This is eye witnesses account of how a jihadist imam named Ahmed (customarily called Ahmed Gragn: meaning Ahmed the left handed) invaded the christian Abyssinian kingdom with the support of Arabs and Ottoman Turks. The book is written from the perspective of a jihadist chronicler and had an obvious bias against Christians (infidels in the language of the book). It exaggerates the battle field achievements of the Muslims and belittles that of the Christians. Amidst this inherent weakness, the book is important to understand the amount of devastation caused by the jihad and the geographical distribution of Christians and Muslims in 16th century Ethiopia. It is also helpful to understand the then society of Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia) and to know place names: some of them still the same to this day and some disappeared.
The writer explained in detail how the treasury of historical churches -- including those built thousands of years ago and were full of Gold and silver-- are looted and torched. Some of the churches as explained in the book were built with gold and silver. The book narrates in detail how: the defeated were enslaved or executed, foreign troops from Arabia, Ottoman Turkey, north Africa and even from India took part in the war -- mostly on the side of the Muslims.
Futuh Al-Habasha is part one of a supposed 2 parts book -- the second one is not found yet -- and you have to refer other history books to know how the war culminated. In order to get a full picture from the perspective of the Christians and the later part of the war, the following two sources could be helpful: the writings of Portuguese soldiers, who joined the war at its final chapter on the side of the Christians; the chronicle of Emperor Gelawdiwos ( 1522 -1559) -- who killed Imam Ahmed and defeated his army at the battle of Woina Dega to end the war.
- Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account









