Horn of Africa was first mentioned by the traveller Benjamin of Tudela in the 12th century CE.[2]
A late Ethiopian-Jewish legend dates the establishment of a Kingdom of Simien to the 4th century CE, right after the Kingdom of Aksum turned to Christianity during the reign of Ezana.[3][4] Local history holds that, around 960, a Jewish Queen named Gudit defeated the empire and burned its churches and literature. While there is evidence of churches being burned and an invasion around this time, her existence has been questioned by some western authors, and it is unclear whether Aksum continued to exist. According to tradition, she reigned for forty years and her dynasty lasted until 1137 AD, when it was either overthrown or conquered by Mara Takla Haymanot, resulting in the inception of the Agaw-led Zagwe dynasty.[5] In 1329, during Amda Seyon I's conquests, he campaigned in the northern provinces of Semien, Wegera, Tselemt, and Tsegede, in which many had been converting to Judaism and where the Beta Israel had been gaining prominence.[6]
The existence of such a nation plays a significant role in the modern traditions of the Beta Israel.
- ^ Morié, Louis J. (1904). Histoire de L'Éthiopie (Nubie et Abyssinie): Histoire de L'Abyssinie. Paris. p. 115.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Fauvelle-Aymar 2013, p. 383.
- ^ Bruce 1804, p. 485.
- ^ Kaplan 1992, p. 94.
- ^ Henze, Paul B. (2000). Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia. Hurst & Company. ISBN 978-1-85065-393-6.
- ^ Pankhurst, Borderlands, p. 79.
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