Tsegaye Tegenu, PhD
February 20, 2017
The recent departure of the well-loved Ethiopian historian,
Professor Richard Pankhurst provide us the opportunity to
remember the efforts of professional historians who for the
first time started university based history teaching and
research on Ethiopia. The founders were few in number
and all of them have now passed out of existence,
Professor Richard Pankhurst being the last.
Upon hearing the death of Professor Taddesse Tamrat
(in May 2013), Professor Donald Edward Crummey wrote
a letter to Professor Bahru Zewde “There is one fewer of us
now, and we were never many to start with”. On August 16,
2013, three months after he wrote the letter, Crummey
passed away and the few who lived behind him soon passed
away one after the other: Professor Sven Rubenson
(October 2013), Professor Donald Levine (April 2015),
and now Professor Richard Pankhurst (February 2017).
Before that all of them were trying to overcome grief of
their loved compatriots, Professor Harold Marcus
(January 2003), Dr. Sergew Hable Selassie (January 2003),
Dr. Zewde Gebre Sellassie (December 2008), Professor
Merid Wolde Aregay (December 2008), and
Professor Aleme Eshete (March 2011).
Now no one left behind to tell the stories of the pioneers
of academic history.
The professionalisation of history writing in Ethiopia
started with the establishment of the Department of
History (1962) and Institute of Ethiopian Studies (1963),
at the then Haile Selassie I University (Addis Ababa University).
Before that Ethiopian history was written by chroniclers,
royal courts appointed officials, historians educated and
drawn from monastic ranks. Even if these historians had
some major characteristics of professional historiography
(had already developed ideas about objectivity and truthfulness),
they did not consistently reflect on their methods and theories.
When writing Ethiopian history they were not at pain to attempt to
scarify literary ambition, religious and political biases in favour
of scientificity (for the sake of greater truthfulness and objectivity).
The methodological ground rules of professional
historiography (source criticism, objectivity, archival research,
the desire to consult as many primary sources and the use
of auxiliary sciences) were introduced in teaching and research
by Prof. Sven Rubenson, Prof. Donald Crummey,
Prof. Merid Wolde Aregay, and Prof. Taddesse Tamrat,
among others. These historians served as department head
of history and director of IES at differentpoints in time.
They introduced their university based training to establish
training and research programs at Addis Ababa University.
Prof. Sven Rubenson had his training from University of Lund
(which share its historiographical tradition from University
of Göttingen), Prof. Donald Crummey, Prof. Merid Wolde Aregay,
and Prof. Taddesse Tamrat from School of Africana and Oriental
Studies ( SOAS), and Prof. Richard Pankhurst from London
School of Economics.
It is beyond the scope of this memorial tribute to present a
descriptive and factual account of their struggle in establishing
professional academic and scholarly history writing on Ethiopia.
All of them dedicated their resources and time in researching
the various periods and geographical and thematic areas of
Ethiopia, training students, building research capacities,
funding documentation system and graduate programs.
Greatest works of the founders include
Aleme Eshete (1982), The Cultural Situation in Socialist Ethiopia.
Paris. UNESCO.
Crummey, Donald (1972), Priests & Politicians:
Protestant & Catholic Missions in Orthodox Ethiopia (1830-1868).
Oxford Levine, Donald (1974), Greater Ethiopia:
The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society. London.
Marcus, Harold (1985), The life and times of Menelik II:
Ethiopia, 1844-1913. Oxford.
Merid Wolde Aregay (1971), Southern Ethiopia and the
Christian Kingdom, 1508-1708. SOAS.
Pankhurst, Richard (1968), Economic History of Ethiopia,
1800-1935. Addis Ababa.
Rubenson, Sven (1976), The survival of Ethiopian independence.
London Sergew Hable Selassie (1972), Ancient and medieval
Ethiopian history to 1270. Addis Ababa.
Taddesse Tamrat (1972), Church and State in Ethiopia:
1270 – 1527. Oxford.
Zewde Gebre Sellassie (1975), Yohannes IV of Ethiopia:
A Political Biography. Oxford
University based history teaching and research in Ethiopia
has now over five decade tradition. The founders has set in
motion a scientific method and approach in historical
research and teaching, which amounts almost a revolution
in the Ethiopian historiography. We all take immense pride
in their scholarly achievements, and extend our sincere
gratitude and appreciation for all of their hard work and
devotion to the Ethiopian people.
Tsegaye Tegenu, PhD
Senior lecturer
Department of Social and Economic Geography
Uppsala University
Source – 