Soqota
Encyclopedia
Soqota is a town in northern Ethiopia
. The name is likely from the Agaw word sekut, "fortified village." Located the Wag Hemra Zone
of the Amhara Region
, Soqota has a latitude and longitude of 12°38′N 39°02′E and an elevation of 2266 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of the woreda
of Soqota
.
About 6 kilometers from Soqota is the church Wukro Meskal Kristos, where the mummified corpses of several Wagshums lie.
and al-Masudi to have succeeded Axum
as the capital of Ethiopia.
Soqota is the historic seat of the Wagshum, the former ruler of Lasta
, who claimed to trace an unbroken succession back to the last king of the Zagwe dynasty
. However, verification for this tradition is slight. This town is not mentioned in the surviving records until 1746, when the soldiers of Emperor Iyasu II
burned it down. The traveller Augustus B. Wylde wrote in the 1890s that the palace of the Wagshums in this town had been built around 1650. It was a three-storey structure which could not be dated with any precision, but he believed the masons and craftsmen were some of those who had worked at Gondar
.
Nathaniel Pearce, who was living in Tigray
at the time, notes that Soqota was where Ras Haile Wand Bewossen had his palace in 1813, and performed his annual review of his troops on 17 Masqaram, as was the custom. Charles Beke, who passed through Soqota in April 1843, described it as "a place of considerable size, but is so very straggling that it is not easy to form a definite idea on the subject. It has a large market, held on Tuesday and Wednesday weekly, which is frequented by the merchants of the south and west, this place being the grand centre of the salt-trade, the Tigre merchants coming thus far only, and then returning." In Wylde's time, the market at Soqota was still held each week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Soqota was occupied by the Italians 28 March, 1936. During their occupation, the Italians built a road to Soqota passable by motorcars, and repaired the town's mosque. Beatrice Playne visited the town in late autumn of 1948, and found it "quite the most attractive Ethiopian town I have seen". She describes its "two-storied, stone houses, each with a little private garden, lying snugly amongst the surrounding wall of hills, like a Cotswold
village", and its government offices were in "a low, Italian building in a square of grass."
Soqota was briefly held by the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
(TPLF) during the Ethiopian Civil War
around 1980. In 1988 Soqota was the base of the Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement, founded by a group of former EPRP fighters, which operated in northern Wolo jointly with the TPLF.
in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 13,700, of whom 6,606 were males and 7,094 were females. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 7,922 of whom 3,476 were males and 4,446 were females.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. The name is likely from the Agaw word sekut, "fortified village." Located the Wag Hemra Zone
Wag Hemra Zone
Wag Hemra is a Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Its name is a combination of the former province of Wag, and the dominant local ethnic group, the Kamyr Agaw. Wag Hemra is bordered on the south by Semien Wollo, on the southwest by Debub Gondar, on the west by Semen Gondar, on the north and...
of the Amhara Region
Amhara Region
Amhara is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia, containing the homeland of the Amhara people. Previously known as Region 3, its capital is Bahir Dar....
, Soqota has a latitude and longitude of 12°38′N 39°02′E and an elevation of 2266 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of the woreda
Woreda
Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...
of Soqota
Soqota (woreda)
Soqota is one of the 105 woredas in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Located on the eastern escarpment of the Ethiopian highlands in the Wag Hemra Zone, Soqota is bordered on the south by the Semien Wollo Zone, on the southwest by Dehana, on the northwest by the Tekezé River which separates it from...
.
About 6 kilometers from Soqota is the church Wukro Meskal Kristos, where the mummified corpses of several Wagshums lie.
History
Philip Briggs speculates that this town may be identified with the mysterious Ku'bar, said by al-Ya'qubiYa'qubi
Ahmad ibn Abu Ya'qub ibn Ja'far ibn Wahb Ibn Wadih al-Ya'qubi , known as Ahmad al-Ya'qubi, or Ya'qubi, was a Berber Muslim geographer.-Biography:He was a great-grandson of Wadih, the freedman of the caliph Mansur...
and al-Masudi to have succeeded Axum
Axum
Axum or Aksum is a city in northern Ethiopia which was the original capital of the eponymous kingdom of Axum. Population 56,500 . Axum was a naval and trading power that ruled the region from ca. 400 BC into the 10th century...
as the capital of Ethiopia.
Soqota is the historic seat of the Wagshum, the former ruler of Lasta
Lasta
Lasta is a historic district in north-central Ethiopia. It is the district in which Lalibela is situated, the former capital of Ethiopia during the Zagwe dynasty and home to 11 medieval rock-hewn churches....
, who claimed to trace an unbroken succession back to the last king of the Zagwe dynasty
Zagwe dynasty
The Zagwe dynasty was an historical kingdom in present-day Ethiopia. It ruled large parts of the territory from approximately 1137 to 1270, when the last Zagwe King Za-Ilmaknun was killed in battle by the forces of Yekuno Amlak...
. However, verification for this tradition is slight. This town is not mentioned in the surviving records until 1746, when the soldiers of Emperor Iyasu II
Iyasu II of Ethiopia
Iyasu II or Joshua II was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Gondar branch of Solomonic dynasty...
burned it down. The traveller Augustus B. Wylde wrote in the 1890s that the palace of the Wagshums in this town had been built around 1650. It was a three-storey structure which could not be dated with any precision, but he believed the masons and craftsmen were some of those who had worked at Gondar
Gondar
Gondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...
.
Nathaniel Pearce, who was living in Tigray
Tigray Province
Tigray was a province of Ethiopia. The Tigray Region superseded the province with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995. The province of Tigre merged with its neighboring provinces, including Semien, Tembien, Agame and the prominent Enderta province and towards the end of 19th century it...
at the time, notes that Soqota was where Ras Haile Wand Bewossen had his palace in 1813, and performed his annual review of his troops on 17 Masqaram, as was the custom. Charles Beke, who passed through Soqota in April 1843, described it as "a place of considerable size, but is so very straggling that it is not easy to form a definite idea on the subject. It has a large market, held on Tuesday and Wednesday weekly, which is frequented by the merchants of the south and west, this place being the grand centre of the salt-trade, the Tigre merchants coming thus far only, and then returning." In Wylde's time, the market at Soqota was still held each week on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Soqota was occupied by the Italians 28 March, 1936. During their occupation, the Italians built a road to Soqota passable by motorcars, and repaired the town's mosque. Beatrice Playne visited the town in late autumn of 1948, and found it "quite the most attractive Ethiopian town I have seen". She describes its "two-storied, stone houses, each with a little private garden, lying snugly amongst the surrounding wall of hills, like a Cotswold
Cotswold
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in central England that give their name to:*Cotswold *Cotswold *Cotswold Chase, a horse race*Cotswold Games, annual games in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire...
village", and its government offices were in "a low, Italian building in a square of grass."
Soqota was briefly held by the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front , known more commonly and sometimes pejoratively in Ethiopia as Woyane or Weyane is a political party in Ethiopia...
(TPLF) during the Ethiopian Civil War
Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War began on September 12, 1974 when the Marxist Derg staged a coup d'état against Emperor Haile Selassie, and lasted until the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front , a coalition of rebel groups, overthrew the government in 1991. The war overlapped other Cold War...
around 1980. In 1988 Soqota was the base of the Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement, founded by a group of former EPRP fighters, which operated in northern Wolo jointly with the TPLF.
Demographics
Based on figures from the Central Statistical AgencyCentral Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)
The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...
in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 13,700, of whom 6,606 were males and 7,094 were females. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 7,922 of whom 3,476 were males and 4,446 were females.