Medieval and early modern Jews usually lived as a minority under non-Jewish rule, but there are a few known cases of independent or autonomous Jewish polities. One of the most intriguing is the autonomous Betä Ǝsraʾel (Ethiopian Jews) in the Sǝmen Mountains of Ethiopia.
Betä Ǝsraʾel oral tradition refers to this polity as the “Kingdom of the Gideonites.” From the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, the Betä Ǝsraʾel of the Sǝmen and its surroundings were involved in a series of wars against the Christian Solomonic kingdom, until finally being subdued in the late 1620s.
Based, in part, on the archaeological survey of Betä Ǝsra’el monastic sites, this book examines not only textual and oral accounts, but also the historical geography of the Betä Ǝsraʾel polity and its strongholds. It also discusses the commemoration of these wars in later times and their impact on the development of religious sites.
Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1. An Israelite Kingdom in Ethiopia: Legends of a Glorious Past
Chapter 2. ʿAmdä Ṣǝyon and Early Solomonic Expansion
Chapter 3. Ethiopian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Activity in the Lake Ṭana Region and Conflict with its Jews
Chapter 4. The Great War with Emperor Yəsḥaq and its Aftermath
Chapter 5. Betä Ǝsraʾel Sovereignty and Society in the Aftermath of Aṣe Yəsḥaq’s Campaign
Chapter 6. The Ten Lost Tribes Discovered: Early Encounters with the Jewish World
Chapter 7. The Fate of Ethiopia Determined in the Sǝmen: The Islamic Conquest, the Christian Reconquest, and the Sǝmen Betä Ǝsraʾel
Chapter 8. A Solomonic Capital Neighbouring the Autonomous Betä Ǝsraʾel
Chapter 9. Masada in the Sǝmen: The Wars with Śärṣä Dǝngǝl
Chapter 10. The Gideonite Dynasty and the Solomonic Throne
Chapter 11. A Last Stand at Sägännät: Susǝnyos and the Final Defeat of the Betä Ǝsraʾel
Chapter 12. A New Era: The Gondärine Period
Epilogue and Prospects of Future Research
Reference List
Index
About the Author :
Bar Kribus is an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University, specializing in Ethiopian archaeology and history, with a focus on the archaeology and history of the Betä Ǝsraʾel (Ethiopian Jews).
