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.

Sylvia Pankhurst, the former British Suffragette, devoted the last forty years of her life to Anti-Fascism and support for Ethiopia, for many centuries Africa's principal independent state. She responded to Mussolini's invasion of the country in 1935 by founding a weekly newspaper New Times and Ethiopia News, which she was to edit for twenty years. She protested against the Fascist use of poison-gas in Ethiopia, and published news of the Ethiopian patriot resistance. Her paper condemned Britain's "appeasement" of the Axis Dictators, and supported the Republican Government in the Spanish Civil War. After Mussolini's entry into the European War, on the side of Nazi Germany, she agitated against the return to Italy of her African colonies. Ever against colonialism, she clashed with the British Government in demanding the full restoration of Ethiopian independence, and advocated the "reunion" of the former Italian colony of Eritrea with Ethiopia. She raised funds for Ethiopia's first teaching hospital, and wrote extensively on Ethiopian art and culture. Having moved to Addis Ababa in 1956, with her son, the author, she founded a monthly journal, Ethiopia Observer, on many aspects of Ethiopian life and development. She died in 1960, and was buried with the Ethiopian Patriots, in front of Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, in the presence of the Emperor.

Sealed and Delivered was first published in 1942. In a way, it is a sequel to "Caesar in Abyssinia" (also reissued in Faber Finds) which covered the Italian invasion of Ethiopia up to May 1936 when the capital, Addis Ababa was occupied. Sealed and Delivered continues the story until the expulsion of the Italians in 1941 and beyond. Richard Pankhurst, in his introduction, writes, 'Ethiopia's history, as Steer saw it, did not however end there, with victory over Italy. When the fighting died down, the first country to e freed in WW2 still faced major problems. Those resulting from the erstwhile invasion included, he said, a still partially operative colour-bar, the complex question of ex-enemy property - and the country's status vis-a-vis Great Britain, its liberator and ally, whose forces ended up occupying the country. Steer believed that Ethiopia itself would solve these problems, and that its independence, soon to be "sealed" by international treaty, was "delivered" to its rightful rulers: the Ethiopian people: "Sealed and Delivered."'

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""Both "Caesar in Abyssinia "and "Sealed and Delivered "are quite largely autobiographical. That gives them their strength. For Steer writing about Ethiopia was much more than a journalistic assignment, he was a friend of the Emperor's and a partisan for his country. As Nick Rankin has observed, 'the mild Christianity that he inherited from them (his parents) seems to have given him sympathy for the underdog as well as inoculation against totalitarianism.'

Following the very successful Ethiopia Engraved, an illustrated book of engravings by foreign travellers from 1681 to 1900, Ethiopia Photographed covers the period from the inception of photography in the country up to the Italian Fascist invasion in 1936. The people, terrain, buildings and rulers of Ethiopia - such as Emperor Melenik, Lej Iyasu and Emperor Haile Selassie - make it a highly photogenic country, as this lavishly illustrated book reveals. Situated in lofty, often inaccessible mountains between the Red Sea and the Blue Nile, and extending far into the Horn of Africa, it is a complex and mysterious country which as always exercised an extraordinary fascination for the outside world. The book begins with an introduction which gives a brief history of Ethiopia in this period, and describes the role of photography at this time. The richly captured images of Ethiopia Photographed bear witness to many personalities and places not previously seen and, in many cases, now lost for all time but for the photogenic memories recorded here.

Sylvia Pankhurst, the former British Suffragette, devoted the last forty years of her life to Anti-Fascism and support for Ethiopia, for many centuries Africa's principal independent state. She responded to Mussolini's invasion of the country in 1935 by founding a weekly newspaper New Times and Ethiopia News, which she was to edit for twenty years. She protested against the Fascist use of poison-gas in Ethiopia, and published news of the Ethiopian patriot resistance. Her paper condemned Britain's "appeasement" of the Axis Dictators, and supported the Republican Government in the Spanish Civil War. After Mussolini's entry into the European War, on the side of Nazi Germany, she agitated against the return to Italy of her African colonies. Ever against colonialism, she clashed with the British Government in demanding the full restoration of Ethiopian independence, and advocated the "reunion" of the former Italian colony of Eritrea with Ethiopia. She raised funds for Ethiopia's first teaching hospital, and wrote extensively on Ethiopian art and culture. Having moved to Addis Ababa in 1956, with her son, the author, she founded a monthly journal, Ethiopia Observer, on many aspects of Ethiopian life and development. She died in 1960, and was buried with the Ethiopian Patriots, in front of Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, in the presence of the Emperor.

Ethiopia is a land of hidden treasures, and among the greatest are its remote churches, whose richly decorated interiors amaze and astound with their vibrant colours and extraordinary illustration. Yet steeped in ancient legend, and often situated in remote locations, a true appreciation and understanding of these unique churches and their spectacular murals has been restricted to a select few. Now, in Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia, Maria-Jose Friedlander provides a unique guide to the churches, their architecture and decoration. Ranging from the rock-hewn churches of the Tigray region to the spectacular timber-built cave church of Yemrehane Krestos, Maria-Jose Friedlander provides detailed descriptions of the wonderful murals and of the stories behind them. Many of the wall paintings contain inscriptions in Ge'ez - the ancient language of Ethiopia - and full translations of these scripts are given. Detailed plans show the exact location of the paintings within the churches and the superb colour photographs by Bob Friedlander show the many aspects of the churches and their decoration in rich detail.

This newly updated and revised second edition of "A Story in Stones" explores the relationship between Portugal and Ethiopia during the XVI and XVII centuries from the unique perspective of stonework. Through research and many years of working in the field, J.J. Hespeler-Boultbee examines the first early Renaissance links between the principal European superpower of the day and the ancient Christian empire of Ethiopia's Highlands - using contemporary architectural vestige as a catalyst for his findings.

What began as Portugal's mission to discover an unknown world soon became a quest to find Prester John, the legendary Christian priest/king presumed to be living on the far side of Islam. In an attempt to form a Christian military alliance, the search was both concluded and, in a manner, initiated by explorer Pero da Covilha in 1493 with his overland journey to the Highland court of Emperor Eskendar. This was instrumental in setting up a string of ties between the two nations - diplomatic, military, religious, cultural and (most long-lasting of all) architectural - almost three decades before Portugal's diplomatic mission of 1520.

The fascinating story contained in the stones can yet be seen in the Portuguese and "Gondarine" ruins that dot the Gojjam and Lake Tana regions; they continue to influence today's Highland architectural design. Hespeler-Boultbee examines over thirty different sites, many of which are remote and rarely visited. Fully illustrated with colour photos and drawings.

About the Author:
J.J. Hespeler-Boultbee is an Art & Architectural Historian and Associate of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University. He lived for twenty-five years in Portugal, during that time making several forays into the Ethiopian Highlands on behalf of the Department of History and CIDEHUS (Centro de Investigacao e Desenvolvimento em Ciencias Humanas e Sociais), the research and development institute at the University of Evora. For the two year period, 2007-2009, he lived in and conducted research from Bahir Dar on Lake Tana, Ethiopia, during which time he found his historical conclusions were at considerable variance with colleagues in the History Department at Bahir Dar University - disagreements which have prompted the revisions leading to this current updated and revised edition of "A Story in Stones."

Historically, studies of Ethiopia, like those of other countries, tend to concentrate on events at or near the center of political power, and devote far too little attention to other areas. The present account attempts at least in part to redress the balance by shifting attention to the"peripheral" regions, which, while of central importance to their own inhabitants, tend to receive relatively little focus in studies of the Ethiopian region as a whole. This book is an historical investigative account of the history of the expanding and often nebulous borders of Ethiopia beginning from ancient times to 1800. It deals with areas that have for years been contentious and problematic for the adjacent peoples in the region: land of the Bhar Nagasah, Ifat, Adal, Fatagar Daiwaro, Bali, Damot, Gurage, Waj, Gamo, Ganz, Gafat, etc. It contains numerous illustrations of antiquities, from old European maps to Ethiopian historical drawings.