What is the origin of Habesha term? What it means? Did Aksumites call themselves Habesha or Habash or was the term referred to them by foreigners (Arabs)? I like to hear Ethiopians and Yemenis opinions.
Amanuel Tesfaye, lived in Ethiopia
Its origin is uncertain. It may be foreign term which started to apply to different people during the recent Monarchy era, Nobody in Ethiopia call or identify themselves with this name. Many people here will actually confuse to which group this term is applied to. If go to different locations and ask people whether they identify with this term or not, you will get controversial answer. As for the Axumites, they used to refer themselves (specially the ruling class) as Agazians/ Agazi or Ge’ez speaking people. For instance in one of the discovered trilingual stone inscription in Axum, there was a King named “Ezana’s” who concurred and expanded his kingdom. He mentioned various people/nations who were subjugated by him including the Habeshas. His lists goes like this > the 1st version follow Aezana king of Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Habashat, Saba, Salhen, Tsiyamo, Kasu, and the Beja, and the Ge`ez version (DAE 7) reads Aksum, Himyar, Kasu, Saba, Habashat, Raydan, Salhen, Siyamo, Beja; both of these add the phrase `king of kings, son of the unconquered Mahrem' the 2nd version . . . Ella Amida, Bisi ..s.m, king of Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Saba, Salhen, Tsiyamo, Bega and of Kasu, king of kings, son of the invincible Mahrem. He departed on campaign to re-establish his empire and put it again in order. Those who obeyed him, he spared; those who resisted him, he put to death. He came to `LBH and there came with presents SWSWT king of the Agwezat with his people, and he received his submission and he was made subject. Then he sent him away to return to his country. the 3rd version Aeizanas, king of the Aksumites, the Himyarites, Raeidan, the Ethiopians, the Sabaeans, Silei (Salhen), Tiyamo, the Beja and Kasou, king of kings, son of the unconquered god Ares It appears from the inscription that the people who were called Habashats (Ethiopians) were rather subjects and tributaries to the Axumites. Src 1 : https://www.livingston.org/cms/lib4/NJ01000562/Centricity/Domain/602/aksum.pdf Src 2 : Ezana’s Stone Inscription8
Anmol, knows English South Arabian/Sabaean origin theory Before the 20th century, the Sabean theory was the most common one explaining the origins of the Habesha. ... All uses of the term date to the 3rd century AD and later, when they referred to the people of the Kingdom of Aksum. Habesha is a term that refers to people of Ethiopian and Eritrean heritage without discriminating against tribe/ethnicity, nationality, or citizenship. It is a pan-ethnic term that includes the various ethnic groups of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Ethiopian-Eritrean Diaspora who live abroad. The Kingdom of Aksum (Ge'ez: መንግሥተ አክሱም), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was an ancient Habesha kingdom that controlled what are now Eritrea, Northern Ethiopia, parts of Eastern Sudan and Southern Yemen at its peak. It was centralized in Northern Ethiopia, and its capital was Aksum[2] or Axum.[3] Aksumite rulers styled themselves as King of kings, king of Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Saba, Salhen, Tsiyamo, Beja and of Kush.[4] Ruled by the Aksumites, it existed from approximately 80 BC to AD 825.[5] The polity was centered in the city of Aksum and grew from the proto-Aksumite Iron Age period around the 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD. Aksum became a major player on the commercial route between the Roman Empire and Ancient India. The Aksumite rulers facilitated trade by minting their own Aksumite currency, with the state establishing its hegemony over the declining Kingdom of Kush. It also regularly entered the politics of the kingdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and eventually extended its rule over the region with the conquest of the Himyarite Kingdom. The Manichaei prophet Mani (died 274 AD) regarded Aksum as one of the four great powers of his time, the others being Persia, Rome and China.[2][6][7][8] It ruled the South Arabia of Yemen for half a century in the 6th century. the 1st version follow Aezana king of Aksum, Himyar, Raydan, Habashat, Saba, Salhen, Tsiyamo, Kasu, and the Beja, and the Ge`ez version (DAE 7) reads Aksum, Himyar, Kasu, Saba, Habashat, Raydan, Salhen, Siyamo, Beja; both of these add the phrase `king of kings, son of the unconquered Mahrem'
Maha Odeh, studied at University College London The oldest attested use of the term is in Sabaean and Ancient Egyptian inscriptions. The Sabaean usage referred to a specific group of people other than the Aksumites, they used them together (Habsht & Aksum) referring to peoples in modern day East Africa. Ancient Egyptians used it in reference to the people of Punt, which is in modern day north East Sudan, Eriteria, Djibouti, and parts of Somalia. In Ancient Egyptian they used the word ḫbśtjw, that means “bearded one”. Most linguists believe the word to be of Ge’ez origin, but a few believe that it may have earlier Ancient Egyptian influence. In all cases the Sabaeans, the other Southern Semitic speaking people of ancient Yemen, and the Arabs all borrowed it from Ge’ez, the language spoken by the Habash people at the time regardless of whether there was an earlier Egyptian influence or not.
