Futuh Al-Habasha: The Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh Al-Habasa) [Paperback]

Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin Abd al-Qader bin Salem bin Utman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0972317252 | ISBN-13: 978-0972317252 | Publication Date: September 2003

Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Qader's account of the early sixteenth century Jihad, or holywar, in Ethiopia, of Imam Ahmad bin Ibrahim, better known as Ahmad Gran, or the Left handed, is an historical classic. The Yamani author was an eyewitness of several of the battles he describes, and is an invaluable source. His book, which is full of human, and at times tragic, drama, makes a major contribution to our knowledge of a crucially important period in the hisoty of Ethiopia and Horn of Africa. 'Futuh al-Habasa,' or 'Conquest of Abyssinia' - which undoubtedly reflects the situation as it seemed to its Yamani author at the time of its composition. The forces of Imam Ahmad bin Ibrahim had occupied the greater part of Ethiopia. The resistance of Emperor Lebna Dengel had virtually come to an end, and many Christians had chosen to convert to Islam. The victorious Imam's regime seemed there to stay. This was, however, far from the end of the story. The Imam was killed in battle on February 21, 1543, whereupon his army almost immediately disintegrated. Those of his soldiers who could do so made their way back to the East. Not a few Muslim converts reverted to their former faith. The Futuh thus refers to a relatively short, though crucially important, period in Ethiopia's long history. The book is nevertheless valuable, in that its author was an eye-witness of many of the events he describes, and writes, as far as we can judge, with a degree of objectivity rare for his time. * * * What people say about this book: "This book is the first ever complete English translation of the Arabic account on the campaigns of Imam Ahmad b. Ibrahim al-Ghazi (popularly known as Gran) as written by the Yemeni jurist, Shihab al-din Ahmad b. Abd al-Qadir b. Salim b. Uthman (also known as Arab Faqih)... it is a welcome addition to the rich corpus of Arabic literary and historical sources relevant to the sixteenth-century Ethiopia and the Horn. It is particularly useful for English-speaking researchers and established scholars who cannot read either the Arabic text or the authoritative French translation prepared by Rene Basset...both Stenhouse and Pankhurst, and the publisher, deserve high commendation, respectively, for producing such a valuable work that represents a major contribution to the history of Ethiopia and the Horn, and for making it available to the wider English-speaking readership and scholarship." -- Hussein Ahmed is a Professor of History at Addis Ababa University. He is a leading historian of Islam in Ethiopia. * * * "In the history of conflict in Africa and beyond, "few stories of drama and human tragedy equal" Imama Ahmad's conquest of the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia (1529-1543). His short lived spectacular victories and determination to replace Christianity by Islam and the remarkable survival of Christianity in Ethiopia" is a story of epic proportions" which still generates strong emotion among both the Christian and the Muslim population of Ethiopia. In other words, Imam Ahmad's jihadic war besides being legendary was a major turning point... This is truly a wonderful work, which is destined to remain an indispensable source for the history of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa during the first half of the tumultuous sixteenth century. Anyone interested in understanding the intensity and brutality of religious war will be rewarded by reading this classic." -- Mohammed Hassen is an Associate Professor of African history at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He is the author of The Oromo of Ethiopia: A History 1570-1860.

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: Tsehai Publishers (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972317252
• ISBN-13: 978-0972317252
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ethiopia's Turning Point, February 16, 2011

By 

Bruce Strachan - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Futuh Al-Habasha: The Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh Al-Habasa) (Paperback)

Futuh is an illuminating piece of earnestly composed documentation as observed through the eyes of a believer - absolute mandatory reading for students of Medieval Africana - offers priceless insights, otherwise lost, into the mind of a charismatic 16th century imam and his followers.. No AEthiopic library is complete without this document.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating period, a disappointing presentation, September 17, 2006

By 

llywrch (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Futuh Al-Habasha: The Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh Al-Habasa) (Paperback)

The Futuh Al-Habasha is one of those vital primary sources for Ethiopian history: it is an account, based on eye-witness testimony, of the first part of Ahmad Gragn's Jihad and conquest of this montainous Christian kingdom; for this reason alone, I gave this book 4 stars. Having read accounts in countless general histories of this ancient land, I expected this book to tell a story to rival Hannibal's successes against ancient Rome (the role Ahmad Gragn is often cast in), or Alfred the Great's dogged resistence to the Vikings that had all but expelled him from England (the role Ethiopian Emperor Lebna Dengel is given). What I read was far different from either of these.

Shihab Al-Din Ahmad's prose style is best described as pedestrian. He views his topic with a moralistic bias that although unusual to Western readers (Christians are infidels, Muslims can do no wrong) is yet as shallow as any such bias. Honest and painfully accurate about his tale, Shihab Al-Din Ahmad nevertheless offers us no insight into Ahmad Gragn's -- let alone anyone involved in these long years of warfare and misery -- mind. The author is content to tell us little more than how Ahmad Gragn, with a handful of devout followers, defeated the Emperor of Ethiopia with his countless followers at almost every turn. He provides us no explanation -- except for an occasional platitudinous acknowledgement of Allah's favor.

What is worse, the scholarly notes to this book fail to pierce the barriers of the time and place of this book's creation, and leave the non-specialist reader to his own resources to understand this important work. There are countless identical footnotes referring the reader to which part of the Koran the author is quoting when another Christian is killed and sent to hell "an evil place to settle in" (or "a sad place to be"), yet countless more passages with puzzling cultural references are passed over in silence. The index appears to have been compiled by someone with only the vaguest familiarity with the text, and omits several important persons and places. This is even more disappointing because one of the editors involved, Richard Pankhurst, is widely considered the foremost expert on the history and culture of Ethiopia.

I really wanted to enjoy this book and to praise it here, but both the text and the editorial apparatus failed to meet what I looked for: a glimpse inside the world of Ahmad Gragn, and perhaps his Christian opponents. This is clearly a book for the expert in Ethiopian history or Muslim culture, for whom having a complete translation of this work, no matter what the defects are, is critical. If you lack a solid grounding in either topic, there are many other books you'd enjoy reading more than this one.

Geoff