https://aigaforum.com/article2021/post- ... tigray.htm
Positioning Post-War Tigray & Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa!
Ermias Hailu / October 30, 2021
(1) For Anyone Who Forgets Tigrayans are the Corner Stone of Ethiopia!
The Persian religious leader Mani (who died in 274 A.D.) regarded the Axumite Empire as one of the four great powers of his time, alongside Persia (Iran), Rome and China. King Ezana’s stone inscription from around 300 A.D., still standing in Axum, also confirms Mani’s claim about the Axumite Empire. In the inscription, Ezana stated that “he was the king of Axumites, and Himyarite’s (Yemen & part of Saudi Arabia), and of Raeidan and Ethiopians, and Sabaites (South Arabia) and of Silee, and of Tiamo and Bogaities (Beja) and Kasu (Kush)”. Though there are various assumptions and contrasting historical evidence regarding to the origins of the Axumite civilization, one can reasonably assume that it was highland indigenous black African civilization crossbreed with Middle East civilizations of its time. The Empire of Axum at its height extended across most of the present-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. The Axumite Empire was destroyed by the internal revolt led by Yodit in the 10th century, following to its long decline starting the 7th century due to the expansion of the Persian Empire to its territories and control of trade routes and the rise of Islam.
Edward Gibbon in his 18th-century book titled “The decline and fall of the Roman Empire” stated, “encompassed on all sides by their enemies, the Ethiopians slept near a thousand years, forgetful of the world, by whom they were forgotten”. Though the medieval to 20th century Ethiopian kingdoms such as Lasta, Showa, Gondar and Tigray were direct descendants of the Axumite Empire, none of them was able to awaken the Empire from its deep sleep and reposition it to its former glory.
When the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi came with the motto of “ትልቅ ነበርን ትልቅ እንሆናለን” the “ትልቅ ነበርን” undoubtedly refers to the Axumite Empire. It is my strong belief that, PM Meles’s grand vision and strong conviction of Renaissance of Ethiopia and Africa was inspired and shaped by the former glory and success of the Axumite Empire as well us what he experienced during the armed struggle on the capability of the Tigrayans to fight and win their enemies against all odds whether man made or natural disasters. I think PM Meles had discovered during the armed struggle that the Axumite Empire’s indomitability and spirit of wisdom, bravery, justice, determination, technological, social, economic, and political advancement are still alive in each Tigrayan DNA, whether educated or uneducated or poor or rich. PM Meles on one of his famous speeches stated about the Tigrayan people “እንኻእ ታባኻትኩም ተፈጠርና፥እንኻእ አማእዲና እናረኤና ንቐንኧልኩም አይኮና”. The bravery inherited from the Axumites was at work when PM Meles, launched the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), in Guba Benishangul Gumz, on April 02, 2011, even though he may had known very well that it may cost him his life.
The recent resurrection of TPLF/TDF after it was declared dead and buried by the Ethiopian government and Isaias army could only be explained by the intervention of the God and the indomitable culture inherited by the Tigrayans from the Axumites.
The following are few of the unique contributions of the Axumites and their direct descendants the Tigrayans (including the Tigrayans in Eritrea) which are named as Tigray-Tigrinya people that played unique role in technology, trade, religion, and philosophy which have shaped the Horn of Africa and impacted the world.
Videos From Around The World
- The Obelisks in Axum are unique (different to Egyptian Obelisks) in design with futuristic high-rise building architecture
- Alphabets, literature, and culture that is being used throughout Ethiopia and Eritrea
- The 1st nation on earth to engrave the Christian cross on its coin
- The keepers of the only and the original Arch of Covenant which was/will be the center of worship of the Jewish people
- Among the top three countries in the world that made Christianity as their state religion at the beginning of the 4th century.
- The first country in the world to host Muslims (1st Hijra) which established the foundation for the peaceful co-existence of Muslims and Christians in Ethiopia
- The innovators of the unique Christian worship of God (Yaredawi Zema)
- The world-famous Christian reformer Aba Estifanous of the 15th century, who started his reformistic work about 100 years ahead of the German reformer Martin Luther. Aba Estifanos was savagely and cruelly killed by Emperor Zara Yaqoob in Debre-Berhan Shewa.
- The world-famous philosopher Zera Yacob of the 17th century, who was denounced by Emperor Susenyos (1607-1632) in Gondar
- The defeat of the Colonizers (including Italy which is the descendant of the Roman Empire) at Kuatit, Sahati, Gurae, Gundet, Dogali and Adwa. It is obvious that Adwa’s victory was a shared victory of all Ethiopians, but the determinant role was played by the Tigrayan General Alula and his intelligence officer Bashai Awalom. The victory of Adwa resonated throughout the world and inspired the subsequent decolonization of the world.
- Meles Zenawi and his team designed and implemented the developmental state model, to the context of Ethiopia, which illuminated a light of hope at the end of the tunnel and brought millions of people out of poverty and positioned Ethiopia among the top fast-growing economies in the world. Such model is expected to be followed by other African countries in the years to come.
- Ethiopian Airlines was given a rebirth about 20 years ago under TPLF/EPRDF leadership which transformed the airline from highly vulnerable niche airline to global airline which has become number one in Africa and a success model for African countries.
- The Tigrayans have been recently savagely and cruelly invaded by highly disproportionate hundreds of thousands of well-equipped armies of their own brothers (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia) and, United Arab Emirates state of the art attack drones which they have successfully defended and defeated. This achievement a lesson to the world on how a united, organized people with a just cause, the right strategy and leadership, though poorly equipped, could defeat and prevail against all the odds. It is also amazing to see how Tigray has humanly treated thousands of prisoners of war when most have committed barbaric crimes against the defenseless Tigrayan civilians which is like how Emperor Ezana treated his war subjects some 1700 years ago.
(2) The Spiritual Aspects of Tigray, Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa
(2.1) The Spiritual Destiny of the Descendants of Axumite Empire
The spiritual destiny of the Axumite Empire is described in the bible in Isiah Chapter 18. Without going to the controversial and vague details, Isiah Chapter 18 verse 2 reads ‘’a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech whose land is divided by rivers (ረጃጅምና ቈዳው ወደ ለሰለሰ፣ከቅርብም ከሩቅም ወደሚፈራ ሕዝብ፣ኀያልና ቋንቋው ወደማይገባ፣ወንዞች ምድሩን ወደሚከፍሉት)”. Isaias chapter 18 illustrates the rise (verse 1 to 3), the fall and decay (verse 4 to 6) & and again the rise (verse 7) of the predecessor of Axumite Empire. At the end of verse 7 it is written that gifts will be brought to the Mount Zion (i.e., Jerusalem) to the Lord almighty (በዚያን ጊዜ ለሰራዊት ጌታ ለእግዚአብሔር፣ረጃጅምና ቈዳው ከለሰለሰ፣ ከቅርብም ከሩቅም ከሚፈራ ሕዝብ፣ኀያልና ቋንቋው ከማይገባ፣ወንዞችም ምድሩን ከሚከፍሉት መንግሥት፣ገጸ በረከት ይመጣለታል፤ ገጸ በረከቱም የሚመጣለት የሰራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር ስም ወዳለበት ወደ ጽዮን ተራራ ነው) ።
I am very sure that one of the gifts will be the Ark of Covenant from Axum with other material gifts (gold, precious stones etc.). Other gifts could be mighty men of God that will rise and win multitude of souls from the whole world to the Kingdom of God from the core descendants of the Axumite Empire, from the Tigray-Tigrigna people as well as the rest of Ethiopia. According to Isaiah 18 verse 7 and my own conviction, just as Israel was reborn in 1948 after about 2000 years absence, the Axumite Empire shall be reborn in the next 20 to 30 years (about 100 years after the rebirth of Israel and after more than 1000 years of its disintegration).
(2.2) The Ark of Covenant–A Blessing and Curse for the Axumite Empire and its descendants
Regarding how the ark of Covenant was brought to Axum the following are the main two theories:
- According to the Kebra Negast, the Ark of Covenant was stolen from the temple by Menelik I, with divine assistance. However, I do not understand the need for divine assistance to steal someone’s property!
- Graham Hancock in his 1992 book titled “The Sign and the Seal”, illustrated that the Ark of Covenant may had come via Egypt to Tana Lake by the Bete Israels’ but was later taken by force by the Axumites, probably during war among the two. He also tried to prove that the Ark of covenant was in the Jews Temple in Jerusalem for some hundred years later than claimed by the Kebra Negast that it was transferred to Axum.
Without going to the argument about which of the above theories is correct, one common fact is that the Ark of Covenant was stolen or forcibly taken from the Jews by the Axumites. 1st Samuel 4: 1-10 of the Bible states, the Ark of Covenant was captured by the Philistines after defeating the Israelites’ army. 1st Samuel 5 and 6 describe how God sent devastating punishment to Philistines for capturing the Ark of Covenant and how they were forced to return it, with gifts, to its rightful owners, the Israelites. The writer of this article has strong conviction that the fall of the Axumite Empire and the suffering and persecution of its descendants, the Tigrayans, until today are a punishment by God for stealing and hiding the Ark of Covenant. The immediate solution to come out of the curse is repentance and return of the Ark of Covenant with gifts (Isaiah 18:7) to the Jews when they are ready after building the third temple, which could happen soon. There is also no biblical foundation for hiding the Arc of Covenant from the public view (Matthew 5:14-15) and the Tigray Orthodox Church must display it to be visited by the whole world as a testimony that the word of God is true. As an information, I had a chance of meeting the guardian of the Arc of Covenant in Axum Zion Church a couple of years ago. I asked him, “What will be the church’s reply if Israel asks for the return of the Arc of the covenant to Israel”. He answered, “that depends on the will of God, He was the one who gave us to guard it and when God wants to take it back to is owners, we have to give it”, which I completely agree!
(2.3) Who are the descendants of the Axumite Empire?
To answer this question in a simplified way, I referred to Ezana’s stone inscription mentioned above, and all the people mentioned in that inscription are its descendants. All existing nations and nationalities of Ethiopia, all citizens of Horn Africa, Sudan, Yemen, Southern Saudi Arabia, and Southern Egypt are stakeholders to the Axumite Empire. Regarding which people of Ethiopia were the core part of the Axumite Empire there is obviously a competition between Tigrayan elites and Amhara elites. In my view considering the historical mix of people between North and South Ethiopia both Tigrayans and Amharas could claim to be the core of the Axumite Empire and work together for its rebirth. Its is important to note that both the old and new churches in the Axum, the Church of our Lady Mary of Zion, were rebuilt by Amhara kings.
(3) Past Failed Efforts to revive the Axumite Empire
I believe all post Axumite Empire Christian Kings of Ethiopia got their inspiration from the Axumite Empire. Even Ahmad ibn Ibrahim (Gran Ahmed) also envisioned and worked to build Bahir Dar centered Horn of Africa Islamic Empire.
When Emperor Tewodros wrote a letter to Queen Victoria about his readiness to free Jerusalem, the spirit of the Axumite Empire worked through him.
Emperor Yohannes envisioned to revive the Axumite Empire centered at its original location. He assigned King Menelik of Shewa and King Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam to expand South, East and West to widen the territories of the Empire. Emperor Menelik effectively and efficiently expanded to the south of Ethiopia but gave the present-day Eritrea to Italy. Emperor Haile Selassie reclaimed Eritrea, but the Military Government Derg lost it with the blessing of TPLF/EPRDF. PM Meles envisioned and worked hard to revive the Axumite Empire centered out of its original location in Addis Ababa but that could not be sustained (lesson to the new TPLF). President Isaias dreamed to revive the Axumite Empire centered at the Italian built city of Asmara but failed (He started the 1998 and instigated and participated in the recent war with that vision). Dr. Abiy Ahmed has also claimed he will build a strong Ethiopia founded on the biggest ethnic group of Ethiopia, the Oromos. Unfortunately, his love affairs with Isaias have taken him down to unexpected path and his crimes could cause him to prematurely loose his power and face international Criminal Court (ICC).
(4) Who is responsible for the Rebirth of the Axumite Empire (I re-named it as “Confederated Ethiopia”?
(4.1) Why I believe it could be named as “Federated/Confederated Ethiopia”
Ethiopia is first mentioned in one of Ezana's stone inscriptions from the 4th century (the stone is still standing in Axum). In that inscription, Ethiopia is mentioned as one of the regions that Ezana was governing as King of Kings. The Book of Axum, which was compiled in early 14 or 15 centuries, also mentions/claims that the name of Ethiopia is derived from Itiyopp'is, the son of the Biblical Cush who established the Kingdom Axum’s first capital, Mazeber. Therefore, there is historical evidence that connects the name “Ethiopia” with Axum, and it can be retained as a well-established brand name. Therefore, the best strategy that meets the aspiration of Tigrayans without affecting the territorial integrity of Ethiopia is to transfer the power base to Tigray – Axum while retaining the name Ethiopia. Those regions that are willing to form the new Ethiopia (de facto Tigray) could be integrated with it, based on Federation or Confederation.
(4.2) Tigray- Amhara Alliance
Despite the ongoing ugly civil war and infighting and rivalry between the Tigrayan and Amhara politicians, elites and activists, the people of Tigray and Amhara have a strong cultural and religious bond and strategic alliance that no one can damage. These two people are the pioneers of Ethiopia; they have shared history, culture, and values. The recent misunderstanding among these people is based on an ill-intended intensive, divisive and hate propaganda by Egypt and Isaias funded politicians and media out lets who have sold out their country. The border issue is not unique to Tigray and Amhara, as the same problem exists among all other regional governments. It was intentionally hijacked, propagated and exploited to instigate emotionally charged hate and conflict among Tigrayans and Amharas, to divide Ethiopians and to weaken Ethiopia, which was effectively implemented. Abiy has also irresponsibly played a major role in instigating the ongoing civil war between Tigray and Amhara as a strategy of divide and rule to prolong his stay in power. Time for Tigray and Amhara elites to say enough is enough to Abiy and work for the reconciliation of the two people. As the existing misunderstanding is going to be resolved through time, it is my strong believe that these two people will work hand in hand for the rebirth of the Federated/Confederated Ethiopia.
(4.3) Tigray-Oromia/Afar/Somalia /Sidama/ Welayta/Agew/Kimant … etc. Alliance
The Oromos and Tigrayans have shared vision with respect the future structure of Ethiopia and both would like to have autonomous administration and a decentralized and federated or confederated Ethiopia. The alliance between Oromos and Tigrayans could be strategic and a major stabilizing factor for the whole Ethiopia and Horn of Africa. As Amhara’s, Oromos and Tigrayans shoulder the leadership responsibility to shape the future of Ethiopia, support from other Ethiopians is very crucial for their success. Same shared vision and alliance could be established with Afar, Somalia, Sidama, Welayta, Agew, Kimant and other nations and nationalities of Ethiopia.
(4.4) TPLF and the Prosperity Party (PP)
(4.4.1) Anti-Tigrayanism authored by Isaias and implemented by Abiy is like Hitler’s Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism has been in existence since the birth of Israel and the Jewish people have been persecuted, repeatedly invaded, and scattered worldwide throughout history. However, it was Hitler who created a storm of Anti-Semitic violence not only in Germany but inspired anti-Jewish movements throughout Europe and the world. Hitler and his followers regarded Jews not only as a subhuman race but as dangerous cancer that would destroy the German people, which must be eradicated from the human race. In Nazi ideology, the problems they perceive in Jews were to be biological and their elimination was essential to the purification and even to the salivation of the German people. Similarly, the traces of anti-Tigrayanism have been existing in Ethiopia and Eritrea for some time in latent form. The phrases like " ትግሬ፥ገዳይ", "ትግሬ፥አንበጣ፥ቆርጣሚ", " Komal Agame", "ቅማላም፥ትግሬ", "ትግሬ፥አሲድ፥እግር ", "ድሀ፥ ትግሬ፥" etc. have been silently spoken within the society. Even though Mengistu Hailemariam had a slip of tongue such as " ለጠመኔ፥መግዣ፥የሚሆን፥ገንዘብ፥እንኻ፥የላቸውም፤" , "ድሆች፥የምንባለው፥በነሱ፥ምክንያት፥ነው፥" , "የናት፥ጡት፥ነካሾች፥" " ባንዳ፥" , "አስገንጣይ፥" etc., he was very careful not to create a full scale Anti-Tigrayanism sentiment, during his time. However Abiy, in compliance with Isaias and the expansionist Amhara elites directives, has been trying to create Anti-Tigrayanism sentiment throughout the society using derogative words such as "የቀን፥ጅቦች፥", "ፀጉረ፥ልውጥ፥" , " ሌቦች፥" ," ካንሰር፥, " አረም፥" "እንቦጭ” and producing highly sensational several documentaries and speeches that were aimed to blackmail and demonize Tigrayans such as "the torturers were Tigrigna Tenagari" , " the killing was arranged by Tigrigna tenagari Oromo", ' "the Tigrayan population attacked our army" etc... etc . Over all Abiy and his followers have been using full blown Anti-Tigrayanism that covers political, economic, religious, nationalistic and racial aspects as illustrated below:
Political Anti-Tigrayanism- Politically motivated collective permanent and temporary layoff of Tigrayans from government offices and organizations, demotions, targeted arrest , killings, travel ban etc.
Economic Anti-Tigrayanism: Blockage of banks, transport, communication, aid, famine as a weapon of war, closure of Tigrayan businesses for months without any valid reason
Religious Anti-Tigrayanism: Worshipers of dragon(Zendo), Setan, Non-believers. More evil than Setan etc.
Nationalistic Anti-Tigrayanism: Ager Afrash, Kehadi, Banda, Yenat Tut Nekash etc
Racial Anti-Tigrayanism: Leboch, Cancer, Weed, Egire Acid(destructive),banda, Yemaitamenu , ethnic profiling based displacement, arrest, rape, torture, and killing e.t.c
(4.4.2) Time for Abiy to be removed