Ressources numériques en sciences humaines et sociales OpenEdition Nos plateformes OpenEdition Books OpenEdition Journals Hypothèses Calenda Bibliothèques OpenEdition Freemium Suivez-nous

CFEE Seminar – Workshop Islam in Enderta

CFEE Seminar – Workshop Islam in Enderta

20th of February 2026, 2 PM EAT at the French Center for Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa

By Simon Dorso (Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, ERC project HornEast), Desta Haileyesus Gebregzabher (Aix-Marseille University, Mekelle University, ERC project HornEast), Julien Loiseau (Aix-Marseille University, ERC project HornEast)

 

Simon Dorso (Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, ERC project HornEast)

Islamic sites in northern Ethiopia: recent contribution of archaeology and epigraphy to the history of medieval Muslim communities

Over the past decade, a number of discoveries and collective research programs have shed new lights on the presence of Muslim communities in the northern Horn of Africa (Eritrea, Tigray). Excavations, surveys and the cross reading of inscriptions and available Arabic sources now allow to re-assess the importance of Islam in central regions of the medieval Christian kingdom of Ethiopia.

This material will be presented and discussed, it tells the tale of local and long-distance trade, international diplomacy, slavery and pilgrimages. It also highlights the crucial relations that medieval Ethiopia maintained with Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt or even more distant regions through Islamic religious and mercantile networks. But behind the grand narrative, Islamic sites recently discovered in Tigray also offer the unprecedented opportunity to glimpse the local dimension of these Muslim communities and the development of an “Ethiopian” Islam.

 

Desta Haileyesus Gebregzabher (Aix-Marseille University, Mekelle University, ERC project HornEast)

Kwiha’s pottery from Aksumite to the late Medieval period: first insights on a diachronic corpus

This presentation is the first results of an ongoing doctoral research project on the ceramic  assemblage from Kwiha archaeological site, a multi-period settlement site located near Mekelle. Two excavations seasons at Kwiha have revealed a long sequence of occupation ranging from the Aksumite to the late Medieval period, offering a valuable opportunity to investigate patterns of continuity and change in pottery production and use over time. Based on preliminary typological and technological observations, the study aims to establish  the evolving cultural, economic and social dynamics of the site.

Vessel forms, manufacturing techniques, surface treatments, and decorative practices will be discussed with the objective of identifying chronological markers and functional trends. The Kwiha assemblage will also be examined in comparison with material from other well-documented regional sites, including Matara, the D site at Enda Kidamehret in Aksum, Wakarida, and the late and “post-Aksumite” site of Mifsas Bahri.

Although this research is still at an early stage, the initial results highlight the significant potential of the Kwiha ceramic corpus for refining regional chronologies.

 

Julien Loiseau (Aix-Marseille University, ERC project HornEast)

The Ethiopian Qur’an. Quranic Quotations on Funerary Stelae from Medieval Tigray (10th – 14th centuries)

The recent discovery of medieval Muslim cemeteries in the vicinity of Kwiha and Arra (Eastern Tigray) has significantly increased the corpus of Arabic funerary epigraphy from Medieval Ethiopia. With respectively 42 and 43 funerary stelae engraved with Arabic epitaphs, the epigraphic corpuses of Bilet cemetery (Kwiha) and Habera mountain cemeteries (Arra) represent the largest collection of Arabic inscriptions from the Horn of Africa after the corpus of the Dahlak Islands (Erytrea).

When entirely preserved, the epitaph usually includes, after the introductory formula (the basmala), the quotation of one or several verses of the Qur’an. These quotations offer unprecedent insights into the knowledge Ethiopian Muslims had of the Qur’an in the 10th-14th centuries, as well as into the verses they favoured to be displayed on funerary stelae. The Arabic funerary epigraphy from Eastern Tigray hence bears a unique testimony to the faith and knowledge of Ethiopian Muslims in the Middle Ages.

 

 

 

French Center for Ethiopian Studies’ location:
The French Center for Ethiopian Studies is located in the Jan Meda neighborhood (Arada sub city, Kebele 11/12, house no. 1907), between Menelik Hospital and Sidist Kilo (50m before the entrance of Jan Meda)


OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Secrétaire Scientifique (16 février 2026). CFEE Seminar – Workshop Islam in Enderta. UN ŒIL SUR LA CORNE / AN EYE ON THE HORN. Consulté le 4 mars 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/15p1p


Vous aimerez aussi...

Laisser un commentaire

Votre adresse e-mail ne sera pas publiée. Les champs obligatoires sont indiqués avec *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.