Agʿazi is the name of a region of the Aksumite Empire in what consists today of Eastern Tigray and central-south Eritrea.[ citation needed]
The earliest attestation of this name can be found in the determined nisba-form yg'ḏyn in three pre-Aksumite Royal inscriptions: [rb]h/mlkn/sr'n/yg'ḏyn/mkrb/d'mt/web' 'RBH, the victorious king, he of (the tribe?) YG'Ḏ, mukarrib of D'MT and SB' (RIE 8:1-2); lmn/mlkn/sr'n/yg/ḏyn/mkrb/d'mt/wsb'/bn/rbb 'LMN, the victorious king he of (the tribe?) YG'Ḏ, mukarrib of D'MT and SB', son of RBH' (RIE 5 A:1-2, the same formula in RIE 10:1-5). [1] YG'Ḏ seems to be the name of the leading tribe or royal family settled in the region of Akele Guzai. [2]
In the Greek Monumentum Adulitanum (RIE 277), the author (an Aksumite king of the 2nd-3rd century AD) states: Γάζη έθνος έπολέμηα ("I fought the Gaze-people"). [3] This people's name has been connected with the term Ge'ez. The Sinaiticus and Laurentianus manuscripts (both 11th century) explain in margin: "Gaze means the Aksumites. Until now they are called Agaze". The reconstruction [ag]āzә[yān] in RIE 264 from Zafār (Yemen) (late 5th-early 6th century AD) has been proposed by Müller, but the fragment is too badly damaged to provide any help as to who could be meant by this name. [4]
Another attestation is found in Abraha's Sabaean dam-inscription CIH 541 from Mārib (dated 543/548 AD), where he calls himself mlkn gzyn ("The Ag'azyan King"). [5]
A connection between agāzī and the people Agēzāt, mentioned in two of Ezana's inscriptions seems questionable. [6] [2]
An Ethiopian regnal list from 1922 claimed that an "Ag'azyan" dynasty had reigned from 1985 to 982 BC. [7] [8] The dynasty was allegedly founded by Sheba, son of the Biblical figure Joktan, and the last ruler of this line was Makeda, the Biblical queen of Sheba. [8] This regnal list, however, is not considered historically accurate and has been treated by historians as little more than a vague notion of historical tradition in Northeast Africa. [9]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Agʿazi is the name of a region of the Aksumite Empire in what consists today of Eastern Tigray and central-south Eritrea.[ citation needed]
The earliest attestation of this name can be found in the determined nisba-form yg'ḏyn in three pre-Aksumite Royal inscriptions: [rb]h/mlkn/sr'n/yg'ḏyn/mkrb/d'mt/web' 'RBH, the victorious king, he of (the tribe?) YG'Ḏ, mukarrib of D'MT and SB' (RIE 8:1-2); lmn/mlkn/sr'n/yg/ḏyn/mkrb/d'mt/wsb'/bn/rbb 'LMN, the victorious king he of (the tribe?) YG'Ḏ, mukarrib of D'MT and SB', son of RBH' (RIE 5 A:1-2, the same formula in RIE 10:1-5). [1] YG'Ḏ seems to be the name of the leading tribe or royal family settled in the region of Akele Guzai. [2]
In the Greek Monumentum Adulitanum (RIE 277), the author (an Aksumite king of the 2nd-3rd century AD) states: Γάζη έθνος έπολέμηα ("I fought the Gaze-people"). [3] This people's name has been connected with the term Ge'ez. The Sinaiticus and Laurentianus manuscripts (both 11th century) explain in margin: "Gaze means the Aksumites. Until now they are called Agaze". The reconstruction [ag]āzә[yān] in RIE 264 from Zafār (Yemen) (late 5th-early 6th century AD) has been proposed by Müller, but the fragment is too badly damaged to provide any help as to who could be meant by this name. [4]
Another attestation is found in Abraha's Sabaean dam-inscription CIH 541 from Mārib (dated 543/548 AD), where he calls himself mlkn gzyn ("The Ag'azyan King"). [5]
A connection between agāzī and the people Agēzāt, mentioned in two of Ezana's inscriptions seems questionable. [6] [2]
An Ethiopian regnal list from 1922 claimed that an "Ag'azyan" dynasty had reigned from 1985 to 982 BC. [7] [8] The dynasty was allegedly founded by Sheba, son of the Biblical figure Joktan, and the last ruler of this line was Makeda, the Biblical queen of Sheba. [8] This regnal list, however, is not considered historically accurate and has been treated by historians as little more than a vague notion of historical tradition in Northeast Africa. [9]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)