Chelenqo

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Chelenqo is a town in eastern Ethiopia located in the Oromia region a few km west of Harar. [1] [2]

History

The town is linked to the Middle Ages during the reign of the Makhzumi dynasty as engravings in the area date back to the 13th century. [3] Chelenqo is also part of an ancient bartering route in the region which consists of livestock vendors. [4]

In 1887 the Battle of Chelenqo took place between the Emirate of Harar and the Abyssinian state of Shewa following the latter's invasion. [5] Skeletal remains belonging to the fallen soldiers of Harar Amir Abdullahi II were visible in Chelenqo until recently. [6] In the neighboring Harari Regional State "the Chelenqo Martyrs" day is observed based on this conflict. [7]

French writer Hugues Le Roux upon visiting Chelenqo in the early 1900s, described it as possessing spectacular cornfields encircled by mountains. [8]

In 2018, sixteen peaceful Oromo protestors were gunned down by Ethiopian National Defense Force in Chelenqo which forced the Oromia president Lemma Megersa to criticize the federal governments actions. [9]

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References

  1. Ficquet, Éloi. Ḥabeš Siyāḥatnāmesi: The Journey of al-Mu'ayyad al-'Azm in Ethiopia (1904). Centre français des études éthiopiennes.
  2. Mohammed, Asmea (2023). "Distribution and association of common leaf rust (Puccinia sorghi Schwein) and turcicum leaf blight [Exserohilum turcicum (Pass.)] of Maize (Zea mays L.) with biophysical factors in Eastern Ethiopia". Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment. 6 (3). Haramaya University. doi:10.1002/agg2.20407.
  3. GIANFRANCESCO, LUSINI. LINGUE DI CRISTIANI E LINGUE DI MUSULMANI D'ETIOPIA. EDIZIONI DI STORIA E LETTERATURA. p. 136.
  4. Problemi attuali di scienza e di cultura quaderno. Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. 1947. p. 730.
  5. Tibebu, Teshale (1995). The Making of Modern Ethiopia 1896-1974. Red Sea Press. p. 43. ISBN   978-1-56902-001-2.
  6. Chelenqo. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
  7. Fombad, Charles (2024). Constitutional Identity and Constitutionalism in Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 128. ISBN   978-0-19-890630-8.
  8. Lindahl, Bernhard. Local History of Ethiopia (PDF). Nordic Africa Institute. p. 9.
  9. "Ethiopia – Ethnic Violence Out of Control". Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series. 54 (12). Wiley-Blackwell. 2018. doi:10.1111/j.1467-825X.2018.08035.x.

9°23′53″N41°33′39″E / 9.39806°N 41.56083°E / 9.39806; 41.56083