Begemder: Difference between revisions
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A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means "dry" in the local language, while another possible interpretation could be "sheep," where rearing of sheep is ''beg'' in [[Amharic]]. Thus, ''Begemder'' likely refers to "land that rears sheep" or "the dry area."<ref>{{Cite book|title = አዲስ የአማርኛ መዝገበ ቃላት|last = Ahland|first = Colleen|publisher = አርቲስቲክ ማተሚያ ቤት|year = 1920|location = Addis Abeba, Ethiopia|pages = 20}}</ref> Another etymology is that the first two syllables come from the [[Ge'ez language]] ''baggi`'' for sheep ([[Amharic]]: ''beg medir'') "Land of Sheep." Beckingham and Huntingford note that Begemder originally applied to the country east of [[Lake Tana]], where water is scarce, and concluded, "The allusion to the lack of water suggests Amharic ''baga'', "dry season," as a possible source of the name."<ref>C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, ''Some records of Ethiopia, 1593–1646'' (London: Hakluyt Society, 1954), pp. 230f</ref> | A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means "dry" in the local language, while another possible interpretation could be "sheep," where rearing of sheep is ''beg'' in [[Amharic]]. Thus, ''Begemder'' likely refers to "land that rears sheep" or "the dry area."<ref>{{Cite book|title = አዲስ የአማርኛ መዝገበ ቃላት|last = Ahland|first = Colleen|publisher = አርቲስቲክ ማተሚያ ቤት|year = 1920|location = Addis Abeba, Ethiopia|pages = 20}}</ref> Another etymology is that the first two syllables come from the [[Ge'ez language]] ''baggi`'' for sheep ([[Amharic]]: ''beg medir'') "Land of Sheep." Beckingham and Huntingford note that Begemder originally applied to the country east of [[Lake Tana]], where water is scarce, and concluded, "The allusion to the lack of water suggests Amharic ''baga'', "dry season," as a possible source of the name."<ref>C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, ''Some records of Ethiopia, 1593–1646'' (London: Hakluyt Society, 1954), pp. 230f</ref> | ||
Another, less likely, etymology proposed for the name is that it came from ''Bega'' ([[Beja people|Beja]]) plus ''meder'' (land) (meaning land of the Bega or Beja), as an inscription of [[Emperor of Ethiopia|Emperor]] ([[Ezana]]) of [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksum]] describes his movement of 4,400 conquered Beja to a not yet located province named ''Matlia''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munro-Hay |first1=Stuart |title=Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity |date=1991 |publisher=Edinburgh: University Press |pages=48 | Another, less likely, etymology proposed for the name is that it came from ''Bega'' ([[Beja people|Beja]]) plus ''meder'' (land) (meaning land of the Bega or Beja), as an inscription of [[Emperor of Ethiopia|Emperor]] ([[Ezana]]) of [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksum]] describes his movement of 4,400 conquered Beja to a not yet located province named ''Matlia''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Munro-Hay |first1=Stuart |title=Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity |date=1991 |publisher=Edinburgh: University Press |pages=48 }}</ref> | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
Latest revision as of 02:57, 23 June 2025
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Begemder (Template:Langx; also known as Gondar or Gonder) was a province in northwest Ethiopia. The alternative names come from its capital during the 20th century, Gondar.
Etymology
A plausible source for the name Bega is that the word means "dry" in the local language, while another possible interpretation could be "sheep," where rearing of sheep is beg in Amharic. Thus, Begemder likely refers to "land that rears sheep" or "the dry area."[1] Another etymology is that the first two syllables come from the Ge'ez language baggi` for sheep (Amharic: beg medir) "Land of Sheep." Beckingham and Huntingford note that Begemder originally applied to the country east of Lake Tana, where water is scarce, and concluded, "The allusion to the lack of water suggests Amharic baga, "dry season," as a possible source of the name."[2]
Another, less likely, etymology proposed for the name is that it came from Bega (Beja) plus meder (land) (meaning land of the Bega or Beja), as an inscription of Emperor (Ezana) of Aksum describes his movement of 4,400 conquered Beja to a not yet located province named Matlia.[3]
History
The earliest recorded mention of Begemder was on the Fra Mauro map, (c.1460), where it is described as a kingdom. While Emperor Lebna Dengel, in his letter to the King of Portugal (1526), also described Begemder as a kingdom, he included it as a subdivision of his empire.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Kanfat in southern Begemder was briefly governed by Abubaker Qecchin of Adal in the sixteenth century.[4] The Guzara royal castle; built by Emperor Minas in 1560 in Enfraz, Begemder (Template:Convert east of Gonder) as a site of royal residence and camp a century before Emperor Fasilides founded and built the castles of Gondar. During the later 18th century, its capital was at Filakit Gereger, where Ras Ali died in 1788.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Begemder's boundaries were revised as a result of Proclamation 1943/1, which created 12 taklai ghizats from the existing 42 provinces of varying sizes.[5] Begemder had an estimated population of 3 million in the 1984 cenus.[6]
See also
References
Template:Ethiopia topics
Template:Authority control
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ C.F. Beckingham and G.W.B. Huntingford, Some records of Ethiopia, 1593–1646 (London: Hakluyt Society, 1954), pp. 230f
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Bereket Habte Selassie, "Constitutional Development in Ethiopia", Journal of African Law, 10 (1966), p. 79.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".