Mereja.Forum

The history of Gurage is long. It goes back to antiquities. It has experienced civil wars, wars against neigbhoring ethnic groups and wars agains Oromo raids and land dispoilations, wars against conquests for subjugations against the mad dog Amde Sion and genocider Menelick.

It's heart warming to know that Gurage did not fight against the friendly warrior Imam Ahmed el-Ghazi or Imam Ahmed the Warrior. Otherwise, it would have been helping the very enemy that once waged wars of annexation against Gurage's independent existence some 200 years back.

For authors of history, there is a huge market for books on Gurage history.
It's just natural that ordinary people are curious about their past history. They will buy loads of the Gurage history books. I will.buy one eventhough I do not need it.

Secondly, Gurage nationalism, thanks in part to Qomara provocations, is on the rise. Many Gurage are hurt by Fano ethnofascism; therefore will buy Gurage history books.

The market for Gurage history also includes Gurage children in schools should learn about the history of Gurage. Definitely, the Gurage zones of Abiy Ahmed will buy these books for their children education on the history of Gurage.

Government allied historians such Prof Bahru Zewde cannot be trusted to tell historical truths for truths sake. Independent historians should write Gurage history knowing the fact they will make money as well as help Gurage educate itself on its history.

Alternatively but not the best option is the Gurage zones to establish a committee of historians to jointly publish history books on Gurage. Odin and I do not expect to be nominated. I don't care about religions but Odin may ask the committee to include the history of Pente Christian sect in the lives of Gurages. If I overstated his zealotry, I stand to be corrected.

Damaw
Your post is provocative with which I agree mostly except few points.
Firstly, my religion has nothing to do with writing the true Gurage history or gurage identity. We can write the religion history separately or as part of gurage history impartially.

I believe any Gurage of any religion can contribute positively to the Gurage as well as the country. I hate to mix politics and other secular things with my religion as my religion has a spiritual dimension and is about heavenly kingdom with good contribution to people’s secular life and world good. I believe in coexistence. The earth will stay messed up until Jesus kingdom is restored. We don’t physically fight to restore his kingdom.

Secondly Gragn did destroy Gurage and Gurage did fight him. It is in the webpages. I even remember parents speaking of “ኧገራኝ ኢፋድ== የገራኝ ጥፋት or Gragn destruction and also about ሃሳን ኢንጃሞ= they made ደርስ= ballad that said አስን ኢንጃሞ አስገደ: translating ሃስን ኢንጃሞ ብዙዎችን ወደ እስልምና ለወጠ:: Those are facts!

Gurage did not fight Imam Ahmed. As I said above it would have been foolish and unstrategic to fight him to help enemies of Gurage defeat him. There may have hired elements from within Gurage who fought for Abyssinia for their pocket. Remember, Gurage was a Muslim federation of groups at least for 200 years during Imam Ahmed's campaigns against southward expanding Abyssinia wishing to annex Muslim kingdoms of Shewa of Argobas and Hadiya.
Abyssinia recruited Gafats, 100s and 100s of them to fight the Imam in Gurage. Not only in Gurage, they were also dispatched to fight the Imam in Hadiya. Not alone by themselves obviously but with Abyssinian herds.

Gurage Christians or pagan elements recruited to fight for Abyssinia for mony, in chasing them down in their hideouts such Churches, the Imam may have used war measures which were not pleasant. But, Gurage was not his target. Gurage was already Muslim for 200 years since it established its sultanate in the year 1200(See Egyptian historians el-Umari and el-Makrizi). That means Gurage was Muslim.long before it could establish the sultanate.

There are villages in Hadya settled by the remnants of the Gafat militia. Abyssinia defeated and separated from the Abyssinia militia, they may have surrenderd to the Imam as POW to save their lives. They did not go back northwest to Gafat

Did the Gurage fight Gragn? did gurage face የአህመድ ግራኝ ጥፋት?

The answer depends on the religion and the eye of the beholder:

Using the most widely accepted historical sources—including the primary chronicle and modern academic scholarship—the answer is yes, Ahmad Gragn's campaigns reached the Gurage region and caused destruction there, but no, his war was not directed exclusively against the Gurage people as an ethnic group.
The strongest evidence comes from:
1. The primary source: Futūḥ al-Ḥabasha (The Conquest of Abyssinia), written by the contemporary chronicler Shihāb al-Dīn (Arab Faqih), who accompanied Ahmad's army. It is considered the principal eyewitness account of the campaign. Modern English translation by Paul Stenhouse with annotations by historian Richard Pankhurst.
2. Modern historians, including Richard Pankhurst, Amélie Chekroun, and the Cambridge History of Africa, use Futūḥ al-Ḥabasha alongside Ethiopian royal chronicles to reconstruct the campaigns.
What do these sources say?
* Ahmad Gragn's armies entered and occupied the Gurage region during the Ethiopian–Adal War (1529–1543).

* The Gurage region suffered the effects of the war, including military occupation, fighting, raids, and destruction, just as many other regions of the Ethiopian kingdom did. The campaigns also damaged churches, settlements, and agricultural production across much of the Ethiopian Highlands.

* The Gurage were not all on one side. The Futūḥ al-Ḥabasha mentions Christian Gurage serving in Emperor Lebna Dengel's army, while it also notes that some Muslims in the Gurage region were hostile to the emperor and accepted Ahmad's rule. This indicates the conflict followed political and religious alliances rather than simple ethnic divisions.
Conclusion

Based on the best available historical evidence:
* Yes, Ahmad Gragn campaigned in the Gurage region.
* Yes, his military campaign caused destruction there, as it did in many parts of Ethiopia.
* No, historians do not describe the campaign as a war specifically aimed at destroying the Gurage people. His objective was the conquest of the Christian Ethiopian kingdom, and the Gurage region became one of several theaters of that broader war.

1. First of AI and Wikipedia are not the best source of truth, from complete lies, ommissions and to inadequecies.

2. Translated works have problems of carrying original thoughts

3. History writers of Ethiopia, foreign or local such Baukamper, Richard Pankhurst, Tamrat, Bahru Zewde, even the most honest of them such as Mohamned Hassen(Oromo) and Lapiso G. Delibo(Hadiya) have shown biases, yielding to appease the narrative holder that is Ethiopia of the Solomonic Dynasty of opportunities, of a continuous dynasty that survived Muslims who surrounded it.

4. Gurage was not a province of the Abyssinia of the 1500. Gurage replelled Amde sion in the 1300s and there were no other wars to annex it to Abyssinia until Menelick in 1875-1889.

5. Gurage as a Muslim majority country and not a province of Abyssinia, it was not the target of the Imam. The same with Hadya was not a province of Abyssinia when the Imam sought to stop southward expansion of destructive Abyssinia.

6. I know the Imam fought in Gurage and Hadya. And we know these regions were not part of the Abyss power circles. Who did the Imam fought in Gurage and Hadya, and other areas in this wider south central region of northeast Africa?
Could there may have been strategically installed Abyssinian garrisons, in cooperation with local "well-paid big shoulders" to halt and prempt the Imams expansion? This is an MA or a PhD thesis will answer.

Dama wrote: ↑

04 Jul 2026, 15:43

1. First of AI and Wikipedia are not the brst source truth,
2. Translated works have problems of carrying original thoughts
3. History writers of Ethiopia, foreign or local such Baikamper, Rich Pankhurst, Tamrat, Bahru Zewde, even the most honest of them such Mohamned Hassen(Oromo) and Lapiso G. Delibo(Hadiya) have shown biases yielding to appease the narrative that Ethiopia surrounded by Muslim nations is a survivor.
4. Gurage was not a province of the Abyssinia of the 1500. Gurage replelled Amde sion in the 1300s and there were no other wars to annex it to Abyssinia until Menelick in 1875-1889.
5. Gurage as a Muslim majority country and not a province of Abyssinia, it was not the target of the Imam. The same with Hadya was not a province of Abyssinia when the Imam sought to stop southward expansion of destructive Abyssinia.
6. I know the Imam fought in Gurage and Hadya. And we know these regions were not part of the Abysdibia power circles. Who did the Imam fought in Gurage and Hadya, and other areas in this wider south central Ethiopia?
Could there may have strategically installed Abyssinian garrisons, in cooperation with local "well-paid big shoulders" to halt and prempt the Imams expansion? This is an MA or a PhD thesis will answer.

yea
I agree history for most part is written by conquerors and there exist trust issue with it although some truthful writers may exist. I agree on the independent existence of Gurage and are more ancient than the late generated Amhara ethnics. I mentioned in the outset what enor elders said about gragn and hassan Enjamo. I also agree some one to work on a strong thesis to synthesize the truth from all angles and produce neutral conclusion. Some one has to do that and it is time for that.

Abere wrote: ↑

04 Jul 2026, 16:41

ሲሉ ሰምታ ዶሮ በመጫኞ ጣሉኝ አለች ይባላል።
መጀመሪያ ለጽሑፍ የሚበቃ ታሪክ ሲገኝ አይደል የሚሆነው። አንዳች የታሪክ ቃርሚያ አለዎይ? ተለቃቅሞ አይደለም መጽሐፍ 4 ገጽ ድርሰት የሚገኝ አይመስለኝም። አንድ ታሪክ ግን አለ - መጥፎ ታሪክ። ይኸውም ጋላ በሶማልያ የባሪያ ነጋደ እራሱ ለአረብ ሲሸጥ ከነበረው መጥፎ ባህል ይዞ በመምጣት አሁን በዘልማድ ውራጌ እየተባለ የሚጠራው የተለያዩ የኦሞቲክ፤የናይሎቲክ፤ የኩሽቲክ በወረራ ተሳደው የሚኖሩ ጎሳዎችን (ውራጌዎች) በባርነት ለንግድ ያቀርባቸው ነበር። ይህን ባርነት እንድቆም ያደረጉት ንጉሰ ነግሥት ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ዘኢትዮጵያ ናቸው።

I read 2 of Horus' replies to you in reaction to your misreading of his posts on names of Axum kings who are also names of persons in Gurage. The mistake you made he used against you to bury you 6ft deep, I mean crritical rebuke, is that knowingly or unknowingly you misquoted him as if he said these Axum kings were Gurages.
I thought it would take you a day or two to re-emerge and appear on ER.
I am glad you are above ground so quickly.
Fanos recoil so quickly from defeat, right?

Odie wrote: ↑

04 Jul 2026, 14:25

Damaw
Your post is provocative with which I agree mostly except few points.
Firstly, my religion has nothing to do with writing the true Gurage history or gurage identity. We can write the religion history separately or as part of gurage history impartially.

I believe any Gurage of any religion can contribute positively to the Gurage as well as the country. I hate to mix politics and other secular things with my religion as my religion has a spiritual dimension and is about heavenly kingdom with good contribution to people’s secular life and world good. I believe in coexistence. The earth will stay messed up until Jesus kingdom is restored. We don’t physically fight to restore his kingdom.

Secondly Gragn did destroy Gurage and Gurage did fight him. It is in the webpages. I even remember parents speaking of “ኧገራኝ ኢፋድ== የገራኝ ጥፋት or Gragn destruction and also about ሃሳን ኢንጃሞ= they made ደርስ= ballad that said አስን ኢንጃሞ አስገደ: translating ሃስን ኢንጃሞ ብዙዎችን ወደ እስልምና ለወጠ:: Those are facts!

They did not tell you the unprovocked war destructions against Gurage, wars to subjugare Gurage by Amde Sion and Menelick? They did not tell you especially the wars of Menelicks that lasted 15 years? Where do you think they got their info? Church? Research? Folktales? Which of is most probable.

How did they don't accuse Omar Baqsa who was said to be the head of the Gurage resistance army and only told you about his second leutenant Hassen Injamo?

While growing, at mosque, at home or public gatherings, I never heard about history of these things we are talking about, not about Grany Ahmed, not about Virginheart, Menelick, not about Omar Baqsa or Hassen Injamo

I assure you. I was a child when I heard those stories.
አስን ኢንጃሞ the hadiya hybrid was known for islamizing.
Ahmad gragn for destruction. He destroyed Gurage churches, pagan worship centers for those that believed in their indeginous stuff and ofcourse they had to support him by force. He left his ba-stards of military left overs now who may call themselves not part of Gurage.

That is the neutral assessment based on people’s story I heared even before internet era or reading books. Whether Gurage was part of muslim sultanet or christian kingdom does not matter as religious loggerheading is not going to bear any fruit to the region.

Central shoa was a game ground for all sorts of wars in the country and gurage lost a lot in that. Because of its geographic location it remained vulnerable for abuse and exploitation from wars of all kind.

Gurage history has to be written from all angles in neutral way. Religious tension won’t do any good. Gurage is an ethnic construct not a religious and as far as I know these people did not divide themselves by religion but unified by common interest as ethnics.

In past wars muslims may have supported gragn and christian’s may have supported others but at the end of the day Gurage as ethnic was victimized its identity crushed and subjugated to those powers.

Since time has changed, gurage should dig its history, write its history and unite itself to assert its right for existence. Religious division or war in the world has never been right.

You sound you came from an Orthodox Christian activist family but you said your parents were Muslims. The things you were told are tales Muslims in Gurage never talk about. You sound very much like Whorus who was born and raised in the Solomonic Orthodox Church who despite his education he never grew out of the church brainwashing against Islam which was the Christian state's prescribed jobs. Paid for it. College was built for it.

No matter how many times I repeatedly posted that Gurage Muslims were Muslims before the 1200s, giving reference historians el-Umari and Makrizi, the same day I posted this, you still believe that Silte, Welene and Gurage Muslims were converts to Islam by the forces of Ahmed Grany and Hassrn Injamo. You are a piece of hardwork at best or at worse, we will have no common history of Gurage.

Definitely you do not know there existed Imam Umar Beqsa of Cheha the bigger brother-in-arms of Imam Hassen Injamo who was said to be the more powerful of the two. Definitely you do not know whether their soldiers were all Muslims or were a mix of all faiths united to defend the Gurage independence from Menelick's war of annexation. What would history writers for the Solomonic Dynasty tell you rather than that these Imams were only jihadists, slaughtered Gurages and forced islamization by force only when a Christian power began "ager maqnat" or something else?

Until the year 2000, give and take, writers used to present both Imams Umar Beqsa of Cheha and Hassen Injamo as Gurage resistance leaders. Two conspiracies happened at the same time after the year 2000.
1..They began erasing Imam Umar Beqsa from their essays or writeups
2..They declared Imam Hassen Injamo was a Hadya. Probably it was meant to bolster the image of Hadya as well as creating political connection between the rebellious Qebena minority in Gurage with the larger Hadya. Otherwise, Qebena people are not related to Hadiya. They say they are rather related to Halaba.

I guess we have little in common on the truths about Gurage history.
I can't be laboring on the same topic almost everyday. This will be my last to suggest corrections.
Go on your way!
Adios!

Dama wrote: ↑

05 Jul 2026, 11:15

You sound you came from an Orthodox Christian activist family but you said your parents were Muslims. The things you were told are tales Muslims in Gurage never talk about. You sound very much like Whorus who was born and raised in the Solomonic Orthodox Church who despite his education he never grew out of the church brainwashing against Islam which was the Christian state's prescribed jobs. Paid for it. College was built for it.

No matter how many times I repeatedly posted that Gurage Muslims were Muslims before the 1200s, giving reference historians el-Umari and Makrizi, the same day I posted this, you still believe that Silte, Welene and Gurage Muslims were converts to Islam by the forces of Ahmed Grany and Hassrn Injamo. You are a piece of hardwork at best or at worse, we will have no common history of Gurage.

Definitely you do not know there existed Imam Umar Beqsa of Cheha the bigger brother-in-arms of Imam Hassen Injamo who was said to be the more powerful of the two. Definitely you do not know whether their soldiers were all Muslims or were a mix of all faiths united to defend the Gurage independence from Menelick's war of annexation. What would history writers for the Solomonic Dynasty tell you rather than that these Imams were only jihadists, slaughtered Gurages and forced islamization by force only when a Christian power began "ager maqnat" or something else?

Until the year 2000, give and take, writers used to present both Imams Umar Beqsa of Cheha and Hassen Injamo as Gurage resistance leaders. Two conspiracies happened at the same time after the year 2000.
1..They began erasing Imam Umar Beqsa from their essays or writeups
2..They declared Imam Hassen Injamo was a Hadya. Probably it was meant to bolster the image of Hadya as well as creating political connection between the rebellious Qebena minority in Gurage with the larger Hadya. Otherwise, Qebena people are not related to Hadiya. They say they are rather related to Halaba.

I guess we have little in common on the truths about Gurage history.
I can't be laboring on the same topic almost everyday. This will be my last to suggest corrections.
Go on your way!
Adios!

Don’t waste your time with me on this.
Firstly I am a prgmatic person who likes to see things work out for the common good of Gurage and for everybody else in the country.
I believe in Jesus but I don’t impose my religion on others without will but share my story about jesus when opportunity arises. I don’t believe the world population will be [deleted] in any parameter specially in religion. So I hate to get into religious war except friendly discussion.
I told you my version of the story and you accept it or not is up to you! The only point that is going to help is talking religion separate from politics or development at national or grassroots level. Wherever hicupps develope, amicable solution is the way to go. Move on. Gurage does not benefit on any division; political or religion

You are hard to teach just like hard to keep a donkey clean because right away after you washed them they like roll on dirty again.

Your version of histor. Such true story engraved on stone!! Stick with it.

Adios, keep criminalizing past Muslim warriors for defending Gurage from Menelick's annexation of Gurage. You are a product of his Christian media. You have in your heart his eternal truth, your version of history of who opposed him and what those who opposed him did to Gurage, not to him, neither what he did to Gurage. Your version of Gurage history is what Muslim leaders did to innocent Gurages. Your version history your church, your parents, your elders told you is only about the destructions Muslim leaders did to Gurage. Your version of history your elders told you about menelick/Amde Sion is zero. On the contrary, Menelick and Amde Sion were do-gooders to Gurage. Destroyers, on the other hand, were Muslims. They told you to hate them.
This is not right. And this not what I know. On Gurage history, we have nothing in common. And I know you are wrong but I can not toil everyday to liberate you from ignorance any more. I am tired. You tired me.