Muja, Ethiopia

Last updated

Muja is a town in northern Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 12°04′N39°27′E / 12.067°N 39.450°E / 12.067; 39.450 Coordinates: 12°04′N39°27′E / 12.067°N 39.450°E / 12.067; 39.450 with an elevation of 2918 meters above sea level.

Ethiopia country in East Africa

Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country in the northeastern part of Africa, popularly known as the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, and Somalia to the east, Sudan to the northwest, South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With over 102 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and the second-most populous nation on the African continent that covers a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000 sq mi). Its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa, which lies a few miles west of the East African Rift that splits the country into the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate.

Amhara Region Regional State in Ethiopia

Amhara Region is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as "Region 3", its capital is Bahir Dar. Ethiopia's largest inland body of water, Lake Tana, which is the source of the Blue Nile river, is located within Amhara. The region also contains the Semien Mountains National Park, which includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia. Amhara is bordered by the state of Sudan to the west and northwest, and in other directions by other regions of Ethiopia: Tigray to the north, Afar to the east, Benishangul-Gumuz to the west and southwest, and Oromia to the south.

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

Contents

History

Muja is one of the oldest town in the province of Lasta next to the mighty Lalibela. Muja was founded during the era of Zemene Mesafint by the notable Weresekh (ወረሴህ) rulers Dejazmach Birru Aligaz and Dejazmach Faris Aligaz both are the sons of Aligaz of Yejju (died 1803) and he was also the Ras of Begemder, and Inderase (regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia for more than six years. [1] This makes the establishment of the town prior to the reign of Emperor Theodore II. A war account written by Adolf Parlasak who was the advisor of Ras Kassa noted Leul Ras Kassa Hailu was born in this town in 1878 and followed his childhood church educations in this town. [2] The British expedition against Emperor Tewodros II encamped near Muja in 1868, at a site referred to as "Muja Camp". Leul Ras Kassa's father Dejazmach Hailu Wolde Kiros made this town as an Administrative center of Lasta since from the reign of Emperor Tekle Giyorgis [3]

Lasta is a historic district in north-central Ethiopia. It is the district in which Lalibela is situated, the former capital of Ethiopia during the Zagwe dynasty and home to 11 medieval rock-hewn churches.

Lalibela Place in Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Lalibela is a town in Amhara Region, Ethiopia famous for its rock-cut monolithic churches. The whole of Lalibela is a large antiquity of the medieval and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Axum, and a center of pilgrimage. Unlike Axum, the population of Lalibela is almost completely Ethiopian Orthodox Christian.

Zemene Mesafint 1769–1855 period of Ethiopian history

The Zemene Mesafint was a period in Ethiopian history between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries when the country was de facto divided within itself into several regions with no effective central authority. It was a period in which the Emperors from the Solomonic dynasty were reduced to little more than figureheads confined to the capital city of Gondar.

During the Second Italo-Abyssinian War the Ethiopian army commanded by Leul Ras Kassa Hailu was camped in the town on their way to Tembien front. Muja was visited by Beatrice Playne around 1950, who found while the town "was really quite a large place and had once been flourishing", it now was had "a feeling of neglect and decay" since local government offices and the police station had been moved to a nearby settlement she called "Kulmus". Her description of Muja ends with the observation, "On the hill above the town a number of old Italian buildings, which had once served as government offices, were beginning to disintegrate." [4]

Tembien is a historic region in Tigray and one of the former provinces of Ethiopia. It is a mountainous area of that country. During the reforms in 1994-95, the old provinces were replaced with regions, zones and woredas. The area of the former province is now split over the woredas of Dogua Tembien and Kola Tembien.

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Muja has an estimated total population of 5,531 of whom 2,669 are men and 2,862 are women. [5] The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 2,045 of whom 878 were men and 1,167 were women. Muja was once a capital town for Lasta Awuraja for a short period, in the present time the town is serving as an administrative center of Gidan woreda.

Gidan is one of the woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Semien Wollo Zone, Gidan is bordered on the south by Guba Lafto, on the southwest by Meket, on the west by Lasta, on the north by the Tigray Region, and on the east by Kobo. The administrative center of the woreda is Muja town, another small towns in Gidan include Debre Tsehay, Densa, Bekilo Mneqia, Iyella, Dildiy, Asikit, and Wonday.

Notes

  1. ↑ Biruk Sisay, The History of Muja Town (Unpublished Manuscript),
  2. ↑ Adolf Parlasak, Yehabesha Jebdu, p. 90, 91, 92
  3. ↑ Biruk Sisay, The History of Muja Town (Unpublished Manuscript),
  4. ↑ Playne, Saint George for Ethiopia (London: Constable, 1954), p. 170
  5. ↑ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

Related Research Articles

Tekle Giyorgis II was nəgusä nägäst (Emperor) of Ethiopia from 1868 to 1871.

Tekle Giyorgis I was Emperor of Ethiopia intermittently between 20 July 1779 and June 1800, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the youngest son of Yohannes II and Woizoro Sancheviyer, and the brother of Tekle Haymanot II.

Hezqeyas or Hezekiah was niguse negest of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the son of Iyasu III.

Baeda Maryam II was nəgusä nägäst of Ethiopia. He may have been the son of Salomon II. Although E. A. Wallis Budge, in his book A History of Ethiopia: Nubia and Abyssinia, notes some authorities believe Baeda Maryam was the same person as Salomon III, Nathaniel Pearce, who met the former Emperor when he visited Ras Wolde Selassie 20 January 1813, states that he had been Emperor only once, for nine months.

Yonas or Jonah was nəgusä nägäst of Ethiopia. He was the son of Letezum, and the grandson of the Emperor Fasilides.

Ali I of Yejju was a Ras of Begemder, and following the death of Ras Mikael Sehul, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Abba Seru Gwangul, chieftain of the Yejju, and Woizero Gelebu Faris, daughter of Ras Faris of Lasta.

Ali II of Yejju was a Ras of Begemder and Enderase (Regent) of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Alula of Yejju and Menen Liben Amede and nephew of Gugsa of Yejju.

Wolde Selassie was Regent of the Ethiopian Empire. He was the son of Dejazmach Kefla Iyasus, governor of Enderta province, and his wives included Mentewab, the sister of Emperor Egwale Seyon; and Sahin, the daughter of Emperor Tekle Giyorgis I. His brothers included Dejazmach Bilaten-Geta Mennase and Dejazmach Debbab, the great grand father of Emperor Yohannes IV.

The Battle of Debre Tabor was a conflict during the Zemene Mesafint in 1842 initiated by Dejazmach Wube Haile Maryam to overthrow Ras Ali II as Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia and gain control of Ethiopia. This confused battle was won by Ras Ali, but at a steep price, and this victory failed to cement his position as the most powerful nobleman of his time.

The Battle of Takusa was fought on April 12, 1853, between the forces of Kassa Hailu, future Emperor of Ethiopia, and an alliance of several rival warlords. The forces of Hailu's enemies were led by Dejazmach Birru Aligaz, who was reinforced by troops sent to him by Wube Haile Maryam under the command of his son, Gwangul Wube.

The Battle of Ayshal was fought on June 29, 1853, between the forces of Kassa Hailu and the forces of Ras Ali II, in Ayshal, in eastern Gojjam. Kassa's forces won the battle.

Ethiopian order of battle in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War

Ethiopian forces in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War besides the Central Army were mobilized from various provinces under their local leader. According to 1935 Italian intelligence estimates of the Ethiopian provinces and their forces on the eve of hostilities, the Ethiopians had an army of 350,000 men. Strengths where known are noted followed by their leader. Modernized forces in Bold.

Kassa Haile Darge Shewan nobleman and President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia

Leul Ras Kassa Hailu KS, GCVO, GBE, was a Shewan nobleman, the son of Dejazmach Haile Wolde Kiros of Lasta, the ruling heir of Lasta's throne and younger brother of Emperor Tekle Giyorgis II on his mother's side, and Tisseme Darge, the daughter of Ras Darge Sahle Selassie, brother of Menelik II's father.

Seyoum Mengesha army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire

Seyoum Mengesha KBE was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.

Aberra Kassa was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.

Asfawossen Kassa was an army commander and a member of the Royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.

Dejazmach Birru Aligaz was a warlord of 19th century Ethiopia during the Zemene Mesafint. As Dejazmach, he held the governorships of different districts such as Lasta and Dembiya and was made governor of Dawint, Wollo in 1842 by Ras Ali II of Yejju. He was the son of Ras Aligaz Abba Seru Gwangul, and had a son called Dejazmach Zegeye.

Dejazmach Zegeye Birru was the son of Dejazmach Birru Aligaz. He was the ruler of Yejju until the emergence of Ras Welle Betul. Dejazmach Zegeye had four sons and a daughter: Wagshum Gwangul, Dejazmach Ali, Dejazmach Hailu, Dejazmach Aligaz, and Woizero Hirut.

Wube Haile Maryam

Wube Haile Maryam, also called Wube Haile Mariam or Dejazmach Wube, (1800–1867) was a regional ruler and dejazmach in Tigray, Simien, and other coastal territories, in an area that is now part of northern Ethiopia and central Eritrea. Wube is remembered in Eritrea for barbarous military raids. He was defeated and imprisoned in 1855 by Kassa Hailu. Some sources date Wube's defeat as the end of Ethiopia's Zemene Mesafint era.