Begemder (, begēmidir; also known as 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." 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."

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.

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.

In Alexander Murray account it mentioned that Begemder was bordered on the north by Semien, on the east by Lasta and Angot, on the south by Amhara, and on the west by Dembiya.

According to Manoel de Almeida account in the 17th century, many have assert that in the past Wegera, Semien, Welkait, Tsegede and Abergele were parts of Begemder and districts of it, but with time they became their own provinces and were separated from Begemder.

Begemder first Become the central of the Ethiopian civilisation during the reign of Emperor Minas when He shifted his capital from shewa into Emfraz.

In 1636 Emperor Fasilidis founded Gondar as his capital and started the Gondarine period. Gondar served as the capital of Ethiopia for more than 200 years. This period saw profound achievements in Ethiopian art, architecture, and innovations such as the construction of the royal complex Fasil Ghebbi, and no less than 44 churches that were built around the area. Eventually the Gondar period ended With the arrival of Ras Mikel sehul from Tigray that assassinated Emperor Iyoas I in 1769 which marked the beginning of the Zemene Mesfint period.

The 18th century Scottish explorer James Bruce that visited Ethiopia, wrote that the people of Begemder are the Best soldiers in Ethiopia.

During much of the Zemene Mesfint period Begemder was under the control of the Yejju ruling class. their capitals were in Filakit and Debre Tabor. The Yejju rule in Begemder ended when Kassa Hailu defeated the last yejju ruler Ras Ali II in the Battle of Ayshal in 1853, and forced him out of Begemder where he escaped to his relatives in the Yejju province.

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. Begemder had an estimated population of 3 million in the 1984 cenus. With the adoption of the new constitution in 1995, Begemder was divided between two new ethnic regions. Northern Begemder became part of Tigray Region, while the remainder became part of the Amhara Region.

As for currently the areas which were annexed from Begemder into Tigray (Weilkait and Tsegede) are administered as part of the Amhara region under the North Gondar Zone.

See also

• History of Ethiopia

• Subdivisions of Ethiopia

• Gondar

References