New appearance 2023: ቀዩ ባሕር፡ ኀዘንተኛው ባሕር / The Red Sea: The Sad Sea
14 December 2023
The book covers the following topics: the history of coffee, the Mamluks and Egypt's historical place in Red Sea politics, the Portuguese and the Ottomans, internal Ethiopian Christian-Islam wars of the 16th century, the scramble for Africa and Egypt’s expansionist ambitions before colonialism, Wahhabi-sm and the question of Ethiopia in Islamic discourse, Israel’s history in the Red Sea, Palestine, the various wars started or instigated by Nasser, Communism and the Cold War, as well as the Eritrean question.
Some key figures that are touched upon include: Napoleon, Ben-Gurion, Nasser, Haile Selassie, Ras Alula, Yohannes, Tewodros and Menelik.
Below are quotes taken from the preface to the English edition:
'The "Red Sea, the Sad Sea" is an attempt to present succinctly the long history of an important corner of the world. To tell a multifaceted story of a restless sea, quite unfriendly to peoples around it, often cruel to those who crossed it. They were more refugees than pilgrims or tourists. Some of the crossing refugees in ancient times heralded new dawns for mankind: the biblical "Children of Israel" who fled from Egypt; young Christian boys who brought Christianity to Africa; pioneers of Islam in Arabia who sought asylum in Ethiopia and saved their new religion. Their dangerous crossing from one shore to the other proved a formative for them and for their descendants. In contrast, stretching from south to north, the Red Sea is one of the most vital maritime routes. It links between the two hemispheres, connects the Mediterranean with the great Indian Ocean. Historically this route was important when open, and was equally important when blocked'. (p. 5)
'There is no lack of literature on the Red Sea. The histories of all the peoples around it have been connected to it. However, not much was done by historians to comprehend the Red Sea as an historical stage by its own right. Most of the relevant writings cover a certain period or a certain aspect. In this respect the Red Sea remained the neglected little brother of the Mediterranean, "the great sea", the cradle of human relations, the subject of endless curiosity. Yet, the Red Sea does deserve conceiving it as an historical whole'. (pp. 5-6)