Ḥagai Erlikh

I. Gershoni

Contributors, consisting of historians and other scholars from Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europe, Israel, Sudan, and the US, trace the complex intercultural relations that have revolved around the Nile River throughout recorded history. The volume's 20 articles focus on four themes: peoples and identities in medieval times; the Nile as seen from a distance (such as from Europe and as a gateway for missionary activity); mid-century perspectives; and contemporary views including the Aswan High Dam and revolutionary symbolism in Egypt. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Histories, Cultures, Myths

The Nile

The relations between Ethiopia and Israel, until their dramatic severance in the aftermath of the October 1973 War in the Middle East, revolved around issues of regional strategy as well as of ancient religious concepts of identity. For Haile Selassie's Ethiopia, Israel was centrally important. This book follows these relations as they developed along the modern history of the Middle East and Africa, and as they were influenced by ancient Christian, Islamic and Judaic legacies. It attempts to reconstruct the complex relations between the two states.

Ethiopia and Israel in the Days of Haile Selassie

Alliance and Alienation

Ras Alula (1847-1897) was one of the Big Men or Telek Saw who played a prominent role in the making of modern Ethiopia. He was famous enough to be lamented by a British historian as, "the greatest leader that Abyssinia has produced since the death of Emperor Theodore in 1868." As remembered by the Ethiopians and reflected in their literature, "the famous and brave Ras Alula" was a great warrior whose valor and military skill contributed greatly to various important victories over Ethiopia's enemies. Both Italians and Ethiopians regarded Alula as the most persistent opponent of Italian involvement in Ethiopian affairs. Professor Haggai Erlich's Ras Alula and the Scramble for Africa: A Political Biography has all the ingredients of personal drama. The life and times of this great Ethiopian political figure of the 19th century in its vicissitudes reflects some of the major issues in his period. The revival of Tigrean hegemony over Ethiopia; the military victories which guaranteed the survival of Ethiopia's independence; the rise of Menilek II and the great national victory near Adwa were all milestones in the Ras's life. Simultaneously, the story of this son of a peasant - his successes and failures, his ambitions and weaknesses, his achievements and mistakes - was an important factor in those developments. This biography makes a significant contribution in the study of an important chapter in the history of Ethiopia and Eritrea through the experience of a person who was not the head of the state. As such, it is also an insignificant analysis of late 19th century Ethiopian sociopolitics.

Ḥagai Erlikh

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